MFS - Strange But True

Petra - Jordan

Petra ("petra-πέτρα", cleft in the rock in Greek; Arabic: البتراء, Al-Batrāʾ) is an archaeological site in the Arabah, Ma'an Governorate, Jordan, lying on the slope of Mount Hor in a basin among the mountains which form the eastern flank of Arabah (Wadi Araba), the large valley running from the Dead Sea to the Gulf of Aqaba. It is renowned for its rock-cut architecture. Petra is also one of the new wonders of the world. The Nabateans constructed it as their capital city around 100 BCE.

The site remained unknown to the Western world until 1812, when it was introduced to the West by Swiss explorer Johann Ludwig Burckhardt. It was famously described as "a rose-red city half as old as time" in a Newdigate prize-winning sonnet by John William Burgon. UNESCO has described it as "one of the most precious cultural properties of man's cultural heritage." In 1985, Petra was designated a World Heritage Site.

Rekem is an ancient name for Petra and appears in Dead Sea scrolls associated with Mount Seir. Additionally, Eusebius and Jerome assert that Rekem was the native name of Petra, supposedly on the authority of Josephus. Pliny the Elder and other writers identify Petra as the capital of the Nabataeans, Aramaic-speaking Semites, and the centre of their caravan trade. Enclosed by towering rocks and watered by a perennial stream, Petra not only possessed the advantages of a fortress, but controlled the main commercial routes which passed through it to Gaza in the west, to Bosra and Damascus in the north, to Aqaba and Leuce Come on the Red Sea, and across the desert to the Persian Gulf.

The end of the Siq, with its dramatic view of Al Khazneh ("The Treasury").Excavations have demonstrated that it was the ability of the Nabataeans to control the water supply that led to the rise of the desert city, in effect creating an artificial oasis. The area is visited by flash floods and archaeological evidence demonstrates the Nabataeans controlled these floods by the use of dams, cisterns and water conduits. These innovations stored water for prolonged periods of drought, and enabled the city to prosper from its sale.

The Theatre.Although in ancient times Petra might have been approached from the south via Saudi Arabia on a track leading around Jabal Haroun ("Aaron's Mountain"), across the plain of Petra, or possibly from the high plateau to the north, most modern visitors approach the ancient site from the east. The impressive eastern entrance leads steeply down through a dark, narrow gorge (in places only 3–4 metres wide) called the Siq ("the shaft"), a natural geological feature formed from a deep split in the sandstone rocks and serving as a waterway flowing into Wadi Musa. At the end of the narrow gorge stands Petra's most elaborate ruin, Al Khazneh (popularly known as "the Treasury"), hewn into the sandstone cliff.

El Deir ("The Monastery").A little further from the Treasury, at the foot of the mountain called en-Nejr, is a massive theatre, so placed as to bring the greatest number of tombs within view. At the point where the valley opens out into the plain, the site of the city is revealed with striking effect. The amphitheatre has actually been cut into the hillside and into several of the tombs during its construction. Rectangular gaps in the seating are still visible. Almost enclosing it on three sides are rose-colored mountain walls, divided into groups by deep fissures, and lined with knobs cut from the rock in the form of towers.

The History of Petra begins with the Kites and cairns of gazelle hunters going back into the aceramic neolithic. Evidence suggests that settlements had begun in and around there in the Eighteenth Dynasty of Egypt. It is listed in Egyptian campaign accounts and the Amarna letters as Pel, Sela or Seir). Though the city was founded relatively late, a sanctuary existed there since very ancient times. Stations 19 through 26 of the stations list of Exodus are places associated with Petra. This part of the country was biblically assigned to the Horites, the predecessors of the Edomites. The habits of the original natives may have influenced the Nabataean custom of burying the dead and offering worship in half-excavated caves. Although Petra is usually identified with Sela which also means a rock, the Biblical references refer to it as "the cleft in the rock", referring to its entrance. 2 Kings xiv. 7 seems to be more specific. In the parallel passage, however, Sela is understood to mean simply "the rock" .

On the authority of Josephus (Antiquities of the Jews iv. 7, 1~ 4, 7), Eusebius and Jerome (Onom. sacr. 286, 71. 145, 9; 228, 55. 287, 94), assert that Rekem was the native name and Rekem appears in the Dead Sea scrolls as a prominent Edom site most closely describing Petra. But in the Aramaic versions Rekem is the name of Kadesh, implying that Josephus may have confused the two places.[citation needed] Sometimes the Aramaic versions give the form Rekem-Geya which recalls the name of the village El-ji, southeast of Petra. The capital, however, would hardly be defined by the name of a neighboring village. The Semitic name of the city, if not Sela, remains unknown. The passage in Diodorus Siculus (xix. 94–97) which describes the expeditions which Antigonus sent against the Nabataeans in 312 BC is understood to throw some light upon the history of Petra, but the "petra" referred to as a natural fortress and place of refuge cannot be a proper name and the description implies that the town was not yet in existence.

The Rekem Inscription in 1976The only place in Petra where the name "Rekem" occurs was in the rock wall of the Wadi Musa opposite the entrance to the Siq. About twenty years ago the Jordanians built a bridge over the wadi and this inscription is now buried beneath tons of concrete.

More satisfactory evidence of the date of the earliest Nabataean settlement may be obtained from an examination of the tombs. Two types may be distinguished—the Nabataean and the Greco-Roman. The Nabataean type starts from the simple pylon-tomb with a door set in a tower crowned by a parapet ornament, in imitation of the front of a dwelling-house. Then, after passing through various stages, the full Nabataean type is reached, retaining all the native features and at the same time exhibiting characteristics which are partly Egyptian and partly Greek. Of this type there exist close parallels in the tomb-towers at el-I~ejr in north Arabia, which bear long Nabataean inscriptions and supply a date for the corresponding monuments at Petra. Then comes a series of tombfronts which terminate in a semicircular arch, a feature derived from north Syria. Finally come the elaborate façades copied from the front of a Roman temple; however, all traces of native style have vanished. The exact dates of the stages in this development cannot be fixed. Strangely, few inscriptions of any length have been found at Petra, perhaps because they have perished with the stucco or cement which was used upon many of the buildings. The simple pylon-tombs which belong to the pre-Hellenic age serve as evidence for the earliest period. It is not known how far back in this stage the Nabataean settlement goes, but it does not go back farther than the 6th century BC.

A period follows in which the dominant civilization combines Greek, Egyptian and Syrian elements, clearly pointing to the age of the Ptolemies. Towards the close of the 2nd century BC, when the Ptolemaic and Seleucid kingdoms were equally depressed, the Nabataean kingdom came to the front. Under Aretas III Philhellene, (c.85–60 BC), the royal coins begin. The theatre was probably excavated at that time, and Petra must have assumed the aspect of a Hellenistic city. In the reign of Aretas IV Philopatris, (9 BC–AD 40), the fine tombs of the el-I~ejr type may be dated, and perhaps also the great High-place.

In 106, when Cornelius Palma was governor of Syria, that part of Arabia under the rule of Petra was absorbed into the Roman Empire as part of Arabia Petraea, becoming capital. The native dynasty came to an end. But the city continued to flourish. A century later, in the time of Alexander Severus, when the city was at the height of its splendor, the issue of coinage comes to an end. There is no more building of sumptuous tombs, owing apparently to some sudden catastrophe, such as an invasion by the neo-Persian power under the Sassanid Empire. Meanwhile, as Palmyra (fl. 130–270) grew in importance and attracted the Arabian trade away from Petra, the latter declined. It seems, however, to have lingered on as a religious centre. Epiphanius of Salamis (c.315–403) writes that in his time a feast was held there on December 25 in honor of the virgin Chaabou and her offspring Dushara (Haer. 51).

The Nabataeans worshipped the Arab gods and goddesses of the pre-Islamic times as well as few of their deified kings. The most famous of these was Obodas I who was deified after his death. Dushara was the main male god accompanied by his female trinity: Uzza, Allat and Manah. Many statues carved in the rock depict these gods and goddesses.

The Monastery, Petra's largest monument, dates from the first century BC. It was dedicated to Obodas I and is believed to be the symposium of Obodas the god. This information is inscribed on the ruins of the Monastery (the name is the translation of the Arabic "Ad-Deir").

Plan of the Byzantine church, 5th century AD.Christianity found its way into Petra in the 4th century AD, nearly 500 years after the establishment of Petra as a trade center. Athanasius mentions a bishop of Petra (Anhioch. 10) named Asterius. At least one of the tombs (the "tomb with the urn"?) was used as a church. An inscription in red paint records its consecration "in the time of the most holy bishop Jason" (447). After the Islamic conquest of 629–632 Christianity in Petra, as of most of Arabia, gave way to Islam. During the First Crusade Petra was occupied by Baldwin I of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and formed the second fief of the barony of Al Karak (in the lordship of Oultrejordain) with the title Château de la Valée de Moyse or Sela. It remained in the hands of the Franks until 1189. It is still a titular see of the Roman Catholic Church.

According to Arab tradition, Petra is the spot where Moses struck a rock with his staff and water came forth, and where Moses' brother, Aaron, is buried, at Mount Hor, known today as Jabal Haroun or Mount Aaron. The Wadi Musa or "Wadi of Moses" is the Arab name for the narrow valley at the head of which Petra is sited. A mountaintop shrine of Moses' sister Miriam was still shown to pilgrims at the time of Jerome in the fourth century, but its location has not been identified since.

Petra declined rapidly under Roman rule, in large part due to the revision of sea-based trade routes. In 363 an earthquake destroyed many buildings, and crippled the vital water management system. The ruins of Petra were an object of curiosity in the Middle Ages and were visited by the Sultan Baibars of Egypt towards the close of the 13th century. The first European to describe them was Johann Ludwig Burckhardt in 1812.

Because the structures weakened with age, many of the tombs became vulnerable to thieves, and many treasures were stolen and remain unknown

Source : Wikipedia

The Skinwalker Ranch

Skinwalker Ranch in the Uintah Basin of Utah was the site of a long running series of paranormal phenomena. The Sherman (sometimes given as Gorman) family bought the ranch, from absent owners, in the Fall of 1994. The sheer amount of strange events encountered proved incredibly stressful and when they tried to sell the ranch in 1996 the news started to break. The National Institute for Discovery Science (NIDS) picked up this information and bought the ranch for, it is claimed, $200,000. However, nothing about the level of strangeness was known until 2002 when the NIDS allowed George Knapp, a reporter for the Las Vegas Mercury, access to the ranch and his two-part article in November 2002 revealed this all too a wider audience. Now NIDS researcher Colm Kelleher and journalist George Knapp have written a book outlining their take on the NIDS investigation from the inside Kelleher, Colm & Knapp, George: Hunt for the Skinwalker: Science Confronts the Unexplained at a Remote Ranch in Utah .

The Uintah Basin is a hotspot for strange phenomena and the ranch is the center of it all and features strongly in Ute legends stretching back generations. Some of the phenomena encountered include:

UFOs - nearly half the residents of the basin have reported seeing UFOs ranging from strange lights to strange vehicles to aliens and also a handful of abductions. A range of objects have been seen on the ranch including:

Vehicles that look like an advanced version of the F-117 stealth fighter and/or resemble Black triangles.

A large refrigerator-shaped object with a white light at the front and red at the back which could hover and seemingly disappear (which bears resemblances to the Chupas).

Glowing blue orbs described as being larger than a baseball, made from some kind of hard, clear substance and seemingly to contain some swirling blue liquid. They were capable of inducing fear and effecting electrical items (in particular the lights) merely by their presence and when attacked by dogs it reduced them to a grey butter-like substance. The description of this orbs bears resemblance to the ball lightning phenomena.

Cattle mutilation which shows all the common signs: cutting off of an ear, excision of genitals, coring out of the anus and exsanguinations some of which took place in very tight windows of time (20 minutes on one occasion). Locals report that this kind of activity has been going on at the ranch since the 1960s.

Skinwalkers - the shapeshifting witches are thought to be part of the explanation for a number of strange creatures witnessed in the area:

Giant wolves apparently oblivious to bullets and strange dogs

Dog-headed men smoking cigarettes

Bigfoot-like creatures the local Ute Indians believe some of these may be actual creatures but consider some of them to be skinwalkers - the Ute often seem to use the term Skinwalker/Sasquatch interchangeably.

A large hyenalike beast who's description has some resmblance to the Beast of GÃ©vaudan

A flock of small red birds.

A large orange portal in the sky which appears to open into another place (blue sky can be seen through it at night) and black vehicles have been seen entering and leaving the portal

Magnetic anomalies .

Trickster or Poltergeists-like activity- including the stuffing of a large number of cows into a small cattle truck. This included a whole range of objects going missing and appearing in strange places after a long search. Also doors would open and slam shut and in the most frequent example the salt and pepper would be found in the other ones pot.

Teleportation

Large aquatic serpents in the nearby Bottle Hollow which are allegd to be behind a number of deaths at the lake. The Hollow is also the site of a number of sightings of balls of light entering and exiting the water.

Invisible or stealthed creatures â one of which (that attacked at 50 to 60 mph) was later identified as looking almost identical to the stealth blurring seen in the Predator films. Others were âseenâ by their effect on a herd of cattle and compass needle or in one case as it walked through a stream.

An ice disc in the pond.

"Cookie cutter" holes in the ground removing a couple of hundred pounds of soil at a time.

Strange sounds including:

underground noises as if heavy machinery was at work below the ranch.

voices speaking from out of the air

A large Masonic symbol carved on an inacessible part of Skinwalker Ridge, possibly connected with the presence of the Buffalo Soldiers in the area (a Prince Hall lodge was attached to the 9th Cavalry which was stationed in nearby Fort Duchesne in 1896)

A lot of these phenomena were transient sometimes happening only once or often just appearing for a couple of weeks and then disappearing forever making it difficult for investigators to get results or draw firm conclusions.

Explanations

Despite definitive conclusions a range of explanations have been put forward to explain the strangeness which might be down to:

A hoax but there are sightings from so many witnesses in a range of locations acorss a number of years that it would be difficult to pull off.

The ranch might be a testing area for advanced military technology.

A coincidence â if some areas are UFO hotspots and some areas are Bigfoot hotspots, a few rare locations may be both.

The Ute building homes on a Buffalo Soldier graveyard have, in an ironic twist on the popular horror movie trope, disturbed their spirits.

A Navajo curse that sent Skinwalkers to punish the Ute. The ranch is off limits to the Ute as they are reported to say "the ranch is in the path of the skinwalker." Junior Hicks, a retired schoolteacher and local researcher, claims contacts amongst the Ute have told him that the Skinwalker lives in Dark Canyon, beyond the ranch, wihin a cave decorated with centuries-old petroglyph depicting Skinwalkers.

The intrusion of alternate realities or parallel universes or higher dimensions, which may be connected with the orange portal. Both the Apache and the Hopi have folk traditions which certainly be interpreted as folk traditions involving travel between different dimensions (Louis L'Amourâs ââHaunted Mesaââ is said to be a good fictionalised account drawing heavily on these beliefs).

That our understanding of reality is fundamentally flawed. This may be explained by Michael Talbotâs ideas that this is a Holographic Universe. Equally it could be explained by the simulation argument, as put forward by philosophers like Nick Bostrom, which posits that we are living within a very convincing computer program (as popularised by The Matrix).

Unique geology which ties in the concept of Earthlights (aka Ghost lights). The fact that the Uintah Basin is the only known major concentration of Gilsonite (also known as uintahite or uintaite) may or may not have some bearing on this.

None of the hypotheses can give a definitive explanation of events because they either can't explain the extremly varied activity at the ranch and/or they are largely untestable by modern science.

Skin-walker

In some Native American legends, a skin-walker is a person with the supernatural ability to turn into any animal he or she desires. Similar lore can be found in cultures throughout the world and is often referred to as shapeshifting by anthropologists.

Possibly the best documented skinwalker beliefs are those relating to the Navajo yee naaldlooshii (literally "with it, he goes on all fours" in the Navajo language). A yee naaldlooshii is one of several varieties of Navajo witch (specifically an ’ánt’įįhnii or practitioner of the Witchery Way, as opposed to a user of curse-objects (’adagąsh) or a practitioner of Frenzy Way (’azhįtee)). Technically, the term refers to an ’ánt’įįhnii who is using his (rarely her) powers to travel in animal form. In some versions men or women who have attained the highest level of priesthood then commit the act of killing an immediate member of their family, and then have thus gained the evil powers that are associated with skinwalkers.

The ’ánt’įįhnii are human beings who have gained supernatural power by breaking a cultural taboo. Specifically, a person is said to gain the power to become a yee naaldlooshii upon initiation into the Witchery Way. Both men and women can become ’ánt’įįhnii and therefore possibly skinwalkers, but men are far more numerous. It is generally thought that only childless women can become witches.

Although it is most frequently seen as a coyote, wolf, owl, fox, or crow, the yee naaldlooshii is said to have the power to assume the form of any animal they choose, depending on what kind of abilities they need. Witches use the form for expedient travel, especially to the Navajo equivalent of the 'Black Mass', a perverted song (and the central rite of the Witchery Way) used to curse instead of to heal. They also may transform to escape from pursuers.

Some Navajo also believe that skinwalkers have the ability to steal the "skin" or body of a person. The Navajo believe that if you lock eyes with a skinwalker they can absorb themselves into your body. It is also said that skinwalkers avoid the light and that their eyes glow like an animal's when in human form and when in animal form their eyes do not glow as an animal's would.

A skinwalker is usually described as naked, except for a coyote skin, or wolf skin. Some Navajos describe them as a mutated version of the animal in question. The skin may just be a mask, like those which are the only garment worn in the witches' sing.

Because animal skins are used primarily by skinwalkers, the pelt of animals such as bears, coyotes, wolves, and cougars are strictly tabooed. Sheepskin and buckskin are probably two of the few hides used by Navajos; the latter is used only for ceremonial purposes.

Often, Navajos will tell of their encounter with a skinwalker, though there is a lot of hesitancy to reveal the story to non-Navajos, or (understandably) to talk of such frightening things at night. Sometimes the skinwalker will try to break into the house and attack the people inside, and will often bang on the walls of the house, knock on the windows, and climb onto the roofs. Sometimes, a strange, animal-like figure is seen standing outside the window, peering in. Other times, a skinwalker may attack a vehicle and cause a car accident. The skinwalkers are described as being fast, agile, and impossible to catch. Though some attempts have been made to shoot or kill one, they are not usually successful. Sometimes a skinwalker will be tracked down, only to lead to the house of someone known to the tracker. As in European werewolf lore, sometimes a wounded skinwalker will escape, only to have someone turn up later with a similar wound which reveals them to be the witch. It is said that if a Navajo was to know the person behind the skinwalker they had to pronounce the full name, and about three days later that person would either get sick or die for the wrong that they have committed.

According to Navajo legend, skinwalkers can have the power to read human thoughts. They also possess the ability to make any human or animal noise they choose. A skinwalker may use the voice of a relative or the cry of an infant to lure victims out of the safety of their homes.

Source : Wikipedia

The Newport Tower

The Newport Tower (also known as: Round Tower, Touro Tower, Newport Stone Tower, Old Stone Mill, OSM and Mystery Tower) is a round stone tower located in Touro Park in Newport, Rhode Island (USA).

It is commonly considered to have been a windmill built in the mid 17th century.

The accepted explanation of its origin is that it was a mill built in the mid 17th century. The prevailing explanation among historians for the origin of the structure is the "Arnoldist" explanation, namely that the tower was a mill constructed "from the ground up" in the middle or late 17th century by or for wealthy Rhode Island colonial governor Benedict Arnold, great-grandfather of the Revolutionary War icon of the same name.

It is known that the location of the tower is at the upper end of the plot behind the now-demolished mansion built by Arnold, who moved into the area in 1661. In 1677 Arnold mentions "my stone build Wind Mill" in his will: the site for his new burying-ground (which survives to this day) is between this mill and his mansion down near the harbour. The phrase has therefore generally been accepted as referring to the Newport Tower, and is evidence the tower was once used as a windmill. In a document of 1741 it was described as "the old stone mill."

If the tower was built for Colonial use, what was its purpose? Governor Arnold's will seems to indicate that it was used as a windmill, the function of which would have been to grind grain into flour. But the tower's construction seems to be completely at odds with this supposed purpose.

In examining the eight pillars that support the upper walls of the tower, it can readily be seen that the columns do not sit flush against the upper walls. In fact they overhang the upper levels by several inches. Proponents of the theory that the Norse constructed the tower point out that this design was a common feature of medieval European baptisteries where an outer structure would be built around the central stone core.

The small ledges at the tops of the columns served to support wooden beams upon which the outer structure could be anchored. However, if the tower were really built as a windmill, this outer structure would have interfered with the spinning sails used by all windmills to harness the power of the wind. It seems difficult to fathom how these two contradictory design elements could have coexisted.

The basic eight-pillar design of the Newport Tower is also highly questionable for a windmill. As Jim Brandon points out in Weird America, "Windmills are subject to strong torquing forces and a heavy stone mass atop the rather spindly circle of pillars would be a very poor engineering solution, besides being more difficult to build than, say, a solid wall construction."

Most damning of all to the windmill theory is the presence of a fireplace built into the second story of the tower. The dust produced when grinding grain is highly flammable. Building a fireplace into a windmill seems utterly inconceivable (Pic 5-6 ).

Then there is the matter of the effort required to build such a structure. It is estimated that the tower contains more than six thousand cubic feet of stone weighing almost one million pounds, all of which had to be collected and carried up the hill for construction.

It seems unlikely that during the 17th century such a large-scale building project would have been initiated in Newport. In the years when the tower is supposed to have been constructed, the townspeople lived in constant fear of attack by the natives. Indeed their battles with the native Indians and the constant threat of attack did not end until 1676 when the colonists finally dealt the Indians a crushing defeat.

If the labor were being put towards the construction of a defensive fort, it might make sense. But the construction of a fanciful windmill doesn't seem to correlate well with the circumstances of the times the colonists lived in.

Proponents of the Norse theory often point to the unit of measurement they believe was used during construction. Unlike other Colonial structures that were built using the English foot, the Newport Tower appears to have been based using an ancient Scottish unit of measurement known as an ell which is equivalent to three Norse feet.

With several recent decades of intense research, measurement, comparison and argument, an international body of cooperating historians (from Canada's Micmacs to experts from The British Isles and Italy) are reaching consensus on a 1300s origin for "Newport Tower." Who built it is yet in debate; but it appears that by 1492, Christopher Columbus was about 98 years late for discovering America. We wonder again why schools gave us not the vaguest version of how Newport Tower got there---an object noticed from Viking to Puritan and Revolutionary times.

Frederick Catherwood.

"Ancient Structure [interior view] in Newport, Rhode-Island, The Vinland of the Scandinavians." ca. 1836-39 ( pic 2)

Source : Wikipedia

The Westford Knight

The Westford Knight is perceived as either a carving or a natural feature, or a combination of both, located on a glacial boulder in Westford, Massachusetts in the United States. It is notable for being the subject of controversial speculation that it is evidence of exploration of North America by Europeans prior to Christopher Columbus. This interpretation is not accepted by professional archaelogists or historians.

The rock is located along Depot Street in the town of Westford, just north of the town center. It is inconspicuous, situated along the side of the road and surrounded by a small chain fence. Next to the rock is a small monument commemorating the "inscription".

The rock and carving is first mentioned in print in an 1883 town history, identified as an Indian carving. The carving was subsequently identified as a broken Norse Sword by William Goodwin in his book on the America's Stonehenge site. Frank Glynn re-located the carving and chalked in a full figure, resembling a Medieval knight, with a sword and shield.

The common interpretation by those who advocate that the feature on the rock is a human figure is that it commemorates a fallen member of the party of Henry Sinclair, a Scottish Earl whom some believe to have made a voyage to the New World in 1398, traveling to Nova Scotia and New England. The existence of such a voyage is not accepted by mainstream archaeologists and historians. Usually it is claimed that the knight is Sir James Gunn, a member of Clan Gunn and a Knight Templar who reportedly traveled with Sinclair. The monument next to the "knight" commemorates this interpretation, stating as fact that Sinclair and his party traveled to present-day Massachusetts. Believers in this theory often cite the Newport Tower in Newport, Rhode Island as further evidence to support their claim.

Wikipedia tells us that the Westford Knight is perceived as either a carving or a natural feature, or a combination of both, it was found on a glacial boulder in Westford, Massachusetts and is the subject of controversial speculation that it is evidence of exploration of European exploration of North America prior to Columbus.

The common interpretation by those who advocate that the feature on the rock is a human figure is that it commemorates a fallen member of the party of Henry Sinclair, a Scottish Earl whom some believe to have made a voyage to the New World in 139. Usually it is claimed that the knight is Sir James Gunn, a member of Clan Gunn and a Knight Templar who reportedly traveled with Sinclair. The monument next to the "knight" commemorates this interpretation, stating as fact that Sinclair and his party traveled to present-day Massachusetts. Believers in this theory often cite the Newport Tower in Newport, Rhode Island as further evidence to support their claim.

In the 1880s, the people of Westford, Massachusetts, knew of a strange carving on a rock beside a quiet road.

Back then, they believed it to be a "primitive" Indian carving and, thinking no more of it, left it alone. But in 1954, the carving was "re-discovered" by an amateur archaeologist.

Upon further examination, it was declared that the six-foot high figure punched into the rock seemed to represent a medieval knight. The effigy was in full armour, wearing helmet, mail and surcoat.

The existence of this incised figure - if it is genuine - would appear to corroborate a statement in the Zeno Narrative that explains that a cousin of Zichmni's died while on the continent. If the Westford Knight is indeed a 14th century carving, it is typical of an effigy used to mark the grave of a fallen knight.

Supporters claim the carving shows the warrior's right hand resting on his sword - a pommelled sword of the period that was shown to be broken indicating that the knight had died in the field.

The identity of this fallen knight has been claimed to be Sir James Gunn, a fact that supporters claim is indisputably proven because the effigy clearly bears the arms of the Clan Gunn on his shield.

HISTORY OF THE WESTFORD CARVING

1883

The "History of the Town of Westford" by Rev. R Hodgman, published in 1883, describes the presence of markings on the ledge. It is said the rude outlines of the human face have been traced upon it, and the figure is said to be the work of Indians."

1940

Willaim B Goodwin, an insurance executive who was obsessed with his interest in archaeology, and Malcolm Pearson, photographer, published a description of the carvings.

1950

Frank Glynn, president of the Connecticut Archaeology Society, thought the sword was of viking origin. T.C Lethbridge, curator of the University Museum of Archaeology and Ethnology in England, identified the sword as "a large, hand-and-a-half wheel pommel sword of the fourteenth century type." Further he suggested that the arms armour and heraldic emblems were a kin to the first Sinclair Earl of Orkney.

Source : Wikipedia

The St George Rock church Lalibela

The Church of St. George (Amharic: Bete Giyorgis?) is a monolithic church in Lalibela, Amhara Region, Ethiopia. It is the most well known and last built (early thirteenth century) of the eleven churches in the Lalibela area, and has been referred to as the "Eighth Wonder of the World". The dimensions of the complex are 25 meters by 25 meters by 30 meters, and there is a small baptismal pool outside the church, which stands in an artificial trench.

According to Ethiopian cultural history, Bete Giyorgis was built after King Gebre Mesqel Lalibela of the Zagwe dynasty had a vision in which he was instructed to construct the church; and god have both been referred to as the one who gave him the instructions.

As of 2006, Lalibela is still a pilgrimage site for members of the Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church; the church itself is part of the UNESCO World Heritage Site "Rock-Hewn Churches, Lalibela".

This rural town is known around the world for its monolithic churches which play an important part in the history of rock-cut architecture. Though the dating of the churches is not well established, most are thought to have been built during the reign of Lalibela, namely during the 12th and 13th centuries. There are 13 churches, assembled in four groups:

The Northern Group: Bete Medhane Alem, home to the Lalibela Cross and believed to be the largest monolithic church in the world, probably a copy of St Mary of Zion in Aksum. It is linked to Bete Maryam (possibly the oldest of the churches), Bete Golgotha (known for its arts and said to contain the tomb of King Lalibela), the Selassie Chapel and the Tomb of Adam.

The Western Group: Bete Giyorgis, said to be the most finely executed and best preserved church.

The Eastern Group: Bete Amanuel (possibly the former royal chapel), Bete Merkorios (which may be a former prison), Bete Abba Libanos and Bete Gabriel-Rufael (possibly a former royal palace), linked to a holy bakery.

Farther afield lie the monastery of Ashetan Maryam and Yimrehane Kristos church (possibly eleventh century, built in the Aksumite fashion but within a cave).

There is some controversy as to when some of the churches were constructed. David Buxton established the generally-accepted chronology, noting that "two of them follow, with great fidelity of detail, the tradition represented by Debra Damo as modified at Yemrahana Kristos." Since the time spent to carve these structures from the living rock must have taken longer than the few decades of King Lalibela's reign, Buxton assumes that the work extended into the 14th century. However, David Phillipson, professor of African archeology at Cambridge University, has proposed that the churches of Merkorios, Gabriel-Rufael, and Danagel were initially carved out of the rock half a millennium earlier, as fortifications or other palace structures in the waning days of the Axumite Kingdom, and that Lalibela's name simply came to be associated with them after his death. On the other hand, local historian Getachew Mekonnen credits Masqal Kibra, Lalibela's queen, with having one of the rock-hewn churches (Abba Libanos) built as a memorial for her husband after his death.

Contrary to theories advocated by writers like Graham Hancock, the great rock-hewn churches of Lalibela were not built with the help of the Knights Templar; abundant evidence exists to show that they were produced solely by medieval Ethiopian civilization. For example, while Buxton notes the existence of a tradition that "Abyssinians invoked the aid of foreigners" to construct these monolithic churches, and admits that "there are clearly signs of Coptic influence in some decorative details" (hardly surprising given the theological, ecclesiastical, and cultural links between the Ethiopian Orthodox and Coptic Orthodox Churches), he is adamant about the native origins of these creations: "But the significant fact is remains that the rock-churches continue to follow the style of the local built-up prototypes, which themselves retain clear evidence of their basically Axumite origin."

The churches are also a significant engineering feat, given that they are all associated with water (which fills the wells next to many of the churches) exploiting an artesian geological system that brings the water up to the top of the mountain ridge on which the city rests.

According to a legendary account, King Lalibela was born in Roha. His name means 'the bee recognises its sovereignty'. God ordered him to build 10 monolithic churches, and gave him detailed instructions as to their construction and even their colours. When his brother Harbay abdicated, time had come for Lalibela to fulfil this command. Construction work began and is said to have been carried out with remarkable speed, which is scarcely surprising, for, according to legend, angels joined the labourers by day and in the night did double the amount of work which the men had done during the hours of daylight.

Lalibela was born in Roha in the second half of the twelfth century, the youngest son of the royal line of the Zagwe dynasty, which then ruled over much of northern Ethiopia. Despite several elder brothers he was destined for greatness from his earliest days. Not long after his birth, his mother found a swarm of bees around his crib and recalled an old belief that the animal world foretold important futures. She cried out: -The bees know that this child will become king.

But trials and tribulations followed. The ruling king feared for his throne and tried to have Lalibela murdered and persecutions continued for several years - culminating in a deadly potion that left the young prince in mortal sleep. During the three-day stupor, Lalibela was transported by angels to the first, second and third heavens where God told him not to worry but to return to Roha and build churches - the like of which the world had never seen before. God also told Lalibela how to design the churches, where to build them and how to decorate them.

Source : Wikipedia