Nexus - 0705 - New Times Magazine-pages

Page Content (OCR)

@ REVIEWS hills of Auckland bear marks of sculpting B oO oO K S for the purpose of surveying the passing fir- mament. Moreover, there are geometric ANCIENT CELTIC NEW ZEALAND similarities between these sites and the by Martin Doutré megalithic sites of Britain and Europe, even Publisher: Dé Danann, NZ, 1999 the Great Pyramid. Doutré explains these ISBN: 0-473-05367-5 (288pp I/f hc) relationships at length, both mathematically Price: NZD$74.95 (book or CD-ROM) + _and graphically. He also traces Maori sym- $5.95 p&h in NZ; airmail NZD$15.00 to bols and motifs to Celtic antecedents. Australia, NZD$26.00 to USA/Canada & A challenging book that will turn heads. East Asia; NZD$29.00 to UK/Europe Sources: New Zealand—Dé Danann THE KEYS TO AVALON Publishers, PO Box 300111, Albany, by Steve Blake and Scott Lloyd Auckland, e-mail doutre@ihug.co.nz, Publisher: Element Books, UK/USA, 2000 website www.celticnz.co.nz; NEXUS ISBN: 1-86204-735-9 (303pp hc); Office, tel (09) 405 1963 1-86204-723-5 (tpb) ew Zealand-raised, US-born Martin Price: AUD$50.00, AUD$30.00 (tpb); Doutré has been an amateur archaeo- NZD$49.95 (tpb); £18.99; NLGf71,90; astronomer since the 1970s and has carried USD$29.95; CAD$42.00 out extensive surveys of mysterious stone Sources: Aust—Penguin, tel (03) 9871 alignments, structures and artefacts that can 2400; NZ—NEXUS Office, tel (09) 405 be found all over New Zealand. He is 1963; UK—Element, tel 01747 851339; among a growing band of “dissident” alter Eyr_NEXUS Office, tel +31 321 380558; native thinkers who are seeking to overturn Y§A—Flement Books, tel (617) 248 9494 the prevailing orthoxody concerning the n The Keys to Avalon, Steve Blake and peoples who preceded the Maori. Scott Lloyd set the record straight on the legendary 6th-century King Arthur, his birthplace, the boundaries of his kingdom and the place of his burial. He was certainly an historical figure, but any association he had with Cornwall or Winchester or Glastonbury is fictitious. His kingdom was in North Wales and extended east to the Marches that make up Cheshire, Shropshire and Herefordshire counties today. According to the authors, much of what's been passed down to us as Arthurian history is based on a mistranslation and partial fab- rication first perpetrated by Geoffrey of Monmouth on behalf of his patron Robert, Earl of Gloucester. In 1136, he acquired a Welsh book which he translated into Latin as The History of the Kings of Britain; it It's disturbing that discoveries such as the chronicles, in part, the life of Arthur. But ones featured in Doutré's book, Ancient the "Britannia" reference was actually a Celtic New Zealand, keep getting short shrift name for Wales, and the "Isle" of Avalon from academia and groups like the that's described therein was not an island but Department of Conservation who, Doutré a "realm"—in this case in North Wales. believes, are taking the politically correct Blake and Lloyd had to find sources which line. He points out that these anomalous pre-dated this 12th century Historia if they sites and artefacts which pre-date Maori set- _ were to uncover the truth, so they set out to tlements are under the custodianship of the track down long-forgotten early mediaeval Maori, even though ancient remains of Indo- Welsh texts. After painstaking research, Europeans and even giants have been found, __ they were able to account for names of his- but he concedes that "many spiritually moti- _ torical figures and places within the land- vated Maori wish to acknowledge the more scape of 6th-century Wales. Here they sup- ancient ancestors", as do many New port their findings with maps and pho- Zealanders of European descent. tographs which pinpoint locations of every- One site, a large area on the tip of the thing from Arthur's court to the scenes of his North Island, incorporates a series of astro- battles and his final resting place. nomical observatories and stone markers Their fascinating narrative is rich in histor- across the hills which, when plotted and cal- _ ical and cultural context and is refreshing for culated, describe the rising of Venus in the its asides which show how history is so Hyades constellation in 2225 BC. The 36 readily manipulated by those who write it. BOOKS ANCIENT CELTIC NEW ZEALAND by Martin Doutré Publisher: Dé Danann, NZ, 1999 ISBN: 0-473-05367-5 (288pp Iif hc) Price: NZD$74.95 (book or CD-ROM) + $5.95 p&h in NZ; airmail NZD$15.00 to Australia, NZD$26.00 to USA/Canada & East Asia; NZD$29.00 to UK/Europe Sources: New Zealand—Dé Danann Publishers, PO Box 300111, Albany, Auckland, e-mail doutre@ihug.co.nz, website www.celticnz.co.nz; NEXUS Office, tel (09) 405 1963 ew Zealand-raised, US-born Martin Doutré has been an amateur archaeo- astronomer since the 1970s and has carried out extensive surveys of mysterious stone alignments, structures and artefacts that can be found all over New Zealand. He is among a growing band of "dissident" alter- native thinkers who are seeking to overturn the prevailing orthoxody concerning the peoples who preceded the Maori. It's disturbing that discoveries such as the ones featured in Doutré's book, Ancient Celtic New Zealand, keep getting short shrift from academia and groups like the Department of Conservation who, Doutré believes, are taking the politically correct line. He points out that these anomalous sites and artefacts which pre-date Maori set- tlements are under the custodianship of the Maori, even though ancient remains of Indo- Europeans and even giants have been found, but he concedes that "many spiritually moti- vated Maori wish to acknowledge the more ancient ancestors", as do many New Zealanders of European descent. One site, a large area on the tip of the North Island, incorporates a series of astro- nomical observatories and stone markers across the hills which, when plotted and cal- culated, describe the rising of Venus in the Hyades constellation in 2225 BC. The 36 NEXUS +77 AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2000