Reconstructions of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World

Reconstructions Of The Seven Wonders Of The Ancient World

From the historical perspective, the list of Seven Wonders of the Ancient World comes to us from an incomplete manuscript known as the Seven Sights of the World (which incidentally only listed six monuments), possibly authored by Philo of Byzantium in circa 225 BC.

Egypt: Source of the first secret society?

Naming the first secret society that's similar to those in the current era is a difficult task. The Egyptians had innumerable secret fraternities - most having to do with their complex and ritual-drenched religion. But one secret society wasn't quite as much a priesthood as the others. The society grew up out of one of the first figures in history who wasn't a pharaoh or a king. His name was Imhotep, and he was the chancellor, or grand vizier, for the pharaoh Zoser (also spelled "Djoser") in the Third Dynasty of the Old Kingdom.

Apart from being a master builder of the first recognizable Egyptian pyramid, Imhotep was also a physician, the father of Egyptian medicine. And as if these laurels weren't enough, he was an astronomer, a sculptor, a poet, and a philosopher whose sayings were cherished 20 centuries after his death. Later, Imhotep was made a god, with a highly imaginative lineage from a mating between a mortal woman and the god Ptah. But for the men of the cult of Imhotep that developed in the city of Memphis, he wasn't a god but a man, and was revered as such.

This cult had an inner secret society, a Brotherhood of Imhotep, that worshipped his ability as a builder and that created a metaphor for god as an architect, making for a striking similarity with the Freemasons who don't come along for at least another 4,000 years.

Town of the Royal Tomb Builders

Reconstruction of the workers’ walled town of Deir el-Medina. Tombs of the wealthier artisans can be seen rising up the hillside on the right, many of them topped by small pyramids. Artifacts buried with the workers and the many wall paintings are the best source of knowledge about the lives of ordinary Egyptians who worked on the royal tombs in the Valley of the Kings.

For several hundred years the kings of Thebes have built their tombs by cutting them deep into the cliff faces of the valleys high above the mortuary town of West Thebes. A permanent settlement has grown up there to house the craftsmen.

The tombs in the Valleys of the Kings, Queens, and Nobles are a massive undertaking. Just below the entrances to the royal valleys, a community of craftsmen has grown up. The men and their families live in the town of Deir el- Medina, which was built specially to house the tomb-builders. The workers call the place Pa-demi, which simply means “the town.” 

A place of comfort

Deir el-Medina is unique in as much as its foundations and many of its walls are built of stone and not mud bricks. Where it is situated—far from the river—stone is plentiful and river mud is not. However, bricks brought up to the slope are used internally, for steps, raised beds, and temporary structures.

The town has its own temple and priests, vizier’s court, doctor, scorpion charmer, and a wall around it to keep out desert raiders. There are some 70 homes inside the wall and another 40 to 50 outside. A main street runs from north to south through the middle, with a few side alleys leading off it. The community well—filled by watercarriers from the nearest canal off the Nile, about half a mile away—is situated outside the only gate, at the town’s north end.

The houses are lined up along either side of the main street, and each opens directly on to it. The average house has four rooms, although some have as many as seven.

The workers

The workmen are divided into two iswt, or gangs, known as the Left and Right side gangs, a reference to a boat’s crew and reflecting on which side of a tomb they work. An iswt is a military-style unit working under a foreman who oversees the workmen’s activities. Each gang consists of stonemasons, carpenters, sculptors, and draftsmen/painters.

The Egyptian week is ten days long— eight days of work and two rest days. On working days, the men of Deir el-Medina live in a camp closer to their work up in the royal valleys. Scribes are in attendance to log the workmen’s tools in and out from a central store, and record the work done, workers’ absences, payments, and supplies. They also write letters for the townspeople and send reports on progress to the vizier.

Prehistoric Antiquity Pyramids

The great pyramid of the Atlanteans.

The age when the pyramids were built had its origins deep in prehistoric antiquity. We need therefore to return to the past as far as our imagination and minds armed with the study of history will permit us. If we set ourselves the goal of discovering the causes of the pyramid phenomenon, our only chance of success lies in the possibility of seeing it all with our own eyes.

Key signposts on our journey will definitely be the ancient works of architecture and writing that will help us get closer to our goal without losing our orientation in time and space. The difference between what is known and what you will find out will come to you as an insight, as the result of your own researches. There is but one truth, we just need to see its course with our own eyes. Be prepared – sometimes you will have to make jumps in space and time to compare what you have seen in the past with what is known according to modern science. This will help you to better grasp the symbolism and ideas of the ancients.

Now, mentally viewing our beautiful blue planet from space, let us draw closer and turn our mind’s eye to Egypt. This is a natural choice as more monuments preserving traces of ancient knowledge have survived there relatively intact than anywhere else. The forms and language in which the Ancient Egyptian texts are expressed allow us to see things that can barely be made out in the writings of other peoples. Such an advantage is important when considering fundamental ideological doctrines that determined not only the imagery of presentation, but also the fate of this or that civilization. We lose nothing in giving preference to Egypt, as the “Source” of knowledge for the Egyptian, Sumerian and Mayan civilizations was one and the same. We too shall touch upon that “Source”. The texts of ancient civilizations lead us almost unerringly to it.

At the base of the entire Ancient Egyptian state and religious system lay ideas and knowledge obtained from some even more ancient, highly developed civilization. Tracks leading back to it run through all stages of Ancient Egyptian history to the place where we find the first historical mention of a pyramid – to the times of the legendary Atlantis that was later swallowed by a terrible flood. Before that, however, Atlantis was an archipelago of islands located 600 kilometers west of the Strait of Gibraltar, as well as a number of islands and part of the coast of the Mediterranean, which the Atlanteans called “The Internal Lake”.

The coastline of the islands, seas and oceans of that period differed from what we see today.

Let us go back 15,000 years, to the historical period that the Ancient Egyptian texts call “the First Time” (Zep Tepi) or the era of the Neferu, “when the Neferu lived on the Earth and talked with people”. The word Neferu (Netheru), translated as “gods”, has a complex internal structure2. The descriptions of the Neferu in the texts indicate that they were human beings with god-like abilities. It was these beings who gave people knowledge of mathematics, architecture, astronomy and medicine, of the structure of the Solar System, of cyclical processes and the principles lying at the foundation of the universe. All that made Egypt great was received in its time from the Neferu. The significance of the knowledge, affecting all spheres of life, which had been received from the Neferu was so great that all subsequent civilizations and generations acknowledged the continuity of power and the legitimate existence of something only if it was justified or explained by or connected with the “First Time” – the era of the Neferu.

On one of the southern islands of Atlantis stood a gigantic pyramid topped by a quartz pyramidion. From it straight canals radiated out in different directions, joining into a single system other canals that encircled the pyramid in a series of rings. All this complex irrigation system flowed directly into the waters of the ocean.

Before we start to examine the purpose of the pyramid, let us move across to the Mesopotamian region, to the land of the Sumerians (the territory of present-day Iraq and Syria). This is not a random move – there too people built pyramidal edifices: the stepped ziggurats. The surviving written texts and legends of the ancient Sumerians also contain many mentions of some highly developed civilization that “descended to Earth from the heavens” and collaborated closely with the elite of Sumer. The interaction between “gods” and humans became so close that a number of ancient texts speak openly of the “gods” having sexual relations with “earthly maidens”. The result was the birth of children with unusual genetic abilities described in legends as “half-gods” that went on to become rulers of the land of Sumer.

There is no counting the scientific achievements and technical innovations of the Sumerians who devoted particular attention to the study of the sky and heavenly bodies – and of the Nephilim – the gods that “descended to Earth from the heavens”. Zecharia Sitchin, a leading specialist in the translation of the Sumerian language, pointing out inexactitudes in the rendering of ancient texts, wrote:
“We shall immediately state that neither the Akkadians nor the Sumerians called these beings from the sky ‘god’. Only much later, in the era of paganism, did the concept of divine beings or gods penetrate into the thinking, and also into the language of the ancient peoples.
“The Akkadians called those from the sky ‘Ilu’ – ‘the High Ones’. The Canaanites and Phoenicians called them ‘Baal’ – ‘Lords’ or ‘Wanderers beyond the Clouds’.”
You probably have a strange feeling – this conjecture does not accord with common sense. If that is what is worrying you, you are on the brink of an important revelation. It would seem that the Neferu of the Ancient Egyptians and the Nephilim of the Sumerians are travelers from another planet…

Is such a thing possible? It’s hard to believe; harder still to draw the logical consequences. After all, in school and in higher education our teachers gave and are still giving a completely different version of history. But if it is so, where exactly did these Neferu or Baal come from? Do the Egyptian writings contain at least some mention, some hint that would throw light on this? – Yes, there is something!

In the heyday of Atlantis and later when the Atlanteans who survived the catastrophe arrived in northern Africa, the pyramids were used as a means of communication and a tool for gaining understanding. With the aid of the pyramids it became possible to do more than just improve the energy, and consequently psychic, capacities of the human being. The pyramids provided a unique opportunity to make “contact” with energy-based forms of life and to interact with representatives of extra-terrestrial civilizations. The knowledge obtained in this way raised the capabilities of the Atlanteans who, in the eyes of the primitive peoples around them were like gods.

In the process of degradation evoked by the breach of fundamental moral and ethical standards, partially preserved teachings passed down a somewhat distorted picture of how the ancient gods had lived and what they did.

THE PYRAMID OF MOUNT TAYGETUS

Mt.Taygetos is the highest peak in southern Greece with 2.407m. Old legend tell that it was the 1st pyramid ever built on earth. There is a big question mark over whether this rock structure is manmade or a natural occurrence. Visitors have described how the texture of the rock surface suddenly becomes smooth, relative to that below, where the pyramid shape begins.

The highest peak of the mountain has the shape of a pyramid. Some researchers are convinced that this structure, found on one of the peaks of mount Taygetus, was carved by the hand of man, in remote antiquity, to form this pyramid shape. Others, however, believe that this is nothing but a natural rock formation. No erosion mechanism has been suggested (to date) which could create this shape naturally. Particularly curious are the strange shadows cast at dawn and sunset. It is said that in ancient years, Spartans built a temple of Apollo at the peak. A church of the prophet Elias can be found at the same place.

The Maya I

The Maya were master pyramid builders, but their magnificent cities were buried by the jungle until the late 1800s and early 1900s. This is a pyramid in Chichén Itzá, a great Maya city of the Postclassic Era.

Palenque was one of the great cities of the Classic Era. These ruins were once the temple complex.

Volcano peaks pierce the blanket of cool mist that hangs above the forest canopy. Ghostly howler monkeys scream, unseen, as if the ruined temples were part of a scene in an unearthly horror movie. For some, the sounds create the illusion that the lost city of Copán is haunted by tortured souls wailing deep within the stone pyramids. Only the occasional rustle of a tree branch reveals that the monkeys are the true source of the screams. They scramble across a platform where priests once addressed thousands of people. The platform is now buried in vines, and moss, and jungle growth. The remains of Copán, one of the richest centers of Maya civilization, lie deep in the tropical forest of modern Honduras. Copán became wealthy because of its rich soil and the Copán River’s annual flood. Each year, the river overflowed and the water left behind a new layer of rich, fertile soil. The huge quantity of precious jade found in the tombs of Copán’s kings is evidence of how wealthy they were.

Classifying Maya history

Archaeologists divide pre-Columbian (the time before Columbus arrived in the Americas in 1492 c.e. Maya history into three major time periods: Preclassic, Classic, and Postclassic. During the Preclassic Era, from about 1200 b.c.e. to 250 c.e., settled farming communities grew into complex societies. Many Maya kingdoms experienced rapid growth in this era. They built monumental structures, established long-distance trade routes, and developed governing systems. In the later part of the Preclassic Era, some kingdoms were enjoying their peak while others had already faded away.

The Classic Era was between about 250 and 900. From southeastern Mexico to upper Central America, this varied landscape supported millions of people in Classic times. During the height of Maya civilization in the eighth century, as many as 60 independent kingdoms dotted the Maya area, as well as hundreds of smaller towns and villages.

Unlike the Aztec people, their neighbors to the north, the Maya never unified into a single empire. Instead, they built commerce centers that grew into city-states (cities that function as separate kingdoms or nations) ruled by kings. These kingdoms formed alliances with one another one day, only to turn into sworn enemies the next.

Robert J. Sharer wrote in The Ancient Maya that the capitals of independent kingdoms were “interconnected by commerce, alliances, and rivalries that often led to war.” By the end of the Classic Era, the southern lowland capitals had collapsed, leaving modern scholars to wonder what catastrophe forced the Maya to abandon their cities.

The northern lowlands kingdoms rose and fell during the Postclassic Era, from 900 to 1524. Some kingdoms flowered dramatically, but probably did not reach the heights of the kingdoms from previous eras. It was in the Postclassic Era that kings lost their grip on centralized power and nobles greedily stepped in to break the kingdoms up into smaller pieces.

The Postclassic Era ended with the arrival of the Spaniards, who found that most Maya were living in medium-sized kingdoms and groups of allied cities throughout the Maya area.

HERNE THE HUNTER

British folkloric figure. In The Merry Wives of Windsor, Shakespeare speaks of Herne as a hunter who hanged himself from an oak tree and was thereafter forced to haunt the woods where he died. Herne the Hunter appears in various legends as a horned spirit, suggesting that he may have originated as a woodland deity like CERNUNNOS. One tale from Windsor Forest describes Herne in language typical of FAIRIES, for he was said to shoot his victims with invisible darts if they intruded upon magical places.

Gwynn ap Nudd

(Gwyn ap Nudd, Herne, Herne the Hunter, Gabriel) Welsh hero. The Welsh king of FAIRYLAND, “White One, son of the Dark,” was said to reside under GLASTONBURY TOR, the small pyramidal hill that is southwestern England’s most significant feature. Gwynn reigned over the folk called the TYLWYTH TEG, beautiful tiny people who wore blue and danced all night in the fashion of Irish FAIRIES. His special feast was spring’s beginning, BELTANE, when he led the WILD HUNT to raid the land of the living. His name means Gwynn, son of Nudd; his father was king of a Hades-like Otherworld called ANNWN. He could materialize at will, surrounded by his beautiful host playing FAIRY MUSIC. His queen was the daughter of LLUDD, CREIDDYLAD, on whom Shakespeare based the character of Cordelia in King Lear.

Alternative names used of Gwyn ap Nudd are Herne the Hunter, the frightening figure who skulks around Windsor Forest in England; and Gabriel, known best for his vicious fairy hounds.

Sources: Evans-Wentz, W. Y. The Fairy-Faith in Celtic Countries. Gerrards Cross: Colin Smythe Humanities Press, 1911, pp. 152 ff; Lonigan, Paul R. The Druids: Priests of the Ancient Celts. Contributions to the Study of Religion, No. 45. Westport, Conn.: Greenwood Press, 1996, p. 169; Spence, Lewis. The Minor Traditions of British Mythology. New York: Benjamin Blom, Inc., 1972, p. 109.

Earth Energy

Some people believe the earth has a natural source of energy that manifests itself as a magnetic field or electrical current. This unseen power is thought to have the ability to affect human bodily conditions and create biochemical reactions when people are near a prime spot of Earth Energy. Particularly potent areas are known as vortices, and many enthusiasts are of the opinion that these points help provide Man with rejuvenating or beneficial energy. As a sign of proof, they point to the idea that ancient races were more in tune with natural powers, and built important structures on sites emanating large amounts of energy. They claim Stonehenge, the Great Pyramid at Giza and Nazca are all points of strong natural forces.

As the idea of quantifiable, geophysical Earth power or natural energy has developed, the subject of ley-lines has very much caught the public’s imagination. Although leys have significance based on historical and archaeological fact, the theory of Earth Energy was popularised by New Age philosophies. Many enthusiasts have examined the subject with a scientific approach, despite it originating alongside many of the ‘hippy’ theories of the 1960s and 70s. Certainly, many people do connect Earth Energy with ley-lines and mystical qualities, but there is also some scientific substance to the idea.

Actual hard evidence is scarce, despite enthusiasts’ opinions. Dowsers suggest they can pick up strong sources of energy at many sacred sites, but that is a fact only as believable as dowsing itself. Earth Energy researchers often suggest that power centres are all areas heavily charged with negative ions, and there is an unusual state of electrical, magnetic or electromagnetic flux. They term the whole phenomenon ‘geophysical anomalies’, and whilst it seems superficially impressive, the technological community is less convinced. Although many scientists are happy to entertain the possibility of untapped natural energy sources, they do not agree that many of these qualities attributed to Earth Energy have yet been proven.

The ''Pyramid'' of Hellenikon

At the South-eastern edge of the plain of Argolid, near the springs of the Erasinos river (nowadays 'Kephalari') and on the main arterial road which in antiquity lead from Argos to Tegea and the rest of Arcadia and Kynouria, there is a small fort at present known as the 'pyramid' of Hellenikon. According to evidence from the excavations and the typical features of the structure which dates to the end of the 4th century B.C. and not to the prehistoric period, as some scientists have been recently willing to demonstrate. During the later years of Antiquity, the ''Pyramid'' was considered as a burial monument , a ''polyandreion'', while nowadays there is no doubt that it was a fort of the type of small strong-holds which controlled the arterial roads and which are known from other regions of the Argolid.

It has the shape of a tour with its external sides sloping and surrounding a rectangular building of total dimensions 7,03 by 9,07 m. These external walls, which rise with a gradient of 60o up to 3,50 m high become vertical to in order to support the floors of the building. The main entrance of the monument is situated at its eastern side, that is the side which is turned towards the bay of the Argolid. From inside this gate a narrow corridor which leads to a smaller entrance, opened on the southern wall of the main space, a square room with sides about 7 m long.

This impressive monument is built entirely from the gray limestone of the district with large blocks in a trapezoidal and partially polygonal system.

Excavations of the monument whose stone structure had remained stable for 2400 years, were undertaken by Th. Wiegand in 1901, but mostly by L.Lord in 1938. Both published the results of their excavations in specific monographies.

The Academy of Athens has published results of dating the Hellenikon pyramid( 9-2-1995). Dating measurements were performed by the Laboratory of Archaeometry at Dimokritos Resarch Institute in Athens and by the Nuclear Dating Laboratory of the department of Physics at the University of Edinbourgh in Scotland. The method of Optical Thermoluminescence was employed to date samples taken from the pyramid. It was determined that the pyramid was erected at about 2720 B.C. It must be noted that, according to these results, the Hellenikon pyramid predates, by at least 100 years, the oldest Egyptian pyramid (Djoser - 2620 B.C.) and by 170 years the Great Pyramid of Cheops (Khufu - 2550 B.C.) .

Although the pyramoid structures of Argolis are of great interest, writen references are rather scarce Pausanias (2nd century A.D.) regards the structure as a "polyandrium" i.e. a group burial monument for the citizens of Argos (Perieg. Korinthiaka: 2, 25, 7).

In particular, for the pyramid at Hellenikon writes: " ...walking on the road away from from Argos towards Epidaurus there is a pyramid structure on our right, it is adorned with shields in the Argolic style..." and he continues to say that the pyramid was erected after the fratricidal battle between the twin brothers, Proetus and Akrisius, during a war of succesion following the death of their father, king Avas of Argos. The battle ended in a deadlock and the pyramid was erected as a burial monument in honour of the fallen in this battle.

Pausanias also says that, in this battle, shields (aspides) were employed for the first time. This later remark by Pausanias is indicative of the great antiquity of the structure.