Monday, March 17, 2008

Stonhenge an arena?

Does skeleton prove Stonehenge was an arena of gladiatorial conflict?

A SKELETON, which has been on prominent display in Salisbury Museum for nearly a decade, could hold the secret to Stonehenge's mysterious past and show the site to be an arena of gladiatorial combat, an archaeological expert has claimed.

The skeleton, that of a man who had been killed by arrows in 2,300 BC, was discovered in the ditch surrounding the stones during excavation work, carried out by Professor Richard Atkinson and J.G Evans in 1978.

After being analysed, the skeleton was donated to Salisbury museum, where it has been on display as a key part of the museum's Stonehenge exhibit under the title of "the body from the ditch".

However, Stonehenge expert and former archaeologist with Wessex Archaeology, Dennis Price, believes the skeleton's inauspicious title belies the fact the remains offer tangible proof the site was once used as an ancient arena hosting violent combat sports.

He said: "There is firm evidence of a long-standing tradition of sentinels at Stonehenge going back to when it was originally built in 2,600 BC - and possibly before.

"The function of these individuals was to symbolically guard the temple, but I think they could only be replaced by someone who physically defeated them in a ritual combat.

"I think that remains of one of these Stonehenge Sentinels is on display at Salisbury Museum, where he's currently known as 'the body from the ditch'."

As evidence for this claim, Mr Price points to the fact many of the burial plots found at the site contain a variety of ancient weaponry.

He added: "Many of the barrows surrounding Stonehenge contained weapons such as daggers and maces, and these were extremely violent times.

"Many of the human remains found in the Stonehenge landscape suffered crippling wounds, especially the Amesbury Archer and the Boscombe Bowmen, or other builders of Stonehenge."

Mr Price also points to evidence from a site similar to Stonehenge, located in Italy, as further evidence for his argument gladiatorial combat once took place in south Wiltshire.

He said: "There was a well-recorded murderous ritual at the temple of Diana, at Nemi, in Italy, in Roman times, where a man could become a priest of Diana's temple only by fighting and killing the resident priest.

"There is a striking resemblance between what we know of Stonehenge and Nemi - both sites regularly witnessed the violent death of individual humans, both were linked with archery and with gods or goddesses who were archers, and both have an obvious religious significance."

Director of Salisbury and south Wiltshire Museum, Adrian Green, added: "What I love about Stonehenge is the endless number of stories surrounding the evidence that has been found there.

"Dennis Price's idea that there was a sentinel or guardian of Stonehenge, who could only be replaced through combat to the death, conjures up a harsh image of life more than 4,000 years ago, but it also has a certain romantic quality to it

Thursday, February 28, 2008

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Mysterious Sea Creatures Found In Antarctic Waters

Mysterious Sea Creatures Found In Antarctic Waters

ScienceDaily (Feb. 21, 2008) — The return of the last of three Antarctic marine science research vessels marks the culmination of one of Australia's most ambitious International Polar Year projects, a census of life in the icy Southern Ocean known as the Collaborative East Antarctic Marine Census (CEAMARC).

Australia's Aurora Australis and collaborating vessels L'Astrolabe (France) and Umitaka Maru (Japan) have returned from the Southern Ocean, their decks overflowing with a vast array of ocean life including a number of previously unknown species collected from the cold waters near the East Antarctic land mass.

While the French and Japanese ships have been examining the mid and upper ocean environment over the past two months, Aurora Australis had her eyes fixed on the ocean floor, using both traditional and innovative sampling equipment to capture the diversity of life.

Aurora Australis voyage leader Dr Martin Riddle says that their expedition uncovered a remarkably rich, colourful and complex range of marine life in this previously unknown environment.

"Some of the video footage we have collected is really stunning – it's amazing to be able to navigate undersea mountains and valleys and actually see what the animals look like in their undisturbed state," he said.


CEAMARC is part of the international Census of Antarctic Marine Life, coordinated by the Australian Antarctic Division, which will see some 16 voyages to Antarctic waters during this, the International Polar Year (2007-2009).

The Census of Antarctic Marine Life will survey the biodiversity of Antarctic slopes, abyssal plains, open water, and under disintegrating ice shelves. The census aims to determine species biodiversity, abundance and distribution and establish a baseline dataset from which future changes can be observed.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Giant Ababil birds terrorize US?

Apparently a number of reports on Arabic websites have claimed the recent spate of sightings of giant birds in US is due to Allah sending his dreaded Ababil birds to punish America.

Ababil birds are a race of enormous birds described in the Koran as being sent by Allah to drop red clay bricks on the army of elephants sent by the king of Yemen to attack the city of Mecca in the year (571 AD) when the prophet Mohammed was born. "They had snouts like the beaks of birds and paws like the paws of dogs.'' More details of the birds here.

According to these recent Arabic reports "a number of returning US servicemen and their relatives have died in car accidents caused by being driven off the road by attacks from Abbail birds dropping clay stones and swooping at them. When the Abbail birds are seen at night the divine angelic light surrounding the birds has led to them being misidentified as UFOs leading to a recent spate of UFO sightings. The most notable incident was over Stephenville, Texas. The birds have engaged in dogfights with American fighters successfully outflying the planes and baffling the USAF airforce. Embarrassed by this defeat the US government is trying cover up the Ababil birds' victory in the skies which is apparently why the US media isn't covering this."

It is claimed the bird's reign of terror will only end when US forces withdraw from Iraq.

Of course it might be the birds do not exist but I guess this idea is inspired by stories like these:

Sightings Of Mysterious Giant Bird Continue In San Antonio

July 2007

Man blames car wreck on prehistoric winged reptile,” Saturday, December 29, 2007.

The latter case blames a crash on
what appears to be a Pteranodon. I can't find much evidence to support the more dramatic versions of the Ababil bird's activities only there have been reports of UFO dogfights recently. It seems the Taliban called for Ababil birds in Afghanistan but I can't find any reports of them actually doing anything there :)

Saturday, January 19, 2008

Mermaids

THE ANOMALIST: "South Africa: New Mermaid Sighting! Cryptomundo
An eyewitness claims to have seen a figure, 'like that of a white woman with long black hair thrashing about in the water.' Cryptomundo puts the story in context, in place and time."