Aftershock Read online

  The author with the left Colossi

  The damage to the front of both colossi is extreme, and hardly likely to be the result of the elements or willful destruction. In 27 BC, a large earthquake reportedly shattered the northern colossus, collapsing it from the waist up and cracking the lower half. Following its rupture, the remaining lower half of this statue was then reputed to ‘sing’ on various occasions, always within an hour or two of sunrise, usually right at dawn. The

  Note the lesser damage to the side and almost none at the back

  sound was most often reported in February or March, but this is probably more a reflection of the tourist season rather than any actual pattern. (46) The problem with this theory is that most of the damage is on the front of both massive sculptures, with much less on the sides and virtually nothing on the back. If it was a plasma strike coming from the east, the frontal damage would have been the worst.

  Path of destruction

  As well, if we follow the possible course of the plasma blast towards the west and behind the Colossi, there are a series of heavily damaged sculptures, some having been recently excavated from underground and others still being searched for.

  When we travel farther west, we come to the Ramesseum, where more strange damage can be found. Jean-François Champollion, who visited the ruins of the site in 1829, and first identified the hieroglyphs making up Ramesses’s names and titles on the walls, coined the name, or at least its French form ‘Rhamesséion.’

  Possible scorching of a granite or syenite block

  It was originally called the House of Millions of Years of Usermaatra-setepenra that unites with Thebes-the-city in the Domain of Amon. Most of the Ramesseum was constructed of sandstone, but there are granite elements as well.

  The previous block is but one of many that show the same kind of scorching and in some cases crystal expansion that we viewed at Karnak. Our geologist Suzan Moore observed many of these stones with me, and thought that we could be witnessing the same phenomenon. She did warn that more investigation needed to be done, which is what will happen on our next trip with the Khemit School in March of 2017. The original constructions at the Ramesseum appear to be two black granite syenite gates on either side of the central sandstone complex, as well as a statue, perhaps the largest ever created. It is of granite. There are and were other granite sculptures as well, parts of which still remain, and the head and torso of one which is in the British Museum.

  All of these presumed original works showed signs of weathering far more extensive than one work expect for simply having been exposed to the sun, wind, and rain since dynastic times. All showed cracks and scorch marks, as if they had been struck by a sudden blast of heat.

  Badly disintegrated left gate that has been reconstructed

  Portion of the remains of the right gate with seeming internal crystal expansion

  Kurt posing to show a sense of scale of the torso and head of the huge sculpture

  As you can see, only fragments of the base and torso remain of the syenite statue of the enthroned pharaoh, 62 feet (19 meters) high and weighing more than 1000 tons. This was alleged to have been transported 170 miles over land, but how? There are other parts of the statue still on site, but no effort to reconstruct it has been made, and likely never will. The back side has the same scorching as seen on the gates and other stones suggesting, if it was struck by plasma and then broke into pieces, that it was originally facing west, into the area of the Valley of the Kings. It would appear that both the Valley of the Kings and Valley of the Queens, though used by the dynastic people for burial, were in existence long before them. The evidence that suggests this are the tunnel systems that pervade this area.

  View of the other side of the giant broken statue - notice scorching on the under side

  Alcove cut into the bedrock near the Valley of the Queens

  Descending into an underground tunnel system near the Valley of the Queens

  System of tunnels and chambers that could connect with the Valley of the Kings

  For our last explorations in Egypt, we go further south to Aswan, home to the famous granite quarry, and Elephantine Island.

  First of all, there is a site near Aswan called the Tombs of the Nobles. The city of Aswan during the ancient times was not the city we know of today, as ‎people at that period used to center around Elephantine Island, where the rulers ‎and kings of Nubia resided. ‎This was why the tombs of the kings and the royal family of Nubia were located near ‎the island of Elephantine in what is called today the Tombs of the Nobles of Aswan.‎

  View of the Tombs of the Nobles from Aswan

  What is remarkable about these ‘tombs’ is that they are also a series of tunnels and chambers in the bedrock, going in some cases for hundreds of feet. As the stone of the area is quartzite, they could not have been made by the dynastic Egyptians. During the possible plasma strikes that may have struck the area of Thebes and possibly here to, survivers of the plasma would have used them for shelter.

  Inside one of the limestone chambers

  Known to the Ancient Egyptians as Abu or Yebu, the island of Elephantine stood at the border between Egypt and Nubia. It was an excellent defensive site for a city, and its location made it a natural cargo transfer point for river trade. Elephantine was a fort that stood just before the first cataract of the Nile. During the Second Intermediate Period (1650 - 1550 BC), the fort marked the southern border of Egypt. Artifacts dating back to predynastic times have been found on Elephantine, such as the one in the photo below.

  A large granite stone object being pointed out by Yousef Awyan

  It is likely that this object was made here, as the island itself and surrounding area are solid granite, but what it’s function could have been is unknown. Of course, we presume that it is predynastic, as the precision shown in the surfaces could not have been done with bronze tools. Why it is lying on its side is also unkown. Was it dragged here to be broken up during dyastic times and recycled, or did some great force knock it over?

  The author and others inspecting this masterpiece

  View of the other side

  A similar object broken up for other uses

  Our final site in Egypt is the great quarry at Aswan. It covers an area of some 150 km2 on both banks of the Nile from the Old Aswan Dam in the south to Wadi Kubbaniya in the north. Within this region are the famous Aswan granite quarries, less well-known ornamental silicified sandstone quarries, recently discovered extensive grinding stone quarries, as well as building stone quarries in Nubian sandstone.

  The unfinished obelisk is the largest known ancient obelisk and is located in the northern region of the stone quarries. Egyptologists believe that it was ordered by Hatshepsut (1508 - 1458 BC), possibly to complement the Lateran Obelisk (which was originally at Karnak, and was later brought to the Lateran Palace in Rome). It is nearly one third larger than any ancient Egyptian obelisk ever erected.

  Dolerite stone balls believed to be the main tools

  If finished, it would have measured around 42 meters (approximately 137 feet) and would have weighed nearly 1,200 tons. Hatshepsut lived several hundred years before the presence of iron or steel in Egypt, and thus was not responsible for this work.

  Very deep test pit hole said to have been made by dolerite stone balls

  Supposedly several years ago Egyptologist Mark Lehner spent five hours in the Aswan quarry with a dolerite hammer stone pounding against the granite bedrock (copper is too soft to cut granite). He was trying to prove that the ancient tools could do the job. He managed to excavate a one-foot square hole one-inch deep for his efforts. And yet, the video that is played in a hall at the Aswan quarry site still portrays that the hewing of the stone for the unfinished and all other obelisks was done this way.

  As the previous photo shows, and the experiments of Dr. Lehner reveal, there is no way that simple stone pounders could possibly have been the main tool to quarry and shape the granite obelisks. The hole seen on the p
revious page is several feet deep, and there is no space for the worker to descend into the hole longer than his arm length. There are several of these ‘test pits’ that would appear to have been made to see how sound and consistent the rock was. Two distinct patterns appear in the quarry as evidence of ancient people working the stone.

  Dynastic Egyptian and later technique for splitting granite

  The above photo shows how granite was split in dynastic Egypt, as well as being the likely technique of later Greek and Roman people. The grooves were made possibly with very harndened bronze tools that had to be sharpened several times, and then wooden wedges were inserted. After achieving the tightest fit possible, water, likely hot, was poured on the wedges causing them to expand over time and hopefully causing the stone to split along the desired line.

  In contrast, the tool marks in the area of the giant unfinished obelisk as well as another smaller one are completely different.

  'Scoop marks' present on horizontal and vertical surfaces in the quarry

  There are thousands of marks in the surfaces of the quarry that are depressions of varying sizes and widths. Best desribed as scoop marks, they are on the horizontal and vertical surfaces, as well as undercuts at both of the unfinished obelisks. The idea that these were made by dolerite stone balls becomes laughable, especially when you see the depth of the great unfinished obelisk’s trenches, and the undercuts on the smaller obelisk.

  The sheer 1200 ton size of the great unfinished obelisk

  Master machinist Chris Dunn suggested that this was done by some kind of machine that he describes as a massive belt sander, attached to some kind of excavator. Another theory that the author supports is that the ancient builders had a device that emitted a vibrational wave tuned to disrupt either the quartz or feldspar in the stone, much like how an opera singer can shatter a crystal wine glass. Such a technology could literally turn hard stone into sand.

  The left channel of the great unfinished obelisk

  Why the two obelisks were never finished is unknown. It appears that the workers simply stopped and never came back. The same possibly was the case at the Serapeum at Saqqara, where most of the 100 ton boxes were never finished. If these are pre-dynastic works as expected, then the great cataclysm of 12,000 years ago could have been the culprit - massive earthquakes and possibly solar blasts devastating all life in these and other areas. There is a massive horizontal crack in the bottom of the right channel of the great obelisk that also may have been the reason.

  Crack in the bedrock in the right channel of the great obelisk

  If this and the other obelisks were originally used as resonance devices, then the encountering of such a crack above the intended final depth of the obelisk would render it useless as a vibratory instrument. A similar crack is found on the smaller obelisk that was never completed.

  Photo showing the narrowness of the smaller obelisk's channels

  On another note, the left and right channels of the great obelisk would have been too narrow for workers to be shaping them with dolerite stone pounders. A lot of force would be required to remove any material at all, and having a foot or two of clearance would result in very little if any stone removal.

  Engineer Tony inspecting a depression where a huge stone box may have been removed

  This quarry was not just for the making and planned removal of the two obelisks. In the above photo, mining engineer Tony from Australia found the depression above where perhaps a huge stone box had been extracted, as well as another from where a large statue had perhaps been successfully removed. Unfortunately, the remaining quarry area that can be explored has been reduced over the years by housing and commercial developments, which could be sitting right on top of a lot more ancient evidence.

  Shaped 'staircase' leading down to the smaller obelisk

  One must also take into account that the creation of the Aswan dams caused flooding of quite vast parts of the Aswan area. It could very well be that granitic stone of finer consistency, such as diorites, may have been harvested in pre-dynastic and even dynastic times in quarry areas that are now underwater. It is hoped that on further trips with the Khemit School Suzan Moore, and other geologists, may be able to find more evidence that we can use in future books, articles, and videos.

  Area where a massive obelisk may have been removed

  Deep and even scoop marks on the smaller obelisk

  Undercuts showing that the workers were close to releasing the smaller obelisk

  Members of the Khemit School trying to release the smaller obelisk to no avail

  4. Lebanon

  As regards Lebanon, we will focus on one site, that of Baalbek. Baalbek, properly Baʿalbek and also known as Balbec, Baalbec, or Baalbeck, is a town in the Anti-Lebanon foothills east of the Litani River in Lebanon's Beqaa Valley, about 85 kilometers (53 miles) northeast of Beirut and about 75 kilometers (47 miles) north of Damascus. It presently has a population of approximately 82,608, mostly Shia Muslims, followed by Sunni Muslims and a minority of Christians. In Greek and Roman antiquity, it was known as Heliopolis. It still possesses some of the best preserved Roman ruins in Lebanon, including one of the largest temples of the empire. The gods that were worshipped there (Jupiter, Venus, and Bacchus) were equivalents of the Canaanite deities Hadad, Atargatis, and another young male fertility god. Local influences are seen in the planning and layout of the temples, which vary from the classic Roman design.

  Roman-style Temple of Hercules at Baalbek

  The hilltop of Tell Baalbek, part of a valley to the east of the northern Beqaa Valley, shows signs of almost continual habitation over the last 8000 - 9000 years. It is well watered both from a stream running from the Rās-el-ʿAin spring SE of the citadel and, during the spring, from numerous rills formed by melt water from the Anti-Lebanons. Macrobius later credited the site's foundation to a colony of Egyptian or Assyrian priests. (47)

  The settlement's religious, commercial, and strategic importance was minor enough, however, that it was never mentioned in any known Assyrian or Egyptian record, unless under another name. Its enviable position in a fertile valley, major watershed, and proximity to the route from Tyre to Palmyra should have made it a wealthy and splendid site from an early age.

  During the Canaanite period, the local temples were largely devoted to the Heliopolitan Triad - the male God Baʿal, his consort Ashtart, and their son Adon. (48) Following Alexander the Great's conquest of Persia in the 330s BC, Baalbek (under its Hellenic name Heliopolis) formed part of the Diadochi kingdoms of Egypt and Syria, later annexed by the Romans during their eastern wars. The settlers of the Roman colony Colonia Julia Augusta Felix Heliopolitana may have arrived as early as the time of Caesar but were more probably the veterans of the 5th and 8th Legions under Augustus, during which time it hosted a Roman garrison. From 15 BC to 193 AD it formed part of the territory of Berytus, and it is believed that during this time most of the major construction was done. (49)

  The sheer size of some of the limestone foundation blocks are the largest ever quarried on the planet, conservatively estimated at 800 to 1200 tons, and the common belief that the Romans chose to do this work on such a massive scale to ‘impress the locals’ is absolutely ludicrous. Nowhere else in the Roman world is there any evidence of the quarrying of blocks of this size, so we can clearly presume that they were there when the Romans first appeared, and were used as foundational material.

  A group of three horizontally lying giant stones which form part of the podium of the Roman Jupiter Temple of Baalbek, Lebanon, go by the name ‘trilithon.’ Each one of these stones is 70 feet long, 14 feet high, 10 feet thick, and weighs around 800 tons. These three stone blocks are the largest building blocks ever used by any human beings anywhere in the world. (50) The supporting stone layer beneath features a number of stones that are still in the order of 350 tons and 35 feet wide.

  Some of the massive Baalbek blocks

  No one knows how these blocks were moved, cut, placed, and fit pe
rfectly together. Many like to say aliens were involved since they are so heavy, and seemingly impossible for ancient humans to move. But there is another theory developed by Jean-Pierre Adam in his article “A propos du trilithon de Baalbek. Le transport et la mise en oeuvre des megaliths” (About Trilithon Baalbek: Transmission and Implementation of Megaliths.) He came up with two basic yet complex tools or mechanisms to be able to transport the stones. The first, very simply put, consisted of a very wide metal wheel, surrounded by a wooden platform. The second method of transport also simply put involved two wooden wheels, 12 feet apart, with a large iron platform in between. Horses would have drawn both of these. He then went on to describe a large pulley system operated by many men, consisting of large wooden wheels, with poles attached, that the men would push. This force would turn the wheel, pulling the cable made of hemp, which in turn would move the large blocks of trilithon.

  Absolutely ridiculous.

  You can see from photos of the trilithon that they are far larger than required for foundation blocks, and in fact do not match the rest of the foundation.