CAPTAIN COOK’S SECRET SEARCH FOR THE SOUTHERN CONTINENT: 1768–1771

The routes of Captain James Cook's voyages. The first voyage is shown in red, second voyage in green, and third voyage in blue. The route of Cook's crew following his death is shown as a dashed blue line.

On 26 August 1768, James Cook (then only a lieutenant) set sail from Plymouth in the bark Endeavour on a mission that today is often compared to a voyage to outer space. Together with a small team of scientists and a crew of less than a hundred men, Cook would sail to the far side of the world and into the midst of a vast ocean of unknown limits and uncertain geography. Ostensibly his mission was to visit Tahiti where his passengers would undertake astronomical observations of the transit of Venus across the sun. But Cook had also been issued secret instructions by his masters at the Admiralty – instructions for a covert mission that would change the shape of the world and determine the course of history in the Pacific.

By the mid 18th century a number of European explorers had visited the Pacific and the seas of the Southern Ocean with one object uppermost in their minds. Learned opinion agreed that there must exist to the south a great landmass, a huge continent that would counterbalance the northern continents. It was assumed that this Terra Australis Incognito, or ‘Unknown Southern Land’, must be as rich in potential for exploitation and colonisation as the Americas had proved to be. Furthermore, it might be uninhabited, or inhabited only by the sorts of natives who had been so easily brushed aside in the New World. Whichever (necessarily European) nation could claim this territory first could reap great benefits and steal a march on its rivals. There would be untold advantages for science, mineral and agricultural wealth and trade.

Thus when a chance arose to dispatch a mission to discover, chart, explore and, if possible, claim this mystery land, the British Admiralty seized upon it. That chance was offered by a scientific expedition planned by the Royal Society. Earlier in the 18th century the astronomer Edmond Halley had predicted that Venus would transit across the face of the sun in 1761 and then again in 1769. Observing and measuring the transit from two widely spaced points on the earth’s surface would allow astronomers to calculate the distance from the earth to the sun, gaining one of the first elements of empirical evidence as to the size of the universe. An expedition to observe the transit from St Helena in 1761 had failed when low cloud obscured the sun. Now the Royal Society planned another, bolder expedition to the far side of the world. Observations garnered there could be compared to measurements taken at Greenwich, and used to calculate the earth–sun distance.

Previous such expeditions under the control of scientists had not gone well – one led by Halley himself decades earlier had nearly ended in mutiny. The admiralty insisted that this time the expedition be led by a navy man. Cook, having proved his credentials in surveys of North America’s eastern seaboard, was selected. The Royal Society put about news of the voyage, which was to be bankrolled by the king, a keen astronomer. The cover story was in place, its credibility boosted by its veracity.

On 30 July, Cook was given his commission and issued with orders to go to Tahiti.Within the orders was a sealed packet of Secret Instructions. These made very clear the nature of his true mission:

Whereas there is reason to imagine that a Continent or Land of great extent, may be found to the South … You are to proceed to the southward in order to make discovery of the Continent above-mentioned … You are to employ yourself diligently in exploring as great an Extent of the Coast as you can … to observe the Nature of the Soil, and the Products thereof; the Beasts and Fowls that inhabit or frequent it, the fishes that are to be found in the Rivers or upon the Coast and in what Plenty; and in case you find any Mines, Minerals or valuable stones you are to bring home Specimens of each, as also such Specimens of the Seeds of the Trees, Fruits and Grains as you may be able to collect … You are likewise to observe the Genius, Temper, Disposition and Number of the Natives … You are also with the Consent of the Natives to take possession of Convenient Situations in the Country in the name of the King of Great Britain; or, if you find the Country uninhabited take Possession for his Majesty by setting up Proper Marks and inscriptions, as first discoverers and possessors.

If he could not find the fabled Terra Australis, Cook was to explore instead lands already ‘discovered’ by Europeans, such as New Zealand and New Holland (as what little of Australia had then been sighted was known).

The voyage of the Endeavour fulfilled most of its instigators’ dreams, except of course the discovery of the Great Southern Continent. Cook came within a few hundred miles of discovering Antarctica, but the Counterweight Continent as envisaged by Europeans did not exist. Instead the doughty navigator charted the coastlines of New Zealand and eastern Australia, claiming the latter for crown and country (despite the obvious signs of habitation). The Endeavour also visited and charted numerous Pacific islands and gathered a huge wealth of biological and geological specimens and data, not to mention successfully observing the transit.

The longer-term consequences of Cook’s secret mission were profound. Australia and New Zealand became British colonies and were extensively settled by Europeans to the detriment of their indigenous inhabitants. Today they are successful, prosperous democracies. The other lands touched by Cook were also altered for better and worse, ending their isolation and incorporating them into the wider world. Disease, war, trade and colonisation killed many natives and transformed their cultures and societies. Bernard Smith, professor of History at Melbourne University, describes Cook as ‘unquestionably one of the great formative agents in the creation of the modern world. His ships, you might say, began the process of making the world a global village.’ His was a secret mission that genuinely changed the world.

KING JOHN’S JEWELS

John, King of England from 1199–1216, is remembered today for many reasons, most of them unfavourable. To children he is best known as the arch-villain in the Robin Hood story, and in history he is remembered as ‘bad king John’, who lost most of the overseas possessions of the Angevin empire, irritated the barons so much that he was forced to sign the Magna Carta, and lost his Crown Jewels in the Wash.

The royal progress

The basic story, as related by historians from the 13th century onwards, is that King John was travelling in the East of England in late 1216. On 9 October he had journeyed from Lincolnshire to Bishop’s Lynn (now King’s Lynn) in Norfolk, but when he arrived he began to feel ill. It was decided that he would return back towards Lincolnshire, which was probably thought to be safer at this time, as the French king, Louis, had recently invaded the country to the south.

Calamity in the Wash

On 12 October, John attempted to cross the Wash, the large bay that separates East Anglia from Lincolnshire. At this time it extended much further inland than it does today, and would have been a region of mudflats and marshes, traversable at low tide but dangerous to the unwary, riddled with quicksand and deeper channels and vulnerable to rapid movements of water with the tide. The king is said to have crossed over at Wisbech, where it was possible to ford the Wellstream, one of the rivers running into the Wash. Meanwhile the king’s baggage train, which supposedly included all of the royal treasures including the Crown Jewels (the regalia the monarch bore during the coronation), was also trying to cross the Wash, but was surprised by the tide and got lost amidst the rising waters and quicksand. The traditional account of this disaster is well represented by this passage from Charles Dickens’ A Child’s History of England:

looking back from the shore when he was safe, he [the king] saw the roaring water sweep down in a torrent, overturn the wagons, horses, and men, that carried his treasure, and engulf them in a raging whirlpool from which nothing could be delivered.

Undone by this tremendous stroke of ill fortune, John was taken to the monastery at Swineshead Abbey in Lincolnshire where he was greeted with ‘quantities of pears, and peaches, and new cider’. He was taken ill again, with dysentery, and moved a few more times, eventually dying on the 18 October at Newark.

HAROUN AL-RASHID

While hidden powers sometimes rule in secret, acknowledged rulers sometimes choose to hide their power and go undercover. Known instances of this are rare, but there are two from widely different cultures that stand out. Haroun al-Rashid (c763–809 CE) was the greatest of the Abbasid caliphs. He ruled an Islamic empire that stretched from Persia to Egypt and from Yemen to the Black Sea, and the fabulous splendour of his court and of his capital, Baghdad, is immortalised in The Book of the Thousand and One Nights, in which he features frequently. Haroun, whose title translates into the rather less romantic sounding ‘Aaron the Upright’, became caliph at the young age of 21 but was shrewd enough to appoint good ministers. One of the most notable features of his enlightened reign was the effort he made to improve the quality of life in Baghdad. Numerous hospitals, amounting to a sort of medieval health system, were set up, as were temples, schools and a postal system. Security was improved with a kind of municipal police force. Legal reforms were instituted to ensure just treatment for all citizens (although slavery was also a major feature of life).

Nevertheless, Haroun’s life of luxury and splendour in his fabulous palace was still very far removed from the difficult daily lot of his subjects. Perhaps he realised this, because his concern for their welfare drove him to take the unusual step of going among them. At night he would disguise himself, slip out of the palace and wander the streets and bazaars, listening to conversations and talking to ordinary people. In this way he could discover grievances, find out what was unpopular and learn whether his administration was dealing justly with the common people.

How much impact Haroun’s incognito adventures had is impossible to say, but he was a very successful ruler. In international terms his influence was felt from China to Europe, where he made alliance with Charlemagne against their common foe, the Byzantines. More relevantly, in domestic terms Haroun’s rule encouraged a secure and tolerant culture in which arts, learning, science and the trade and industry that made Baghdad and his court so fabulously wealthy could flourish.

SMALL WOODEN COLUMNS (THEBES-18TH & 20TH DYNASTY)

The 18th Dynasty tomb of Nebamun, redecorated and used by Imiseba during the reign of Ramesses IX, constituted a rich source for Prisse. The coloring of the column center was added by the tomb's second owner. The column right is a painting from the tomb of Haremhab, scribe of the recruits from Tuthmosis III to Amenophis III.

ANCIENT DALMATIA

Abraham Ortelius, in Parergon, Antwerp, 1595
Osher Collection, University of Southern Maine
Shown here are the Roman provinces of Pannonia and Illyria (Illyris), occupying the east coast of the Adriatic Sea and the adjacent Balkan regions. Several Roman emperors, for example Diocletian, were natives of Illyria. The text panel at the lower left lists ancient tribes and places whose locations were unknown.

CASTLES OF GLASS

For years archaeologists try to explain the mystery of vitrified fortresses, without convincing results so far.

Many stones are sintered, but how that happened remains a mystery. The high temperature which is needed for sintering can only be achieved by means of a special oven, not in open air.

Evidence of the very real possibility of such events in our distant past can be seen in the existence of a large number of enigmatic, highly vitrified ruins that can be found in many parts of the world. The scattered nature of these ruins, including areas of Scotland, France, Turkey and the Middle East and the vitrified stones they contain is something that just cannot be easily explained. According to author David Hatcher-Childress, there are at least 60 such vitrified forts that exist just throughout Scotland alone! Among the most well-known of these Scottish ruins are Tap o'Noth, Dunnideer, Craig Phadraig (near Inverness), Abernathy (near Perth), Dun Lagaidh (in Ross), Cromarty, Arka-Unskel, Eilean na Goar, Bute-Dunagoil on the Sound of Bute off Arran Island and the Cauadale hill-fort in Argyll, West Scotland.

Perhaps the best example of them is said to be Tap o'Noth, which is near the village of Rhynie in North-eastern Scotland. The ruins are of a massive fort was built high on the summit of the Tap o'Noth mountain at a height of 1,859 feet. At first glance it appears that the walls of the fortress are made of a blackened, cindery rubble, but on a closer examination becomes strikingly evident that they are actually made of melted and fused together rocks!

What were once individual stone blocks within the walls are now black, and glassy masses that have been fused together by a heat that was in places, so intense that the remains of actual molten rivulets of rock that once ran down the walls like melting wax can still be seen quite clearly.

One early theory proposed was that the forts are located on the remains of ancient volcanoes and that the people used molten stone being ejected from the eruptions to build their settlements. I’m not sure whose brainwave the idea actually was, but it seems somewhat fanciful at best.

That theory however, was soon replaced with the notion that the vitrification was in fact, done on purpose, in order to strengthen the walls. This theory purported that the builders had perhaps designed the forts in that fashion, surmising that fires had been lit so as to temper the stone in order to produce walls strong enough to resist both the invading armies and possibly the dampness of the local climate. It’s an interesting theory to say the least, but one that has a number of serious problems. Firstly, there is no indication that such vitrification does actually strengthen the walls in any way at all and secondly, there is every indication that the fire in fact weakens them substantially. In many cases, the walls of the fortresses seem to have almost totally collapsed because of the fires. Also, since the walls of many Scottish forts are only partially vitrified, it does not seem to have been done purposely as walls that have only been partially completed would hardly have been considered to have been an effective fortification.

It must be appreciated that some of these ruins are massive too, indicating that they were once occupied by extremely large forces. In one section of the book ‘Mysterious Britain’ the authors Janet and Collin Bord discuss the vastness of the ruins of ‘Maiden Castle’ in Scotland which gives a good indication of the enormous size of some of these ancient fortresses:

“It covers an area of 120 acres, with an average width of 1,500 feet and length of 3,000 feet. The inner circumference is about 11.2 miles round, and it has been estimated...that it would require 250,000 men to defend it! It is hard, therefore, to believe that this construction was intended to be a defensive position.” Numerous vitrified remains can also be found in the western United States. One such site was discovered in Death Valley by the American explorer Captain Ives William Walker in 1850. Walker apparently discovered a city about a mile long with the lines of the streets and the positions of the buildings still visible. At the centre of the site was a huge rock, between 20 to 30 feet high, with the remains of an enormous structure atop it. The southern side of both the rock and the building was melted and vitrified. Walker assumed that a volcano had been responsible for this phenomenon, but there is no volcano in the area. In addition, tectonic heat could not possibly have caused such visible liquification on the surface of the rock.

More vitrified ruins can also be found in France, Turkey, India and some areas of the Middle East. Some of the ancient ziggurats of Iran and Iraq also contain vitrified material. Some of the vitrification on these ruins is thought by some archaeologists to have been caused by the very ancient and very mysterious Greek fire.

The vitrified remains of the ziggurat at Birs Nimrod (Borsippa), south of Hillah that were once thought to be the Tower of Babel, are also crowned by a large mass of vitrified stone brickwork and actual baked clay bricks that have all been fused together by some type of truly intense heat.

ANCIENT CRETE, CORSICA AND SARDINIA

Abraham Ortelius, in Perergon, Antwerp, 1595
Osher Collection, University of Southern Maine
Three of the larger Mediterranean islands are depicted here, along with the smaller islands of the Ionian Sea, as they were known in ancient times. While many topographical features and settlements are delineated, gaps in historical and geographic knowledge are noted in the panels at the bottom, which list places and cities whose locations were uncertain or unknown.

HATHOR COLUMNS (18TH DYNASTY) [SIC]

In temples and chapels dedicated to Hathor, columns were often crowned with a likeness of the goddess. The columns, used from the New Kingdom to the Roman period, evolved in style during the centuries. Left, the column bears the names of Amenophis III and Hathor, and possibly originates from the same chapel as the lost column in from Karnak. The crack in the stone indicates that it was found broken in two. The column center is from a painting in a Theban tomb, and the Hathor column right is from the Ptolemaic temple of Deir el-Medina

PETER I UNDERCOVER

Peter I (1672–1725), was the tsar who made Russia a Great Power and a military force to be reckoned with, starting the long, painful process of westernising and modernising the country. He was successful enough to be called ‘the Great’. One of the key episodes of his reign was the Grand Embassy of 1697–1698, during which the Tsar travelled incognito.

As a youth growing up in Russia, Peter had spent much time in and around the enclave where the European traders and workers were based. Here he had learnt much about the ‘advanced’ science and technology of the West, especially his favourite topic shipbuilding, and had grown accustomed to the informality of life among the Europeans. This was in stark contrast to the regimented life he was expected to lead as tsar.

In 1694 Peter attained full control of the country and immediately started a limited programme of shipbuilding. He also launched campaigns against the Ottoman Turks to the south, in an attempt to secure access to the sea for his then landlocked country. After early reverses, Peter’s drive and ingenuity won through, but the Russian military was weak and old-fashioned and eventually these gains had to be surrendered. His experiences against the Turks probably helped to convince Peter that Russia desperately needed Western technology, innovation and support if she was to become a significant power.

In 1697 Peter organised a delegation of 250 Russian officials and some of their European advisors to tour a number of European countries. It was to be known as the Grand Embassy. Led by one of Peter’s best friends, Admiral Francois Lefort, a Swiss, the group would travel to the West to try and win support for a Grand Alliance against the Turks and also to see for themselves, first-hand, some of the latest European science, technologies and industry. Such a delegation was not unheard of, but unusually Peter decided to join the Embassy himself. Even more unusually, he would travel incognito, under the name Sergeant Peter Michailov. To address him by his true name or title was punishable by death.

In practice it was hard for Peter to travel incognito, partly because he was six feet seven inches tall. Probably everyone in the Embassy knew who he was and he often attracted large crowds as he and his companions travelled. Undaunted, Peter arranged for members of the delegation, including himself, to get work at some of the shipwrights’ yards they visited. Peter worked for four months as a ship’s carpenter at the Dutch East India Company’s yard in Saardam, in the Netherlands, and later at the Royal Navy dockyard in Deptford when the Embassy visited England. He and other delegates visited factories and observatories, the Royal Mint and the Royal Society. Peter inspected ships and troops, visited Parliament and met with Quakers for informal religious discussions.

It was this informality that marked his visit, and helped him to engage with people from a variety of backgrounds. Although in political terms the Embassy was a failure (European countries were more concerned with matters closer to home and had no interest in an alliance against the Turks), Peter’s skill at learning from his surroundings meant that it was a cultural, technical and economic success. Many Europeans were engaged to come back to Russia, to work and to train other Russians. Their impact helped Peter modernise Russia’s outdated military institutions, create a formidable navy from scratch and bring Russia onto the world stage for the first time. He may have failed in his bid to remain incognito, but his ‘undercover’ policy helped begin the transformation of Russia.

CARDINAL RICHELIEU: 1585–1642

The name of Cardinal Richelieu, prime minister of France under Louis XIII, has become synonymous with the figure, ‘the power behind the throne’. Thanks mainly to Alexandre Dumas’ The Three Musketeers, and its subsequent film adaptations, the image of Cardinal Richelieu held by most people today is of a cynical, corrupt old man, hungry for power for its own sake. Perhaps his most famous quote is: ‘If you give me six lines written by the most honest man, I will find something in them to hang him.’ But what is the truth about this enigmatic figure?

He was born Armand-Jean du Plessis, the third son of the lord of Richelieu, the ancestral estate. Originally he intended to pursue a career in the military, but when his older brother resigned the family bishopric of Luçon, Armand changed his professional direction. He studied theology and was made bishop at just 21. Here his career should have stopped. The Richelieux were a minor noble family, and Luçon a minor provincial diocese. Yet he rose to become the effective ruler of France and one of the most important statesmen in French history.

Richelieu was both ambitious and talented. He worked hard to make a success of the Luçon diocese and spoke well in the states-general, the French equivalent of Parliament. To his growing reputation as a capable administrator he allied political savvy, becoming known as a dévot, a staunch Catholic with pro-Spanish views. Handily this was also the faction of the French regent Marie de Medici, who ruled France in the minority of her son, Louis XIII.

Richelieu came to court in 1615 and soon caught the eye of Marie’s favourite, Concini, who recognised his talents and had him appointed secretary of state for war and foreign affairs. His star was rising, but in 1617 it seemed likely to be extinguished. Concini was assassinated by rivals jealous of his power and that of the regency, and Richelieu was forced to follow Marie into exile in the country. For years he languished in the political wilderness, but after Marie’s escape from her imprisonment he was instrumental in negotiating a reconciliation between Louis and his mother, and in 1622 was rewarded by being made a cardinal. At this time Louis was seeking a new chief minister, and with Marie’s recommendation he chose Richelieu, making him prime minister in August 1624.

Once in a position of power, Richelieu spent the rest of his career relentlessly pursuing his philosophy of proper governance. The power of the king, who embodied France, was all-important, and all other considerations were secondary to the welfare of the state. Richelieu was a firm believer that the end justified the means; he insisted that ‘harshness towards individuals who flout the laws and commands of the state is for the public good; no greater crime against the public interest is possible than to show leniency to those who violate it’. This philosophy essentially made him a nationalist, since he vigorously opposed anything that detracted from the interests of France and the crown. It also made him numerous enemies at every level, from the aristocrats to the peasantry.

To enforce this ruthless pragmatism Richelieu used means fair and foul. He defeated the strong French Protestant faction, the Huguenots, and reduced their stronghold at La Rochelle. He tore down the castles and fortresses of regional princes and nobles to weaken their ability to oppose the crown. He changed his foreign policy to the opposite of his previous dévot stance, making alliances with Protestant nations against Catholic Spain and Austria. For this he earned the enmity of the queen mother. Domestically he replaced the corrupt system of government administration with intendants – agents of the crown. He also instituted an extensive network of spies and informers.

Thanks to these spies he was able to defeat the constant stream of conspiracies aimed at him by disgruntled aristocrats, including Marie de Medici. He had several rivals executed. In general, the king was happy to let Richelieu rule the country in his stead, but in later life the cardinal grew worried that he might lose influence and attempted to bolster his position by introducing an attractive young man to the court. As Richelieu hoped, Henri Coiffier de Ruzé, marquis de Cinq-Mars, became Louis’ lover and favourite. Expecting to be able to control Cinq-Mars as his puppet, Richelieu was dismayed to find that the marquis was actually trying to turn Louis against him, urging the king to have him executed. Richelieu was not to be beaten at his own game, however, and it was Cinq-Mars who lost his head.

Richelieu’s influence on the king held up from beyond the grave. As he felt the icy hand of death approaching, he picked Cardinal Mazarin as his successor and Louis acquiesced. When Louis died in ...., just six months after Richelieu had passed away, his will stipulated that the regents who watched over his infant son must follow Richelieu’s disposition for the governance of France, and Mazarin governed as prime minister for many years, continuing his predecessor’s policies.

Richelieu had ruled France from behind the throne for 18 years, and as he neared death was able to write to his king: ‘I have the consolation of leaving your kingdom in the highest degree of glory and of reputation.’ Although he was a schemer and a plotter, he was not motivated by the pursuit of power for its own sake, only for the sake of France: ‘I have never had any [enemies], other than those of the state.’

TOMBS OF THE NECROPOLIS OF MEMPHIS (SAQQARA CEMETERY-5TH DYNASTY) [SIC]

Architectural reconstructions of offering chapels from three tombs in Saqqara are presented here; the extensive wall decorations have been left out. From left the first and third are Old Kingdom chapels, and are, respectively, the chapel of Sabu and the large chapel of Ra'shepses, chief justice and vizier during the reign of Isesi. Both monuments are located just north of the Step Pyramid at Saqqara. The second probably represents a chapel from the Middle Kingdom, one which lies next to the pyramid of King Teti. It belonged to Ihy, overseer of the royal stalls, who lived around 1900 B.C. The reconstructions are based on the work of Lepsius.

THE GREAT FLOOD - SONS OF NOAH

Maker unknown; from a Dutch Bible [seventeenth century]
Smith Collection, University of Southern Maine
This Bible map encompasses a large region of the Near East, from Cilicia and Egypt in the east to Assyria and Nod in the West. It is designed to illustrate the account of the Great Flood in the third chapter of Genesis and the subsequent repopulation of the world by the three sons of Noah. The anti-Papal iconography at the top marks this as being from a Protestant Bible.

The Crystal Skulls

Mitchell-Hedges Skull

British Crystal Skull

Paris Crystal Skull

Amethyst Skull

Rose Quartz Crystal Skull

Aztec Skull

Perhaps it’s because they are fashioned in the shape of human skulls or maybe it’s due to the hint of some dark and mysterious curse, whatever the reason may be; there are few artifacts that have generated more interest than the crystal skulls.

There have actually been several crystal skulls of quite incredible workmanship found in various places around the world though perhaps the most widely celebrated and also the most mysterious of these is the Mitchell-Hedges Skull which has also been known as ‘the skull of doom’. There are at least three very good reasons for this. Firstly, the skull is very similar in form and size to an actual human skull, even featuring a fitted and removable jawbone while most other known crystal skulls are of a more stylized or avant-garde appearance, quite often with unrealistic features and teeth that are simply etched onto the surface of the crystal. Secondly, it is as yet, unknown how the Mitchell-Hedges skull was constructed. From a scientific and technical perspective, it appears to be an utterly impossible object that has been made to a ridiculous degree of perfection by an unknown technique, which today's most talented sculptors and engineers are still unable to duplicate, even by modern methods and quite simply should not exist. Thirdly: It is a complete mystery as to where the skull actually comes from.

The discovery of the skull is still a controversial matter and one that has been brought into question many times. The story goes like this: A British explorer by the name of F. A. Michael Mitchell-Hedges, embarked on several expeditions with the aim of searching for evidence of the lost civilization of Atlantis. He claims that his step-daughter Anna unearthed the skull in 1927 during such an expedition that he had led into the ancient Mayan ruins of Lubaantun, in Belize (then called British Honduras). According to Mitchell-Hedges, Anna (then 17 years old) was searching inside a structure that was believed to have once been a temple, when she found the cranium of the crystal skull inside. At the time of the discovery, the skull was lacking its jawbone which was itself found three months later, about 25 feet away from where the cranium had been found. Mitchell-Hedges says that he felt the object held some special significance and claims that he didn’t want to take the skull away from the site where it had been found and had offered it to the local priests but that the Mayans had then given the skull back to him as a gift upon his departure - a dubious tale at best.

Michael Mitchell-Hedges was born in 1882 and died in 1959. He was known by his friends as a “charming rogue.” At one stage of his career he was even know as “the British Baron Von Munchausen.” He was an explorer, an author, a gambler and a soldier with Pancho Villa during the Mexican Revolution. He was undoubtedly a very colorful and quite ‘roguish’ character, the rather impressive initials that he had next to his name actually resulted from him having joined the London Zoological Society and enabled him to enter the zoo on Sundays. Although I think that he make have actually founded the society to begin with.

Many people found Mitchell-Hedges story to be ‘questionable’ at the time and evidence now shows that his tale of the skull's discovery was probably entirely fabricated. There are no known photographs of the skull among those that were taken during any of his Lubaatun expeditions, and there is no record of Mitchell-Hedges ever displaying or even acknowledging any existence of the skull any time prior to 1943. It is also interesting that when he took the skull on a trip to South Africa in 1947, Mitchell-Hedges himself made this cryptic remark about the skull: “We took with us the sinister Skull of Doom of which much has been written. How it came into my possession I have reason for not revealing.” Yet the story he had always maintained was that it was found by his step-daughter, so why would he have reason for not revealing how he came by the object?

Many believe that the skull was placed there for the young girl to find but if Mitchell-Hedges did indeed put the skull in the temple for Anna to find in 1927 and just never let on about until 1943, then where did he actually get it from prior to 1927?

There are several other theories on how Mitchell-Hedges came to be in possession of the skull and a number of books have been written on the subject. One theory suggests that the skull is actually a 12,000 year old artifact that has been handed down from an Ancient civilization through the Knights Templar and eventually coming into the custodianship of the Inner Circle of the Masons Lodge. Mitchell-Hedges was, in fact, an Inner Circle Mason and may have “acquired” it through the lodge or possibly from a Lodge gambling debt. Another theory is that it may have been looted from a pyramid on one of his Mexican expeditions, which is why he may not have wanted to reveal how he came by it. Another more fascinating theory holds that the Knights Templar had been in possession of it for centuries but had previously moved the skull to Lubaatun many years before to prevent it from falling into the hands of the Vatican and that Mitchell-Hedges had been purposely sent to the site by the Freemasons to retrieve the artifact.

In a somewhat less romantic series of events however, it is believed that in reality Mitchell- Hedges purchased the skull in 1943 at an auction at Sotheby’s Auction House in London. This has now been reasonably verified by documents found at the British Museum which had in fact bid against Mitchell-Hedges for the crystal artifact at the same sale. The Sotheby’s records show that the artifact was actually purchased by Mitchell-Hedges from one Sidney Burney but the Museum could only go as high as 340 pounds. Burney then sold the skull to Mitchell-Hedges for 400 British pounds. So now the question now becomes: Who was Sidney Burney and how on earth did the skull come to be in his possession?

Unfortunately no other records remain of anyone called Sidney Burney. The enigmatic skull remains in the possession of Anna Mitchell-Hedges who, even after all these years, continues to maintain that she discovered the skull, even though the Sotheby’s auction has been verified and there is considerable reason to question that she was ever present at the Lubaatun expedition at all. If there is any truth in the tale at all and she was present on the expedition, then there is little doubt that Mitchell –Hedges actually placed the skull in the temple for her to find. Anna still often displays the skull on frequent ‘final’ tours and she now lives in Canada.

The Mitchell-Hedges skull is made of clear quartz crystal. Both cranium and mandible are perfectly proportioned and are believed to have been fashioned from the same solid piece of crystal. It weighs 11.7 pounds and is about five inches high, five inches wide, and seven inches long. Except for some very slight anomalies in the temples and cheekbones, it is an anatomically perfect replica of a human skull. Because of its small size and other characteristics, it is thought to bear a closer resemblance to a female skull than a males’, which has led many to refer to the Mitchell-Hedges skull as a "she."

In 1970, the Mitchell-Hedges family loaned the skull to the Hewlett-Packard Laboratories in Santa Clara, California for extensive study. HP is a computer equipment manufacturer and a leading facility for crystal research. The studies were conducted by an Art restorer named Frank Dorland who oversaw the testing procedures and the HP examinations yielded some quite remarkable results. Researchers discovered that the skull had actually been cleverly carved against the natural axis of the crystal. To explain: The axis or orientation of a crystal's molecular symmetry is an important aspect of crystal cutting and is something that is always taken into account by modern crystal sculptors, because if they carve against the natural axis the piece will usually shatter. This is true even when using lasers and other high-tech cutting methods and yet this skull is cut against the natural axis. Then, to exacerbate the issue of the object even further, the HP tests could find no trace of microscopic scratches on the surface of the crystal either. Such microscopic signs would be a welcome indication that it had been carved with metal instruments or other tools.

Finally, after a series of exhaustive tests and microscopic examinations, Dorland's best possible hypothesis for the skull's construction was that it had been roughly hewn out using something like diamonds and then the detail and clean up work would have been very meticulously done using a gentle solution of silicon sand and water. But assuming that it could really have been done that way at all, which is the only possible way that anyone can think of, the entire somewhat exhausting job would have then required the combined and devoted services of an extremely gifted group of sculptures, working in shifts and required a labor of continuous man-hours totaling about 300 years to complete. Under these circumstances, experts believe that successfully crafting a shape as complex as the Mitchell-Hedges skull by hand is quite frankly, impossible; as one HP researcher is said to have remarked, "The damned thing just simply shouldn't exist!"

The mysteries of the skull, however, do not end there. The skull has been fashioned in such a way that the zeugmatic arches (the bone arches that extend along the sides and front of the cranium) are accurately separated from the skull piece, and act as light pipes, using the principles of optics, to channel light from the base of the skull to the eye sockets, the eye sockets are miniature concave lenses that transfer light either from the ‘bone arches’ or from a source below into the upper cranium. While in the interior of the skull is a ribbon prism and small light tunnels which greatly magnifies and brightens objects that are held beneath the skull.

Strange powers and manifestations have also been attributed to the Mitchell-Hedges skull. During his years of testing the skull at Hewlett-Packard, Frank Dorland says it sometimes displayed strange characteristics. Dorland says that often the eyes would flicker as though alive and still other observers have reported strange odors and sounds emanating from the object. It has been known to give off sensations of heat and cold to those who touch it, even though the actual crystal has always remained at a constant physical temperature of 70 degrees F under all conditions, and has also produced sensations of thirst and sometimes of taste in some instances. Dorland and other also took strange photographs of the skull in which object could be seen within it such as strange flying discs and mountain temples. The skull has also many times been reported to emanate a glowing aura. Other observers have reported that occasionally the skull will change color. Sometimes the frontal cranium may become cloudy up while at other times it remains perfectly clear, sometimes it will start off cloudy and then clear right up as if the space within the skull had ‘disappeared into an empty void.’ Over a period of 5 to 6 minutes, a dark spot often begins forming on the right side and slowly spreads until it has blackened the entire skull, then recedes and disappears as mysteriously as it came.

Still others, including Mitchell-Hedges himself have said the skull holds a curse and for this reason it is also sometimes known as the “Skull of Doom.” Mitchell-Hedges is known to have referred to the skull as “the embodiment of evil” and said that “some people who have laughed cynically at the skull have died while others have become stricken and seriously ill.” It is doubtful any such curse actually exists, at least not one that will kill as is believed to be the case with the infamous “Hope Diamond”, in fact, it maybe quite the opposite. Mitchell-Hedges was in possession of the skull for over 30 years with no harmful effects and during that time he actually survived eight bullet wounds and three knife attacks before dying at the age of 77 in June 1959. One other interesting theory about the skull was put forth by Nick Nocerino in the book ‘Mystery of the Crystal Skulls Revealed’ holds that the crystal skulls “record vibrations in the form of images of events that have occurred around them. In this way they seem to work as video cameras of sorts, recording holographic scenes.” The authors believe the Mitchell-Hedges skull is part of a set and that there are actually 13 such skulls that exist and the rest are still kept in a chamber beneath Potala Palace in Tibet. The general opinion of the book is that the skulls are actually of extra terrestrial origin.

Unfortunately, none of this brings us any closer to solving the mystery of the mysterious object for the questions still remain: Where did it originally come from? And, Who made it? The Mitchell-Hedges skull is not the only crystal skull to have been found. There two other skulls quite similar to it though not nearly as remarkable. These are known as the British Crystal Skull and the Paris Crystal Skull. Both artifacts are said to have been bought by mercenaries in Mexico in the 1890s, possibly even as part of the same purchase. The British and Paris skulls are extremely similar in size and shape, in fact so much so, that some have speculated that one skull was used as a model to produce the other. Both skulls are made of clear but cloudy crystal and are not nearly as finely sculpted as the Mitchell-Hedges skull; The features are only superficially etched into the surface and appear somewhat incomplete. The British Crystal Skull is on display at London's Museum of Mankind while the Paris Crystal Skull is kept at the Trocadero Museum in Paris.

Further examples of primitively sculpted skulls are a couple called the Mayan Crystal Skull and the Amethyst Skull. They were discovered in the early 1900s in Guatemala and Mexico, respectively, and were brought to the U.S. by a Mayan priest. The Amethyst Skull is made of purple quartz and the Mayan skull is clear, but the two are otherwise very alike. Like the Mitchell-Hedges skull, both of them were studied at Hewlett-Packard, and they too were found to be inexplicably cut against the axis of the crystal.

However, the only other known crystal skull that comes close to resembling the Mitchell- Hedges skull is one called the Rose Quartz Crystal Skull, which was reported as being found near the border of Honduras and Guatemala. It is not clear in color and is slightly larger than the Mitchell-Hedges, but boasts a comparable level of craftsmanship, including a removable lower jaw. And as is also the case with the Mitchell-Hedges Skull, many have attributed strange and psychic properties to the Rose Quartz Skull.

The history of the Amethyst skull is unclear; it was reportedly part of a collection of crystal skulls that were in the possession of the Mexican President Diaz from 1876-1910, but there are also reports that the skull was discovered in the Oaxaca area (Mexico) and was handed down from generation to generation through an order of Mayan Priests. It now believed to reside in San Jose, California with a group of businessmen who have apparently offered it for sale.

Regardless of any earthly or unearthly properties the crystal skulls may or may not possess, the question still remains: where did they come from? There are countless theories on the subject some suggest that they are the creation of some higher intelligence. Others believe they were created by extraterrestrials or a legacy left behind from beings that lived in Atlantis or Lemuria. Where ever they come from and whatever their purpose, there can be no doubt that in the intriguing realm of ancient artifacts, there are few antiquities that are as thought provoking or have brought more controversy and debate as these carved crystal skulls.

The Museum of Man, in London also contains a crystal skull of indeterminate origin that was purchased by them at the turn of the last century from an antiquity dealer in New York. The Man Museum skull is called the Aztec Skull. It is interesting to note that the museum no longer keeps it on display, though it can be viewed by request. This is because several museum personnel as well as many visitors have claimed that the skull moves on its own within the glass case in which it is enclosed.

DROMOS OE THE GREAT TEMPLE AT KARNAK

The western approach to the Great Temple of Amun in Thebes is lined with ram-sphinxes. This reconstruction is a view from the entrance of the temple looking west toward a platform, where the god appeared to the people during processions. In the distance are the Nile and the desert beyond.