Tune in this coming Friday, April 29

Tune in this Friday, April 29th, at 12:30 in the afternoon (Pacific Time) to KPRL AM 1230 for a conversation with David Warner Mathisen, the author of the Mathisen Corollary.

KPRL broadcasts from Paso Robles, California in San Luis Obispo County, and covers an area stretching from King City and Soledad in the north to Arroyo Grande and Santa Maria in the south, and to all the Central Coast towns of Cambria, Morro Bay, Los Osos, and Pismo Beach (see coverage area map below).

If you live outside of the local coverage area, you can listen live over the internet here.

The date of Easter

Easter day is approaching, and this year will fall on the same day for the Eastern and Western churches (due to the adoption of the Gregorian calendar in the West in AD 1582, which was not adopted by Eastern churches who still calculate feast days using the older Julian calendar, the dates for Easter are often determined to be on different Sundays by the Eastern and Western churches).

The calculation of the date of Easter is geared to the March equinox. This is because Easter is related to Passover, or the Feast of Unleavened Bread, which Christ was celebrating with his disciples at the Last Supper. The timing of Passover was ordained in Exodus 12:1-2 and is based on a lunar calendar rather than a solar calendar.

The Explanatory Supplement to the Astronomical Almanac for 2005, edited by P. Kenneth Seidelmann of the United States Naval Observatory, explains the calculation of the date of Easter:

In the Gregorian calendar, the date of Easter is defined to occur on the Sunday following the ecclesiastical Full Moon that falls on or next after March 21. This should not be confused with the popular notion that Easter is the first Sunday after the first Full Moon following the vernal equinox. In the first place, the vernal equinox does not necessarily occur on March 21. In addition, the ecclesiastical Full Moon is not the same as the astronomical Full Moon -- it is based on tables that do not take into account the full complexity of lunar motion. As a result, the date of an ecclesiastical Full Moon may differ from that of the true Full Moon. However, the Gregorian system of leap years and lunar tables does prevent progressive departure of the tabulated data from the astronomical phenomena.

This year, the first ecclesiastical full moon after March 21 was that of April 17, which means that Easter will be this Sunday, April 24. The latest that Easter can possibly fall is April 25, which will occur in 2038, as explained in this article from Space.com by meteorologist and columnist Joe Rao. It also explains that, due to the fact that the obliquity of the ecliptic is steepest with respect to the horizon in the northern hemisphere at the spring equinox, the moon rises considerably later each night at this time (the sun, moon and planets travel on or near the ecliptic, which is the plane of the solar system -- the moon's path is not exactly on the ecliptic, or else we would have an eclipse every month).

If the concept of equinoxes or the ecliptic are confusing to you, they are detailed at great length and with numerous diagrams in the Mathisen Corollary.

The distinction between ecclesiastical full moons and astronomical full moons is not dealt with, because the celestial phenomena of greatest concern in the Mathisen Corollary

are those which were encoded by very ancient civilizations in their mythologies and monuments (primarily dealing with solstices, equinoxes, and the phenomenon of precession). However, as the calculations regarding the date of Easter demonstrate, the importance of these heavenly phenomena continues to this day.

Review of Hamlet's Mill

I recently published this review of Hamlet's Mill: an essay on myth and the frame of time, by Girogio de Santillana and Hertha von Dechend (1969):

As many have noted, Hamlet's Mill is not an "easy" read, but it is an absolutely worthwhile experience not only to read but to re-read this seminal thesis on the transmission of ancient astronomical knowledge through mythology and legend. Perhaps the fact that a reader must wrestle with this text is part of the reason that it has generated so many fruitful inquiries and theories by later authors. The entire book is rich with ideas, many of which the authors drop and then pick up again and again later in the text, some of which are simply left for later analysts to pursue further on their own. Slice into it at any point and you will find a rich vein of material that can suggest new avenues for you to explore in the ancient history and literatures of the world. Sometimes an easy read or a text that hands you all of its answers and does the work for you is not "what the doctor ordered." Hamlet's Mill definitely makes more sense the second and even third time through. That in and of itself makes this book worth your while -- it's a gift that keeps on giving, a book you can keep on reading, even after you reach the end!

That being said, I have tried to make part of their thesis and some of the threads of their argument more clear in my own recent book, the Mathisen Corollary!

Hamlet's Mill was a seminal influence on my own work. Here are a few ways in which my text amplifies or takes different paths and reaches different conclusions:

• While the authors of Hamlet's Mill believe that all flood legends deal primarily with astronomical matters alone (ie are metaphors and not literal events), I believe there is strong evidence that these legends reveal a cataclysmic global flood during human memory, and that this flood event was associated with the start of the phenomenon known as precession, which is encoded in many of the same flood myths and almost always related to the flood in those myths.

• The explanation of the celestial phenomena is much more expansive than what is found in Hamlet's Mill. Instead of simply using the term "colures," for example, the Mathisen Corollary explains exactly what the colures are and why they turn with precession. All the important aspects of the precession of the equinoxes and the turning of the celestial "millstone" of heaven are explained in detail.
•  

• New evidence of precessional numbers is discovered in certain archaeological finds at Teotihuacan (including a pecked cross opposite to the Way of the Dead, and in certain measurements pioneered by the indefatigable Hugh Harleston).

• New evidence of precessional numbers and themes in the ancient mithraea of the Persian Mysteries is discusssed, including some original observations I have never seen published anywhere else (in addition to discussion of the groundbreaking work by Professor David Ulansey).

• Geological evidence is presented in juxtaposition with archaeological and mythological evidence.

I would urge anyone interested in this subject to read de Santillana and von Dechend's Hamlet's Mill.

It is not an easy read, but it is a worthwhile one. If you want to make it a little easier on yourself, read the Mathisen Corollary first and then read Hamlet's Mill, but either way, Hamlet's Mill is essential and may start you on your own journeys of exploration!

What about earthquakes? Effect of Japan earthquake on earth's spin rotation supports hydroplate theory

One of the questions that is often asked when arguing that the theory of plate tectonics is incorrect is: "What about earthquakes?" It seems that tectonics provides a satisfying explanation for earthquakes, with its theory that earthquakes are caused by the collision of tectonic plates along fault lines.

However, as we have already discussed, there are significant problems with the tectonic theory, many of which are resolved under the hydroplate theory of Dr. Walt Brown. On the other hand, the hydroplate explains the geological phenomena as well or better than the tectonic theory -- including its explanation for earthquakes. As explained in a previous post, the hydroplate theory proposes that earthquakes are primarily caused by shifting rather than drifting, and that shifting involves a reduction of imbalances created during the cataclysmic global flood event.

In his 7th edition of In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood, Dr. Brown wrote:

The distinction between drifting and shifting is subtle but important. A box drifts on the sea, but a box shifts in the back of a truck. [. . .] The plate tectonic theory says continents steadily drift. The hydroplate theory says crustal plates drifted rapidly but briefly on a layer of high-pressure water near the end of the flood. This drifting produced imbalances. Since then, these and other imbalances caused by the flood sporadically shift continents and everything below.

[. . .]

Almost 90% of all earthquake energy is released under trenches. Earthquakes often occur near sloping planes, called Benioff zones, that intersect a trench. These earthquake zones enter the mantle at 35o – 65o angles below the horizontal and extend to depths of about 420 miles. 121-122.

Thus, the hydroplate theory posits that earthquakes are caused by the rearrangement of sections of the earth into positions of lower potential energy, creating a more compact and efficient arrangement. Dr. Brown explains that this action will tend to create a more compact earth. He uses the illustration of a figure skater to explain the principles whereby earthquakes can increase the spin rate of the earth:

A spinning body, such as a figure skater or the earth, spins faster if it suddenly becomes more compact about its spin axis. This skater starts a spin with outstretched arms. Then, as she pulls her arms in near her spin axis, she spins so fast she becomes a blur.

Gravity tries to make the earth as compact and round as possible. Earthquakes cause the earth to become more compact and spin slightly faster. 122.

The video above of figure skater Natalia Kanounnikova illustrates this principle.

Dr. Brown's explanation was published in 2001. The recent tragic earthquake in Japan appears to confirm this theory, in that scientists have told us that the earthquake has redistributed the earth's mass in such a way that the rate of rotation has increased, shortening each day by 1.8 microseconds (each microsecond is equal to one millionth of a second).

The fact that the earth's rotation speed increased is consistent with Walt Brown's predictions in the hydroplate theory -- as the "boxes" in the truck shift to positions of lower potential energy, or "settle," they have the effect of "tightening" the ball of the earth so that it spins faster. The result was in perfect accord with the figure skater imagery that he used in the 2001 edition of his text.

Note also that the massive earthquake was centered very close to a point where a deep undersea trench -- the Japan Trench, seen in the illustration below -- comes very close to the islands of Japan.

This is also in line with the explanation published by Dr. Brown in the comments quoted above, in which he explains that almost 90% of all earthquake energy is released under trenches.

Finally, note the characteristic "arc-and-cusp" pattern of the trenches in the Pacific (a distinct cusp is marked at the very top of the map, west of the Aleutian Trench). As Dr. Brown explains elsewhere in his theory, the arc-and-cusp pattern found in many parts of the Pacific basin is very difficult to explain using the tectonic theory, but accords perfectly with the hydroplate explanation.

This topic is discussed further in the Mathisen Corollary, which argues that the hydroplate theory helps explain many of the clues that point to the existence of an ancient advanced civilization. These clues from mankind's ancient past provide additional supporting evidence for the hydroplate theory. The recent catastrophic earthquake in Japan appears to provide additional supporting evidence as well.

Geothermal company's findings confirm prediction of Walt Brown's hydroplate theory

In the seventh edition of Dr. Walt Brown's explanation of the hydroplate theory entitled In the Beginning: Compelling Evidence for Creation and the Flood (2001), the author makes a straightforward prediction based on his theory.

"Beneath major mountains are large volumes of pooled saltwater," he predicts. The reason for such trapped water is that according to his theory, there was initially a large volume of water trapped beneath the earth's surface, which eventually escaped in a catastrophic rupture, leading to a global cataclysmic flood. Due to the water's forceful escape, the edges of today's continents were formed as sediments were blasted away, and eventually the removal of material led to an upward movement of the basement rock below. The continents slid away from this upward movement, towards a deep basin that formed opposite -- the Pacific basin. Eventually, they ground to a halt in a major "compression event" which Dr. Brown describes and which explains many features found on the earth's surface today.

Dr. Brown explains the fact that some of the water which did not escape should still be trapped in certain parts of the earth, deep underneath the surface: "As mountains buckled up, the remaining water under the plate tended to fill in large voids. Some pooled watershould still remain in cracked and contorted layers of rock. This would partly explain the reduced mass beneath mountains that gravity measurements have shown for over a century. Friction at the base of skidding hydroplates generated immense heat, enough to melt rock and produce huge volumes of magma. Crushing produced similar effects, as broken and extremely compressed blocks and particles slid past each other" (104-105).

Dr. Brown published those words in 2001. In this Forbes story from 2008, the findings of a geothermal company seem to powerfully confirm Dr. Brown's theory and prediction. Entitled "Journey to the Center of the Earth," the article describes an Australian company involved in geothermal energy production. As the diagram above shows, geothermal companies look for heat in the earth, usually at areas where there is magma under the surface (note that Dr. Brown discusses the creation of magma in the paragraph above). The company, Geodynamics in this case, will inject water into the earth where it will be heated, and force heated water up a different outlet well. This hot water will then be used to create steam that generates electricity.

The Forbes article from 2008 explains that this process does not always go exactly as planned, due in part to incorrect assumptions on the part of conventional geologists: "Geologists and engineers have a lot to learn about the rock formations they will encounter. Geodynamics was surprised to find hot, high-pressure water in the granite it first thought was relatively dry. While that is ultimately a pleasant discovery for the company, the surprise cost it dearly: The pressurized water led to the failure of Geodynamics' second well in 2005 and nearly bankrupted the infant company."

The discovery of hot, high-pressure water is exactly what Dr. Brown's hydroplate theory would expect to find in deep wells drilled into the types of areas he describes in the above paragraph. The fact that he predicted this sort of discovery in 2001 and that Forbes published a report of that taking place in 2008 is powerful confirmation of Dr. Brown's predictions and the validity of his theory.

Ruamahanga Woman

In July, 1999, in the final chapter of his book Ancient Celtic New Zealand, Martin

Doutré (after presenting extensive archaeological evidence to support his assertions), wrote:

The most likely era when the first / bulk of the Egyptian / Mediterranean or related british Megalithic people came to New Zealand would be around 3000 BC - 2500 BC. It is my belief that continuous migrations followed beyond that era.

[. . .]

Apart from the core population of pre-Celtic people, several other groups found their way to New Zealand as well. One such group was the "red haired" people who, according to Alaskan Indian (Haida) tradition, came by way of the Bering Strait, down the coast of North America and out into the Pacific. Ancient African, Egyptian, Libyan and Meso-American peoples seem to have set up residence in New Zealand also, from a very early epoch. There is evidence to support the tradition of a Tibetan group finding their way to the Northern Hokianga region and setting up a sizable population there.

[. . .]

With developed maritime activity and two-way trading between Hemispheres for thousands of years, European and Mediterranean peoples have direct lineages extending to ancient New Zealanders. Skeletal remains, reposing in caves or buried in New Zealand, must be the direct forebears of some present-day Europeans and, in a general sense, the extended family and offshoot branches of the greater European family tree.

[. . .]

By British colonial times [. . .] There were still non-amalgamated pockets of the more ancient pre-Celtic / Celtic people living in isolation, but their continued existence was always tenuous and predicament dangerous. It had been a harrowing, tiresome and anxious few centuries of daily grasping at life, leading up to the beginning of the nineteenth century. 280-284

Over five years after the above passages were published, in October 2004, a young local of New Zealand's rural Wairarapa Valley was walking along the banks of the Ruamahanga River with his two dogs. As an article by Vaughan Yarwood in  New Zealand Geographic number 96 (March - April 2009) describes it:

Stepping out onto a broad shoulder of river sand, studded with stone chip, he noticed what he took to be the upper surface of a whitish rock lit by the noonday sun. Getting closer he saw that it was bone. Such a thing was not uncommon hereabouts—he had often come across fragments, and even complete skulls, of cows and sheep. But as he scraped aside the stones and prised the object free, he realised with a shock that he held in his hands a human skull, discoloured with age, and bleached above and behind the right eye socket where it had lain exposed. There were several holes, one of them in the right temple, perhaps suggesting a violent death.

When the skull was turned over to the authorities, it was determined to be that of a European woman, aged 40 to 45 years. The shock came later, when the skull was submitted to radiocarbon dating, and determined to have belonged to someone who died around the year 1654, plus or minus 35 years (bracketing the year of death between 1619 - 1689, inclusive).

The difficulty this date poses for conventional history is the fact that no European woman was known to have been anywhere in or on New Zealand during that time period. Dutch explorer Abel Tasman (1603 - 1659) had sailed to New Zealand in 1642, but had not been able to land due to the violent reception his men received from the Maori warriors, who sailed out in war canoes (wakas) and killed four of his men when he first attempted to land. He also had no women on board.

No further European vessel is known to have made any contact whatsoever with New Zealand after Tasman's abortive 1642 visit for over 100 years, until the first voyage of James Cook, who sailed to New Zealand from Tahiti in 1769.

While conventional history has a major problem in explaining the skull of the Ruamahanga Woman (as she is sometimes called), the above alternative history proposed by Martin

Doutré and backed up by completely different archaeological evidence (since he proposed it before the skull of Ruamahanga Woman was even discovered) has no difficulty explaining the presence of a European woman in the remote mountains upstream of the Ruamahanga in the 1600s.

In fact, the skull is exactly the kind of evidence one would expect to discover if Mr. Doutré's theory is correct. He believes that the remnants of the previous inhabitants of New Zealand were forced into hiding in remote mountain locations some time after the arrival of the Maoris in around AD 1300 (perhaps after some centuries of peaceful coexistence).

He even describes "unsubstantiated testimony" of a massacre of "captured groups" containing women and children who "were herded together and then summarily executed by a blow to the right side of the head" (283). Again, Mr.

Doutré wrote those words in 1999, years before the discovery of a European female skull described as having a hole "in the right temple, perhaps suggesting a violent death."

As discussed in the Mathisen Corollary, the case of the Ruamahanga skull has been dismissed by conventional academics using a completely speculative story with no basis in evidence whatsoever.

In all fairness, even though it is a very powerful piece of evidence that something is amiss with the conventional narrative of mankind's ancient past, if it were the only piece of anomalous evidence, it might be appropriate to dismiss it. However, it is only one of hundreds, perhaps thousands of clues which together strongly support an alternative theory.

All mankind deserves to know about these things and to be allowed to draw conclusions for themselves. Unfortunately, few outside of New Zealand have probably even heard of the Ruamahanga Woman.

Have you heard of this artifact? The Grave Creek Stone

How many Americans are aware of the existence of the Grave Creek Stone (shown above, left), discovered in 1838 in Moundsville, West Virginia?

It is one of literally hundreds of artifacts found in North and South America containing very clear examples of Old World writing, including forms of Iberian, Phoenician, Ogham, Libyan, and even Hieratic Egyptian. Above, the writing on the Grave Creek Stone is compared to an example of ancient Phoenician Iberian writing on the Nora Stele found in Sardinia and dated to the ninth century BC.

While those who refuse to countenance the possibility of contact between known ancient civilizations and the Americas can declare each of these isolated artifacts as hoaxes or frauds, the weight of the evidence of all of them taken together is more difficult to ignore.

Further arguments for believing that at least some of these New World artifacts are not fraudulent are presented in the

Mathisen Corollary

, including the presence of writing in alphabets that had not even been deciphered when the artifacts were discovered but which can now be translated, as well as connections with patterns from ancient mythology which were not explored in detail until decades after some of the artifacts were discovered.