Saturday, February 1, 2014

Pharaonic Reigns of Kings of Egypt of 1st Dynasty Redated by Oxford University Archaeologists

Via the Ancient World Blog.

Archaeologists at Oxford University (UK),
-- apparently trying to practice "evidence-based" archaeology --
are using newest technologies and radiocarbon data,
and have now redated the Pharaonic reigns
of the 1st Dynasty of kings of ancient Egypt, as follows:
New Dates for Rule of the Pharaohs of the 1st Dynasty
according to Oxford University Archaeology
  • King Aha 3111 B.C. and 3045 B.C. 
  • King Djer 3073 B.C. to 3036 B.C. 
  • King Djet 2989 B.C. to 2941 B.C 
  • Queen Merneith 2946 B.C. to 2916 B.C. 
  • King Den 2928 B.C. to 2911 B.C. 
  • King Anedjib 2916 B.C. to 2896 B.C. 
  • King Semerkhet from 2912 B.C. to  2891 B.C. 
  • King Qa'a from 2906 B.C. to 2886 B.C.
See Ancient Egypt Timeline Suggests Civilization Developed Faster Than Previously Thought at Huntington Post by Laura Poppick in LiveScience. 

Of course, the more they redate their data, the closer they are coming to our own long-since published timeline of reigns of the Pharaohs as based mainly on astronomical considerations.

Here are the dates we posted years ago to LexiLine and elsewhere based on astronomical calculations and analysis of Manetho's dynasties.
  • King Aha 3117 B.C. and 3054 B.C.  -- The name Menes surely goes back to the Greek name for Aha's hieroglyph which consists of a long bread shovel and kiln, Greek
    κάμινος i.e. Menes was reprsented by κά μινος, but the intention here is to name him as "the Moon", in Indo-European e.g. Latvian Mēness "moon". The ka- particle might be represented by the shovel viz. spoon element in the hieroglyph, in Latvian karote.
  • ?? (Djer) 3054 B.C. to 2997 B.C. 
  • King Djed 2997 B.C. to 2967 B.C 
  • King Den 2967 B.C. to 2945 B.C. 
  • ?? (Queen Merneith) 2967 B.C. to 2945 B.C. 
  • King Anedjib 2900 B.C. to 2880 B.C. 
  • King Semerkhet from 2880 B.C. to  2865 B.C. 
  • King Qa'a from 2865 B.C. to 2837 B.C.
Manetho wrote that the First Dynasty extended 263 years (which Africanus summed as 253 years). For our list, it would mean the first Dynasty ran from 3117 B.C: to 2854 B.C., i.e. ended with the reign of Qa'a.

We have in the interim refined the star realms that we think were intended by the reigns but that part of our work is still a road under construction.

Start of the Calender at dawn
near the
Winter Solstice Point
3117 BC
at Deneb Al Giedi viz. Nashira in Capricorn


(we note the above date as December 25, 3117 in the images,
but of course, as that date should be adjusted
by a thus far non-existing calendric correction for precession)
 
Conjunction and Eclipses on this date
of the Sun, Moon and Jupiter.
The Moon and Sun repeat here every 1460 years
(4 x 365 = 1460). 
Obviously,
the ancients saw an eclipse of the Sun at dawn
near the Winter Solstice point
as a "starting" point for their heaven-based calender.
 
This date in fact marks the start of Pharaonic Egyptian, Biblical, Hindu and Maya Calendars.

By our calcualtions, Starry Night Pro, far more accurate by the way than e.g. Red Shift, some years ago in Version 3.0 showed this stellar position nearly correctly, but since then in more recent versions has used what is proving to be an erroneous position of the pole, which apparently is now being corrected. A new Delta T value also seems to have brought errors.

Pharaonic reigns correspond to star reigns. That was the custom.
"As above, so below". Rulers had a "realm" of stars that marked their earthly reign.

The eclipse of the Sun at sunrise in Capricorn on the Winter Solstice date
is shown on the famed Narmer Palette as follows (our decipherment and analysis),

and below that we also show the Chronology Palette of Narmer,
which shows -- in our analysis and decipherment -- that 180 years had passed since the founding of Pharaonic Egypt and that same chronology palette:






Speculative Timeline
of the Ancient World
by Astronomy


This is a timeline in development.




BC
Year
Event or King
Running
Year
8957 BC
Lascaux
Pleiades at the Winter Solstice
in the Cave of the Dead Man

The mainstream dates this earlier,
but we see big problems with that dating.
Charcoal in the caves could date from earlier use of the cave by man and is no proof the paintings are equally old and, indeed, as written at American-Buddha.com, "the charcoal washed into the cave and found immediately below the calcited basins of the Hall of the Bulls and the Passageway, together with that recovered from the debris cone in the entrance woe, showed a possible occupation of the site during the Mesolithic. This last attempt to enter the cave, which was perhaps merely an occupation close to the entrance, has left absolutely no trace of portable objects or colouring matter. The weighted mean of the five more recent dates is 8380 ± 60 BP."
That is close to the date of our astronomical analysis of the paintings as represented in the painting at the Cave of the Dead Man at Lascaux.
-5840
7497 BC
Cave Painting Planisphere at Ignatievka
Rock Planisphere of Lake Onega in the Hermitage
-4380
6037 BC
Sahara Rock Drawings
-2920
4577 BC
Rock Sky Map, White Sea, Staraya Zalavruga, Karelia
-1460
 
Start of the Calender
Calendric Genesis = Adam = Odin = Menes
=  Deneb Al Giedi in Capricorn
Winter Solstice, 3117 BC
Conjunction and Eclipses
of the Sun, Moon and Jupiter.
The Moon and Sun repeat here every 1460 years.

This date marks the date of the start of Pharaonic Egyptian, Biblical, Hindu and Maya Calendars - as demonstrated in detail on the separate pages which follow - the lengths of "reign" derive from Pharaonic dynasties listed on monuments, hieroglyphs and papyri. The monument of Khasekhemwy is e.g. very important. The pharaonic reigns correspond to star reigns.
 
Start of the Calender
 Calender Creation
Narmer = Naram-Sin = Nara-Simsah = Scorpion King = Aldebaran /Antares (creator of the 1st calender merging earth and heaven - "the two lands" - by astronomical "hermetic" geodetics as Scorpio marks Autumn Equinox in 3117 BC
Narmer i.e. Nar-Mer has the name root MER-
(mērīt means "measure" in Indo-European, e.g. Latvian)
Sin is an old name for "Moon" and Shamash is an old name for the Sun - whence the variant Egyptian explanations. 
 Calender Creation
3117 BC
Hor-Aha = Hor-Vandillus = Seth = Athothis = Orion
(Hor-Aha = King Orry = legendary King Arthur)
Year 0
3054 BC
Athothis II = Osiris = Kenkenis = Cain = Canis Major
62
2997 BC
Athothis III = Djed = Gemini (Abel)
119
2967 BC
Enos = Den = Cancer
150
2945 BC
Mahalaleel = MaLikiyy = Jared = Lugal = Leo
172
2925 BC
Jared = (Djer?) = Hydra
192
2900 BC
Enoch = Anedjib = Denebola
217
2880 BC
Methuselah = Semerchet = Coma Berenices
= Sechem-Ka and Merneith
237
2865 BC
Qa'a = Lamech = Spica
253


BC
Year
Event or King    
Running
Year


November 19, 2837 Solar Eclipse over Egypt at the sky location Antares / Dschubba in Scorpio = Hetep Sekhemwy

2825 BC
Hetep-Sekhemwy
= Antares viz. Dschubba = Noah
292
2786 BC
Shem = Kaiekos = Raneb
= the Prong of Sagittarius
330
2740 BC
Arphaxad = Nynetjer
= Enif (viz. Markab) = Pegasus
(Sometimes the star to start is used but sometimes also the star to end the reign was used by the ancients.)
377
2720 BC
Sechemib = Weneg = Salah = Shalish = Tlas = Al Dalw = the Water Bucket of Aquarius
397
2680 BC
Eber = Sethenis = Seth-Peribsen
= Al  Sharatan = Aries
437
2663 BC
Khasekhem (variant of Khasekhemwy)
454
2638 BC
Peleg = Khasekhemwy = Pleiades viz. Aldebaran and the Hyades (Please Note - for specialists - After Khasekhemwy, Manetho follows the stellar reigns of the stars, rather than the length of reigns as given on the Turin Canon.)
480
2638 BC
Khasekhemwy makes the first intercalation for the tropical year of 365.25 days in the 480th running year after 3117 BC and thus sets a precedent for such intercalation every 480 years.
In 480 years 120 leap days must be added to a solar calendar of 365 days to get it in sync with the tropical year (star time). The total lengths of reigns for the remaining "Old Kingdom" Pharaohs on the Turin Canon of Kings is also ca. 480 years and this brings the Old Kingdom to an end on 2157 BC - according to the Turin Canon. The 120-day intercalation made at this time in Egypt has been misinterpreted as 120 "years" by the Egyptologists and assigned to the 9th and 10th Dynasties (ca. 2160-2040 BC in Clayton's Chronicle of the Pharaohs), which is also called the First Intermediate Period. The Egyptologists have erred. Similar 120-day intercalations were made at 480-year intervals in 1677 BC (2nd Intermediate Period and period of the Hyksos) , in 1197 BC (this is Sethos, also known as King David in the Bible), 717 BC (Reign of Numa Pompilius, the 1st calendric king of Rome, begins), and 237 BC (restoration of the Etruscan "secular games" in Rome). It must be noted however that the Turin Canon did not properly understand the division of Kingdoms. One kingdom was the Metonic Cycle (19 years) times the Saros Cycle (18 years) x 2 = 684 years, as seen on ancient monuments.
See Narmer Heb-Sed
Running
Year
480


April 1, 2471 BC Solar Eclipse over Egypt at the Pleiades and the red star Aldebaran = Red Pyramid of Snofru
September 2, 2469 BC Solar Eclipse over Egypt at Spica in Virgo = Bent Pyramid and why there is west high entrance here, such as not found in any other pyramid

2433 BC
The Great Geodetic Pyramids of Giza are built, to calculate and correct for precession, starting with the Cheops Pyramid. Go to the Great Pyramid
July 25, 2430 BC Solar Eclipse over Egypt at Zosma and Chort (these are marked by the Kings and Queens Chambers at the Great Pyramid and by the Sphinx = Leo)
Cheops


March 23, 2340 BC Solar Eclipse over Egypt at the Pleiades under the gate to heaven between Auriga and Perseus. This is RA-thosis (= Chephren, Khaf-RA).
Rathosis
Chephren

December 20, 2289 BC Solar Eclipse over Egypt at the boat of Capricorn with a bird (Aquila) in the eclipse boat.
Unas


BC
Year
    Event or King    
Running
Year
2159 BC
Antef I (also written Intef)
First Intermediate Period of 120 years (sic). Actually, 120 days are intercalated for the tropical year. June 29, 2159 BC Solar Eclipse over Egypt at the middle of Cancer. Antev refers to the (astronomical) high priest but perhaps also means an eclipse.
960
(2 x 480 actually 2 x 479)
2079 BC
Antef II
September 11, 2079 BC Solar Eclipse over Egypt at Spica in Virgo (whence the bushy hieroglyph).


2044 BC
Antef III
April 20, 2044 BC Solar Eclipse over Egypt at the Pleiades under the gate of heaven between Auriga and Perseus. This is ANtef III since ENA means eclipse. The eclipse - according to Pharaonic records - occurred in the 39th year of the reign of Mentuhotep, so that Mentuhotep's reign started 2083 BC.

Mentuhotep

1884 BC
September 15, 1884 BC Solar Eclipse over Egypt at Spica in Virgo. This was the expedition taken in the 24th year of Amenemhet II's reign and the 4th year of Senwosret's concurrent reign - the son was taken along to see the eclipse, making the start of Amenemhet II's reign at 1908 BC.

Amenemhet
II
1749 BC
Papyrus of Ebers
Correction for Precession
1368
(2 x 684)
1741 BC
Antef IV
December 21, 1741 BC Solar Eclipse over Egypt in the boat of Capricorn = Chendjer
Chendjer
1707 BC
Birth of Moses in the reign of Chaneferre, so Artapanus.
Moses

1699 BC
April 16, 1699 BC Solar Eclipse over Egypt at the Pleiades under the gate of heaven between Auriga and Perseus. This is Pharaoh Sobekhotep IV Chaneferre, who ruled 10 years, during whose reign Moses was born, according to Artapanus, so this puts the start of the reign of Chaneferre at 1709 BC. His cartouche shows the Sun, Moon and throat sign - i.e. eclipse.

Chaneferre
1677 BC
Second Intermediate Period
Hyksos = Midianites
1440
(3 x 480)
August 4
1627 BC
Exodus, the Volcano Santorin explodes on Thera This volcanic activity is marked by a conjunction of Sun, Jupiter, Venus and Mars at the tail of Leo in August 4, 1627 BC.
Moses is 80 at this time according to the sources and lives to be 83. Joshua (Ahmose) is king and rules 57 years to 1570 BC.
Exodus
Joshua
Ahmose
1533 BC
May 9, 1533 BC Solar Eclipse over Egypt at the upraised right arm of Orion (near Aldebaran) below the gate to heaven between Auriga and Perseus. This is Amenhotep I and his cartouche shows the arm of Orion.
Amenhotep I
1478 BC
June 1, 1478 BC Solar Eclipse over Egypt in the "pot" or "well" of Gemini. The "pot" for the "well of Gemini" is shown in the cartouche of Hatshepsut, co-regent with son Thutmosis III.
Hatshepsut Thutmosis III
1338 BC
May 14, 1338 BC Solar Eclipse over Egypt at the upraised right arm of Orion. This is Amenhotep III. In the cartouche the upraised arm of Orion is the staff of Orion.
Amenhotep III
1258 BC
July 27, 1258 BC Solar Eclipse over Egypt at Regulus in Leo. This was later the origin of "sparkling Aton" (it must have been a coronal eclipse, as Starry Night Pro seems to also show) applied later to Echnaton (Akhenaten), called King SAUL because his birth occurred with an eclipse in the kingly sign of the lion. The solar eclipse probably passed over Amarna, which was why the capital was later moved to Amarna.
Amenhotep IV
Echnaton (Akhenaten)
1197 BC
King David (= Sethos I who was Ramses I)
begins a rule of 40 years. These years are shown in the famous hall of records of Sethos.
1920
(4 x 480)
1157 BC
Ramses II (= King Solomon)
begins a rule of 67 years.
This is the August 19, 1157 BC Solar Eclipse over Egypt near Spica in Virgo, on a line with MIZAR (=MESES in Rameses)
Ramses II
1152 BC
The Battle of Kadesh takes place in the 5th year of the reign of King Solomon (Ramses II), allegedly ca. 480 years after Exodus (so the Bible), but it appears that the start of the reign of Ramses is 480 years after Exodus..
Battle of Kadesh
1129 BC
February 14, 1129 BC Solar Eclipse over Egypt below the back end of Pisces, under Pegasus, the Great Square. In the 29th year of the reign of Ramses II at Abu Simbel - marking the reign of Ramses II - there is an entry uncertainly identified by the Egyptologists as an "earthquake" It is a solar eclipse.

Abu Simbel
1090 BC
Merenptah = Rehoboam
Priam (King of Lydia, Troy) = Jeroboam. This rivalry leads to the Trojan War in this period.
 Merenptah Rehoboam Priam Jeroboam
1063 BC
July 31, 1063 BC Solar Eclipse over Egypt at Chort and Zosma in Leo. This is shown in the cartouche of Pharaoh Siptah and perhaps the cartouche of Sethnacht also marked this event.
 Siptah Sethnacht
1060 BC
Shishak = Ramses III. Shishak's was not an Egyptian, as his building of a Syrian migdol in Egypt shows. This is the period of the war against the sea peoples, the "Trojan War"
Ramses III
Trojan War
957 BC
May 31, 957 BC Solar Eclipse over Egypt in the "pot" or "well" of Gemini. This is the Pharaoh Herihor.
 Herihor
948 BC
May 22, 948 BC Solar Eclipse over Egypt above Orion. This is the Pharaoh Pinodjem.
 Pinodjem
932 BC
January 27, 932 BC Solar Eclipse over Egypt at Markab in Pegasus. This is the Pharaoh Masaharta.
 Masaharta
831 BC
August 15, 831 BC Solar Eclipse over Egypt at Denebola in Leo. The end tail star of Leo is shown as the tail in the cartouche of Psusennes II and III (same person?). Latvian PUS-ENAS would mean "half an eclipse, partial eclipse" = PSUSENNES.

Psusennes
716 BC 
Start of the reign of Numa Pompilius,
the 1st calendric king of Rome, begins
2400
(5 x 480)
636 BC
August 19, 636 BC Solar Eclipse over Egypt at Denebola in Leo. This is Pharaoh Tefnacht.

Tefnacht
582 BC
September 21, 582 BC Solar Eclipse over Egypt at Spica in Virgo. This unusual heavenly conjunction involved an occultation of Jupiter, Saturn and Mercury. Taking the Moon or the Sun to be the host, there were "four visitors". These four "visitors" are glorified in the monument of Pianchi (Peje).

Pianchi
517 BC
March 28, 517 BC Solar Eclipse over Egypt at Sheratan in Aries. This is Taharqa (Aries) going on to Tanutamani (Taurus).
 Taharqa
502 BC
December 4, 502 BC Solar Eclipse over Egypt at Sagittarius. This is Psammetichus I.
 Psamm-etichus
493 BC
November 24, 493 BC Solar Eclipse over Egypt at Sagittarius. This is Psammetichus II.
Psamm-etichus
236 BC
 
Restoration of the Etruscan
"Secular (calendric) Games" in Rome
2880
(6 x 480)


Go to Khasekhemwy
Go to Kings after Khasekhemwy


Friday, July 5, 2013

Timelines of Human Prehistory and Ancient History

The Timeline of Human Prehistory at Wikipedia gives an approximate chronology from about 200,000 years ago to about 3400 B.C.

The Timeline of Ancient History at Wikipedia gives an approxmiate chronology from about 7000 B.C. to about 500 A.D.

All of those dates are approximations, but they give a good idea of chronological development based on the current -- fragmentary -- state of knowledge in mainstream science.



Friday, May 18, 2012

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Researchers Develop Method for Distinguishing Ancient Human DNA from Modern Day Contaminants | GenomeWeb Daily News | Sequencing | GenomeWeb

Researchers Develop Method for Distinguishing Ancient Human DNA from Modern Day Contaminants | GenomeWeb Daily News | Sequencing | GenomeWeb
"NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – Researchers from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and the Russian Academy of Sciences have come up with a way to overcome modern human DNA contamination — a major obstacle in past ancient human DNA sequencing efforts....

Based on the DNA patterns present in mitochondria, the researchers concluded that the Russian remains are roughly 30,000 years old — in the same range as previous estimates that put the skeleton's age at between 30,000 and 33,000 years old....

The team is currently trying to collect more samples from early modern human populations. And the new method may have applications for studies of historical population patterns throughout Europe and elsewhere, Krause explained, such as the effects of an ice age occurring in Europe around 20,000 years ago."

Friday, January 15, 2010

Bible Possibly Written Centuries Earlier, Texts Suggests

Bible Possibly Written Centuries Earlier, Texts Suggests
"Scientists have discovered the earliest known Hebrew writing — an inscription dating from the 10th century B.C., during the period of King David's reign....

'It indicates that the Kingdom of Israel already existed in the 10th century BCE and that at least some of the biblical texts were written hundreds of years before the dates presented in current research,' said Gershon Galil, a professor of Biblical Studies at the University of Haifa in Israel, who deciphered the ancient text."

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

LexiLine Journal #27-L - 2002 : Paviland Cave - Serpens Caput - South Wales

Update:

New methods of dating have dated what is said to be human bone collagen at Paviland to ca. 30000 BC. It is very hard to argue against these kinds of chronological materials, even though the radiocarbon dating game has been shifting its data continuously ever since it was initially applied to artefacts and bones as a chronological tool.

We are VERY skeptical that humans in that era had the kind of red ochre burial found at Paviland, which has no comparable anywhere in the world at that date. We think something is very flawed with this data.


See
Red Lady of Paviland (in interim identified as a male)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Red_Lady_of_Paviland

Higham, et al., The earliest evidence for anatomically modern humans in north-western Europe, Nature 479, 521–524 (24 November 2011),
Olaf Jöris, Martin Street, At the end of the 14C time scale -- the Middle to Upper Paleolithic record of western Eurasia, Forschungsbereich Altsteinzeit des Römisch-Germanischen Zentralmuseums, Schloß Monrepos, Neuwied. Journal of Human Evolution 55 (2008) 782–802 http://www.anth.uconn.edu/faculty/adler/JHE 55(5)/4. Joris & Street 2008 JHE.pdf.


B. Wohlfarth et al. in
have pointed out that AMS radiocarbon dating has pitfalls because of the small sample sizes used. 

Jöris & Street (cited above) have written generally about chronology in that era

"[I]t is increasingly clear that the database for constructing a chronology for the period under consideration (ca. 40–30 ka 14 C BP) is flawed, and that major contextual and methodological problems have been underestimated (cf. Blockley et al., 2008)."


________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ old posting follows _______


This material was originally posted at LexiLine (687 and 689) and then at LexiLine Journal #27-L - 2002 : Paviland Cave - Serpens Caput - South Wales
I have uploaded
paviland.gif and
paviland.tif
to the Ancient Britain Files.


Paviland is one of the archaeological sites in the United Kingdom which demonstrates the scope of confusion present in mainstream archaeology - as one can see from
http://www.archaeology.co.uk/issues/ca160/ca160.htm
http://www.esc.cam.ac.uk/oistage3/Secure/OIS-3i.html
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/timelines/wales/paviland.shtml
http://scarab.newport.ac.uk/pavi/paviland.html
http://intarch.ac.uk/antiquity/a-green.html

As noted at
http://www.adonde.com.pe/fundacion5000/AfarLuc1.htm
"PAVILAND CAVE
Location: Wales
This limestone cave was home to what has become known as "The Red Lady of Paviland". The remains of this young man (originally thought to be a woman) were stained with red ochre - perhaps indication of religious beliefs. This young man was also found with stone, bones and ivory tools as well as with many types of animal bones. When this cave was originally found the remains inside of it were explained by the Big Flood. The animal remains found within the cave were thought to have been swept into the cave by the flood waters and the skeleton was thought to have been buried there after the waters retreated and "man" settled in England.
"
IN FACT
As noted at http://www.neanderthal-modern.com/genetic2.htm:
"A bone from an earlier modern human, buried at the Paviland Cave in Wales 26,000 years ago [that is totally false], just one or two thousand years after Neanderthals had vanished, has also yielded a control-region sequence matching those of present-day people. But the researchers who extracted this sequence are uncertain whether it is genuinely ancient or might instead have come from a living person who handled the bone (Sykes, 2000). "
Read again "the DNA matches present-day people" - So there you have it - the DNA sequence is MODERN and the radiocarbon people have botched it terribly again.

The reason that artifacts are found at Paviland is that Merlin (Aesculapius) kept his souvenirs here of his worldwide journey with the Argonauts - this includes the ancient African necklace, pieces of ivory (from Africa) and mastodon bone, which he probably brought with him from Siberia, and many other artifacts of his voyage. Perhaps he also kept some old human skulls there which he brought from elsewhere on his voyage.

For a picture of the African necklace found at Paviland see
http://emuseum.mnsu.edu/archaeology/sites/europe/paviland_cave.html

All mainstream dating of the things found at Paviland is thus totally unreliable and mostly false.

As noted at
http://www.britarch.ac.uk/ba/ba61/feat3.shtml:
"... confirmed the burial site by finding a spread of ochre associated with ivory rods parallel to the cave wall, and added to our understanding of how the body - which was incomplete at the time of discovery probably because of marine erosion - had been interred. The bones were deeply stained with red ochre, and the grave goods - ivory rod and bracelet fragments, and perforated periwinkle shells - were all similarly stained."
As stated at
http://www.croydoncavingclub.org.uk/Archive/Pelobates/069/S07.htm
all evidence for alleged ancient human occupation in the United Kingdom prior to the ice age comes from only four places: Paviland, Kent's Cavern, Gough's Cave and Creswell Crags - all of which I have shown to be megalithic sites in ca. 3117 BC.

Mainstream archaeologists have erred terribly here and genetic DNA evidence denies the veracity of their conclusions entirely.

If we were to believe the archaeologists' dating, we then had one human here from about 26,000 BC - surviving the period of glaciation together with Mastodon bones (in England ?!!!) and an African necklace - and then nothing until 20,0000 years later. This is all just wishful thinking by the archaeologists. In fact, the glaciation eliminated all traces of human occupation in the North and everything we find of human habitation is after that period.

[Update September 26, 2006]

The issue of Paviland is important, not just for our megalithic research. If we accept the radiocarbon date of ca. 25,000 years ago for the burial at Paviland, then this is the OLDEST human ever found in Europe - which stretches the imagination a bit.

It would mean that the shaman's burial took place prior to the ice age, survived a vast cover of ice intact, together with Mastodon bones and an African necklace and many other artifacts. Pretty farfetched really.

Here is what is written at
http://emuseum.mnsu.edu/archaeology/sites/europe/paviland_cave.html
"Paviland Cave
In 1823, the first recorded discovery of fossil human remains took place at Goat's Hole Cave in Paviland on the Gower peninsula of South Wales. The excavator, Rev. William Buckland initially thought that it was the remains of a woman, probably of a Roman prostitute or witch. It was later discovered that they were the remains of a man, but the name "Red Lady of Paviland" is still used.

The remains were discovered buried in red clay in the cave. It was the first evidence of a ritual burial where a young man was buried and covered in red ochre and accompanied by grave goods mad out of bone, antler, and ivory. The remains date back to about 26,000 b.p. Paviland is the richest Early Upper Paleolithic site in the British Isles and is the only ceremonial burial of the Aurignacian age. This site, with over 40 radiocarbon dates, holds our understanding of the chronology of human activity and settlement from about 30,000 - 21,000 years ago.

The Red Lady of Paviland was buried with ivory ornaments and perforated sea-shell necklaces among other items.

Sources

Stephen Aldhouse-Green and Paul Pettitt, "Paviland Cave:
Contextualizing the `Red Lady."
Antiquity."
So, that is the - not undisputed - theory.

What speaks against this date?

1. We otherwise have no record of human burial prior to about 8000 BC anywhere, and certainly not in the sophistication found at Paviland.

2. The DNA analysis indicates the man is "modern", i.e. post-ice age.

3. The bones were soaked with red ochre - are we getting the radiocarbon date of something in the red ochre?

4. There are no records otherwise of Mastodons in the UK here - so Mastodon bones or ivory here were brought here from elsewhere in an age where travel to Mastodon-areas was possible by boat - this puts the date at no earlier than about 4000 BC.

5. The African Necklace finds no counterpart in 25,000 BC but would be well suited to the date I set to Paviland, which is ca. 3000 BC.

6. The burial involved a "shaman", "sorcerer" or "witch" - and, indeed, the first of this kind of burial ever found on earth. We have no records of such shamans in Europe prior to the ice age. But we do have a legend in the UK of a great shaman in remote days - his name was handed down to us as Merlin of legend and locally as "Mother Meldrum", a witch who lived part of the year on one cave (IMO Paviland - summer) and part of the year in another cave (IMO
Kents Cavern - winter). See
www.exmoor-nationalpark.gov.uk/Resources/Downloads/exmoor_access_l.pdf
where it is written:
"Stories about witches include Mother Meldrum, who lived in a cave near Tarr Steps in the summer and in another cave in the Valley of Rocks during the winter ".
(One cave on the Exmoor Coast - now assigned as the cave of Mother Meldrum by locals - is as good as inaccessible. See
http://www.geocities.com/exmoorwalker/. Another alleged and doubtful
location for the summer residence is found at
http://www.westcountrynow.com/main/itineraries/tours_lornadoone.cfm
where it is written:
"From Dunster take a drive to Exford en-route you will see Dunkery
Beacon, the highest point on Exmoor. The Beacon, used by the Doones
[Latvian Udeni - the "water people", i.e. Tautha de Danaan] to light
the way to their encampment, is now marked by a cairn of stones
[megalithic !]. Exford is situated on the banks of the river Exe and
is overlooked by high moorland. This is the parish where Tom Faggus
contrived to join forces with a group of men sent to apprehend him,
tricked them into emptying their guns and the robbed them at the
point of his own. From here you can travel south to Dulverton which
lies on the river Barle and has many old buildings of interest and
is also home of the Exmoor National Park Visitor Centre. All Saints
Church has a set of stained glass windows donated by Sir George
Williams, the founder of the YMCA, who was born at nearby Ashway
Farm. The ancient clapper bridge and Tarr Steps are probably of Iron
Age origins. This was the summer home of Mother Meldrum, the wise
woman of the story who warned John Ridd against the Doones."
The Valley of Rocks is described at
www.moorlandrover.co.uk/exmoor.htm:
"Our first stop this morning is the ancient clapper bridge at TARR
Steps on the River BARLE. From the ancient ridge road across
Sandyway and Fyldon we have distant views of the whole of North
Devon. A narrow coastal road takes us via Lee Abbey and Mother
MELDRUM'S CAVE into the VALLEY OF ROCKS. LYNTON – scene of a flood
disaster in 1952 – is on the agenda and we pause for tea beside the
river at WATERSMEET. "
An area prone to flooding is not a very likely area for an ancient residence - the ancients were smarter than that.

7. The bones found are "singular" - why if there was an ancient
community here has nothing else been found from that period. Why are
all the rest of the finds in this area from a period ca. 3000 BC?

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