Ancient Astronomy Series:
THE AGE OF ASTRONOMY. 7/7: Maps:
Prehistoric Starmap. 10500BC.
What is the age
of Astronomy? How old is it? Can we find some tangible evidence of
it's age?
Many clues can be
found in almost all civilizations on Earth before us.
In this mini
series of articles we will establish the chronology of astronomy with
astronomical relics, instruments, artifacts, alignments, maps,
references and places in ancient periods pinpointing exactly in time,
the age of Astronomy.
Ancient Astronomy Series. List of the articles.
1/7 Instruments:
NASA's STEREO mission. Predicting the Sun's activities. 2006AD
2/7 : Relics:
Abù Bakr Ibn Yùsuf's medieval Moroccan astrolabes. 1216AD
3/7: Places: El Caracol, Mayan Observatory. 906AD
4/7: Artifacts:
Nebra sky disk of North Germany. 1600BC
5/7:
Astronomical References: The scarab and the Dung beetle. 1813BC
6/7: Alignments:
Megaliths of Carnac, France. 3300BC
7/7: Maps:
Prehistoric Star map. 10500BC
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| Archaeological site Göbekli Tepe, Southern Turkey. Credit: German Archaeological Institute. |
10500BC.
Prehistoric Starmap.
Location:
Modern Southern Turkey.
The Prehistoric period of humanity is in a sense ambiguous and left to
speculations rather than facts. Prehistory is so far back in time
that the only thing that has survived for us to study and contemplate
are rocks. There are many type of stones and rocks out there, but the
ones that matters the most are the standing stones and especially
standing stones with engravings. Prehistoric people has erected
Megaliths, this is a fact. But can we find astronomical connections
with these engravings? What if the engravings were a map? A Star map?
Could we push the age of astronomy to prehistoric times?
While doing research on the age of astronomy, I came across few
authors having alternative views on the chronology of ancient history
and within it the chronology of the age of astronomy. This last
article on the age of astronomy is more on a speculative side, rather
than on a solid factual side. We try to understand the mind of the
people of that time and try to seek out if there is an astronomical
connection, which I think there is. Proven by many previous solid
evidences through out the millenia and through out this series of
articles, astronomical connections are indeed everywhere. So why not
in this one?
Meat
the brains behind the imagination.
Paul
D.
Burley
is a
Bachelor
of Civil Engineering and Bachelor of Science in
Geology.
He is also an author writing on ancient mysteries. Mr.
Burley wrote an article proposing
a star map within a
pillar at the
archaeological site of Göbekli
Tepe,
Southern Turkey. This
star map he believe it
to be a message from
them of that period to
us of the future. This star map would represent the time we are
living in now.
According
to the position of the carvings found
on
the pillar and the position of the stars (Constellations) in the
night sky seen today
in our time, it seems that they match. A message in a bottle if you
will. Even if this "star map business" is on the fringe of
conventional thinking, it is still connected to astronomy. So for me
it is worth investigating.
 |
| Blue print of the excavated archaelogical site, Göbekli Tepe, Southern Turkey. This is only a small portion of the site that has been excavated. Credit: http://www.dainst.org/dai/meldungen |
Göbekli
Tepe, the oldest temple of the world.
In Southeastern Anatolia ( modern-day Turkey) near Mount Ararat was
excavated an archaeological site dated to 10500 BC according to the
late Dr. Schmidt who was the lead investigator at that time, from
1995-2014. Schmidt call it the earliest temple in the world. This
site has large enclosures and within these enclosures you find 2
central tall T-shape pillars made of rock. On the side of the
enclosures we can see smaller t-shaped pillars all around the
enclosure. On one of the T-shape side pillar in enclosure D, Pillar
43 specifically, we find engravings of what appears to be a vulture
and a disc on his wing with other animals and unidentified carvings.
Could this carving on the pillar be a star map?
 |
| Pillar 43 in Enclosure D, Göbekli Tepe, Southern Turkey. |
Could
Pillar 43 in Enclosure D really be a Star map?
In each enclosures dug up on the site of Göbekli Tepe, we find
central T-shape pillars as well as T-shape pillars on the sides
creating the periphery of the enclosures. Pillar 43 is a side pillar
engraved with intricate designs on the whole face of the erected
stone. Viewed as a whole, these high reliefs carvings create a
Star map. A Star map showing the Sun in a certain position in the sky
relative to the background Constellations.
Risings
in the East.
The facade of Pillar 43 containing the high relief carvings is facing
Eastward. An invitation to look Eastward to read the Star map. Orientation is the key to deciphering the star map. I think it was
not a coincidence that the pillar was carved on the side facing East.
As the spin of Earth's revolution is from left to right, the Stars
seem to rise in the East, allowing heliacal rising of some stars to
be observed and studied. The constant observation of heliacal risings
of certain stars at the Eastern horizon can give away the secret of
Precession (slight change in location of the stars at the horizon
across long periods of time). This cyclical Precession was somehow
essential to the ancients and therefore kept engraved in stone to
teach next generations the knowledge of astronomy on Earth.
Decoding the Star map one symbol at the time.
The symbols on the stone consist from bottom to top numerous animals
and unidentified inscriptions and patterns. Are these symbols related
to astronomy? At the bottom of the pillar is a neck and head of some
sort of bird tilted to the right. Unknown to this point if the
meaning is astronomical.
 |
| Carvings found at Göbekli Tepe's Pillar 43 matches star constellations. |
Beside on the right is a headless man having an erection. This
erection headless man is found in other prehistoric sites in caves as
rock paintings, it seems to be a common theme around the world. Again
no real connection to astronomy.
On top of this is a large scorpion crawling upward from the ground.
Now this is an universal astrological symbol and has been used to
identify star patterns (Constellations) since the begining of
Constellation identification. Strangely the scorpion is represented
in all the cultures of the world. This gives it a strong incentive to
be an astronomical candidate representing the Constellation of
Scorpio.
Next to it at the right is a small curved serpent-like carving
reminiscent of a constellation in the night sky close to the
Constellation of Scorpio, the constellation of Virgo . Another clue
of an astronomical connection.
Above that on the left is a vulture type of bird "holding"
on its left wing a round large disc. This vulture could be identified
with a constellation as we did for the scorpion symbol. In this case,
which one? Maybe the scorpion symbol bellow can give us the answer on
which constellation we are looking for.
Maybe we are looking for an constellation above the Constellation of Scorpio or near it. Computer Astronomy software showing constellations tells us that the Constellation of Ophiucus and Sagiarius are near Scorpio's. Ophiucus may be the Serpent handler in our time, but in that time, the ancient people may have viewed it as a vulture. but this is unlikely, because the ecliptic does not cross path with this constellation. We are looking for one that crosses the path of the ecliptic, where the Sun could pass. Looking carefully, the Constellation of Sagitarius could fit the bill. The star pattern seen in the night sky could easily be the form of a vulture and the ecliptic passes straight through that constellation. Forwarding evidence that the two symbols on the pillar must be the constellation of Scorpio and the Constellation of Sagitarius. This is good evidence of astronomical symbolism and of a Star map engraved in stone.
Maybe we are looking for an constellation above the Constellation of Scorpio or near it. Computer Astronomy software showing constellations tells us that the Constellation of Ophiucus and Sagiarius are near Scorpio's. Ophiucus may be the Serpent handler in our time, but in that time, the ancient people may have viewed it as a vulture. but this is unlikely, because the ecliptic does not cross path with this constellation. We are looking for one that crosses the path of the ecliptic, where the Sun could pass. Looking carefully, the Constellation of Sagitarius could fit the bill. The star pattern seen in the night sky could easily be the form of a vulture and the ecliptic passes straight through that constellation. Forwarding evidence that the two symbols on the pillar must be the constellation of Scorpio and the Constellation of Sagitarius. This is good evidence of astronomical symbolism and of a Star map engraved in stone.
Just on the right of the vulture are two chicken-like birds with their
feet in front of them. Maybe representing neighbouring Constellation
of the Scorpio or Sagitarius viewed by the ancients at that time.
Filling the gap between the chickens and the vulture are some
intricate V lines and square patterns. Difficult to interpret in
astronomical terms. On the very top of the pillar above the vulture
and the chickens are 3 symbols looking like hand bags and one
unidentified symbol. These last carvings looks like it frames the
star map in. Making a window-like vignette for the Star map to be
looked at. It is difficult to correlate these carvings with nowadays
constellations. We can all agree that the star patterns, meaning Constellations of there time
were probably not the same that we have today.
 |
| Notice the disk at the center of the stone. This might represent the Sun. Credit: German Archaeological Institute. |
The
Sun at the center of it all.
The
large disc at the center of the Star map represents the Sun. This
large disc is carved dead center of the stone
pillar
as
if it was purposefully placed
there to be noticed.
It appears to be the
center piece of this Star map. The Sun located in the midst of the
Constellation Sagitarius engraved
on the pillar is astronomically
accurate as the path of the Sun, the Ecliptic, passes through the
Constellation of
What
is the purpose of this Star map?
According
to the clues we can gather within this
Star map,
the carvings indicates
a time when Our Sun is
crossing the Constellation of Sagitarius
observed while
the
star Antares in
Scorpio was
rising
at the horizon (Heliacal rising of Antares) at
the Fall Equinox in
the East. The
purpose of this
Star map
according to Paul Burley, the founder of this theory, is that this
Star map is a message in a bottle from the ancient people of Göbekli
Tepe to Us here in the modern times. This representation in stone of
a moment when the Sun interacts with the Constellation Sagitarius,
which
would
be now in our time.
In
other words, the Star map is from today, but built by someone more than
+/-12500 years ago.
As
strange
as it may sound,
this
surprising
message to the future
has many evidences
to
support
astronomical implications
on
the stone pillar.
However,
to be fair, if this map represented this time the
correlation would be with the winter solstice of 21.12.2016,
not the Fall equinox.
The Sun is in Sagitarius and the helical rising of Antares is taking
place in winter time. So the difference between the fall equinox and the winter
solstice creates a problem.
 |
| Looking East, The Sun disk in the middle. Pillar 43 Enclosure D, Göbekli Tepe, Turkey Credit: German Archaeological Institute. |
Even though, the Megalithic T-shape stone pillars at Göbekli Tepe
strongly suggest an astronomical map of some sort. There are some
discrepancies though. As I wrote at the beginning of this articles; "The Prehistoric period of humanity is in a sense ambiguous and left to speculations rather than facts". That is exactly what we should think about this article. The connection is still fundamentally astronomical, hence worthy of research. Whatever is the case, I think this pillar brought
forward the knowledge of astronomy in that period of time. With the
evidence in hand, I must conclude that the Prehistoric carvings on
the pillar were indeed astronomically linked.
So
what is the age of Astronomy, you ask? At least since 10500BC. That
means the knowledge of astronomy is at least 12516 years old.
My
research
on
the age of Astronomy comes
to an end
with this last article on THE AGE
OF ASTRONOMY.
The search for the age of astronomy brought us to 12516 years that humans have
had the knowledge of astronomy.
Passed down from generations to generations, until it reached us
today and will continue
I suspect far into the future.
Please leave a comment or questions you may have to keep on going the
conversation on Ancient civilizations and Astronomy.
Continue
reading past
articles
of Ancient Astronomy Series: THE AGE
OF ASTRONOMY.
Please click on the Title to read the article.
7/7: Maps: Prehistoric Star map. 10500BC
Please
take time to read the links and PDF files on
this
subject.
Links:
Links:
http://www.timothystephany.com/gobekli.html
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klaus_Schmidt_(archaeologist)
http://asabovesobelow-pauldburley.com/
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