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205 In fact the Babylonians, descendants of the Sumerians, remark that their 'gods' retired each night to the water." In the twenty years since the original publication of 'The Sirius Mystery' Temple's conviction of their having been extraterrestrial contact in antiquity has intensified as he has uncovered uncannily similar descriptions of fish-like gods as founders of civilisation in the myths of other cultures, namely China and Greece. But he refuses to be tempted into speculating whether or not the visitors entrusted the ancients with advanced technical knowledge which taal AL lat Lea et. a: eo: irs "Why are people so eager to believe that extraterrestrials would hand over high technological know- how to our comparatively primitive ancestors?" he asks. "Why would an advanced species give computers to a cultured, but otherwise near primitive society? I consider thatthey gave us a great deal. They set up the first civilisations and introduced us to the principles of agriculture and laws etc, which to me is a greater gift than if they had dropped a cure for cancer in our ancestor's laps. It's puerile and stupid to think of ancient "extraterrestrial contact as some sort of intergalactic aid mission. Extraterrestrials are not in the business Of stopping life from running its natural evolutionary course or of acting as supernatural beings with a spiritual mission to bring enlightenment to the heathens. But somehow it seems that they had learrft that we were at an early stage in our development and could do with being introduced to the higher principles Of civilisation. Or perhaps they didn't know at what stage we were at until they arrived here. We can't possibly know." It is refreshing to meet a learned and open minded writer who is passionate about his subject, but is not dogmatic nor insistent that 'the truth’ is out there and that he alone knows what it is and exactly where to find it. "I don't claim to know the truth", he admits. 'I hate all sects, cults and gurus and will run a mile from anyone who claims to have all the answers. But I am sure of my research. I don't assume that previous scholars and ‘writers were right, as many who work in this field unfortunately do. I have never started out with any preconceptions, nor have I ever set out to prove a pet theory and selected the evidence to fit it. I have never insisted upon being right." As if to emphasise the point, in the new edition of 'The Sirius Mystery, Robert challenges both the traditionalists and the revisionists on the subject of the origin and purpose of that most enigmatic of ancient monuments, the Sphinx. Recent research by maverick author John West and geologist Robert Schochsuggests that the Sphinx is likely to be an artifact from a civilisation pre-dating dynastic Egypt and was carved with the face of a lion, not a pharaoh as the Egyptologists would have it West's contention that the sphinx is far older than the official date of 2400 BC seems to have been borne out by Schoch's discovery that the monument shows all the hallmarks of being weathered by water, re-dating the monument to a time when the area was almost tropical. most likely between 5000-7000 BC. That may well be true, but in their understandable enthusiasm to overturn the orthodox view many People have accepted al 2 ate 1 a 2 ta ae tate ee ae the speculative element along with the scientific facts. "It amazes me that so many People blindly accept one man's conclusion that the Sphinx may have originally had the body and head of a lion while their own eyes would surely tell them that it has no leonine characteristics at all! Even allowing for the 'refurbishments' carried out under the orders of Pharaoh Kafre in 2500 BC there is no trace at all of leonine features. There is no lion's tail with the tuft, no lion-like haunches or trace of where a mane might have been. Most significantly it has a perfectly straight back which is uncharacteristic of a lion, but is perfectly consistent with the body of a dog. It is my contention that the Sphinx was originally that of a crouching Anubis - the jackal-headed God of the Dead and the son of Osiris. That ties in too with the idea that the three pyramids were erected by the extraterrestrials to accurately represent the alignment of their home planetary system of Sirius. "It is generally accepted that the three pyramids were part of an Anubis cult and so it is more was then lost with the decline of their civilisations.