The Ancient Alien Question (17 page)

Whereas many megalithic remains have been seriously damaged and been the subject of vandalism, the key to the survival of the Carnac megaliths might be the fact that they were largely invisible until the 17th century. Documents written before that time do not refer to them; most likely they were hidden by foliage that masked them from passers-by. But in the 17th century there was a need for more agricultural ground, which led to the discovery of the megaliths. Whereas in other parts of the world the megalithic blocks were often moved (if possible) or toppled and then buried, in Carnac, there were so many of them that it was an impossible task for any farmer, which meant that they remained intact.

Major archaeological interest in the stone rows only began in the latter half of the 20th century. These archaeologists originally believed that, rather than a series of stone rows, there was in origin just one major stone row, covering a distance of more than 5 miles. Soon, research revealed that this “single stone row” theory did not float; it seemed instead that there were five stone rows, four of which contained approximately 1,000 stones. However, more recent research, which I will come back to shortly, suggests there is indeed a “great plan” to Carnac, and that it could be considered as one single stone row.

One concentration of stones can be found near Erdeven; the other concentration of stones stands back-to-back to the north of Carnac. The most western is that of Le Menec, where there are 1,099 standing stones in 11 rows. One stone towers above all others, measuring 12 feet, and is thus labeled “the giant.” Most of the stones are, however, relatively small—at least in comparison to the stone row of Kermario, to the east of the row of Le Menec.

The stone rows of Kermario number 1,029 stones, distributed in 10 rows. The field where they stand measures 3,675
feet, showing that the stones are roughly one yard apart. This field has the most gigantic stones, and is continued in the field of Kerlescan, where there are 594 stones, in 13 rows, spread out over 2,900 feet.

There are further stone rows: those of Sainte Barbe, which is a stone row of 50 stones, in four rows, oriented south to north; and the most northern stone row of Kerzerho, which numbers 1,130 stones in 10 rows, measuring an impressive 7,000 feet in length. Near the camping of Kerzerho, some of these stones measure no less than 19 feet in height. They are the highest standing stones in the entire region.

Apart from stone rows, there are also other megalithic constructions here, like the dolmen at Crucuno, which makes for an impressive sight as it leans against a wall of a farm; its covering stone weighs 40 tons. Archaeologists have dated it as contemporary with the stone rows, at around 4000
BC
.

There is one standing stone that was 60 feet high, weighed in at 340 tons, and was moved over a distance of 4 miles to its present location. It should come as no surprise that this stone is no longer standing. But this stone does underline the knowledge and technology of this culture, which erected stones on a scale not seen anywhere else.

What are they? Archaeologists have excluded the possibility that these are graves. Neither did they serve a military purpose, though the American soldiers, during the Second World War, did mistake the stone rows for a German defense line. According to the legend, a French soldier who was aware of the situation had to intervene, as otherwise the stone rows would have become the target of intensive bombing raids.

Excluding funerary and military purposes, archaeologists conclude that the only purpose could have been religious. Modern archaeologists think that it is likely that the stones were used as the framework for a procession, and whereas this is possible, in
the final analysis, all archaeologists have to agree that they simply do not know why Carnac was built.

One man, Howard Crowhurst, has been able to demonstrate how Carnac was constructed and has revealed that the builders were great mathematicians, who were also very familiar with astronomy. Crowhurst has demonstrated that a number of stone rows were aligned to solar and lunar phenomena. Kermario, for example, is aligned to the sunrise at the summer solstice—something Kermario has in common with that other great marvel of the megalithic world, Stonehenge.

Crowhurst moved to the Carnac region in 1986, and his three decades of mapping the stones—more recently aided by the arrival of Google Earth and its satellite photographs—has revealed to him a master plan. When he analyzed the stone rows, he realized that there was great intricacy in their design. He noticed that the construction method of the stone rows at Carnac involved squares: Sometimes two squares were used to create a rectangle, and sometimes three. What Crowhurst realized, for example in Le Menec, was that the short side of this rectangle was aligned perfectly north–south, and the stone rows were aligned along the diagonal of this rectangle. This insight revealed Carnac’s master plan, which is marked by an extreme accuracy in design and planning, whereby its builders used advanced mathematics, and were also able to plot and measure pieces of land over distances of several miles, before they began to place thousands of megaliths. In short, the region of Carnac was carefully mapped, measured, and plotted, so that these stone rows would be accurately directed to certain lunar, solar, and maybe other astronomical phenomena—likely some that are not yet discovered.

This means that our ancestors could plan almost to the inch plots of lands that stretch for several miles. In his analysis of Carnac, Crowhurst confirmed that this civilization used the so-called megalithic yard. This megalithic yard was first proposed by Professor Alexander Thom, who made detailed surveys of
600 megalithic sites in Britain, Ireland, and France. The megalithic yard is equal to 2.72 feet. Thom also proposed another unit, which he labeled the megalithic rod, and which was 2.5 megalithic yards. Whereas archaeology is largely preoccupied with trying to find ammunition with which to attack Thom’s conclusions, Crowhurst is one of several who have found further evidence of this unit of measurement. At Kermario, he found that the three most important stones present were 500 megalithic rods apart. He has measured the Scottish Ring of Brodnar (on the Orkney Islands, off the northern coast of Scotland) and found its diameter is 50 megalithic rods, a distance he also found in the diameter of the stone circles surrounding the Irish megalithic complex of Newgrange and the two stone circles in Avebury, near Stonehenge. All these sites are identified as the most important megalithic monuments of Western Europe, making Crowhurst’s observations extremely important.

Alexander Thom suggested that “there must have been a headquarters from which standard rods were sent out but whether this was in these islands or on the Continent the present investigation cannot determine.”
¹¹
What can be determined is that there definitely was a central HQ, which covered both France and Britain, and this from as early as 4500
BC
.

Whereas some conservative archaeologists such as Aubrey Burl have poured scorn over Thom’s megalithic yard, more progressive archaeologists have actually boldly gone where even Thom did not go. Archaeologist Euan Mackie noticed similarities between the megalithic yard and a unit of measurement that was in use in Mohenjo Daro, in modern Pakistan, as well as ancient measuring rods used in mining in the Austrian Tyrol. He has also suggested similarities with other measurements such as the ancient Indian gaz and the Sumerian šu-du3-a, and is one of many who have noted that the megalithic yard is the diagonal of a rectangle measuring 2 by 1 Egyptian remens. The “diagonal of a rectangle” is of course precisely the “secret of Carnac” that Crowhurst has uncovered.

The emerging scenario is therefore that the ancient world used several units of measurement, but several cultures actually shared common units of measurement, or units that were related—most specifically, that Egypt and the megalithic civilization were somehow using a related unit of measurement. Throughout Western Europe, all megalithic monuments share not only a similar appearance, but also made use of the same system of measurement and mathematics.

We know that human hands could have built Carnac, but that is not the real mystery of the site. The revelation of Carnac is that our ancestors were—once again—far more advanced in mapping the landscape, measuring it, and building to an incredible accuracy, for reasons unknown. Crowhurst has identified that our ancestors seemed to realize the landscape came with certain energies, and he feels adamant that is why certain megaliths were placed in the locations they can now be found. Megalithic Europe incorporated certain natural features (such as mountains) into an artificially enhanced landscape, which had been constructed according to a mathematically complex and precise master plan. It involved careful alignments to astronomical phenomena, but also played with the energies of the earth—which is likely one of the reasons why the stones of Carnac were placed on top of a granite surface. Certain energies were harnessed here, but how and why remains a question that can only be answered in the future. What we
can
say is that the site shows that the builders of Carnac—in 4500
BC
—possessed knowledge with which official archaeology refuses to credit them.

Flying Machines in Ancient India

Ancient India has made one of the greatest contributions to the concept of ancient flight: the vimana. At the World Space Conference on October 11, 1988, in Bangalore, India, Dr. Roberto Pinotti addressed the delegates and spoke on ancient
Indian vimanas, telling them what the vimanas were and that they should take the subject seriously: that the vimanas should be studied as real flying machines. He was largely addressing the foreign delegates, for many Indian traditions hold the belief that their ancestors possessed technology that gave them the ability to fly.

References to vimanas can be found in the Yuktikalpataru of Bhoja (12th century
AD
), the Mayamatam, in 150 verses of the Rig Veda, the Yajurveda, and the Atharvaveda, as well as literary passages belonging to the Ramayana (fifth century
BC
), the Mahabharata (sixth century
BC
), the Puranas, the Bhagavata (ninth century
AD
), the Rahuvamsam, and references in the drama Abhijanaakuntalam of Kalidasa (second century
BC
, the Jatakas (third century
BC
), and several more. Some of these documents even give details on the mechanism of the vehicles. Chapter XXXI of the Samarangana Sutradhara contains details of the construction of this machine, and it has been found that one manuscript of this treatise is as old as
AD
1610. There are 230 stanzas dealing with not only their construction, but also with take-off, their ability to cruise for distances of thousands of miles, and the danger of bird strike!

Since the 1960s, a number of organizations and experts have done complete books on the vimanas, including technical drawings, several of which are in English. In fact, B.G. Talpule wrote a book in Marathi entitled
Vimana Kalecha Sodha
in 1907, in which he described the vimana, which he said he had constructed in 1895. It is the first printed text on flying machines in India, but Swami Dayananda Saraswati had previously argued that there were aerial flying machines in ancient Indian texts, and he interpreted verses of the Veda from that perspective.

The Vedas say that the Rbhus built an aerial chariot for the use of the twin Asvinas, the physicians among the gods. The craft was comfortable and could move everywhere, including the heaven and sky. The vehicle could fly faster than the mind,
was triangular, large, three-tiered, uneven, and piloted by at least three people. It had three wheels, and was made of gold, silver, or iron, though it was most often described as gold. It would come down with a great sound, and when it did, it was said that many people gathered to see its landing. It was said to also be able to land on the sea and then come to shore. When it moved on land, it left marks of its wheels. Apart from the three pilots, it could accommodate seven or eight people. It had scheduled flights: three at night and three during the day. Its departure was accompanied by loud sounds, which were said to make buildings tremble as well as uproot trees and small plants. The parallels between this story and the “vision” of Ezekiel are quite clear; maybe, indeed, Ezekiel was visited by a vimana?

Apart from vimanas, the Mahabharata also contains references to missiles, armaments, war machines, and like. These weapons were said to have caused colossal destruction, comparable only to modern nuclear warfare.

Passages of the Mahabharata read:

...[It was] a single projectile
Charged with all the power of the Universe.
An incandescent column of smoke and flame
As bright as the thousand suns
Rose in all its splendor...
... It was an unknown weapon,
An iron thunderbolt,
A gigantic messenger of death,
Which reduced to ashes
The entire race of the Vrishnis and the Andhakas.
... The corpses were so burned
As to be unrecognizable.
The hair and nails fell out;
Pottery broke without apparent cause,
And the birds turned white.
After a few hours
All foodstuffs were infected...
....to escape from this fire
The soldiers threw themselves in streams
To wash themselves and their equipment.

A detailed study into the question of whether vimanas and the related passages from the ancient Indian accounts are evidence of crafts with flight (if not spaceflight) capability was done by Richard L. Thompson, a scientist with a PhD in mathematics from Cornell University. He found that the numerous Indian texts gave accurate dimensions for the diameter of the Earth and even the plane of the ecliptic. The Puranas spoke of 400,000 humanlike races living on various planets and of 8 million other life-forms. Many of these races were said to possess
siddhi
, which humans could master, but were not born with. These siddhi were what in the West are labeled paranormal abilities, such as mental communication, but they also involved a number of techniques, such as changing the size or weight of objects, levitation, or moving objects through the ether without being impeded by physical obstacles, as well as entering another human being’s body and taking control of it.