Wednesday, May 26, 2004
Nomes of Ancient Egypt and Hermetic Astronomy
Nomes of Ancient Egypt and Archaeoastronomy
Several postings of text materials and graphics are found at the Ancient Egypt Blog showing that the Nomes of Ancient Egypt reflected hermetic astronomy.
The Nomes of Upper Egypt marked the stars above the Ecliptic.
The Nomes of Lower Egypt marked the stars below the Ecliptic.
Monday, May 24, 2004
The Lost Ark of the Covenant - Sources and Location
The Lost Ark of the Covenant - Sources
The Mishnayot is the historical document which recounts the hiding of the Ark of the Covenant (the Ark of the Law). Read the Mishnayot. Any theory about the Ark of the Covenant must mesh with this document since it has since been confirmed by other sources as follows - see "Vendyl Jones and the Ark of the Covenant" by Gerard Robins, which was published as a series of articles in the Jewish Herald Voice Newspaper, Houston, Texas, May 2000.
Verifying Sources - Dead Sea Scrolls (Qumran Scrolls)
The first of the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in modern times, i.e. in 1947.
Qumran Scrolls - The Copper Scroll
One of the Dead Sea Scrolls found at Qumran is the famed Copper Scroll - made of pure copper - which was found at Qumran in 1952. The Copper Scroll is the inventory - written in Hebrew - of the holy treasures of Solomon's First Temple, treasures which were hidden by the Hebrews before the destruction of that temple by the Babylonians (Assyrians). These treasures have (allegedly) not been seen since.
The Copper Scroll tells us that a silver [mistranslation for alabaster] chest, the vestments of the Cohen Gadol (Hebrew High Priest), gold and silver in great quantities, the Tabernacle of the Lord (the Mishkan) and many treasures were hidden in a desolate valley under a hill - on its east side, forty stones deep. The Mishkan was a "portable" Temple for the Ark of the Covenant.
Qumran Scrolls - The Copper Scroll
The writings in the Copper Scroll were confirmed 40 years later in the 1990s through an ancient text found in the introduction to Emeq HaMelekh ("Valley of the King(s)"), a book published in 1648 in Amsterdam, Holland, by Rabbi Naftali Hertz Ben Ya’acov Elchanon. The book's introduction included ancient records which Rabbi Hertz called the "Mishnayot". Hertz used the term Mishnayot, since the text of the Mishnayot is missing from the Mishnah (Mishna), which is the first section of the Talmud, a collection of ancient Rabbinic writings including also the Gemara, "the summary", and containing the Jewish religious law.
Qumran Scrolls - The Massakhet Keilim
The "missing" Mishnaic text in the Mishnayot is called the 'Massakhet Keilim', written in twelve chapters. Each chapter of the Mishnayot describes vessels which were hidden under the direction of Jeremiah the Prophet by five holy men (Shimor HaLevi, Chizkiah, Tzidkiyahu, Haggai the Prophet and Zechariah the Prophet), seven years prior to the destruction of Solomon's First Temple, because the dangers of Babylonian conquest were imminent. The Mishnayot - which describes this hiding - was then allegedly written in Babylon during the Babylonian Captivity.
The Marble Tablets of Beirut
In 1952 two large marble tablets were found in the basement of a museum in Beirut, stating they were the words of Shimor HaLevi, the servant of HaShem, and the writing on the tablets is the entire missing text of "Massakhet Keilim" (Mishnayot) including reference to the Copper Scroll.
The Mishnayot and the Hiding of the Lost Ark
The first chapter of the Mishnayot describes the vessels that were hidden - including the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle of the Lord, i.e. the Mishkan, the Tablets of Moses, the altar (with cherubs) for the daily and seasonal sacrifices (the ushebtis), the Menorah (candelabra), the Qalal (copper urn) containing the Ashes of the Red Heifer (ashes from a red cow sacrificed under Moses, necessary for ritual purification of the priests), and numerous vessels of the Kohanim (priests).
The second chapter of the Mishnayot states that a list of these treasures was inscribed upon a copper tablet. This is the Copper Scroll found at Qumran.
The Tosefta
Work in the 1990s showed that in 1896, almost one hundred years previous, Solomon Schechter at Cambridge University in England had acquired 100,000 pages of ancient Hebrew texts from the Genizah (repository for aged sacred Jewish texts) of the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo, Egypt. A copy of the "Tosefta" (supplement to the Mishnah) was found in these texts, included among the text on Keilim (vessels). This "Tosefta" is the same text as cited by Rabbi Hertz as his source for the Mishnayot.
We thus have the hiding of the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle of the Lord verified by four separate sources:
1) the Marble Tablets of Beirut,
2) the Copper Scroll,
3) the Tosefta, i.e. ancient sacred texts of the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo now at Cambridge University, England, and
4) the Mishnayot of Rabbi Hertz.
Where was the Ark of the Covenant Hidden?
Based on the Mishnayot, Andis Kaulins has developed the theory that the artefacts that were found in the alleged "tomb" of Tutankamun (actually probably the tomb originally intended for Smenkhare, a lesser untimely deceased royal) are in fact many of the objects listed in the Mishnayot, including the Ark of the Covenant and the portable Tabernacle.
See online:
Introduction
followed by these additional pages
Anubis in the Tomb of Tutankhamun
The Mercy Seat of the Tabernacle
The Consecrated Parts of Aaron (this is ADONAI at the Tabernacle, in our view ADONAI = ATON)
The Lampstand of the Tabernacle
Shrine I the Outer Shrine of the Tabernacle
Shrine II the First Inner Shrine of the Tabernacle
Shrine III the Second Inner Shrine of the Tabernacle
Shrine IV the Innermost Shrine of the Tabernacle (the above 4 large Shrines fit inside one another)
The Golden Shrine of the Psalms for the Golden Ushebtis
The Pectoral Jewels of the Hebrew High Priest Cohen Gadol
The Artists who Made the Ark and the Tabernacle - Bez Alel and Oho Liab
Moses and Exodus - Who was Moses?
Technorati Tags
Ark of the Covenant, Mishnayot, Qumran, Dead Sea Scrolls, Copper Scroll, Tutankhamun, Bible, History, Jewish Studies, Tosefta
.
The Mishnayot is the historical document which recounts the hiding of the Ark of the Covenant (the Ark of the Law). Read the Mishnayot. Any theory about the Ark of the Covenant must mesh with this document since it has since been confirmed by other sources as follows - see "Vendyl Jones and the Ark of the Covenant" by Gerard Robins, which was published as a series of articles in the Jewish Herald Voice Newspaper, Houston, Texas, May 2000.
Verifying Sources - Dead Sea Scrolls (Qumran Scrolls)
The first of the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in modern times, i.e. in 1947.
Qumran Scrolls - The Copper Scroll
One of the Dead Sea Scrolls found at Qumran is the famed Copper Scroll - made of pure copper - which was found at Qumran in 1952. The Copper Scroll is the inventory - written in Hebrew - of the holy treasures of Solomon's First Temple, treasures which were hidden by the Hebrews before the destruction of that temple by the Babylonians (Assyrians). These treasures have (allegedly) not been seen since.
The Copper Scroll tells us that a silver [mistranslation for alabaster] chest, the vestments of the Cohen Gadol (Hebrew High Priest), gold and silver in great quantities, the Tabernacle of the Lord (the Mishkan) and many treasures were hidden in a desolate valley under a hill - on its east side, forty stones deep. The Mishkan was a "portable" Temple for the Ark of the Covenant.
Qumran Scrolls - The Copper Scroll
The writings in the Copper Scroll were confirmed 40 years later in the 1990s through an ancient text found in the introduction to Emeq HaMelekh ("Valley of the King(s)"), a book published in 1648 in Amsterdam, Holland, by Rabbi Naftali Hertz Ben Ya’acov Elchanon. The book's introduction included ancient records which Rabbi Hertz called the "Mishnayot". Hertz used the term Mishnayot, since the text of the Mishnayot is missing from the Mishnah (Mishna), which is the first section of the Talmud, a collection of ancient Rabbinic writings including also the Gemara, "the summary", and containing the Jewish religious law.
Qumran Scrolls - The Massakhet Keilim
The "missing" Mishnaic text in the Mishnayot is called the 'Massakhet Keilim', written in twelve chapters. Each chapter of the Mishnayot describes vessels which were hidden under the direction of Jeremiah the Prophet by five holy men (Shimor HaLevi, Chizkiah, Tzidkiyahu, Haggai the Prophet and Zechariah the Prophet), seven years prior to the destruction of Solomon's First Temple, because the dangers of Babylonian conquest were imminent. The Mishnayot - which describes this hiding - was then allegedly written in Babylon during the Babylonian Captivity.
The Marble Tablets of Beirut
In 1952 two large marble tablets were found in the basement of a museum in Beirut, stating they were the words of Shimor HaLevi, the servant of HaShem, and the writing on the tablets is the entire missing text of "Massakhet Keilim" (Mishnayot) including reference to the Copper Scroll.
The Mishnayot and the Hiding of the Lost Ark
The first chapter of the Mishnayot describes the vessels that were hidden - including the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle of the Lord, i.e. the Mishkan, the Tablets of Moses, the altar (with cherubs) for the daily and seasonal sacrifices (the ushebtis), the Menorah (candelabra), the Qalal (copper urn) containing the Ashes of the Red Heifer (ashes from a red cow sacrificed under Moses, necessary for ritual purification of the priests), and numerous vessels of the Kohanim (priests).
The second chapter of the Mishnayot states that a list of these treasures was inscribed upon a copper tablet. This is the Copper Scroll found at Qumran.
The Tosefta
Work in the 1990s showed that in 1896, almost one hundred years previous, Solomon Schechter at Cambridge University in England had acquired 100,000 pages of ancient Hebrew texts from the Genizah (repository for aged sacred Jewish texts) of the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo, Egypt. A copy of the "Tosefta" (supplement to the Mishnah) was found in these texts, included among the text on Keilim (vessels). This "Tosefta" is the same text as cited by Rabbi Hertz as his source for the Mishnayot.
We thus have the hiding of the Ark of the Covenant and the Tabernacle of the Lord verified by four separate sources:
1) the Marble Tablets of Beirut,
2) the Copper Scroll,
3) the Tosefta, i.e. ancient sacred texts of the Ben Ezra Synagogue in Cairo now at Cambridge University, England, and
4) the Mishnayot of Rabbi Hertz.
Where was the Ark of the Covenant Hidden?
Based on the Mishnayot, Andis Kaulins has developed the theory that the artefacts that were found in the alleged "tomb" of Tutankamun (actually probably the tomb originally intended for Smenkhare, a lesser untimely deceased royal) are in fact many of the objects listed in the Mishnayot, including the Ark of the Covenant and the portable Tabernacle.
See online:
Introduction
followed by these additional pages
Anubis in the Tomb of Tutankhamun
The Mercy Seat of the Tabernacle
The Consecrated Parts of Aaron (this is ADONAI at the Tabernacle, in our view ADONAI = ATON)
The Lampstand of the Tabernacle
Shrine I the Outer Shrine of the Tabernacle
Shrine II the First Inner Shrine of the Tabernacle
Shrine III the Second Inner Shrine of the Tabernacle
Shrine IV the Innermost Shrine of the Tabernacle (the above 4 large Shrines fit inside one another)
The Golden Shrine of the Psalms for the Golden Ushebtis
The Pectoral Jewels of the Hebrew High Priest Cohen Gadol
The Artists who Made the Ark and the Tabernacle - Bez Alel and Oho Liab
Moses and Exodus - Who was Moses?
Technorati Tags
Ark of the Covenant, Mishnayot, Qumran, Dead Sea Scrolls, Copper Scroll, Tutankhamun, Bible, History, Jewish Studies, Tosefta
.
Tuesday, May 11, 2004
Ancient Calendric Stele Newly Discovered in Egypt
Ancient Calendric Stele Newly Discovered in Egypt
Phluzein points to the discovery of an ancient calendric stele in Egypt.
Here is our comment on that find, which we think is one of the most significant finds of ALL TIME for the chronology of the ancient world.
Mainstream Opinion on the Stele
As can be read here, the April 19, 2004 article entitled "Ancient inscribed slab brought to light" states:
"... A team of German and Egyptian archaeologists working in the Nile Delta has unearthed "quite a remarkable" stele dating back 2200 years to Ptolemaic Egypt which bears an identical inscription in three written languages - like the famed Rosetta Stone.
... University of Potsdam chief Egyptologist Christian Tietze said the stone fragment was "quite remarkable and the most significant of its kind to be found in Egypt in 120 years"....
It shows a royal decree, written in ancient Greek, Demotic and Hieroglyphs, that mentions King Ptolemy III Euergetes I along with the date 238 BC.
"The decree is significant because it specifically mentions a reform of the ancient Egyptian calendar which was not in fact actually implemented until some 250 years later under Julius Caesar," Tietze said.
The inscription consists of 67 lines of Greek text and 24 lines of Demotic along with traces of Hieroglyphs outlining the calendar reform and praising Ptolemy.
The king is lauded for importing grain from Syria, Phoenicia and Cyprus to alleviate famine in ancient Egypt, among other deeds.
"It documents the might and beneficence of Ptolemy III," Tietze said."
A Calendric Reform Inscribed but only Implemented 250 Years Later?
One must truly wonder why the mainstream archaeologists claim that this inscribed slab documents an Egyptian calendar reform which was then only implemented 250 years later by Julius Caesar. Why would anyone inscribe a calendric reform which was also not executed at that time?
Importance of the Stele to Ancient World Chronology
In fact - so our view - the "inscribed slab" just found CLEARLY documents a calendar reform actually made - IN EGYPT - at the time of the writing of the inscriptions, as one would expect.
See my chronology of the world page where I write: "236 BC Restoration of the Etruscan 'Secular (calendric) Games' in Rome".
The 1440-year Calendric Period (4 x 360 years viz. 3 x 480 years)
What calendric reform is being made?
The calendric reform is the "great leap year" adjustment for the passage of 1440 years (4 x 360 viz. 3 x 480 years).
The calendar of Pharaonic Egypt (as also that of the Maya, of China, and the Hindu), as I have discovered and always alleged, began in 3117 BC, when a solar eclipse occurred at sunrise at the Winter Solstice in the the solar boat (solar bark) of Capricorn at the stars Al Giedi (Algiedi) and Nashira, accompanied by the planet Jupiter (hence, Winkin', Blinkin' and Nod in their silvery shoe). This rare and awesome event was used to start humanity's first worldwide calendar at year 0, 3117 BC, even though of course astronomical observation and calendric calculation of some kind will have preceded this event - which may account for the Hebrews calculating their calendar back to allegedly ca. September 1, 3761 BC, which in my opinion looks correctly more like September 25, 3760 BC when there was a close conjunction near the Autumn Equinox of the Sun, Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Mercury, i.e. the heavenly orbs known to the ancients.
1440 years later was 1677 BC, which was the beginning of the Second Intermediate Period in Egypt.
Calendric Reform began with Khasekhemwy (Khasekhemwi, Chasechemui)
Another 1440 years later (4 x 360 viz. 3 x 480) gives us 237 BC, continuing a tradition established by Khasekhemwy in 2637 BC (2638 BC) of adjusting the calendar every 480 years, which I have long had posted at LexiLine.
The years in the chart below are all adjusted here to reflect the 480-year divisions exactly, whereas actual calendric reform will result in uneven yearly divisions due to overlapping of years, etc.
3117 BC start of the calendar (Egypt, Maya, Hindu - so our opinion)
2637 BC reform of the Calendar by Khasekhemwy for the tropical year
2157 BC First Intermediate Period
1677 BC Second Intermediate Period
1197 BC Rule of King David (Sethos) begins - whence Hall of Records
717 BC Start of the reign of Numa Pompilius, the 1st calendric king of Rome, begins
237 BC Restoration of the Etruscan "Secular (calendric) Games" in Rome - whence the building of Edfu
Ptolemy III Euergetes I and the Temple of Edfu
It was in fact at the time referred to in the newly found inscribed calendric slab that Ptolemy III Euergetes I began the building of the Horus Temple of Edfu (see Dieter Kurth, Edfu, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt, 1994 where he gives the date as 237 BC). [I have this book in my own library. One copy of this book was available today at Abe Books.]
In fact, as the mainstream Egyptologists have not recognized, but as we now clearly see, Edfu is a calendric temple marking this calendric reform and the celebration of the passage of 1440 years (4 x 360 years or 3 x 480 years). Note that Ed-fu = Latvian Dievu "belonging to God" which is the same meaning given to "Ed-fu" by the Egyptologists.
Traditionally, it has been thought that the Sothic period of 4 x 365 years - based on the star Sirius - was determinative for adjusting the solar to the tropical year, but as the German Egyptologist Eduard Meyer wrote correctly many years ago, no Egyptian source ties the Sothic Year to Sirius nor to the period of 1460 (or 1440) years. Rather, it is clear in our view that the Papyrus of Ebers adjusted the calendar for Sirius and only Manetho first apparently used the Sothic Period.
Based on the newly discovered stele, we now know that the Pharaonic Egyptian "great leap year" was tied to the Sun (RA) and extended over a period 1440 years.
Phluzein points to the discovery of an ancient calendric stele in Egypt.
Here is our comment on that find, which we think is one of the most significant finds of ALL TIME for the chronology of the ancient world.
Mainstream Opinion on the Stele
As can be read here, the April 19, 2004 article entitled "Ancient inscribed slab brought to light" states:
"... A team of German and Egyptian archaeologists working in the Nile Delta has unearthed "quite a remarkable" stele dating back 2200 years to Ptolemaic Egypt which bears an identical inscription in three written languages - like the famed Rosetta Stone.
... University of Potsdam chief Egyptologist Christian Tietze said the stone fragment was "quite remarkable and the most significant of its kind to be found in Egypt in 120 years"....
It shows a royal decree, written in ancient Greek, Demotic and Hieroglyphs, that mentions King Ptolemy III Euergetes I along with the date 238 BC.
"The decree is significant because it specifically mentions a reform of the ancient Egyptian calendar which was not in fact actually implemented until some 250 years later under Julius Caesar," Tietze said.
The inscription consists of 67 lines of Greek text and 24 lines of Demotic along with traces of Hieroglyphs outlining the calendar reform and praising Ptolemy.
The king is lauded for importing grain from Syria, Phoenicia and Cyprus to alleviate famine in ancient Egypt, among other deeds.
"It documents the might and beneficence of Ptolemy III," Tietze said."
A Calendric Reform Inscribed but only Implemented 250 Years Later?
One must truly wonder why the mainstream archaeologists claim that this inscribed slab documents an Egyptian calendar reform which was then only implemented 250 years later by Julius Caesar. Why would anyone inscribe a calendric reform which was also not executed at that time?
Importance of the Stele to Ancient World Chronology
In fact - so our view - the "inscribed slab" just found CLEARLY documents a calendar reform actually made - IN EGYPT - at the time of the writing of the inscriptions, as one would expect.
See my chronology of the world page where I write: "236 BC Restoration of the Etruscan 'Secular (calendric) Games' in Rome".
The 1440-year Calendric Period (4 x 360 years viz. 3 x 480 years)
What calendric reform is being made?
The calendric reform is the "great leap year" adjustment for the passage of 1440 years (4 x 360 viz. 3 x 480 years).
The calendar of Pharaonic Egypt (as also that of the Maya, of China, and the Hindu), as I have discovered and always alleged, began in 3117 BC, when a solar eclipse occurred at sunrise at the Winter Solstice in the the solar boat (solar bark) of Capricorn at the stars Al Giedi (Algiedi) and Nashira, accompanied by the planet Jupiter (hence, Winkin', Blinkin' and Nod in their silvery shoe). This rare and awesome event was used to start humanity's first worldwide calendar at year 0, 3117 BC, even though of course astronomical observation and calendric calculation of some kind will have preceded this event - which may account for the Hebrews calculating their calendar back to allegedly ca. September 1, 3761 BC, which in my opinion looks correctly more like September 25, 3760 BC when there was a close conjunction near the Autumn Equinox of the Sun, Moon, Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, Venus and Mercury, i.e. the heavenly orbs known to the ancients.
1440 years later was 1677 BC, which was the beginning of the Second Intermediate Period in Egypt.
Calendric Reform began with Khasekhemwy (Khasekhemwi, Chasechemui)
Another 1440 years later (4 x 360 viz. 3 x 480) gives us 237 BC, continuing a tradition established by Khasekhemwy in 2637 BC (2638 BC) of adjusting the calendar every 480 years, which I have long had posted at LexiLine.
The years in the chart below are all adjusted here to reflect the 480-year divisions exactly, whereas actual calendric reform will result in uneven yearly divisions due to overlapping of years, etc.
3117 BC start of the calendar (Egypt, Maya, Hindu - so our opinion)
2637 BC reform of the Calendar by Khasekhemwy for the tropical year
2157 BC First Intermediate Period
1677 BC Second Intermediate Period
1197 BC Rule of King David (Sethos) begins - whence Hall of Records
717 BC Start of the reign of Numa Pompilius, the 1st calendric king of Rome, begins
237 BC Restoration of the Etruscan "Secular (calendric) Games" in Rome - whence the building of Edfu
Ptolemy III Euergetes I and the Temple of Edfu
It was in fact at the time referred to in the newly found inscribed calendric slab that Ptolemy III Euergetes I began the building of the Horus Temple of Edfu (see Dieter Kurth, Edfu, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt, 1994 where he gives the date as 237 BC). [I have this book in my own library. One copy of this book was available today at Abe Books.]
In fact, as the mainstream Egyptologists have not recognized, but as we now clearly see, Edfu is a calendric temple marking this calendric reform and the celebration of the passage of 1440 years (4 x 360 years or 3 x 480 years). Note that Ed-fu = Latvian Dievu "belonging to God" which is the same meaning given to "Ed-fu" by the Egyptologists.
Traditionally, it has been thought that the Sothic period of 4 x 365 years - based on the star Sirius - was determinative for adjusting the solar to the tropical year, but as the German Egyptologist Eduard Meyer wrote correctly many years ago, no Egyptian source ties the Sothic Year to Sirius nor to the period of 1460 (or 1440) years. Rather, it is clear in our view that the Papyrus of Ebers adjusted the calendar for Sirius and only Manetho first apparently used the Sothic Period.
Based on the newly discovered stele, we now know that the Pharaonic Egyptian "great leap year" was tied to the Sun (RA) and extended over a period 1440 years.
Ryan's Lair, Sanskrit and Translation of Ancient Texts
Ryan's Lair, Sanskrit and Translation of Ancient Texts
Ryan Overbey at Ryan's Lair has some interesting postings about the translation of Sanskrit texts which show some of the methodological defects which I personally find rampant also in the transcription and transliteration of pictographic, hieroglyphic and cuneiform texts of the ancient world, and this includes those of Sumer, Akkad and Egypt.
Ryan, I see that your character setting is "charset=UTF-8" but the Sanskrit text is still not rendering correctly in Internet Explorer, although it is correctly displayed under Netscape. I have no explanation for this.
Ryan Overbey at Ryan's Lair has some interesting postings about the translation of Sanskrit texts which show some of the methodological defects which I personally find rampant also in the transcription and transliteration of pictographic, hieroglyphic and cuneiform texts of the ancient world, and this includes those of Sumer, Akkad and Egypt.
Ryan, I see that your character setting is "charset=UTF-8" but the Sanskrit text is still not rendering correctly in Internet Explorer, although it is correctly displayed under Netscape. I have no explanation for this.
Rogue Classicism and Explorator
Rogue Classicism and Explorator
Rogue Classicism
David Meadows has an excellent blog at rogueclassicism along with the following extra features in the link list in the right column:
Bulletin Board, Classics Jobs, Classical Events, Miscellaneous Announcements, Atrium Newsletters, Latest Explorator, Explorator Newsletter Archive (Yahoo), Atrium Links, Atrium Home, This Day in Ancient History (Archives), The Ancient World on Television (Weekly), Media Archive (under construction), Golden Threads (best of the lists), Bibliotheca, Latin in the Atrium, Sosii Books
Explorator Newsletter on the Ancient World
We ourselves subscribe to Meadows' Explorator which is:
"... a free weekly newsletter representing the fruits of the labours of 'media research division' of The Atrium. Various on-line news and magazine sources are scoured on a daily basis for news of the ancient world (broadly construed: practically anything relating to archaeology or history prior to about 1700 or so is fair game) and they are delivered to your mailbox free of charge every Sunday morning!"
David, please note that you have the typo "newletter" instead of "newsletter" in your above description.
Explorator, with over 3000 subscribing members, is definitely the best source of its kind out there and we highly recommend it as a weekly summary of news of the ancient world.
Who Makes News about the Ancient World?
What is news of the ancient world and who makes it? Is it only that which the mainstream finds and opines?
We would hope in the future that a small section be reserved in the news reports for some of the alternative ideas out there, such as, e.g. are presented in my book Stars Stones and Scholars: The Decipherment of the Megaliths as an Ancient Survey of the Earth by Astronomy.
Mainstream science presents the state of the art in academia as they see the ancient world currently. Alternative views are also important, however, as the history of science clearly shows. These often point to where mainstream science may be going in the future. The world of science has never consisted merely of "establishment" ideas alone. Rather, a "fair and balanced view" should include contrary ideas as well. Indeed, unresolved issues about the ancient world are the very cause of the presence of such alternative views.
We cite here to the following postings about the closed-mindedness of mainstream thinking:
The Enchanted Glass
Suppressed Science
On the other hand, with over 3000 members happy with the Explorator Newsletter as it is, I suppose you give the masses what they want - and this of course is mostly mainstream doctrine which accords with accepted dogmas, so that we understand the problems involved with giving "air time" to new and/or minority opinions.
Rogue Classicism
David Meadows has an excellent blog at rogueclassicism along with the following extra features in the link list in the right column:
Bulletin Board, Classics Jobs, Classical Events, Miscellaneous Announcements, Atrium Newsletters, Latest Explorator, Explorator Newsletter Archive (Yahoo), Atrium Links, Atrium Home, This Day in Ancient History (Archives), The Ancient World on Television (Weekly), Media Archive (under construction), Golden Threads (best of the lists), Bibliotheca, Latin in the Atrium, Sosii Books
Explorator Newsletter on the Ancient World
We ourselves subscribe to Meadows' Explorator which is:
"... a free weekly newsletter representing the fruits of the labours of 'media research division' of The Atrium. Various on-line news and magazine sources are scoured on a daily basis for news of the ancient world (broadly construed: practically anything relating to archaeology or history prior to about 1700 or so is fair game) and they are delivered to your mailbox free of charge every Sunday morning!"
David, please note that you have the typo "newletter" instead of "newsletter" in your above description.
Explorator, with over 3000 subscribing members, is definitely the best source of its kind out there and we highly recommend it as a weekly summary of news of the ancient world.
Who Makes News about the Ancient World?
What is news of the ancient world and who makes it? Is it only that which the mainstream finds and opines?
We would hope in the future that a small section be reserved in the news reports for some of the alternative ideas out there, such as, e.g. are presented in my book Stars Stones and Scholars: The Decipherment of the Megaliths as an Ancient Survey of the Earth by Astronomy.
Mainstream science presents the state of the art in academia as they see the ancient world currently. Alternative views are also important, however, as the history of science clearly shows. These often point to where mainstream science may be going in the future. The world of science has never consisted merely of "establishment" ideas alone. Rather, a "fair and balanced view" should include contrary ideas as well. Indeed, unresolved issues about the ancient world are the very cause of the presence of such alternative views.
We cite here to the following postings about the closed-mindedness of mainstream thinking:
The Enchanted Glass
Suppressed Science
On the other hand, with over 3000 members happy with the Explorator Newsletter as it is, I suppose you give the masses what they want - and this of course is mostly mainstream doctrine which accords with accepted dogmas, so that we understand the problems involved with giving "air time" to new and/or minority opinions.
Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative - Sumer and Babylon
Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative - Ancient Sumer (Iraq and Environs)
Via Zinken we are led to an Ascribe article at Boston.com entitled "Cuneiform Goes Digital" and referring to CDLI , the Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative, which is described there as follows:
The Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI) represents the efforts of an international group of Assyriologists, museum curators and historians of science to make available through the internet the form and content of cuneiform tablets dating from the beginning of writing, ca. 3200 B.C., until the end of the third millennium. Despite the 150 years since the decipherment of cuneiform, and the 100 years since Sumerian documents of the 3rd millennium B.C. from southern Babylonia were first published, such basic research tools as a reliable paleography charting the graphic development of cuneiform, and a lexical and grammatical glossary of the approximately 120,000 texts inscribed during this period of early state formation, remain unavailable even to specialists, not to mention scholars from other disciplines to whom these earliest sources on social development represent an extraordinary hidden treasure. The CDLI, directed by Robert. K. Englund of the University of California at Los Angeles and Peter Damerow of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin, is pursuing the systematic digital documentation and electronic publication of these 3rd millennium sources. Cooperative partners include leading experts from the field of Assyriology, curators of European and American museums, and computer specialists in text markup. The CDLI data set will consist of text and image, combining document transliterations, text glossaries and digitized originals and photo archives of early cuneiform.
This is one of the few times in recent memory where we can stand up, smile and applaud the ancient world community wholeheartedly.
One of the great failings of mainstream ancient world science in past years has been to place excessive emphasis on academic authoritarian - and often faulty - "interpretation" of ancient sources rather than "production of the primary evidence" which either serves to confirm or to reject the interpretations made. As is our guiding motto, produce the ORIGINAL sources for public inspection first, and then we will see what they actually mean.
Well done Mr. Englund and Herr Damerow!
Via Zinken we are led to an Ascribe article at Boston.com entitled "Cuneiform Goes Digital" and referring to CDLI , the Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative, which is described there as follows:
The Cuneiform Digital Library Initiative (CDLI) represents the efforts of an international group of Assyriologists, museum curators and historians of science to make available through the internet the form and content of cuneiform tablets dating from the beginning of writing, ca. 3200 B.C., until the end of the third millennium. Despite the 150 years since the decipherment of cuneiform, and the 100 years since Sumerian documents of the 3rd millennium B.C. from southern Babylonia were first published, such basic research tools as a reliable paleography charting the graphic development of cuneiform, and a lexical and grammatical glossary of the approximately 120,000 texts inscribed during this period of early state formation, remain unavailable even to specialists, not to mention scholars from other disciplines to whom these earliest sources on social development represent an extraordinary hidden treasure. The CDLI, directed by Robert. K. Englund of the University of California at Los Angeles and Peter Damerow of the Max Planck Institute for the History of Science, Berlin, is pursuing the systematic digital documentation and electronic publication of these 3rd millennium sources. Cooperative partners include leading experts from the field of Assyriology, curators of European and American museums, and computer specialists in text markup. The CDLI data set will consist of text and image, combining document transliterations, text glossaries and digitized originals and photo archives of early cuneiform.
This is one of the few times in recent memory where we can stand up, smile and applaud the ancient world community wholeheartedly.
One of the great failings of mainstream ancient world science in past years has been to place excessive emphasis on academic authoritarian - and often faulty - "interpretation" of ancient sources rather than "production of the primary evidence" which either serves to confirm or to reject the interpretations made. As is our guiding motto, produce the ORIGINAL sources for public inspection first, and then we will see what they actually mean.
Well done Mr. Englund and Herr Damerow!
The Dismal State of Ancient World Studies Exemplified
The Dismal State of Ancient World Studies Exemplified
How many people does it take to create a ridiculous story which is featured by the BBC as science?
The answer is: at least three people are necessary, judging by this BBC article of 10 May, 2004 entitled "Boomerangs a 'British invention'".
First, you need a fantasy-experienced "children's author" who claims that a rock drawing represents a boomerang, which it clearly does not.
Second, you need an uninformed commenting mainstream archaeologist who claims on the contrary that the rock drawing is a swastika, which it clearly is not.
Third, you need a journalist who has not done his research homework and who as BBC News Online science editor selects this kind of absolute nonsense to be featured on the BBC science page and decides to quote such vacuous statements as "It is very difficult to date rock carvings ... after all, they are just damage to the surface of a rock."
Damage?? Is that the prevailing view on rock art by mainstream science? No wonder they get nowhere in this field of study.
LOOK at the ENTIRE Rock Drawing
What is really remarkable is that the rock drawing resembles neither a boomerang nor a swastika. It has a "fifth" leg - which rock drawing interpreters and reporters conveniently ignore. LOOK at the photo at BBC News.
Rock Drawings Represent Stars for Ancient Geodetic Survey by Astronomy
In fact, as I show in my book, Stars Stones and Scholars, the Ilkley Moor rock drawing in question is part of a larger system of cupmarked rock drawings found in Rombalds Moor, Yorkshire, but of course also elsewhere throughout Ancient Britain and the rest of the world. The cupmarked rock drawing in question - in my interpretation - actually marks the stars of Pavo the peacock in the ancient geodetic survey(s) of the British Isles by astronomy. One star of today's Tucana is also represented on that rock drawing and a neighboring rock shows the major stars of Octans.
Even if one does not accept MY explanation for this rock drawing, it is absolutely inexcusable intellectually and as a matter of simple scientific observation for authors, archaeologists or science editors at BBC to call this rock drawing a swastika or a boomerang. It shows the dismal state of ancient world studies in our world today, where superstition and sensationalism prevail, and where serious, sober, long-term research (I have been working on these matters for 30 years) is ignored. Shame on you all.
How many people does it take to create a ridiculous story which is featured by the BBC as science?
The answer is: at least three people are necessary, judging by this BBC article of 10 May, 2004 entitled "Boomerangs a 'British invention'".
First, you need a fantasy-experienced "children's author" who claims that a rock drawing represents a boomerang, which it clearly does not.
Second, you need an uninformed commenting mainstream archaeologist who claims on the contrary that the rock drawing is a swastika, which it clearly is not.
Third, you need a journalist who has not done his research homework and who as BBC News Online science editor selects this kind of absolute nonsense to be featured on the BBC science page and decides to quote such vacuous statements as "It is very difficult to date rock carvings ... after all, they are just damage to the surface of a rock."
Damage?? Is that the prevailing view on rock art by mainstream science? No wonder they get nowhere in this field of study.
LOOK at the ENTIRE Rock Drawing
What is really remarkable is that the rock drawing resembles neither a boomerang nor a swastika. It has a "fifth" leg - which rock drawing interpreters and reporters conveniently ignore. LOOK at the photo at BBC News.
Rock Drawings Represent Stars for Ancient Geodetic Survey by Astronomy
In fact, as I show in my book, Stars Stones and Scholars, the Ilkley Moor rock drawing in question is part of a larger system of cupmarked rock drawings found in Rombalds Moor, Yorkshire, but of course also elsewhere throughout Ancient Britain and the rest of the world. The cupmarked rock drawing in question - in my interpretation - actually marks the stars of Pavo the peacock in the ancient geodetic survey(s) of the British Isles by astronomy. One star of today's Tucana is also represented on that rock drawing and a neighboring rock shows the major stars of Octans.
Even if one does not accept MY explanation for this rock drawing, it is absolutely inexcusable intellectually and as a matter of simple scientific observation for authors, archaeologists or science editors at BBC to call this rock drawing a swastika or a boomerang. It shows the dismal state of ancient world studies in our world today, where superstition and sensationalism prevail, and where serious, sober, long-term research (I have been working on these matters for 30 years) is ignored. Shame on you all.
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