Before the Pyramids: Cracking Archaeology's Greatest Mystery (37 page)

In the case of the 18th century, the slightest inaccuracy in the calibration of telescopes used for the purpose could easily have led to a 300-m discrepancy in terms of the longitude of the White House. Assuming there was a mistake right at the start it is likely to have been made by Pierre-Charles L’Enfant, who produced the original plans upon which Washington DC was based.

The piece of land immediately to the south of the White House was left vacant and because it was surrounded by a white picket fence it became known as the ‘White Lot’. It seems likely to us that this piece of land was recognized (incorrectly as it turns out) as being the very centre of the District of Columbia. The Ellipse was not laid out until the 1870s and 1880s and the stone marking the Washington meridian was not placed at its centre until 1890. Part of the reason for the delay was clearly the American Civil War, during which time most manpower was mobilized and the land in question was given over to military use.

This then is our suggestion: The very spot where the Meridian Stone was placed in 1890 was originally considered to be the exact centre of the diamond that is the District of Columbia. Thomas Jefferson seems to have thought this was the case in terms of longitude, and the position of the stone is only about 100 m out in latitude. Thomas Jefferson was fooled because the White House had been built in slightly the wrong place.

Although not strictly correct, the position of the Meridian Stone in the centre of the Ellipse is also the centre of the District of Columbia to an accuracy of 99.85 per cent east–west and 99.5 per cent north–south.

It is also interesting to note that although the diamond that forms the boundaries of the original District of Columbia was surveyed and measured in miles, a line taken across the diamond between north and south, or east and west, has megalithic proportions, being equal to 75 × 366 MY in length.

•

In this book we have been critical of the way that archaeology is run. In an age of highly defined specialisms there is a widespread intolerance for ideas that originate outside of ‘official’ university-based frameworks. We found archaeology unwilling to evaluate the findings contained in this and our previous book
Civilization One
. Nevertheless we welcome criticism or debate.

Many academics are unaware that there are different sorts of thinking styles. They assume process-driven thinking is the only valid way to approach ideas. There is also a general assumption that if a new theory collides with a preferred paradigm it must be wrong. The way people think has been studied very closely in recent years. Awareness that there are different approaches to thinking and deduction can lead to better judgements.

Ned Herrmann was an internationally-recognized expert on creative thinking who developed a comprehensive four-part Whole Brain Model: this is now used by major corporations everywhere. It divides the brain into four quadrants. This produces a metaphor leading to a very insightful application in the Herrmann Brain Dominance Instrument (HBDI). The brain is divided left to right, with the structured thinking left-brained and free-flowing thinking right-brained. These produce quadrants that can be simplified as follows:

A Top left – Analytical, formula based, factual, focused, technical

B Bottom left – Procedural, practical, process, routine, conservative

C Bottom right – Feeling, people-centric, sensory, caring, spiritual

D Top right – Synthesiser, big picture, rule-breaking, innovative

This non-judgemental model shows preferred thinking styles in working environments proved across a million people. Most people have ability in all quadrants but retain a dominant sector. Individuals with a marked strength in any quadrant may doubt people in another – particularly opposite quadrants. It is also hardly surprising that some fields of activity attract individuals with the same working style. Accountants and academics are often strong in the A – top left category whilst entrepreneurs, explorers and artists are in the D – top right quadrant.

Our thinking styles predominate in the D category; synthesising the big-picture: lateral thinking is central to our work. We also score well in the A category because we have to verify and quantify ideas. Really good academics will also be strong in both areas but many have a very low tolerance for big-picture thinking. If archaeologists learned that evidence comes in different forms, they might perform better. The term ‘pseudoscience’ is used as a term of abuse by those wishing to protect preconceived ideas. Alexander Thom spent 50 years undertaking detailed examinations of Megalithic sites – only to be have some lightweights apply the ‘pseudoscience’ label to him.

If you are not toeing the conventional line you are a pseudoscientist. This is academic mudslinging that rejects those who hold a reasoned counter-view. We expect some people to label our evidence as pseudo-science – but it is not. We might be wrong on a number of points (time will tell) but there is nothing in this book that is not reasoned argument based on checkable facts.

Science is surely the best thing ever invented. It is a pity that so few people in academia actually use the real principles of science. Maybe guys, there is a better understanding of the past to be uncovered. But you will never know if you keep your eyes squeezed shut.

1
Seen in the northern hemisphere and because of the nature of the Earth’s orbit, there are a number of stars that do not rise in the east and set in the west as do most stars. Rather, they are always in view, though of course daylight blocks them out when the Sun is above the horizon.

2
Osiris was one of the most popular of Egyptian gods, and also one of the most loved and revered. His story is one of suffering and sacrifice but eventually of triumph. His worship spanned virtually the whole period of ancient Egyptian history.

3
The Pyramid Texts are a series of prayers and incantations carved into the interior passages of several early pyramids to be found at Saqqara Egypt.

4
‘The Origin of the Egyptian Calendar’: Neugebauer O,
Journal of Near Eastern Studies
, Vol. 1, 1942

5
‘Ancient Egyptian Astronomy’: Parker R A,
Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London
, 1974

6
The Hiram Key
: Knight C & Lomas R, Century, 1996

7
Myth and Symbol in Ancient Egypt
: Rundle Clark R T, Thames and Hudson, 1978

8
The Book of Hiram
: Knight C & Lomas R, Century, 2000

1
The Palaces of Crete
: Graham, J W, Princeton University Press, London, 1962

2
Civilization One
: Knight C & Butler A, Watkins, 2004

1
This method will not work for placing the middle star accurately as a henge on the ground because of the angle at which the stars rise above the bank top. Only the next method could offer an accurate position for the middle henge.

2
Stecchini Livio C:
www.metrum.org/measures/index.htm

3
The modern metre was originally intended to be based on a pendulum that beats at the rate of once per second.
See
Appendix 5 for a timeline of this unit’s development.

4
Civilization One
: Knight C & Butler A, Watkins, 2004

1
Astronomy in Prehistoric Britain and Ireland
: Ruggles C, Yale University Press, 1999

2
Henge Monuments of the British Isles
: Harding J, Tempus, 2003

3
‘Henges and Water – Towards an Elemental Understanding of Monumentality and Landscape in Late Neolithic Britain’: Richards C,
Journal of Material Culture
, Vol.1, No.3, 1996

4
Uriel’s Machine
: Knight C & Lomas R, Century, 1999

1
Jim Russell’s experiments and results can be viewed in Appendix 6 (page 230).

1
Archaeological Fantasies: How Pseudoarchaeology Misrepresents the Past and Misleads the Public
: Fagan G G, Routledge, 2006

1
Uriel’s Machine
: Knight C & Lomas R, Century, 1999

2
The Origin Map: Discovery of a Prehistoric, Megalithic, Astrophysical Map and Sculpture of the Universe
: Brophy T, Writers Press Club, 2002

3
Afterword
– The Origin Map
: West J A, The Writers Club, 2002

1
The Mummies of Urumchi
: Barber, E W, Macmillan,1999

2
Bath
: Newman P, Pevensey Press, Cambridge, 1986

3
The Hiram Key:
Knight C & Lomas R, Century, London, 1996

4
Rosslyn Revealed:
Butler A & Ritchie J, O Books, 2006

5
Solomon’s Power Brokers:
Knight C & Butler A, Watkins, 2007

6
The Book of Hiram:
Knight C & Lomas R, Century, 2003

7
The Book of Hiram:
Knight C & Lomas R, Century, 2003

1
http://www.whitehouse.gov/about/vp_residence/

2
A pentacle is a five-pointed star that was commonly used in Christianity in the medieval period, though these days it has attracted demonic or even satanic overtones – based on prejudice and a complete ignorance of symbology. The five-pointed star has long been used as a symbol for the planet Venus, as it represents the Venus cycle. It is a symbol of knowledge and light, connected to Lucifer (Venus as the morning star), the angel of light who has erroneously become associated with evil.

3
See Appendix 7 on megalithic geometry

4
6 × 366 Megalithic Yards is what we named a Megalithic minute of arc of the Earth’s polar circumference. We first suggested the existence of such a unit well over a decade ago based on a study of British and Minoan megalithic structures.

5
A line of longitude from which all other locations could be measured, east and west.

6
This measurement seems extremely likely, but since the original Meridian Stone in Meridian Park has been lost we cannot validate the accuracy of the true distance.

7
Which also has a megalithic relationship with the centre of the Ellipse.

1
Our brackets

2
Web page of the Grand Orient of France:
http://www.godf.org/foreign/uk/histoire_uk_02.html

3
Those who now shout loudest and negatively about Freemasonic influence in the foundation of the United States should perhaps be more circumspect because, had it not been for Freemasonry, it is doubtful that the American colonies would ever have broken away from British control.

4
Two of the chief protagonists were Joseph Warren and Paul Revere, both leading Freemasons.

5
The Virgin and the Pentacle:
Butler A, O Books, 2005

6
Solomon’s Power Brokers
: Knight C & Butler A, Watkins, 2007

7
Stellar Theology and Masonic Astronomy
: Brown R H, D Appleton and Co, New York, 1882 – now available in paperback from The Truth Seeker Co, 1997 isbn 58509-203-7.

8
In the Christian Church Easter, the time of the Crucifixion, occurs in the spring. In the Mystery religions autumn was the preferred time for the sacrifice of the god. At that time, spring represented new birth and so would have been more appropriate in some ways for Christmas. However, Christmas was already needed as the birth of the expected messiah was as the Shekinah returned – which all knew was at the winter solstice (25 December) in 7
BC
. The accelerated death and rebirth period of just three days was much more useful to the Romans, especially as they used some very fancy footwork to shift the blame for the messiah’s execution from their governor of Judea to Jesus’ own people.

9
The Gentleman’s Magazine
Volume 8, June 1738, p. 285

10
The Secret Zodiacs of Washington DC
: Ovason D, Century, 1999

11
There is a difference between astrological positions and astronomical ones. The zodiac signs in astrology are ‘fixed’ in time and are theoretical rather than actual. These days, for example, on 21 September the Sun is ‘actually’ much closer to the start of the constellation of Virgo than its end. This peculiarity arises because the study of astrology is very ancient and whilst stellar positions have moved on due to the precession of the equinoxes, astrology has not. In the 19th century, when the Washington Monument was completed, astronomers would have said that the autumn equinox took place at the very start of the constellation of Virgo.

12
Though of course the spring equinox is equally relevant in terms of naked-eye astronomy and Washington DC’s orientation.

13
The modern approach to civic architecture could be compared to the current fashion for scribbling tattoos across both male and female flesh, often as a crude and ignorant pastiche of supposed Celtic design. Arguably it is impressive imagery but it is devoid of any inner communicative value. Tattoos have been used to speak of a person’s social status and origin for more than 5,000 years, as indicated by Otzi, the Neolithic man whose well-preserved body was found in Alpine ice. Modern tattoos are by comparison no more than doodles.

1
The Pentagon – A History
: Vogel S, Random House, 2008

2
The Pentagon – A History
: Vogel S, Random House, 2008

3
The Pentagon – A History
: Vogel S, Random House, 2008

4
By a strange twist of fate this was exactly 60 years to the day before a hijacked passenger aircraft was flown into the western aspect of the building on 11 September 2001.