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Ancient Mysteries 2005 June-July Flipbook PDF

John Van Auken, Atlantis Search Continues Littles Return to Bahamas, 40 million-year-old Whale Found in Egyptian Dessert

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Ancient Mysteries

An A.R.E. Membership Beneﬁt Association for Research & Enlightenment 215 67th Street Virginia Beach, VA 23451-2061 USA

June/July 2005

Atlantis Search Continues Littles Return to Bahamas

Ancient Mysteries

NON-PROFIT ORG. U.S. Postage PAID Association for Research and Enlightenment, Inc.

by John Van Auken

40 million-year-old Whale Found in Egyptian Dessert Story from REDNOVA NEWS

Photo One – by Lora Little

In early May 2005 the A.R.E.’s Search for Atlantis continues with expeditions to Bimini and Andros islands. Drs. Greg and Lora Little are to be accompanied on the trip by Doris Van Auken and archaeologist William Donato, who heads Project APEX. Donato has been involved with Bimini research for several decades and has found numerous anomalies on and near the Bimini Road highly suggestive of human involvement in its formation. Like the Littles, Donato believes that the Bimini Road appears to be an ancient harbor. The ﬁrst part of the expedition will ﬁlm and measure a little-known formation of stones about a mile from the Road site. This area, called “Proctor’s Road,” was discovered in the 1970s, but it has not been ﬁlmed or completely documented. It is a straight line of stones extending for over a mile, crossing — Continued on Page 2, Atlantis Search

University of Michigan paleontologist Philip D. Gingerich and colleagues at the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency (EEAA) announced April 10 the successful excavation of an unusually complete and well-preserved skeleton of the 40 million-year-old fossil whale Basilosaurus isis. The new skeleton is 18 meters (50 feet) long and was found in Wadi Hitan, in the Western Sahara of Egypt. The ﬁrst Basilosaurus fossil was found in 1905, but no full skeleton has been discovered until now. The new skeleton of Basilosaurus will be shipped to Michigan for preparation and preservation, Gingerich said via email. It then will be replicated in a casting material suitable for reconstruction and exhibition of the complete skeleton. The original fossil bones and a complete cast will be returned to Egypt for exhibition in public museums in Cairo and in the Wadi Hitan visitors center. Gingerich also hopes that a complete cast can be mounted in the University of Michigan Exhibit Museum. The fossil whales of Wadi Hitan were ﬁrst mapped in the 1980s and 1990s during expeditions led by Gingerich, a professor at the U-M Museum of Paleontology and Department of Geological Sciences. The 1989 team discovered that Basilosaurus still retained tiny, useless legs, feet, and toes, representing hind legs that were lost at a later stage of whale

Fossilized backbone of whale, with measuring lines placed by archaeologists.

evolution. No skeleton was collected at the time because of the remote location of Wadi Hitan and because of the large size of the whale skeletons. Wadi Hitan is a remote valley in which hundreds of fossil whale skeletons are being exposed by the wind. They lie trapped in a sandstone formation that represents an ancient sea bed. “Here the wind sculpts the sand into spectacular shapes, which give the valley an unusual beauty in addition to its richness in fossils,” Gingerich said. Wadi Hitan is a protected area administered by EEAA and is being developed as a national park by an Italian-Egyptian cooperative program. It also has been nominated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site because of its natural beauty and scientiﬁc importance. Sea-living animals found in the Wadi Hitan desert include ﬁve species of whales, includ— Continued on Page 3, Whale in Egypt

Atlantis Search – from page 1

Ancient Mummy Discovered

Story from BBC News Archaeologists have discovered some of the oldest evidence yet of mummiﬁcation. Human remains Photo Three – by Lora Little covered in resin and cloth were found inside a 5,000-year-old cedar wood cofﬁn in Sakkara, near Cairo, Egypt. The cofﬁn had been placed in a tomb thought to date from 3100 to 2890 BC, under Egypt’s 1st Dynasty. “We found more than 20 tombs built of Photo Two – by Lora Little mud bricks in this area and inside these tombs we found sarcophagi intact for the ﬁrst time, completely enclosed in mud brick,” said Dr. Zahi Hawass, head of the Egyptian Supreme Council of Antiquities. “When I opened this mud brick up I found the oldest mummy inside. The mummy has been directly over ancient shorelines. At regularly Mysteries Conference in October. Colin Wildated as being some 5,000 years old and this spaced intervals, large circles of stones are son and David Hatcher Childress will also be mummy was covered completely with linen when found. In researching ancient harbors in the presenting fascinating new material. we found it.” Mediterranean, the Littles found that many of Photo One: Intriguing area of Andros The Egyptians were known to be burying these harborworks had stone circles identical Platform, with stone forming a roughly circutheir dead in small pits in the sand as far back as in size to those off Bimini. The stone circles in lar area. This section of the platform is near 5000 BC, relying on the heat and dryness of the Mediterranean harbors were used for moor- the extreme southern end of the formation. desert to preserve bodies. The diver in the photo is a History Chaning boats outside of the main harbor. Chemical means of preservation were nel photographer. He was ﬁlming Greg Little Other tasks at Bimini include reﬁnding certainly in use by about 2700 BC. Methods used an area on the Road where, in 1998, Donato rather than the formation. between 1567-1200 BC were the most effective discovered a carved, wedge-shaped, limestone Photo Two: Greg Little diving by the pile leveling stone under a huge block. For the of rubble strewn on the bottom near the at preserving the dead, and the remains of King circular area. Because so much sand was ﬁrst time, the expedition to Andros will be Ramses II, who ruled during that period, have accomplished on water. A large dive boat has on the rubble, it wasn’t apparent how much been displayed at the Egyptian Museum. Mumbeen chartered for the 9-hour trip, and sevrubble was present. Note the small, rectangu- miﬁcation could involve removal and dehydraeral underwater formations earlier discovered lar blocks near the bottom of the photo. tion of internal organs and embalming with from the air will be examined. In Andros the Photo Three: In the middle of the linens and resins. primary task will be to carefully examine an intriguing circular area, a long, straight row — Continued on Page 3, Mummy of larger stone blocks forms the front tier intriguing area of the Andros Platform ﬁrst seen on the December 2004 trip made with of the Andros Platform. These blocks sit on This Newsletter is one of your the History Channel. This area, covered with top of another layer of ﬂat stones. Note what A.R.E. membership beneﬁts. appears to be a mortise cut on the edge of closely-ﬁtted stone blocks, forms a circular As a member you may select any one of area and is quite unusual. One large stone the block on the lower left. Because of the the following newsletters free: Personal Spirituality block in its middle appears to have a mortice unusual arrangement of stones in this area True Health cut on its edge. Roughly 25 feet toward the and the pile of rubble with smaller building Ancient Mysteries blocks near it, this area of the platform may You may subscribe to an additional one for $24 a year. shore, in the deeper harbor water, is a heap of rubble strewn on the bottom. In this pile have had a building structure on its top. If you would like to change or add a newsletter, call 1- 800-333-4499 or e-mail: [email protected] of rubble are small, rectangular blocks that Not long after the platform was discovered resemble the building construction stones in 2003, an academic archaeologist sugemployed in typical Maya temples. gested to us that we might ﬁnd the remains Association for One other major task is planned: samples of structures buried under sand and silt in Research & Enlightenment (A.R.E.) 215 67th St., Virginia Beach, VA 23451 from both Bimini and Andros will be collected the harbor area. Tidal waves or a violent www.edgarcayce.org for the purpose of obtaining accurate dating. hurricane, he suggested, could have swept 1-800-333-4499 The most modern and accurate type of dating structures on the top of the platform into the Copyright © 2005 by the A.R.E., Inc. This newsletter is one of the monthly beneﬁts to A.R.E. technology (luminescence) will be used, harbor. One of the purposes of this trip is to members. Membership is $48 per year. To join, see the contact but carbon dating will also be employed as a try to determine if the rubble found in the information above; to send a letter to the editor, write c/o of the editor at the above address or e-mail: comparison. The results of this expedition will harbor was utilized in building. ∆ [email protected] . . Ancient Mysteries Jun/Jul 2005 Page 2 be presented at the A.R.E.’s Annual Ancient

Mummy – from page 2

Ancient Necropolis Found in Egypt

New Pope Fits Prophecy Bishop Malachy Right-on!

Story from BBC News

Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger “Gloria Olivae”?

Dr. Hawass inspects wooden cofﬁn.

“In the last few years we’ve revised our views on how long mummiﬁcation has been going on,” said the British Museum’s John Taylor. “Some bodies were found at a site called Hierakonpolis in the southern part of the Nile Valley. They show signs of mummiﬁcation with resin and linen and they go back to around 3400 BC,” the assistant keeper in the Department of Ancient Egypt and Sudan told BBC News Online. “This latest ﬁnd is obviously a very early example of mummiﬁcation. Any new information is bound to add to our knowledge of what is quite an unclear picture at the moment.” ∆ Whale in Egypt – from page 1

Archaeologists say they have found the largest funerary complex yet dating from the earliest era of ancient Egypt, more than 5,000 years ago. The necropolis was discovered by a joint US and Egyptian team in the Kom al-Ahmar region, around 600km (370 miles) south of the capital, Cairo. Inside the tombs, the archaeologists found a cow’s head carved from ﬂint and the remains of seven people. They believe four of them were buried alive as human sacriﬁces. The remains survived despite the fact that the tombs were plundered in ancient times. Egypt’s chief archaeologist, Zahi Hawass, said the discovery would add greatly to knowledge of the elusive pre-dynastic period, when Egypt was ﬁrst becoming a nation. The complex is thought to belong to a ruler of the ancient city of Hierakonpolis when it was the largest urban centre on the Nile river, around 3600 BC. Egyptologists say the city probably extended its inﬂuence northward, defeating rival entities. The uniﬁcation of Upper and Lower Egypt eventually led to the establishment of rule by the pharaohs. Excavations at the site started in 2000 under the leadership of Egyptologist Barbara Adams, who died in 2002. ∆

ing the Dorudon atrox, presently exhibited in the University of Michigan Exhibit Museum. There are also three species of sea cows (Sirenia), two crocodiles, several turtles, and a sea snake, in addition to a large number of fossilized sharks and bony ﬁshes. This latest discovery is expected to enhance education about whales and geological history in Egypt. It will also help in developing and publicizing the network of national parks in Egypt, where President Hosni Mubarak is emphasizing preservation of natural resources by providing support for conservation of the natural environment. “Basilosaurus is an enigma of whale evolution because of its unusually long serpentine body,” Gingerich said. “The research team will use the new skeleton to study how it lived and swam, and possibly to learn why it is so abundant in Wadi Hitan.” The ﬁeld research group working in Egypt now is led by Gingerich and includes doctoral student Iyad S. Zalmout of the University of Michigan department of geological sciences, ANCIENT MYSTERIES CONFERENCE Mohamed Sameh M. Antar and Gebely Abu el October 6-9, 2005 Khair of EEAA, and a team of eight assistants, For Free Info, Call 1-888-273-0020 all operating from a remote desert camp. or visit: www.edgarcayce.org Don’t you wonder where our souls were or email: [email protected] 40 million years ago – when the “morning stars” sang together? In quiet reﬂection, I feel Jun/Jul 2005 . Ancient Mysteries . Page 3 that we were alive, but where? ∆

Bishop Malachy, from Ireland, was visiting with Pope Innocent II in 1139. The bishop was struck with a vision showing him the entire line of popes. In this vision were 112 pontiffs, a descriptive phrase given to identify each one. Amazingly, these descriptions have ﬁt the popes remarkably well. Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, now Pope Benedict XVI, is the 111th pontiff in Malachy’s vision. The descriptive phrase given to the 111th Pope is Gloria Olivae, meaning “the glory of the olive.” How does this German cardinal ﬁt Malachy’s prophecy? By taking the name Benedict. The Order of Saint Benedict is also known as the Olivetans! This comes from Jesus’ time on the Mount of Olives. Incidentally, it was on the Mount of Olives that Jesus gave his prophecies, see Matthew 24. According to Malachy’s vision, Pope John Paul II was the third to the last pope. Here are the descriptions of the last three popes: 1. ab labore solis (meaning the labor of the Sun; John Paul II came out of the labor movements in Poland); 2. gloria olivae (meaning the glory of the olive); and ﬁnally, 3. petrus romanus (meaning, Peter the Roman). Peter the Roman could be the return of St. Peter as the ﬁrst and the last to rule the church. Bishop Malachy’s vision concludes with the end of the church: “In the ﬁnal persecution of the Holy Roman Church there will reign Peter the Roman, who will feed his ﬂock amid many tribulations, after which the seven-hilled city will be destroyed and the dreadful Judge will judge the people. The End.” Gloria Olivae may prove to be a peacemaker, bringing world religions back to a common appreciation of one another’s truth and the fellowship of all people. Though considered a conservative, Pope Benedict XVI may be touched by the Holy Spirit as he fulﬁlls his role. Some visionaries have seen the church continuing, but in a more enlightened form, and including women. We shall see how all of this plays out on the stage of life and these times. ∆

— Myths & Mythology —

Invoking the Spirit – Egyptian Style

The civilization of Ancient Egypt lasted longer than the entire span of what we today consider to be recorded history. This rich tradition was mostly unknown until the early nineteenth century, when the Egyptian language was ﬁnally deciphered. And it wasn’t until the twentieth century that we regained sufﬁcient metaphysical wisdom to even consider the mysticism of Egyptian invocations and ceremonies. Let’s explore one tiny bit of an esoteric Egyptian ceremony to invoke the Spirit. This invocation was found in the so-called Berlin Papyrus. The goddess Isis is the chief invoker, bringing human and God together. Throughout the text I’ve inserted the mystical meaning or the aspect that is within us to be awakened. I’ve placed these in brackets. Throughout, Osiris represents your original perfect self, which was made in the image of God and is destined to companion with God forever. Osiris is also your conscience, which judges your every free-willed actions and thoughts. The Egyptians taught that no soul passes from Earth to heaven without going before Osiris to have one’s heart weighed in the balance. If one’s heart is heavy, then one must return to Earth and get a lighter one that is not so heavy with regret, longing, or self-condemnation. It begins with an opening call from the attending priest or priestess. Glorify his soul! Establish his dead body! [Here the priest calls for us to honor and to establish one’s “dead” spirit body. The Taoists teachers refer to this as “creating the spirit body while in the physical body.”] Praise his spirit! Give breath to his nostrils and to his parched throat! Give gladness unto the heart of Isis and to that of Nephthys; Place Horus upon the throne of his Father. [Here the Egyptians use Isis and her sister Nephthys to represent aspects of consciousness. Cayce identiﬁes these as the subconscious and superconscious levels of the mind. The higher levels of our mind are made glad by our seeking and honoring of their role in the greater life. Placing Horus upon the throne of his Father is to honor the higher mind.] Give life, stability and power to Osiris, Born of the great forsaken one, she who is called also Pelses, the truthful– Glorious are her acts, according to the words of the gods. [Give some portion of your daily energy to your inner self, which will ultimately be your only surviving self, your Osiris. Pelses is truth, and as we know, the truth will set you free.] At this point, Isis invokes the union. Isis represents your soul, which longs for reunion with God and your godly self. Our godly self is an integral ray from the Great Ray (Ra), the Sun who gives all life and light. Behold now, Isis speaks: Come to your temple, come to your temple, oh Sun God! Come to your temple, for your enemies are not. Behold the excellent rattle-bearer – come to your temple! Lo I, your sister, love you – do not you depart from me! Behold Sun God, the beautiful one, Come to your temple immediately – come to your temple immediately! Behold you my heart, which grieves for you; Behold me seeking for you – I am searching for you to behold you! [This is your soul seeking for companionship with God.] Lo, I am prevented from beholding you– I am prevented from beholding you, oh Sun God! It is blessed to behold you – come to the one who loves you! Come to the one who loves you, oh you who art beautiful, Osiris deceased. [Your soul is saying that the God-created companion who was with God in the beginning (Osiris) is deceased but continues to love and long for God.] Come to your sister – come to your wife – Come to your wife, oh you who makes the heart to rest. I, your sister, born of your mother, go about to every temple of yours, Yet you come not forth to me. Gods, and men before the face of the gods, are weeping for you at the same time, when they behold me! Lo, I invoke you with wailing that reaches high as heaven – Yet you hear not my voice. Lo I, your sister, I love you more than all the earth– And you love not another as you do your sister– Surely you love not another as you do your sister! [Here our soul, Isis, evokes the love between soul and her brother, the spiritual, godly self (Osiris). Your soul is both sister from the same mother, and wife, espoused in union with the your spiritual, godling self forever. And together they unite with the great God.] ∆

NEWS from the FIELD • MULTI-SPECTRAL VISION TO PAST • James Owen - National Geographic Classical Greek and Roman literature is being read for the ﬁrst time in 2,000 years thanks to new technology. The previously illegible texts are among a hoard of papyrus manuscripts. Scholars say the rediscovered writings will provide a fascinating new window into the ancient world. Salvaged from an ancient garbage dump in Egypt, the collection is kept at Oxford University in England. Known as the Oxyrhynchus Papyri, the collection includes writings by great classical Greek authors such as Homer, Sophocles, and Euripides. Using a technique called multi-spectral imaging, researchers have uncovered texts that include • parts of a lost tragedy by Sophocles, the 5thcentury B.C. Athenian playwright; •sections of a long-vanished novel by Lucian, the second-century Greek writer; and • an epic poem by Archilochos, which describes events that led to the Trojan War. Researchers hope to rediscover examples of lost Christian gospels that didn’t make it into the New Testament, along with other important classical writings. Dirk Obbink, a lecturer in papyrology and Greek literature at Oxford, directs the research. He says the digital imaging process was ﬁrst developed for researchers who studied Roman texts buried during the eruption of Mount Vesuvius, in Italy, in the ﬁrst century. “We’re applying it for the ﬁrst time to non-carbonized ancient manuscripts on papyrus, which was the paper of the ancient world,” Obbink said.“Most of our collection comes from rubbish dumps, so it’s been in contact with soil for thousands of years and can be quite dark.” The imaging process works by using different ﬁlters to isolate the waveband to which the hidden writing responds.“Some [text] respond[s] in the ultraviolet range, some in the infrared range,” Obbink said.“The technique involves ﬁnding the exact right point at which the ink reﬂects at maximum contrast against the slightly less dark surface.” Similarly, biblical scholars can expect valuable new material to emerge, as some gospels that weren’t included in the New Testament didn’t survive.“The texts that are in the Bible were selected out of a much larger body of work that once circulated,” Obbink said.“We have samples of that material here.” -from nationalgeographic.com ∆ Jun/Jul 2005 . Ancient Mysteries . Page 4