Nexus - 1305 - New Times Magazine-pages

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Sceptics versus Truth-seekers Alexander Helios, son of the infamous Cleopatra and Marc In a nutshell, this is a nearly 25-year-long story that has left Antony and twin brother of Cleopatra Selene, the future co-ruler hardly anyone who has looked into it untouched or without an of Mauritania (in Africa's western Sahara). This is the angle that opinion. It is all too easy to label Burrows a hoaxer. People who Hubbard and Kelly built upon. have known and worked with him have called him many things, Amongst Burrows's earliest team of amateur researchers were but not a fabricator of evidence or a liar. He has an explosive Jack Ward and Warren Cook, the latter who died in 1989. nature on occasions and has sometimes not been the best judge of | Cook's analysis of the artefacts made him conclude that creating character. But Burrows's character flaws are largely incidental in them would have taken thousands of hours. But more this narrative. Only his sceptics focus too heavily on them, importantly, Cook continued Ward's analysis of their possible whereas they should be focusing instead on whether or not he origin and argued that they were most likely the remains of a could actually have fabricated any, let alone such huge numbers Libyan-Iberian expedition. He identified Mauritania's King of, inscribed stones. Ptolemaeus I (1 BC — 40 AD), son of Cleopatra Selene and King If we were placed in the same situation, the end result would Juba II (52-50 BC - 23 AD), as the man responsible for this be the same, for it is in the nature of such discoveries and how transoceanic voyage. Could this have been possible? we react to them that they tend to produce the same kind of The rulers of Mauritania had fallen foul of the Roman outcomes. The sceptics would call it an "obvious hoax" and the emperors, if only because of the economic power that Mauritania proponents would call it "clear evidence", finally proving their had become, turning the scales on who was in control of whom. respective arguments, whatever they may be. When the Roman Empire decided to redress So, the fate of the cave was sealed, that balance, the Mauritanian king Juba II doomed, from the moment that Burrows slid and his family had to flee. It's possible that down into it. he used the knowledge of the seas that his Where does this leave us? For sceptics to ancestors, the Phoenicians, had gathered: he cry foul, they need to come up with better knew the location of the Azores, whose evidence that Burrows faked the stones, The | There is no evidence | fe omeadekevhere sceptics argue that Burrows was known to that Burrows faked So, if the Burrows Cave artefacts are ‘k with d and creat den artefacts ine and the int tati Di ct, it's in his spare time. Indeed. This they see as the stones... possible that the Phoenician-informed "evidence" that he faked the stones. Mauritanian royal family sailed further west, More importantly, there is evidence that a . beyond the Azores, to the Americas. cave system exists where Burrows claims it More importantly, If they ended up in Central America, exists. If it is all a hoax, the sceptics there is evidence perhaps they entered the Mis ppi will need to provide evidence instead of River and travelled north until reachin repeatedly using the word "obvious". that a cave system Illinois—where they settled, far Still, even if the cave system is there, exists where Burrows removed from the squabbles of the Old it may perhaps be lost to us forever. . . . World. Any operation that could be mounted to claims it exists. The cave artefacts are not the only provide a conclusive answer would cost evidence of the presence of an an extraordinary amount of money— enigmatic people in the first century and such resources are "obviously" not AD. According to a local Native in the hands of the diffusionists. American legend, the region contains So it seems that, once again, the the tomb of a king who was not native establishment has won the fight—and to America. The tribe once knew the that may be the only obvious thing location, but this information is now about this entire story. lost. Could this location be the same as the Burrows Cave? From Old World to New? Furthermore, it is known that Juba II ordered a golden What sense can we make of all this? Could a golden sarcophagus to be prepared for the mausoleum that had been sarcophagus, allegedly found in an Illinois cave, be evidence of built for him in Tipaza (in modern-day Algeria). This was one of pre-Columbian transoceanic travel between the "Old World" and the prized possessions that the Romans had tried to get their the Americas, as so many people have claimed? hands on, but they never did find the sarcophagus or the While Burrows described what the cave looked like and what it Mauritanian king. Official history is silent on the fate of both. contained, fortunately most of the artefacts removed from the Yet it is clear that King Juba II must have died and that he and cave were photographed early on, in part due to the efforts of his sarcophagus must have ended up somewhere, perhaps in James Schertz and Fred Rydholm. Various researchers have Illinois. That seems "obvious" logic to me—and logic may be all looked at this collection, and archaeologists have been quick to that we can work with for the foreseeable future. oo the stones... More importantly, there is evidence that a cave system exists where Burrows From Old World to New? What sense can we make of all this? Could a golden sarcophagus, allegedly found in an Illinois cave, be evidence of pre-Columbian transoceanic travel between the "Old World" and the Americas, as so many people have claimed? While Burrows described what the cave looked like and what it contained, fortunately most of the artefacts removed from the cave were photographed early on, in part due to the efforts of James Schertz and Fred Rydholm. Various researchers have looked at this collection, and archaeologists have been quick to point out the mismatches. But most cultures are a mismatch of cultures! London and New York are prime examples of how various cultures create a new one. Things were no different in ancient times, Alexandria probably being the best example. An important clue is that some of the stone slabs displayed a signature that was known in the Old World. It belonged to one About the Author: Philip Coppens has previously contributed five articles to NEXUS, the most recent being "The Quest for the Metal Library" (see vol. 13, no. 4). His website is http://www.philipcoppens.com, and he can be contacted by email at info@philipcoppens.com. 60 + NEXUS There is no evidence that Burrows faked claims it exists. www.nexusmagazine.com AUGUST - SEPTEMBER 2006