Nexus - 1303 - New Times Magazine-pages

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ANCIENT PYRAMIDS DISCOVERED EUROPE Investigation of pyramid-shaped structures found in Europe, especially Bosnia, may show that the territory of the megalithic builders of prehistory was much wider than believed. Europe's pyramid history uncovered n31 October 2005, various news agencies including Associated Press ran a story headlined "Bosnian explorer finds 'Europe's first pyramids". This statement, as so many headlines are, is wrong. There are many small pyramids that can be found across Europe, from France to Greece. The small pyramid of Falicon sits in the hinterland of the prosperous French resort of Nice and is more notorious for covering a subterranean chamber into which many descend but few resurface without the intervention of the local fire brigade. In Greece, there are now 16 catalogued pyramids. Though some may be natural, others—like the Hellenikon pyramid near the village of Argolis—are clearly man-made structures. Intriguingly, one thermo-luminescence test by the Academy of Athens has dated the structure to 2720 BC, contemporaneous with the Egyptian pyramid age. Though pyramidal in shape, the European structures do not enthral like the Egyptian pyramids, which dwarf them in size. Five hundred years ago, with the discovery of the New World, pyramids were found in Mexico, but in 2001 the discovery of a pyramid complex in Caral, Peru, was announced and again has been dated as contemporaneous with the Egyptian pyramid age. In 1994, the German tour operator Hartwig Hausdorf visited China and on his return reported on the existence of pyramids there—a discovery which has since been validated. The pyramids are even becoming a tourist attraction. Europe, it seemed, had been left behind...but not for long. Two discoveries—in Italy in 2003, and Bosnia-Herzegovina in 2005—changed that. The pyramids of Montevecchia, Italy In early 2003, the pyramids of Montevecchia ("Old Mountain" in English), only about 30 miles from the Italian city of Milan, were discovered with the use of satellite and aerial imagery. These pyramids are completely covered by earth and vegetation and now appear to be natural hills, but the possibility of something more was enough for the Czech WM magazine and its editor-in-chief Georg Wojnar to visit the area in an effort to locate and survey the site. The team arrived on 8 May 2003. Finding the location of the pyramids from the ground proved more difficult than imagined, the team becoming "impressed" with the driving abilities required to negotiate their way towards the hills. After two days, they succeeded in locating the pyramids and began carrying out an initial survey. The team's conclusions appeared in the June 2003 issue of WM. The first pyramid was estimated to have a base of 100 metres and a height of 50 metres. Three pyramids in total were surveyed, with one pyramid showing clear signs of stones worked into the structure, close to the surface. A platform with an oblong superstructure of 18 by 9 metres in size was also discovered. All three structures have an inclination of 42 to 43 degrees. The sides of all the pyramids align and are offset from the cardinal points by approximately 7-12 degrees northeast. The team wondered whether this was an error in design or a sign of something more intriguing. From the initial aerial surveys, there was speculation that the layout of these pyramids compares with that of the pyramids of the Giza plateau and thus to the Orion constellation—a theory proposed by architect Robert Bauval. The Czech team argued that their on-site research showed that the pyramids actually align with the passing of Orion at sunrise on the summer solstice. by Philip Coppens © 2006 PO Box 13722 North Berwick EH39 4WB United Kingdom Email: info@philipcoppens.com PO Box 13722 North Berwick EH39 4WB United Kingdom Email: info@philipcoppens.com APRIL — MAY 2006 NEXUS +59 by Philip Coppens © 2006 www.nexusmagazine.com