Ancient Aliens

Pleiades, The

Published July 1, 2017

The Pleiades in Greek mythology is the collective name for the seven daughters of Atlas and Pleione, while in astronomy, it is one of the nearest star clusters to Earth and the most obvious to the naked eye in the Taurus constellation. They were identified by American researcher Frank Edge among the famous prehistoric paintings on the walls of the Lascaux Cave (16,500 BC)^(h).

Pushing back much further, we now have a claim from Australia by astrophysicist Richard Norris who purports to have evidence that the Pleiades were known as ‘the seven sisters’ as far back as 100,000 years ago before Aboriginal Australians reached Australia according to their traditions!⁽ⁱ⁾Jason Colavito does not agree with this idea^(g).

The Danish independent researcher, Ove Von Spaeth, has a wide-ranging article on cultural references to the Pleiades including the Nebra Sky Disc^(a). He also touches on the subject of Atlantis.

David Zink in his search for Atlantis in the Bahamas recounts in The Stones of Atlantis ^[0178,130] that he used the services of psychic, Carol Huffstickler, who was happy to inform him that around 28,000 BC, the Gods came to Earth from the Pleiades^(d)!

However, Jack Countryman has devoted his book, Atlantis and the Seven Stars^[1312], to the idea that extraterrestrials from the Pleiades “had initiated human civilisation through Atlantis and the Mediterranean.” A comparable idea has been proposed by Semir Osmanagic, promoter of the Bosnian pyramids, who has suggested^[0519] that the Maya were descendants of the Atlanteans who in turn arrived on Earth from the Pleiades^(b)!

Frank Joseph claims that the Pleiades, ”like the kings (of Atlantis) listed by Plato, correspond, through their individual myths, to actual places within the Atlantean sphere of influence, and thereby help to illustrate the story of that vanished empire.” Joseph, concludes by associating each with particular realms within that empire, including the Azores, Morocco. Troy, Yucatan, Italy and the Canaries.^[^104.227]

The Cherokee Indians also have an oral tradition that tells of ‘star people’ coming to Earth from the Pleiades and settling on five islands in the Atlantic known as Elohi Mona. Following the destruction of these islands, the survivors migrated to the Americas. A Cherokee contributor to a, now offline, forum related how he always understood Elohi Mona to be a reference to Atlantis. Another site offering further ‘insights’ into the Atlantean and Cherokee linkage to the Pleiades is available^(c).

Edward Alexander, in a slight twist to the tale, also claims to have been reincarnated many times on Earth, over the past 9,000 years since his arrival from his distant origins in the Pleiades.

In 2018, Frederick Dodson revealed that he had encountered blue-skinned beings from the Pleiades in his book, The Pleiades and our Secret Destiny ^[1658]! It would be interesting to hear Dodson and Alexander exchange notes.

>The internet is replete with nonsensical claims of Pleiadian ancestry. Just this morning, I found the following piece of b.s. that is representative of what you may encounter. This site also claims an Atlantean link^(j).

“The Tarot is ancient Pleiadian communication. It is why many of those who feel a kinship with the Tarot now often also feel a kinship with the Pleiadian energy.

The Pleiadians brought these ancient technologies; these forms, these symbols to us. And at the human level, to communicate, simplified this into the cards of the Tarot. So our Pleiadian embodied allies and ancient social memory complexes continue to communicate through the Tarot, which is why humans continue to use this methodology even to this day.”<

William Henry, in a 2006, NatGeo documentary about Atlantis delighted us with the revelation that ancient aliens from the Pleiades have helped the Egyptians to build the pyramids! The incredible amount of utter b.s. that people continue to generate, ostensibly linking extraterrestrials to Atlantis or the Pyramids is, for me, quite remarkable^(e). A recent episode (S15E07) of the American TV series Ancient Aliens returned to the subject of the Pleiades and visitors from there. Jason Colavito has reviewed it ‘appropriately’^(f).

>Shane Leach has claimed in his 2023 book Prehistory Explained ^[2007] that the structures at Stonehenge correspond to the stars that form the Pleiades constellation.<

The Pleiades are known as Subaru in Japanese, giving its name to the car brand and inspiring its logo design.

^(a) See: Archive 3363

^(b) https://archive.archaeology.org/online/features/osmanagic/

^(c) https://www.tokenrock.com/explain-pleiadians-138.html

^(d)https://www.tulsaworld.com/archives/legend-of-atlantis-lives-in-bimini/article_d5552245-820b-510a-bb96-c295f7947300.html (June 2018-Not available in Europe because of the GDPR)

^(e) Archive 3908 | (atlantipedia.ie)

^(f) https://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/review-of-ancient-aliens-s15e07-they-came-from-the-pleiades

^(g) Australian Astrophysicist Claims Pleiades Myth Is 100,000 Years Old – JASON COLAVITO

^(h)Atlantis Rising magazine #25 p.13 http://www.p dfarchive.info/index.php?pages/At

⁽ⁱ⁾ https://theconversation.com/the-worlds-oldest-story-astronomers-say-global-myths-about-seven-sisters-stars-may-reach-back-100-000-years-151568

^(j) https://medium.com/living-out-loud/we-the-atlanteans-intergalactic-federation-on-atlantis-f11c68db917d *

Tagged America, Ancient Aliens, Atlas, Azores, Bahamas, Bosnia, Canaries, Carol Huffstickler, Cherokees, David Zink, Edward Alexander, Elohi Mona, Frank Edge, Frank Joseph, Italy, Jack Countryman, Jason Colavito, Lascaux Cave, Maya, Morocco. Troy, Nebra Sky Disc, Ove Von Spaeth, Pleiades, pyramids, Richard Norris, Semir Osmanagic, Shane Leach, Stonehenge, Subaru, Taurus constellation, William Henry, Yucatan

Cayce, Edgar

Published July 29, 2010

Edgar Cayce (1877-1945) was born in Hopkinsville, Kentucky. He was reared as a Christian and even taught at Sunday school. He considered becoming a minister, but a lack of both education and funds prevented him from taking this course. The story goes that at the age of around 20, Cayce (pronounced KC) lost his voice and through self-hypnosis cured himself. He eventually found that he could cure others while in a trance and eventually his fame spread to such an extent that he was reported in the New York Times on 9^th October 1910.

In due course, Cayce’s trances were producing prophetic utterances or ‘readings’, that produced ideas totally at variance with his Christian upbringing, such as reincarnation and contact with the dead. During his lifetime over 14,000 ‘readings’ were recorded. In 1931 the Association for Research and Enlightenment (A.R.E.) was founded by Cayce to manage a depository of his ‘readings’. Cayce also claimed to be the reincarnation of an ancient Egyptian priest Ra-Ta!

Towards the end of 1944, Cayce became very ill and on New Year’s Day, 1945 he ‘prophesied’ that he would be miraculously healed of his illness. He died three days later. Arguably, an even more disappointing prognostication was his claim that Jesus Christ would come again in 1998. The Cayce Petroleum Company was another failure in the 1920s when Cayce and his associates unsuccessfully searched for the ‘Mother Pool’ of oil in Texas based on some of his ‘readings’.

Robert Bauval in his Secret Chamber^[859] reveals that Cayce seemed to have had a photographic memory and worked for up to fifteen years in a bookstore in Bowling Green, Kentucky, where, no doubt, he had access to the works of Donnelly, Steiner, Blavatsky and others^[p158]. Over many years, his readings have frequently employed terminology and phrases from identifiable theosophical and other sources, a fact that cannot be ignored. David Bell wrote his Ph.D. dissertation, Edgar Cayce’s Bookshelf, on the sources that influenced his ‘readings’⁽ⁿ⁾.

His Reading 364-1^(e) reveals quite clearly that he was acquainted with theosophical literature as well as other works of fiction such as A Dweller on Two Planets. It is, therefore, a clear possibility that this familiarity may have influenced his subconscious and his later prognostications.

Some of those ‘readings’ related to Atlantis and have been published in various books and websites, while a separate volume, Edgar Cayce on Atlantis ^[0917]by his youngest son Edgar Evans Cayce contains all relevant utterances. The entire book is now available online^(l).

He is most famously known for his claim that Atlantis would rise again in 1968 or 1969. Dr Mason Valentine discovered the so-called Bimini Road. A suggestion that this underwater feature had been known to members of A.R.E., years before its ‘discovery’, has been made by Picknett & Prince in The Stargate Conspiracy^[705].

John Gribbin, the British science writer has imaginatively suggested^[¹⁰²⁹^.91] that “if Cayce was indeed perceiving the future during his psychic trance, what he ‘received’ was a distorted version of the newspaper accounts of this story, which he duly reported in his own words in 1940.” On a more scientific note Gribbin explains (p.93) that “we can say beyond that Atlantis will not rise again from the Atlantic floor – there is no continental crust there to rise”.

K. Paul Johnson has written Edgar Cayce in Context^[⁶⁹⁰^], a well-balanced book that investigates in detail Cayce and his prognostications. In 1922, Cayce gave a lecture to the Birmingham Theosophical Society. Johnson relates how one Arthur Lammers, a theosophist, stayed with Cayce in 1923 for several weeks, during which sojourn, it appears that Theosophy was extensively discussed. Around the same time, Cayce was developing a friendship with one Morton Blumenthal, also an ardent theosophist. Coincidentally, it was in 1923 that some of Cayce’s ‘readings’ began to display great similarities with some of the views expressed in Madame Blavatsky’s ‘revelations’. A further interesting fact is that Alexander Strath-Gordon met Edgar Cayce on a number of occasions in the 1920s prompting speculation that he may have ‘influenced’ some of Cayce’s Atlantis readings, an idea that must be considered a possibility.

Cayce added that the Atlanteans discovered electricity and also had ships and aircraft powered by a mysterious form of energy crystal. He tells us that these flying machines were made of elephant skins! (Reading 364-6)^(f) and that they could also travel through water!

With all this technology at their disposal, it is incredible that they could have lost a war with anyone, particularly the relatively primitive Athenians. The 17th-century fictional work of Sir Francis Bacon, The New Atlantis, contains many references to advanced technology not realised until the last century. An encounter with this widely available work could easily have coloured any ‘readings’ while in a trance. Therefore, it would appear that there is sufficient evidence to suggest the possibility of ‘contamination’ of Cayce’s subconscious to throw doubt on the possible value of any of his ’readings’, without impugning the honesty of Edgar Cayce himself. Since the much-quoted prophecy of ‘Atlantis rising’ in the late ’60s is quite possibly the result of such contamination, it cannot be considered as evidence of anything. The Bimini Road itself is still the subject of controversy. He also told us that China would be Christianised by 1968!

Cayce was also wrong regarding other historical details^(d), such as the date of the biblical Exodus, which he declared to be 5500 BC (reading 470-22)^(g), an error of about 4,000 years!

William B. Stoecker has written an article, which is highly critical of Cayce’s work^(b). Nevertheless, it must be conceded that in one respect Cayce did offer one remarkable suggestion which claims that the Atlantean survivors fled to a number of locations (i) The Pyrenees – Home to the Basques (ii) Morocco – Berber country (iii) Egypt and (iv) North America – forming the Iroquois Nation. Coincidentally, the Berbers, Basques and Iroquois all share a specific DNA type^(a).

In 2001, A.R.E. published Edgar Cayce’s Atlantis and Lemuria ^[106] by Frank Joseph. In turn, William Hutton wrote a review of Cayce’s offering, in which he concluded that “The foregoing review, while not comprehensive, shows that there is enough material in the book that is contentious, confusing or downright erroneous that almost anyone familiar with the relevant Cayce readings is prompted to ask, ‘How did this book come to be printed under the A.R.E.’s imprimatur?’ Why wasn’t the manuscript sent out to one or more competent reviewers for critical evaluation prior to being edited?”

Unfortunately, Plato is hardly mentioned at all by Cayce except for a brief reference to “the few lines given by Plato.” (Reading 364-1)^(g).

Michael Mandeville published three volumes on the life and work of Cayce. He calculated that Cayce’s accuracy is consistently within an 85%-92% range. In an article published in Atlantis Rising magazine^(m⁾, he is quoted to have said that “Given the general accuracy of Cayce’s statements and the decisiveness with which his scenario for the period can be shown to be on target there is little reason to doubt that a catastrophic shift (25-27 degrees) in the location of the poles will occur during the period 2000-2001. I personally believe it will most likely occur in the year 2009.” Now (2022), many uneventful years later I think a comment is unnecessary.

James Randi in an excerpt^(o⁾ from his 1979 book Flim-Flam offers a debunking of Cayce that should be read by all open-minded people.>Jason Colavito has been a constant critic of Cayce’s irrational utterances^(p⁾. In August 2023, Colavito felt obliged to resume his critique of Cayce’s work following the showing of S19E15 of the American Ancient Aliens TV series. Understandably, Colavito is completely unimpressed by both Cayce and the Ancient Aliens production, describing the latter as a series from which “fortunately, no one has to worry about any truth coming out lt”^(q).<

There is also the report that David Wilcock, the conspiracy theorist, claimed to be the reincarnation of Edgar Cayce and wished to have a position in A.R.E., where he would also offer ‘readings’. He was questioned by Cayce’s son and grandson “for a little over an hour and quickly realized that he couldn’t answer a single question. They felt he was full of crap within minutes but to give him a fair chance they entertained him by asking him the questions that Cayce prepared while still alive to test the people who would come forward claiming to be his reincarnation.”⁽ⁱ⁾This daft idea was given further promotion by Wynn Free in The Reincarnation of Edgar Cayce. ^[¹⁶⁷⁸^], which was written with Wilcock.

Another communication with the deceased Cayce is claimed by Leonard Farra^(j). Forty years ago, in an article in Nature magazine Eugene A. Shinn and Marshall McKusick described Cayce followers as members of ‘a cult’!^(k⁾

⁽^a⁾ Evidence of Atlantis (archive.org)

^(b)https://www.unexplained-mysteries.com/column.php?id=177247

^(c) See: https://christophervolpe.blogspot.ie/2010/09/imagining-atlantis.html#links

^(d) See: https://web.archive.org/web/20160926210640/https://talc.site88.net/intro.htm

^(e) https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/esp_cayce_3.htm

^(f) https://phantho.de/files/html/reading__364-6.htm

^(g) See: Archive 2913

^(h) https://www.bibliotecapleyades.net/esp_cayce_3.htm

⁽ⁱ⁾ https://www.quora.com/Is-David-Wilcock-really-the-reincarnation-of-Edgar-Cayce

^(j)https://web.archive.org/web/20161116110258if_/http://www.messagetoeagle.com/farraatlantis.php#.WCw86Clxepo

^(k)https://www.academia.edu/12724731/Bahamian_Atlantis_reconsidered

^(l) https://www.theosophy.world/sites/default/files/ebooks/edgar_cayce_on_atlantis_1988.pdf

^(m)Atlantis Rising magazine #22 p.25 http://www.pdfarchive.info/index.php?pages/At

⁽ⁿ⁾ https://www.proquest.com/openview/d2a0a6fa9f13b7a809553ebc09a8eea7/1?cbl=18750&diss=y&pq-origsite=gscholar [Edgar Cayce’s Bookshelf]

^(o) https://skepticalinquirer.org/1979/10/edgar-cayce-the-slipping-prophet/

^(p) https://www.jasoncolavito.com/apps/search?q=Edgar+Cayce *

^(q)Review of Ancient Aliens S19E15: “Edgar Cayce: The Sleeping Prophet” – JASON COLAVITO *

Tagged A.R.E., Alexander Strath-Gordon, Ancient Aliens, Arthur Lammers, Basques, Berbers, Bimini, Blavatsky, crystals, David Bell, David Wilcock, Edgar Cayce, Edgar Evans Cayce, Eugene A. Shinn, Frank Joseph, Ignatius Donnelly, Iriquois, James Randi, Jason Colavito, John Gribbin, K. Paul Johnson, Leonard Farra, Marshall Mckusick, Mason Valentine, Michael Mandeville, Morton Blumenthal, Picknett & Prince, Robert Bauval, Rudolf Steiner, The Cayce Petroleum Company, The Exodus, William B. Stoecker, William Hutton

Coppens, Philip

Published June 6, 2010

Philip Coppens (1971-2012) was born in Belgium and until his death was living in North Berwick, Scotland. He began his career as an investigative journalist and eventually took to lecturing and writing articles⁽ⁱ⁾ and books^[²³⁸^][²³⁹^] on a wide range of subjects. In on of his last books^[²⁴¹^] he investigates the Neolithic alignments of the Lothian region of Scotland.

Another of his books^[²⁴⁰^] offered support for the theory of Marcel Mestdagh, who postulated that the city of Sens in France was the centre or capital city of an ancient culture, which he believed to be Atlantis. He returned to Mestdagh’s theories in his 2012 book, The Lost Civilisation Enigma^[1275].

Coppens had been previously published as Filip Coppens. His website⁽^a⁾went offline in December 2017.

He also published The New Pyramid Age^[759]in which he reviewed the most recent pyramid discoveries such as at Caral and discussed the possible implications of their existence on every continent.

Jason Colavito, a full-time sceptic, has published some harsh words about Coppens’ reliability^(b). In October 2012 war continued between the two them^(c). This relates to Coppens’ then recent book, The Ancient Alien Question^[¹⁵²⁵^], whose advertising blurb declares that “Philip Coppens demonstrates that there is substantial proof that our ancestors were far more technologically advanced than currently accepted, and that certain cultures interacted with non-human intelligences. Our ancestors were clearly not alone.”^(d)(l)Colavito continued his assault with further harsh words regarding Coppens’ more recent publication, The Lost Civilization Enigma^(e). A further response continued the battle^(f). Readers can follow the ‘debate’ on the relevant blogs.

Coppens died in Los Angeles on December 30^th 2012 as a result of angiosarcoma, a rare form of cancer. A poignant report of his last days is available online^(g).

Coppens’ widow Kathleen McGowan-Coppens is an author with a number of books exploring the Divine Feminine. She has also contributed to the US Ancient Aliens TV show^(h). Jason Colavito has recently (Jan.2015) discussed^(j) her claim to be a descendant of Jesus and Mary Magdalene!!!

The aforementioned claim has now apparently landed McGowan with an accusation of plagiarism by a Suzanne Olsson. Colavito has more details on his site^(k).

⁽^a⁾https://www.philipcoppens.com/ (Offline Dec. 2017)

^(b) https://www.jasoncolavito.com/1/post/2012/08/chinas-alien-hybrid-dwarf-village-philip-coppens-and-hartwig-hausdorff-falsify-a-newspaper-quote.html

^(c) https://du103w.dub103.mail.live.com/mail/InboxLight.aspx?n=2008985889&fid=1&fav=1#n=765631167&fid=1&fav=1&mid=25d71cd3-1091-11e2-be42-002264c248a4&fv=1 (offline 12/10/13)

^(d) https://atlantipedia.ie/samples/archive-2141/

^(e) https://www.jasoncolavito.com/1/post/2012/10/philip-coppens-on-lost-civilizations-and-a-my-challenge-to-him.html

^(f) https://www.jasoncolavito.com/1/post/2012/10/a-personal-response-to-philip-coppens-blog-post-attacking-me-as-an-ignorant-zealot.html

>^(g) Philip Coppens Of ‘Ancient Aliens’ Passes Away [Report] (archive.org)<

^(h)) https://www.kathleenmcgowan.com/

⁽ⁱ⁾ See: https://web.archive.org/web/20190103113924/https://www.eyeofthepsychic.com/roadnews/

^(j) https://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/scott-wolter-kathleen-mcgowan-coppens-could-be-a-descendant-of-jesus-and-mary-Magdalene

^(k) https://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/kathleen-mcgowans-legal-headaches-plus-aliens-and-anti-semitism-at-veterans-today-magazine

^(l)https://www.jasoncolavito.com/blog/reviewing-philip-coppenss-ancient-aliens-question-pt-3

Tagged Ancient Aliens, Jason Colavito, Kathleen McGowan-Coppens, Marcel Mestdagh, Philip Coppens, pyramids, Sens, Suzanne Olsson

Antikythera Mechanism*

Published May 31, 2010

The Antikythera Mechanism is one of the most remarkable artefacts ever discovered. It was found by sponge divers off the coast of the Aegean island of Antikythera just over a century ago. The device consists of four fragments with a total of 30 bronze gears.

Very little intensive investigation was done until the early 1950s when Derek J. de Solla Price (1922-1983) a professor at Yale University undertook a study of the Mechanism. His conclusions were published in several papers including Gears from the Greeks, now available as a pdf file^(r).

It was originally dated to the 1^st century BC and had been ascribed by some to the Greek astronomer Hipparchos, but recent research by Professor Alexander Jones of New York’s Institute for the Study of the Ancient World has pushed this back to the 2^nd century BC⁽^b⁾. Jones dismissed as ‘desperate’ a suggestion by Dr Jo Marchant, that the mechanism had been part of a timepiece that possibly controlled the sequential appearance of figures to indicate seasons. Marchant is the author of Decoding the Heavens: Solving the Mystery of the World’s First Computer^[^1460].

However, there is an inclination to look at the Antikythera in isolation and ignore the fact that as early as the 5th century BC “the Greeks were able to design and build self-directed machines. There is evidence that they built a bronze automaton of an eagle and a dolphin that were on display at the Olympic Games. Many of the automatons developed were only toys, such as the birds invented by Archytas (c. 428–347 BC). However, one inventor known as Philon of Byzantium (c. 280 BC–220 BC), invented a repeating crossbow.

It seems that in the Hellenistic period, developments in automation really advanced. In this period inventors used a complex system of levers, pulleys and wheels to build self-directed machinery. Rhodes became well known for its machine and there were two automatons in one of its main squares, to impress visitors.”^(aq) To me, it appears that Antikythera Mechanism is just a natural development of the mechanical skills that had emerged at that time and was also used later by the Romans, but not to the same extent.

“Mark Anthony had an automaton of Julius Caesar, made of wax, depicting Caesar rising from his deathbed and turning, slowly, to display his twenty-three bleeding wounds to the crowd. This started a riot and led to Brutus and the other killers of Caesar fleeing the city.” ^(aq)

Furthermore, we should not think that the Mechanism is unique as similar devices were referred to by the Roman orator Cicero (106-43 BC) in his De Re Publica 1.14.^(ar)

A report⁽ⁿ⁾ published in November 2014 revised further the date of the Mechanism’s creation back to 205 BC. Further research by the American historian James Evans led him to offer the claim that the mathematics on which this machine is based (more precisely the arithmetic) does not correspond to the Greek, but does to the Babylonian^(ai). The level of ancient Greek celestial knowledge is also being reappraised in the light of a recent study of a decorated cup of a type known as a skyphos^(o).

The superiority of Babylonian mathematics was supported by a recent study of a 3,700-year-old tablet known as Plimpton 322. The tablet was discovered around a century ago by Edgar J. Banks in what is now southern Iraq. Australian scientists from the University of New South Wales, Sydney have now demonstrated that the tablet is the world’s oldest and most accurate trigonometric table, predating the Greek astronomer Hipparchos by over a millennium^(z).

The Mechanism is a clockwork device for calculating astronomical events. A number of models have been built^(c), based on the evidence of the fragments discovered and further study is continuing. Even Lego was used by designer Andrew Carol to build a replica of the mechanism^(e)(d). Furthermore, in November 2011 Hublot, the Swiss watch manufacturer, revealed^(h) that they had designed a wristwatch based on the Antikythera Mechanism.

In 2008, it was announced that writing engraved on the housing indicated the locations of athletic games; “The Games dial shows six competitions, four Panhellenic (Olympics, Pythian, Isthmian, and Nemean) plus Naa (Dodona) and very probably Halieia (Rhodes)^(w).“

At the same time, a possible connection with the renowned Archimedes was posited by some commentators^(f). An even more remarkable feature was the clever use of two gears, one positioned slightly off-centre in relation to the other, allowing the mechanism to track the apparent speeding up and slowing down of the moon each month, resulting from its elliptical rather than circular orbit^(g).

The question that has now arisen is whether “It is possible that the mechanism is based on heliocentric principles, rather than the then-dominant geocentric view espoused by Aristotle and others.”^(ab)

Dr Minas Tsikritsis, a Cretan researcher, maintains that an object from the Minoan Age discovered

in 1898 in the Paleokastro site on Crete, was in fact “a cast for building a mechanism that functioned as an analog computer to calculate solar and lunar eclipses.”⁽ⁱ⁾ This was nearly a millennium and a half before the Antikythera Mechanism was manufactured, which would make it Minoan.

Some commentators, such as David Hatcher Childress, see the Antikythera device as just another piece of evidence of more complex scientific knowledge among early cultures than is usually accepted and that by extension the possibility of a technologically advanced Atlantis^[620].

In his 2014 book, The Stonhenge Codes^[977], Professor David P. Gregg, has devoted an appendix to the sophistication of the mechanism, in which he discusses the functions of individual shafts and gears. His objective is to show that its complexity is comparable to that of Stonehenge and that our view of early Greek mathematics and astronomy requires revision. His book can be read online^(j).

A January 2019 article elaborates further on the Mechanism’s function as a predictor of possible eclipses^(ae). It may be worth recalling that in the 1960s, Gerald Hawkins suggested that the 56 Aubrey Holes at Stonehenge were also used as eclipse predictors ^[¹⁶¹³^]+, an idea endorsed by Fred Hoyle ^[1614]+. John Edwin Wood in Sun, Moon & Standing Stones ^[^1951.76] preferred Hoyle’s method over Hawkin’s. A 1999 paper has proposed a simpler method than those put forward by either Hawkins or Hoyle^(ap). This matter is still the subject of debate^(af).

More recently (Feb.2020), Alexander Jones, has offered a highly technical investigation(^(ag) of the possible date for the construction of the Mechanism and concluded that “while the dating of the eclipse series inscribed on the Mechanism’s Saros Dial taken by itself may suggest a dating of the Mechanism’s construction somewhere within the 76 years after 205/204 BCE, other considerations such as the archaeological context in which it was found, together with what is otherwise known of the development of Greek astronomy in the Hellenistic period, may outweigh this preference and favor a later date.”

Opus Gemini, a trilogy of novels by Andreas Möhn, based on the Antikythera Mechanism was published in the Kindle format in September 2013 and is also available in other formats. Further information and updates are available on his website^(m).

The following website^(a), will keep you up to date on related developments.

New Scientist announced on June 4th, 2014^(k) that plans have been made to dive again to the Antikythera wreck in the hope of finding a second ‘mechanism’, using a ‘wearable submarine’. The Sept/Oct season of 2014 ended with evidence that the ship had been up to 50 metres long, making it the largest ancient shipwreck ever discovered^(l). It also had an estimated carrying capacity of 300 tons.

The February 2015 edition of Smithsonian Magazine gives an up-to-date review of the scientific studies of the Mechanism^(p). In June 2016 the Smithsonian returned to the subject with an article^(u) devoted to the extensive writing, some less than a millimetre tall, revealed by CT scans on virtually every surface. This recent study indicates that the Mechanism also appears to have an astrological purpose! These investigations also pointed to the Aegean island of Rhodes as its place of manufacture.

In August 2016, further dives confirmed that “the ancient cargo in Antikythera, still full of goods, is located at a depth of around 60 metres, making the work of divers particularly difficult. They only have 20 minutes to explore the sea. To help them, a set of submarine drones are currently being developed for next year. They will detect metal and make real-time analyses of the data collected.”^(v)

Another paper^(t)in 2015 offers a more complete history of the Mechanism’s discovery and subsequent studies.

In 2017, further objects were recovered from the wreck, including parts of a metal statue, as well as compacted metal objects that have yet to be cleaned and separated. It seems that the site has not yielded all its secrets yet^(aa). There are indications that there may be as many as nine statues still to be recovered, which are under huge boulders that overlie the metal objects and may have tumbled onto the wreck during a massive earthquake that shook Antikythera and surrounding islands in the 4th century AD.

A physically smaller but important discovery was that of the part of a gearwheel in Olbia, Sardinia in 2006. Giovanni Pastore, an Italian mechanical engineer, has studied the object and written an article^(s) on it for the Ancient Origins website, where he informs us that it is “dated between the mid-2nd century and the end of the 3rd century BC, has revealed a very important surprise: the teeth have a special curving which makes them extraordinarily similar to the mathematically perfect profile used in modern gears. Moreover, the unusual composition of the alloy (brass) was completely unexpected.”

Further important technical information about the Olbia gearwheel is available on the Italian larazzodeltempo.it website^(ak). Pastore explained, “that those who made the Wheel of Olbia had very advanced knowledge, from mathematics to astronomy, so the manufacturer of the gear wheel of Olbia has anticipated the knowledge of almost 2000 years.” He concluded that the gearwheel indicates that there was “a slow decay of scientific thought that lasted over time until the modern era.”

Inevitably, the suggestion has been made that first-century BC Greeks could not have created the Mechanism without alien assistance as the following quote shows; “While many experts try to offer explanations for how this device could have been conceived, designed and built, all their concepts fail the tests of logic. There is only one possible explanation. Beings with advanced knowledge of astronomical bodies, mathematics and precision engineering tools created the device or gave the knowledge for its creation to someone during the first century B.C. But the knowledge was not recorded or wasn’t passed down to anyone else.“^(x)It is also humorously ‘suggested’ that the early Greeks had laptops!! ^(q)

For the technically minded, a clockmaker, known just as ‘Chris’, has an extensive website^(y) where he has a number of videos illustrating how he has reconstructed copies of individual components of the Antikythera Mechanism.

In 2018, Charles River Editors have produced a fascinating volume ^[¹⁵⁸⁵^] that offers a valuable history of the Mechanism and the various efforts to determine its origin and purpose.

A few days ago (17.11.18) it was announced that a missing piece of the Mechanism had been found near the site of the original finds^(ac). However, Smithsonian Magazine swiftly adopted a more cautious approach^(ad), claiming that it was probably not a piece of the Mechanism! Watch this space.

In March 2021, further investigation revealed that the Mechanism also included “a complex planetarium on the ancient device’s face”, “that matches all the data and culminates in an elegant display of the ancient Greek Cosmos”, “showing the motion of Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn—each represented by a small gem—along with the path of the Sun, the phases of the Moon, and the positions of the Zodiac constellations.”^(ah)

The January 2022 edition of Scientific American has an article by Tony Freeth, in which he reviews the discovery and the gradual realisation of the purpose of the Mechanism, concluding with the following paragraph – “with the Antikythera mechanism, we are clearly not at the end of our story. We believe our work is a significant advance, but there are still mysteries to be solved. The UCL Antikythera Research Team is not certain that our reconstruction is entirely correct because of the huge loss of evidence. It is very hard to match all of the surviving information. Regardless, we can now see more clearly than ever what a towering achievement this object represents.” ^(al)

Tony Freeth et al published a paper^(as) in August 2021 explaining how his team offered a reconstruction of the Mechanism designed to take account of the fact that it is “now split into 82 fragments, only a third of the original survives, including 30 corroded bronze gearwheels.”

In April 2022, an article in Live Science reported that “The mysterious Antikythera mechanism, thought by some to be the world’s first computer, was first ‘started up’ on Dec. 22, 178 B.C., archaeologists have now found.” ^(am)

Continuing research has led to a reassessment of the Mechanism’s specifications as explained in a July 2024 report^(at). “In 2020, new X-ray images of one of the mechanism’s rings, known as the ‘calendar ring’, revealed fresh details of regularly spaced holes that sit beneath the ring. Since the ring was broken and incomplete, however, it wasn’t clear how just how many holes were there originally. Initial analysis by Antikythera researcher Chris Budiselic and colleagues suggested it was likely somewhere between 347 and 367.

Now, in a new paper published in the Horological Journal, Glasgow researchers describe how they used two statistical analysis techniques to reveal new details about the ‘calendar ring’. They show that the ring is vastly more likely to have had 354 holes, corresponding to the lunar calendar, than 365 holes, which would have followed the Egyptian calendar. The analysis also shows that 354 holes is hundreds of times more probable than a 360-hole ring, which previous research had suggested as a possible count.”

Work continues at the underwater site as part of a five-year project, coordinated by the University of Geneva. “Since the ship was transporting the highest quality of luxury goods, there is a very real possibility of unimaginable finds, similar in importance to the Mechanism.”^(an) In June 2022 the discovery of a marble head of Hercules was announced^(ao).

During this year’s (2024) investigations, “Swiss researchers were also able to confirm the existence of a second wooden ship in the study area. “Initial analyses show that the ships date from around the same time,” said Lorenz Baumer, head of the excavation project at the University of Geneva, when asked by the Keystone-SDA news agency. They were around 200 metres apart. Further investigations will now show whether there is a connection between the sinking of the two ships.”^(au)

^[1613]+https://archive.org/details/stonehengedecode00gera/mode/2up

^[1614]+https://archive.org/details/onstonehenge0000unse/page/n183/mode/2up

^(a) https://web.archive.org/web/20170627012433/https://antikythera-mechanism.gr/

^(b) https://www.guardian.co.uk/science/blog/2009/jul/29/archaeology-astronomy

^(c) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4eUibFQKJqI

^(d)https://www.cbsnews.com/news/apple-engineer-recreates-2000-year-old-computer-using-legos/

^(e)See: Archive 3800

^(f)https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/antikythera-mechanism-eclipse-olympics/

^(g) https://web.archive.org/web/20170509080817/https://www.nature.com/nature/podcast/v468/n7323/nature-2010-11-25.html

^(h) Hublot Antikythera Calibre 2033-CH01 Watch Is A Re-Imagined Greek Masterpiece | aBlogtoWatch

⁽ⁱ⁾ https://archaeologynewsnetwork.blogspot.com/2011/04/researcher-cites-ancient-minoan-era.html (link broken)

^(j)https://www.scribd.com/document/318813275/The-Stonehenge-Codes-pdf (link broken)