noahsage

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References/Footnotes:

Hively, Ray, and Horn, Robert, Geometry and Astronomy in Prehistoric Ohio, “Journal for the History of Astronomy, Archaeoastronomy,” Supplement, Vol. 13, p.S1; also Science History Publications, 1982. See: http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu
Romain, William F., Ph.D., Newark Earthwork Cosmology: This Island Earth, “Hopewell Archeology: The Newsletter of Hopewell Archeology in the Ohio River Valley,” Vol.6 (2), March 2005. See: http://www.nps.gov/mwac/hopewell/v6n2/one.htm
Romain, William F., Ph.D., Design and Layout of the Newark Earthwork Complex, “Hopewell Archeology: The Newsletter of Hopewell Archeology in the Ohio River Valley,” Vol.6 (2), March 2005. See: http://www.nps.gov/mwac/hopewell/v6n2/two.htm

November 17, 2013 by Gilgemesh

Isosceles and Other Equals

Because the Great Circle and Octagon are equally placed from Geller Hill an isosceles triangle is formed. (See image from Geller Hill at bottom.) The angle between them is 50 degrees. The line bisecting it is on the azimuth of 52.2 and this is said to be the same azimuth as the line running through the octagon-circle centerline making them parallel.

Isosceles triangles formed at Newark, Ohio Earthworks. Positions as located by satellite image. Drawing by B.L. Freeborn, 2013.

The line from Geller Hill to the center of the Observatory Circle creates an angle of 56 degrees as shown in the image. The triangle formed from the intersection of these two triangles is another isosceles triangle of degrees 50 80 50. These three numbers remind us of the numbers that compose 58.5 or very nearly the 584 we saw in the East Fork Works. In the same manner the 50 65 65 triangle reminds us of 5.6565.

It can be determined that the azimuth angle from the center of the Great Circle through the center of Wright Square is 43 degrees. Recall that we had 86 on our number list and 2 x 43 equals 86. Using this angle and 1540 foot distance between the centers of the Octagon-Circle and Hively/Horn’s lengths for the translation of the figures across the plane, we can calculate the distance between the center of the Great Circle and Wright Square as 2920 feet. The image below was created by drawing over a satellite image using what appears to be correct centers and the Square’s position shown by Romain in his diagrams. This distance does not appear to be all that important but in fact 2 x 2920 = 5840. The angle that closes the polygon is 93 degrees or virtually the angle 92.8 at which Wright Square is set. The final angle, 79.5, repeats the idea of 79.2.

All of which confirms the numbers on our list. But there is another set of numbers we should see before we move on to looking at the Octagon and its development.

Hively and Horn base their report on the idea that these structures were built on complex ideas of archaeoastronomy which include rise and set points of the sun, moon and other celestial occurrences. But at certain times they are confused by obvious angles that do not meet with their expectations. The angle through the Wright Square at 92.8 degrees is one and the angle which passes through the center of the Great Circle and out through the center of its neck is another. One might say that if these structures were built to verifiable celestial alignments that this is one very important angle that is off. They calculate its measured azimuth at 66.6 an error of .9 degrees or nearly one full degree from what they expect to find. This does not sound like very much but this sort of error adds up quickly in layouts of this magnitude.

Calculated distance between Great Circle and Wright Square. By B.L. Freeborn 2013.

But we have seen this number, 66, before. We saw it at East Forks. It is repeated no less than eleven times there. It is in the length and width of the square corner of East Fork, the radius of the top circle and it is used 8 times to space the candles. But this is the only time we have seen 66 in this earthwork … or maybe not!

Note that 7 OCD = 7/5ths mile = 1.4 miles = 7392 feet which equals 66 x 56 x 2 feet. This gives us not only 66 but 56.

Additionally, the distance 6 OCD = 6/5ths mile = 1.2 miles = 6336 feet = 56 x 56.5 x 2 feet. This gives both forms of 56. All of which is remarkably equal once again. And if we were in the habit of writing fractions as 5 of 7 or 5 of 6, then 56 appears again. The 57 is another number of importance. It is seen in the conversion from degrees to radians. There are 57.29 degrees to a radian. People who study objects that move in circles, like planets, prefer to calculate with radians.

Forward to NEXT SECTION

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References/Footnotes:

Hively, Ray, and Horn, Robert, Geometry and Astronomy in Prehistoric Ohio, “Journal for the History of Astronomy, Archaeoastronomy,” Supplement, Vol. 13, p.S1; also Science History Publications, 1982. See: http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu
Romain, William F., Ph.D., Newark Earthwork Cosmology: This Island Earth, “Hopewell Archeology: The Newsletter of Hopewell Archeology in the Ohio River Valley,” Vol.6 (2), March 2005. See: http://www.nps.gov/mwac/hopewell/v6n2/one.htm
Romain, William F., Ph.D., Design and Layout of the Newark Earthwork Complex, “Hopewell Archeology: The Newsletter of Hopewell Archeology in the Ohio River Valley,” Vol.6 (2), March 2005. See: http://www.nps.gov/mwac/hopewell/v6n2/two.htm

View from Geller Hill looking north towards Great Circle and Octagon. 2013

November 10, 2013 by Gilgemesh

Creeping Away with Time

How is that more than one researcher can claim these mounds are precisely laid out yet they are so out of round that they vary in their diameter? The Great Circle varies from 1163 to 1189 feet. The Observatory Circle varies from 1050 to 1058 feet. The Octagon is visibly unsymmetrical. It is wider at the end joining the circle.

Large burial mound overlooking Ohio River. See more images of mounds at http://moundbuilder.blogspot.com/p/27-largest-burial-mounds-in-ohio.html

There are three plausible explanations for these irregularities. The first is the variation was intentional as was suggested in the difference between the sides of Wright Square of 926 and 928 and later numbers will show that this stretching was done to achieve certain distances. The second explanation is that when they were reconstructed by the Ohio National Guard and others (see complete explanation in Hively/Horn) they were altered.

The last explanation is creep. Let us say the mounds are thousands of years old and that the reason they still exist today is that on a regular basis they were maintained. The manner in which this is done can contribute to their movement.

The Miamisburg Mound is burned every other year to keep weeds and trees from overtaking it. Many mounds throughout Ohio are owned by the Ohio Historical Society and they allow massive trees to take root. Over time the roots push out, break down and do their part in returning the mounds to the landscape. In effect the Society is allowing that which they have been charged with preserving to be destroyed. The Newark Octagon is a golf course and is groomed with precision machines. The grass cover keeps the soil in place.

Carbon dating of charcoal at the Alligator Mound tells us it was built about a 1000 BP. Or does this actually tell us the date of a forest fire or a controlled burn to maintain the site?

Trees, erosion and careless reconstruction all contribute to creep but there is another way they creep out of round. Persons charged with digging the dirt out of the ditch at the Great Circle and putting it back onto the top of the mound year after year work around the circle. Each and every year slight variations are introduced. The change is so incrementally small that it is never noticed until someone comes back a thousand years later and says, “Yo, your circle looks like an oval!” They creep out of shape. What can contribute even faster to creeping is a sloped site. Fortunately, few are on slopes. Numerous reconstructions and rearrangements in areas such as Thornborough indicate that over the centuries different generations have left their mark, so too we must assume this has happened at both Hopewell and Adena sites.

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References/Footnotes:

Hively, Ray, and Horn, Robert, Geometry and Astronomy in Prehistoric Ohio, “Journal for the History of Astronomy, Archaeoastronomy,” Supplement, Vol. 13, p.S1; also Science History Publications, 1982. See: http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu
Image of Mound from: http://moundbuilder.blogspot.com/p/27-largest-burial-mounds-in-ohio.html

November 3, 2013 by Gilgemesh

The Remains according to Romain

William Romain asserts in his article Newark Earthwork Cosmology: This Island Earth that Geller Hill is the center of the measurements for the earthworks. The hill is 1150 feet long by 700 feet wide by 35 feet high (later noted as 75 feet high) in the otherwise level terrain of Newark.

Newark Earthworks as laid out from Geller Hill as William Romain suggested. Drawing by B.L. Freeborn.

Newark Earthworks as laid out from Geller Hill as William Romain suggested. The Great Circle and Octagon are equal distance from Geller Hill. The layout forms an isosceles triangle. Drawing by B.L. Freeborn.

Romain determined that the Octagon center is 7392 feet and the Great Circle center is 7498 feet distant from Geller Hill. Using Hively and Horn’s OCD (Observatory Circle Diameter) of 1054 feet, this is 7.01 OCD and 7.11 OCD respectively. Oddly enough, or should we say not so very coincidentally, these distances are 7.000 fifths mile and 7.1 fifth mile. He further suggests that the direction of the midline of the angle formed is at 53.3 degrees which corrects to an azimuth of 52.2 degrees and this further correlates to the azimuth of the Octagon found by Hively and Horn of 52 degrees.

We need only observe that 7 x 52.2 = 365.4 or almost exactly the number of days in a year!

Hively and Horn further discovered that the Observatory Circle is 5.99 OCD’s from the Great Circle (aka Fairground Circle) and the Octagon is 6.02 OCD’s from Wright Square. A bit of math shows this is 6313 and 6345 feet respectively or 5.98 Fifth miles and exactly 6.00 Fifth miles.

The OCD is based on the diameter of the Observatory Circle. Because the circle is slightly distorted there is plenty of room to accommodate the diameter 1054 as well as 1056. The latter number indicates that the circle is the same size as Marshall’s measurement at the High Bank Works. The radius there is 528 feet or one tenth mile.

The distances between the structures at Newark Earthworks creates the number 76. It is repeated further in angles and center distances. Drawing by B.L. Freeborn.

Returning to Romain’s findings we note that it is possible to find a spot on Geller Hill that gives an equal value of 7 fifth miles distance to each structure. Hively/Horn demonstrated that the circle-octagon translates across the plane a distance of 6 OCD units to the circle-square. By combining this conclusion with the 7 unit distance we find the number 76 reappears twice. (See diagram.) Indeed, it appears more often than that. Hively/Horn noted that the small circle adjoining the Octagon had a diameter of 1/7th OCD. Expressing the radius as 76 feet seems simpler. Further still, the angle between the lines projected from Geller Hill is 50 degrees which has a sine of .766. Similarly, the angle formed from the lines joining the Hill to the Great Circle and from there to the Observatory Circle is also 50 degrees with sine of .766 as shown. Turning and continuing to the Octagon forms an angle of 77.7 degrees which correlates with the distance between the two centers of 770 feet x 2 or 1540 feet.

There are four things to consider about this 1540′ distance:

Referring back to the Thornborough Henge layout, the path distance between the two southern circles calculated to this same value 2 x 770 = 1540.
Hively and Horn incorrectly state this distance is 2 OCD or 2108 feet.
Romain in his geometric layout states the distance is 1½ OCD or 1581 feet or 2 x 790. A difference of 40 feet.
Because neither the Octagon or Observatory are purely symmetrical there is no true center which allows for differing opinions as to where the center lies contributing to the above differences.

Further and unfortunately, Romain’s geometric reconstruction of the earthworks fails under the scrutiny of protractor and sharp pencil. However, his conclusion that they were precisely laid out is accurate and provable far beyond what he has demonstrated.

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References/Footnotes:

Hively, Ray, and Horn, Robert, Geometry and Astronomy in Prehistoric Ohio, “Journal for the History of Astronomy, Archaeoastronomy,” Supplement, Vol. 13, p.S1; also Science History Publications, 1982. See: http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu
Romain, William F., Ph.D., Newark Earthwork Cosmology: This Island Earth, “Hopewell Archeology: The Newsletter of Hopewell Archeology in the Ohio River Valley,” Vol.6 (2), March 2005. See: http://www.nps.gov/mwac/hopewell/v6n2/one.htm
Romain, William F., Ph.D., Design and Layout of the Newark Earthwork Complex, “Hopewell Archeology: The Newsletter of Hopewell Archeology in the Ohio River Valley,” Vol.6 (2), March 2005. See: http://www.nps.gov/mwac/hopewell/v6n2/two.htm

October 27, 2013 by Gilgemesh

Perfection Lost, Perfection Found

Right side of Newark Earthworks from Burks drawing.

The most accurate existing map of the Newark Mounds was made by David Wyrick who found the much debated Holy Stones. It is similar in appearance to a map made by Burks and is found in Alrutz’s book. The most striking difference between the latter two and the Squier-Davis map is in the depiction of the large oval north of Wright Square which appears as a half circle in the Squier image. The structure lay very close to Raccoon Creek which was probably used to fill the oval for ceremonial use during spring festivals when the creek would have been full. The Squier survey gives a cross section of the neck of the oval that projects to the southwest towards the creek. It seems to be constructed in such a manner that water flow could have been restricted. (The east-west straight line is a railroad and the north-south wavy line is the canal built through the structures.)

Detail through neck of Oval at Newark Earthworks from Squier-Davis drawing.

The concept that this Oval could have been filled with water would be even more important to the Decalogue Debate if it can be shown to relate to the story of Noah, the ark and the flood as was suggested in the sideways “ark” appearance of the Decalogue Stone.

We leave the oval and notice that the square and oval are connected via mound lined paths to the Octagon very similar to those we saw at Thornborough. Those were about 200 feet across. These are also 200 feet across. The path from the Oval is different in that its middle is raised perhaps to allow foot traffic while the ditch on each side is flooded ceremonially.

The paths at Newark Earthworks form angles as they meet at the Octagon. Drawing made from satellite image and blending in missing portions from Squier-Davis Drawing. By B.L. Freeborn.

Having arrived at the Octagon via the path we note that the paths form angles as they converge. They are depicted by each artist in a strikingly similar manner. Their angles and a bit of math is shown in the above image. We find a repeat of the number 56 and the reappearance of 584. The 140 is twice 70 which we have seen before. A new and simple number appears and that is an angle of 50 degrees.

Does 50 have any pertinence to our growing list? Indeed it does! The engineer of the past left no possible element in his design to chance. The sin 50 degrees = .766. We have seen this number in Newark’s distance from the Serpent Mound (76.6 nautical miles). We shall see it again. We might want to pause to note that the square root of 7.66 is 2.76767…. (repeating infinitely) which makes it quite interesting. While the root of 7.7 is a slightly less impressive 2.77 although the 7’s are repeated in the root. From Geller Hill, which sits rather quietly to the southwest of the Earthworks, it is 7.7 miles south to where Wyrick and others found the Decalogue stone at the site where the Great Stone Mound was. In other words, Geller Hill and Great Stone Mound are located 7.7 miles apart. We might want to add that from Grave Creek Mound it is 79.2 miles to Geller Hill, a strikingly important number! We shall look next at what else Romain discovered about this hill.

October 20, 2013 by Gilgemesh

The Cross that Tells Us…

Book of Kells, Chi Rho Page. Wikipedia. PD.

The Cross amid the art of the Book of Kells symbolizes the cross of Christ. Or does it? Why would a people be led to constantly remember this shape through the retelling of the death of its messiah? A not so simple answer is that once upon a time someone wanted something else entirely remembered and since they were soon to become a conquered people they worked their own beliefs into the newly arrived religion. So we see in this art a beautiful cross and what do we see laid out quite neatly in Newark? Why a cross! And amid the cross is a diagonally placed square just as we see in the Book of Kells!

A cross imbedded in the layout of Newark Earthworks. Wright Square is similar to the diamond that appears in the Book of Kells Cross.

We begin telling the story portrayed in Newark’s layout by examining the square within the cross. This portion of Newark Earthworks called the Wright Square is all but gone. There is a small portion that remains that marks the spot and other than that there are only survey notes. The beautiful Squier-Davis image is known to be incorrect for scaling despite its details. We know from a survey by Thomas in 1894 it was 928 feet by 926 feet. It is assumed by Romain¹ ² and others that this is an error from an ideal of 925 feet yet these measures are not too far off for we see 926′ x 928′ gives us an area of 859,328 feet or very nearly 860,000 feet. Hively and Horn report that the east-west axis of the square is 92.8 degrees.³ They felt this was a .8 degree error from the Lunar rise-set point. Yet, one should pause to note the similarity between this number and the size of the square, 928′, which suggests there is no error here.

Going further they report the northwest entrance path runs perfectly straight for 160 m (useless meter!) or 525 feet (or was it 528?) at an azimuth of 306.8 degrees. It then enters the square at an angle. With a bit of math it is easily determined this is an angle of 56 degrees to the azimuth of the north-south axis. (360 – 306.8 + 2.8 = 56) Furthermore, they were perplexed as to why this avenue did not enter at the center of the side but instead at 30m (useless meters again!) north of the center of the side. We calculate 98.4 feet + 926/2 = 561.4 feet. In other words, the opening breaks the side into two portions: one 561 feet and the other 365 feet. We should immediately recognize the meaning of the latter! This notably repeats the value of the angle of the path at 56 degrees.

Let’s not stop here because the picture is not complete. We have not added them! 926 + 928 = 1854 which is very nearly a number we saw twice at the East Fork. Indeed, 926 and 928 are quite close to 924 and 935 feet we saw there. They were also positioned perpendicularly. Their sum was 1859. Both sets of numbers are portraying not the idea of a simple radius but the idea of an oval, an oblate sphere as we saw in the egg at the Serpent Mound. To do this the values must be similar yet “off.” So they have described quite completely an object with this string of numbers: 365, 926, 928, 1854, 859,000 or at East Fork they used 924, 935, 1859 and 864,000. They threw in two additional reminders of 56 as well.

The square has been discussed first because it seems so insignificant but it appears in all ancient art. It is usually portrayed as the literal seat of all measurement.

Overall, we see in this layout of Newark two structures on the left and three on the right. Two and three create the number 23 or perhaps it is 32 if read right to left. We have seen that the square of 5.656 is 32. Perhaps we should think of it as 23 degrees and 32 minutes and add it to our growing number list.

Does this place with its mounds and ditches speak of the gods? Does it speak of Baal? We note that in Hebrew gematria bet, B, is 2 and lamed, L, is 30. So, the value of the name Baal is 32. The layout then “counts” the name. But if it is 23 then kaph, k, is 20 and gimel, g, is 3. Keg in Old English is the modern word keg. Might this layout “counted” out mean Baal’s keg? Or Baal’s crater?

What other mysterious coincidences might lie here?

Back to Table of Contents

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Romain, William F., Ph.D., Newark Earthwork Cosmology: This Island Earth, “Hopewell Archeology: The Newsletter of Hopewell Archeology in the Ohio River Valley,” Vol.6 (2), March 2005. See: http://www.nps.gov/mwac/hopewell/v6n2/one.htm
Romain, William F., Ph.D., Design and Layout of the Newark Earthwork Complex, “Hopewell Archeology: The Newsletter of Hopewell Archeology in the Ohio River Valley,” Vol.6 (2), March 2005. See: http://www.nps.gov/mwac/hopewell/v6n2/two.htm
Hively, Ray, and Horn, Robert, Geometry and Astronomy in Prehistoric Ohio, “Journal for the History of Astronomy, Archaeoastronomy,” Supplement, Vol. 13, p.S1; also Science History Publications, 1982. See: http://articles.adsabs.harvard.edu
Book of Kells Image from Wikipedia. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:KellsFol034rChiRhoMonogram.jpg

October 13, 2013 by Gilgemesh

A Holy Place Lies Here

Famous drawing of Earthworks in Newark, Ohio by Squier, Davis and Whittlesey, 1837-1847.

Hopewell is a name of coincidence. It is the name given to the mound builders of Ohio. Adena is the other name bestowed on them. Hopewell comes from the name of the man who settled land on which mounds were situated. Adena, similarly, came from the name of a homestead. Neither name has any historic relevance. Yet when these mounds were laid out, did not their designers Well Hope they would last for eons? Would they have situated them where they had the best chance of surviving? If we can figure out how they were placed will that give us a clue to the knowledge within the minds that placed them?

We have noted the importance of 40 in Judaism. What is 40 miles from nowhere on a vast empty continent? Nothing. But line of latitude 40 runs through the middle of this flat, open terrain. In fact, Newark lies only 2 minutes of latitude north of it. J.Q. Jacobs notes that the Serpent Mound lies at longitude 83 degrees 25′ 52″ and the Newark Earthworks lie at 82 degrees 25′ 48″. This is one degree of longitude separation.¹ ² The Serpent holds an egg in its mouth and this egg is an oval 120 feet by 70 feet. The inner diameter of this oval is 76 feet across. We have seen this 70 before. We have seen 12 before and we shall soon see many references to 76.

Main layout of Earthworks in Newark, Ohio

Layout of Earthworks in Newark, Ohio created by drawing over satellite image and blending area above Great Circle and paths with those portions from Squier-Davis Drawing. — Drawing by B.L. Freeborn.

Surely, this Serpent has something to do with the placement of Newark or vice versa. The Newark Earthworks lies 76.6 nautical miles or 88.15 miles north of the Serpent. Indeed, from the prominently placed Miamisburg Mound the distance is 87.7 nautical miles or 100.9 miles. But these are two local monuments. Do they align with any other great monument? Why was the Newark complex placed here?

Romain posits that the Newark Octagon and the Great Circle are both placed in reference to Geller Hill at a distance of 7 OCD from each. Geller Hill is located at 40 degrees 2′ 12″ N latitude. Let’s look at that closer 40, 2 and 12. The numbers sound familiar. But the longitude is 82 degrees 27′ 26″. This is not very pretty at all. However….maybe this spot was chosen for another reason. The distance between the Great Pyramid and this innocuous hill in Ohio is 113 degrees 35′ or 113 degrees and .583 degrees. We can see the 583 reminds us of the 584 we saw at East Fork but that can be purely coincidental ….well… until one adds it to 113 and recall the ancients loved to double. So 113.583 equals 2 x 56.7916. What are the odds that 56 and 7916, nearly 7920, would show up here? Consider further that 113 is 2 x 56.5. Let me throw this additional coincidence out. In the story of Noah it rained for 40 days and Noah lived to the grand toothless age of 950 years. Are we supposed to convert that 950 say from years to months, or inches to feet, to obtain 79.16? What other not so pure coincidences can be found at Newark?

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Jacobs, James Q., “The Great Circle Earthwork, Newark, Ohio,” 2006. See: http://www.jqjacobs.net/archaeo/newark.html
Jacobs, James Q., “Newark Octagon, Newark, Ohio,” 2006. See: http://www.jqjacobs.net/archaeo/octagon.html

Back to Previous Section

Forward to NEXT SECTION

October 6, 2013 by Gilgemesh

As Plain as Day

Book of Kells, Chi Rho Page. PD. Wikipedia.

Some things we know as plain as day and other things we see and do not comprehend. Let us return to the debate surrounding the Decalogue Stone. Two events were occurring in 1860. Mormonism, a newly created religion by the dubious con man Joseph Smith, was seeking legitimacy and the 84-year-old predominantly Christian nation of the United States was on the brink of collapse into civil war. A religion was rising, a nation was falling and for those involved in these issues life and faith hung in the balance. Their world became myopic and they could not recall that this is the way of things. History was repeating itself. Just as Scientology rises today, Mormonism rose then and before that Islam rose, and before that it was Christianity. And there we tend to stop. We know that with the rise of the United States a people and their land was conquered. We know that Islam today vows to conquer all. We know that young men in white shirts and ties come to our doors and attempt to persuade us to join their religion. They are subtle conquerors as all peaceful missionaries before them.

Do we recall a time when Christianity swept north through Europe with the advance of Roman soldiers and conquered the Pagans? And from whence did the Christians come? They arose as followers of Paul’s church who distorted Judaism to suit his needs. From whence did the Jews come? They tell us they came out of Egypt and were allowed to return to their homeland. To Canaan they went where the cities of Ugarit lay buried beneath the soil. Or did they come out of Babylon in 485 BC? The priests of Babylon had been massacred by the Greeks. This is the story of another conquered people and the fall of a great religion that had lasted for centuries. And eventually Paganism, after fighting a long and hard battle, vanished in the middle ages in the burning and torture of its last beholders. We forget how very much history we lost as a result of the Greeks killing the intellectuals of their era followed by the killing of the Pagan priests in later centuries. The Pagan and Babylonian Priests were the keepers of their history. As victor, the Greeks wrote history and in that history they usurped achievements of bygone eras. But they could not lay claim to that which they could not comprehend such as measurement of longitude. The Pagan priests did not vanish in total, nor did the Babylonian Priests. They left us something as plain as day and yet we do not see it.

The monks of Ireland, newly Christian, laced their beliefs into their art as they decorated their new doctrine. From the art in the Book of Kells we see their beliefs have passed through time to us. And what is this image? We see a cross curled round and around the cross are circles. Does the art depict Christian or Pagan beliefs?

Does Jewish history reveal anything of the Pagans? Or perhaps we should call them Baalists, worshipers of Baal. This deity is little understood. Baal was the most significant god in the Canaanite pantheon.¹ The religion conflicted with Judaism. The Book of Kings I tells how Elijah met the priests of Baal and had 450 of them killed. Book of Kings II relates that the “cult” arose again and was put down once more. This “cult” arose yet again and was again put down.

Book of Kells, Incipit to the Gospel of Matthew. PD. Wikipedia.

“Cult” makes it sound so small, trivial and such a local phenomena. Yet according to 17^th century historian Geoffrey Keating at each Beltane in medieval Ireland there was a sacrifice made to a god named Beil. Some doubt the veracity of Keating’s facts.² Either way, Beltane is a festival celebrated on May Day that involves the union of male and female, and this is symbolized by the maypole and the cords woven around it. Very little ancient information is available on the significance of Beltane except that it involved bonfires and blessings. Martin Brennan in his book “The Stones of Time: Calendars, Sundials, and Stone Chambers of Ancient Ireland” relates that “Baal or Bel is another name for the sun and forms part of many place names in Ireland including Bel-ain, which means ‘Bel’s ring’ or the sun’s circuit.” ³ The name is similarly found in place names in the area of Israel.

Brennan also tells of the old native Irish god Dagda who was all-powerful and omniscient. This deity was considered to be the good god and Lord of Great Knowledge. In the distant Mediterranean archaeologists have uncovered the Temple of Dagon in Ugarit. Whereas Baal, “the King,” was the son of El; Dagon was the god of fertility and wheat.⁴ So we have two gods of similar names in these two distant lands. Is this the roots of Paganism, the religion that Judaism in its rise to power in the Middle East sought to conquer? Or were the Jews Baalists all along pretending to be someone else to avoid persecution by the Greeks? Perhaps this was not a small cult but a religion that spanned all of Europe and was finally annihilated by the Christians rather recently.

The beauty in the Book of Kells cannot be argued. Do the images conceal Pagan beliefs? Is that the cross of Christ or the intersection of longitude and latitude in the first image? Is that diamond square a decoration or does it mean something significant? Is that backwards L a measuring square? Is that the maypole of Beltane next to it and the cords wrapping around it? In the next image, is that a serpent winding and twisting about in the monogram which is to remind us of something important, just as the Great Serpent Mound that graces southern Ohio?

When we look at the Decalogue stone and the little bowl found with it, are we looking at a piece of long forgotten history? Judaism was not always the seamless religion it appears to be today. It had its own battles as the Book of Kings I tells us to gain prominence, just as the religions we see rising into acceptance currently. Did the Baalists continue on by hiding their beliefs from those in power? Did Dagas/Dagon and Baal play a role in Newark, Ohio?

We return to Ohio and the mysteries of the mounds laid out there for us to ponder across time.

_________________

Douglas, J.D., and Tenney, Merrill C., “NIV Compact Dictionary of the Bible,” Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1989.
Wikipedia article: Beltane. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beltane
Brennan, Martin, “The Stones of Time: Calendars, Sundials, and Stone Chambers of Ancient Ireland,” Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions International, 1994.
Wikipedia article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ugarit
Book of Kells, Chi Rho Page Image. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:KellsFol034rChiRhoMonogram.jpg
Book of Kells, Incipit to the Gospel of Matthew Image. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:KellsFol029rIncipitMatthew.jpg

September 22, 2013 by Gilgemesh

A Magnificent Array of Numbers Awaits

Before we move on let us collect together all the numbers we have seen so far. In the Decalogue we had 16, 56, 5656, 58, 69, 69.2, 70, 79, 86 and 864. At the East Fork Works we found 864,000 and 860. We also found 66, 584 and 792, and 1859 twice. We also found conversion from feet to inches to repeat numbers. The tenth mile, 528, appeared here and at the High Bank Works. 900 was used twice, .333 appeared as acreage, and Millon’s 187 appeared as its half 935. We found 560, 440 and 30 degrees and showed how the circumference of the planet, 24880, is related to 440 and 565.

This is a considerable list. Let us resume by looking at these last few. Let us say we want to make a diagram that is simple yet complex, elegant and magical all in one. We begin with the concept of the circle and create two 860 feet in diameter. Then set the centers at 2400 feet apart. The 24 will represent the number of hours in a day on our planet. This means the distance between the two circles will be joined by a path 1540 feet long or 2 x 770. This is perfectly ideal since it reflects the number of days in the week and 7 is a purely magical number.

We add a third circle to our drawing. This circle has a diameter of 640 or twice 320. We choose this value for several reasons. Note that 640 + 860 equals 1500 and a planet that turns once in 24 hours turns 15 degrees in an hour. This value 320 can be thought of as 10 x 32, or 10 x 5.656 x 5.656 and that makes it truly magic. It is 56 squared!

What distance should they be set apart? What about 2480 feet? This will give us the circumference of the planet. The distance between these two final circles will then be 2480 – 320 – 430 = 1730. And what is this number but 2 x 865 feet which …almost… completes the elegance of the idea.

But something is missing….. Three circles all in a row with one small and two large gives us 1 and 2 or 12, or the number of houses of the zodiac at 30 degrees each. The overall length of the structure becomes 5630 feet. It needs to be a few feet larger or smaller. If we push the circles out of alignment we can change the overall length to 5600 feet and we do it in a manner so that the tangents drawn from each side of the outer circles differ in length by the final magic number 79. Indeed, because the first circle is of a radius of 320 feet and we desire an overall length of 5600 then the center of the first circle lies exactly one mile, 5280 feet, from the outer edge of the furthest circle. To do this the structure must bend about 5 degrees. Almost perfect…. We can perfect it by making the paths between the circles 200 feet across or 2400 inches for the hours in the day and this will mean the area of the upper path is 7.94 acres (nearly the desired 7.92) and the lower becomes 7.07 acres.

The magic need not end there. This work will betray more numbers as the circles are surrounded by ditches and within them concentric circles of mounds and more ditches will be built. The structure will be in all ways a great tribute.

But where shall we put this large and magnificent display of the most important numbers in the world?

September 6, 2013 by Gilgemesh

Squaring the Circle and other School Lessons

We did not learn how to square the circle in school but if one takes geometry one will learn how to draw a square around a circle. One might even learn how to draw a square within a circle. Other terms used in describing this are: the square circumscribed around a circle, converting the diameter of the circle into a square, the circle circumscribed around a square and a circle of equal area to a square, etc. These are Old World math problems that date back thousands of years. School lessons on clay tablets from Sumeria reveal students studied this topic hundreds of generations past. What do the terms mean? This is best shown in a picture.

The Old World problem called squaring the circle.

James P. Scherz states it very well: “A careful survey of the earthworks at Newark Ohio has revealed not only a solution to the ancient Old World geometrical riddle of “Squaring the Circle” by use of rope geometry (associated with legends of the Great Pyramid of Egypt), but also three different units of measure, which were also used together in ancient Egypt (and other lands influenced by that region).” ¹

Anyone who has attempted to study gematria runs into this Old World problem. “Dimensions of Paradise” ² which is John Michell’s study of the New Testament’s Greek gematria is laced with this problem. It is an inescapable part of Old World religions. We see it boldly displayed even in the image of the East Fork Works. Notice the small circle at the top has a diameter of 132 feet. The small square at the bottom has sides 132 by 110. If it were square, 132 x 132, it would be the square that can be circumscribed around the circle. They sneak it in again in a second place. At the top of the lamp is a curve that begins as if it has a radius of 584 feet or diameter of 1168 feet. If one were to complete the circle, the square that can be inscribed within it would have sides of 826 feet. From the top of the small square to the point is 825 feet (vs. 826 is a negligible error) or the side of the square required.

This idea appears blatantly in the High Bank works where the circle is set almost next to a square that is beginning to distort into an octagon. The idea appears repetitively, as we shall see, in the Newark Earthworks.

Scherz also brings up the topic of units. We will continue next with some modern day guesses as to the units used in pre-Columbus America.

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Scherz, James P. Old World Units of Measure Found in the Layout Geometry of Prehistoric Earthworks at Newark, Ohio, “Midwestern Epigraphic Journal,” Vol. 16, No. 1, 2002. See: http://www.midwesternepigraphic.org/scherz.html
Michell, John, “The Dimensions of Paradise: Sacred Geometry, Ancient Science, and the Heavenly Order of the Earth,” Rochester, Vermont: Inner Traditions International, 2008.

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