A temple complex in Turkey that predates even the pyramids

[CrackSmokeRepublican]

History in the Remaking

A temple complex in Turkey that predates even the pyramids is rewriting the story of human evolution.

A pillar at the Gobekli Tepe temple near Sanliurfa, Turkey, the oldest known temple in the world
By Patrick Symmes | NEWSWEEK
Published Feb 19, 2010

From the magazine issue dated Mar 1, 2010





They call it potbelly hill, after the soft, round contour of this final lookout in southeastern Turkey. To the north are forested mountains. East of the hill lies the biblical plain of Harran, and to the south is the Syrian border, visible 20 miles away, pointing toward the ancient lands of Mesopotamia and the Fertile Crescent, the region that gave rise to human civilization. And under our feet, according to archeologist Klaus Schmidt, are the stones that mark the spot—the exact spot—where humans began that ascent.
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Standing on the hill at dawn, overseeing a team of 40 Kurdish diggers, the German-born archeologist waves a hand over his discovery here, a revolution in the story of human origins. Schmidt has uncovered a vast and beautiful temple complex, a structure so ancient that it may be the very first thing human beings ever built. The site isn't just old, it redefines old: the temple was built 11,500 years ago—a staggering 7,000 years before the Great Pyramid, and more than 6,000 years before Stonehenge first took shape. The ruins are so early that they predate villages, pottery, domesticated animals, and even agriculture—the first embers of civilization. In fact, Schmidt thinks the temple itself, built after the end of the last Ice Age by hunter-gatherers, became that ember—the spark that launched mankind toward farming, urban life, and all that followed.

 
Göbekli Tepe—the name in Turkish for "potbelly hill"—lays art and religion squarely at the start of that journey. After a dozen years of patient work, Schmidt has uncovered what he thinks is definitive proof that a huge ceremonial site flourished here, a "Rome of the Ice Age," as he puts it, where hunter-gatherers met to build a complex religious community. Across the hill, he has found carved and polished circles of stone, with terrazzo flooring and double benches. All the circles feature massive T-shaped pillars that evoke the monoliths of Easter Island.

Though not as large as Stonehenge—the biggest circle is 30 yards across, the tallest pillars 17 feet high—the ruins are astonishing in number. Last year Schmidt found his third and fourth examples of the temples. Ground-penetrating radar indicates that another 15 to 20 such monumental ruins lie under the surface. Schmidt's German-Turkish team has also uncovered some 50 of the huge pillars, including two found in his most recent dig season that are not just the biggest yet, but, according to carbon dating, are the oldest monumental artworks in the world.

The new discoveries are finally beginning to reshape the slow-moving consensus of archeology. Göbekli Tepe is "unbelievably big and amazing, at a ridiculously early date," according to Ian Hodder, director of Stanford's archeology program. Enthusing over the "huge great stones and fantastic, highly refined art" at Göbekli, Hodder—who has spent decades on rival Neolithic sites—says: "Many people think that it changes everything...It overturns the whole apple cart. All our theories were wrong."

Schmidt's thesis is simple and bold: it was the urge to worship that brought mankind together in the very first urban conglomerations. The need to build and maintain this temple, he says, drove the builders to seek stable food sources, like grains and animals that could be domesticated, and then to settle down to guard their new way of life. The temple begat the city.

History in the Remaking

 
This theory reverses a standard chronology of human origins, in which primitive man went through a "Neolithic revolution" 10,000 to 12,000 years ago. In the old model, shepherds and farmers appeared first, and then created pottery, villages, cities, specialized labor, kings, writing, art, and—somewhere on the way to the airplane—organized religion. As far back as Jean-Jacques Rousseau, thinkers have argued that the social compact of cities came first, and only then the "high" religions with their great temples, a paradigm still taught in American high schools.

Religion now appears so early in civilized life—earlier than civilized life, if Schmidt is correct—that some think it may be less a product of culture than a cause of it, less a revelation than a genetic inheritance. The archeologist Jacques Cauvin once posited that "the beginning of the gods was the beginning of agriculture," and Göbekli may prove his case.

The builders of Göbekli Tepe could not write or leave other explanations of their work. Schmidt speculates that nomadic bands from hundreds of miles in every direction were already gathering here for rituals, feasting, and initiation rites before the first stones were cut. The religious purpose of the site is implicit in its size and location. "You don't move 10-ton stones for no reason," Schmidt observes. "Temples like to be on high sites," he adds, waving an arm over the stony, round hilltop. "Sanctuaries like to be away from the mundane world."

Unlike most discoveries from the ancient world, Göbekli Tepe was found intact, the stones upright, the order and artistry of the work plain even to the un-trained eye. Most startling is the elaborate carving found on about half of the 50 pillars Schmidt has unearthed. There are a few abstract symbols, but the site is almost covered in graceful, naturalistic sculptures and bas-reliefs of the animals that were central to the imagination of hunter-gatherers. Wild boar and cattle are depicted, along with totems of power and intelligence, like lions, foxes, and leopards. Many of the biggest pillars are carved with arms, including shoulders, elbows, and jointed fingers. The T shapes appear to be towering humanoids but have no faces, hinting at the worship of ancestors or humanlike deities. "In the Bible it talks about how God created man in his image," says Johns Hopkins archeologist Glenn Schwartz. Göbekli Tepe "is the first time you can see humans with that idea, that they resemble gods."

The temples thus offer unexpected proof that mankind emerged from the 140,000-year reign of hunter-gatherers with a ready vocabulary of spiritual imagery, and capable of huge logistical, economic, and political efforts. A Catholic born in Franconia, Germany, Schmidt wanders the site in a white turban, pointing out the evidence of that transition. "The people here invented agriculture. They were the inventors of cultivated plants, of domestic architecture," he says.

Göbekli sits at the Fertile Crescent's northernmost tip, a productive borderland on the shoulder of forests and within sight of plains. The hill was ideally situated for ancient hunters. Wild gazelles still migrate past twice a year as they did 11 millennia ago, and birds fly overhead in long skeins. Genetic mapping shows that the first domestication of wheat was in this immediate area—perhaps at a mountain visible in the distance—a few centuries after Göbekli's founding. Animal husbandry also began near here—the first domesticated pigs came from the surrounding area in about 8000 B.C., and cattle were domesticated in Turkey before 6500 B.C. Pottery followed. Those discoveries then flowed out to places like Çatalhöyük, the oldest-known Neolithic village, which is 300 miles to the west.

The artists of Göbekli Tepe depicted swarms of what Schmidt calls "scary, nasty" creatures: spiders, scorpions, snakes, triple-fanged monsters, and, most common of all, carrion birds. The single largest carving shows a vulture poised over a headless human. Schmidt theorizes that human corpses were ex-posed here on the hilltop for consumption by birds—what a Tibetan would call a sky burial. Sifting the tons of dirt removed from the site has produced very few human bones, however, perhaps because they were removed to distant homes for ancestor worship. Absence is the source of Schmidt's great theoretical claim. "There are no traces of daily life," he explains. "No fire pits. No trash heaps. There is no water here." Everything from food to flint had to be imported, so the site "was not a village," Schmidt says. Since the temples predate any known settlement anywhere, Schmidt concludes that man's first house was a house of worship: "First the temple, then the city," he insists.

http://www.newsweek.com/id/233844/page/1

[mgt23]

very interesting CSR

[CrackSmokeRepublican]

The Devil worshippers of Iraq


Yezidi women from where north-western Iraq borders Syria. The faith may go back 6,000 years

By Sean Thomas 12:01AM BST 19 Aug 2007

I'm in a community hall, on the outskirts of Celle, a north German town. On the walls are pictures of dark blue peacocks. Sitting at various tables around the room are dozens of Devil worshippers. At least, that's what some people call them.

Though we don't know it yet, right now several suicide bombs are going off near Mosul in Iraq, killing maybe 400. The victims belong to the same faith as those gathered here today.

They are Yezidi. And I'm here to unearth the reality of their fascinating religion. Why do they have such troubled relations with outsiders? Do they really worship the Devil?

The Yezidi of Celle are one of the largest groups of their sect outside the homeland of Kurdish Iraq. There may be 7,000 in this small town. Yezidi across the world number between 400,000 and 800,000.

Today the Yezidi in Celle don't seem keen to talk. I'm not surprised: I have been warned about their wariness of strangers, born of centuries of appalling persecution.

Eventually a dark, thickset man turns to me. He points to one of the peacocks on the wall: "That is Melek Taus, the peacock angel. We worship him." He sips his tea, and adds: "Ours is the oldest religion in the world. Older than Islam; older than Christianity."

After this cryptic statement he returns to his friends.

Luckily there is another Yezidi organisation in Celle that is said to be more forthcoming. On the way to meet its spokesman, I go through the bizarre beliefs of the Yezidi.

It's an impressive list. The Yezidi honour sacred trees. Women must not cut their hair. Marriage is forbidden in April. They refuse to eat lettuce, pumpkins, and gazelles. They avoid wearing dark blue because it is "too holy".

They are divided strictly into castes, who cannot marry each other. The upper castes are polygamous. Anyone of the faith who marries a non-Yezidi risks ostracism, or worse. Some weeks ago a young girl was stoned to death by her Yezidi menfolk in Iraq; she had fallen in love with a Muslim and was trying to convert. The sickening murder was filmed, and posted on the internet, adding to the Yezidis' unhappy reputation.

Yezidism is syncretistic: it combines elements of many faiths. Like Hindus, they believe in reincarnation. Like ancient Mithraists, they sacrifice bulls. They practise baptism, like Christians. When they pray they face the sun, like Zoroastrians. They profess to revile Islam, but there are strong links with Sufism, the mystical branch of Islam.

It's a remarkably confusing picture. And I still haven't got an answer to the main question: do they worship "Satan"?

In the centre of town I am greeted by Halil Savucu, a westernised spokesman for the Yezidi. Also with us is Uta Tolle, a German scholar of Yezidism.

In Halil's Mercedes we drive into the suburbs. On the way, the two of them give me their view of the faith. "Yezidi is oral, not literary," says Uta. "This is why it is sometimes hard to pin down precise beliefs. There are religious texts, like the Black Book, but they are not crucial. The faith is really handed down by kawwas, sort of musical preachers."

And who is Melek Taus? Halil looks slightly uncomfortable: "We believe he is a proud angel, who rebelled and was thrown into Hell by God. He stayed there 40,000 years, until his tears quenched the fires of the underworld. Now he is reconciled to God."

But is he good or evil? "He is both. Like fire. Flames can cook but they can also burn. The world is good and bad."

For a Yezidi to say they worship the Devil is understandably difficult. It is their reputation as infidels - as genuine "devil worshippers" - that has led to their fierce persecution over time, especially by Muslims. Saddam Hussein intensified this suppression.

But some Yezidi do claim that Melek Taus is "the Devil". One hereditary leader of the Yezidi, Mir Hazem, said in 2005: "I cannot say this word [Devil] out loud because it is sacred. It's the chief of angels. We believe in the chief of angels."

There are further indications that Melek Taus is "the Devil". The parallels between the story of the peacock angel's rebellion, and the story of Lucifer, cast into Hell by the Christian God, are surely too close to be coincidence. The very word "Melek" is cognate with "Moloch", the name of a Biblical demon - who demanded human sacrifice.

The avian imagery of Melek Taus also indicates a demonic aspect. The Yezidi come from Kurdistan, the ancient lands of Sumeria and Assyria. Sumerian gods were often cruel, and equipped with beaks and wings. Birdlike. Three thousand years ago the Assyrians worshipped flying demons, spirits of the desert wind. One was the scaly-winged demon featured in The Exorcist: Pazuzu.

The Yezidi reverence for birds - and snakes - might also be extremely old. Excavations at ancient Catalhoyuk, in Turkey, show that the people there revered bird-gods as long ago as 7000BC. Even older is Gobekli Tepe, a megalithic site near Sanliurfa, in Kurdish Turkey (Sanliurfa was once a stronghold of Yezidism). The extraordinary temple of Gobekli boasts carvings of winged birdmen, and images of buzzards and serpents.

Taking all this evidence into account, a fair guess is that Yezidism is a form of bird-worship, that could date back 6,000 years or more. Over the centuries, new and powerful creeds, such as Islam and Christianity, have swept through Yezidi Kurdistan, threatening the older faith. But, like a species that survives by blending into the landscape, Yezidism has adapted by incorporating aspects of rival religions.

We've reached Halil's house. "Look at this," he says, showing me a picture of the peacock angel, and a copper sanjak - another representation of Melek Taus. When I have taken some photos, we all sit down to spaghetti bolognaise, with Halil's wife and their chatty kids. It suddenly seems a long way from the weirdness of Devil-worship, and the violence of the Middle East.

"We Yezidi are not saints," says Halil, "but we are a peaceful people. All we want is tolerance. We do not worship evil, we just see that the world contains good as well as bad. Darkness as well as light."

His words are timely. While we eat our pasta, the news comes through from Iraq of the bloody slaughter of Yezidi near Mosul. Halil is deeply distraught. "I feel absolute shock and horror, I feel sick to my stomach. All Yezidi are my family. But we are so alone in the world. We need friends. Many Yezidi would like to leave Iraq, but no one will give us visas."

He sighs, and adds: "The Yezidi have been persecuted for thousands of years, we are used to it. But we thought the new Iraq would protect minorities. We thought that things would get better when the Americans came..." And then he turns, and stares at the serene blue image, of the great peacock angel.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldne ... -Iraq.html

[CrackSmokeRepublican]

Melek Taus (looks like the Kabbalah's Sepiroth)

Jewish mystical traditions always appeal to an argument of authority based on antiquity. As a result, virtually all works pseudepigraphically claim or are ascribed ancient authorship. For example, Sefer Raziel HaMalach, an astro-magical text partly based on a magical manual of late antiquity, Sefer ha-Razim, was, according to the kabbalists, transmitted to Adam (after being evicted) by the angel Raziel. Another famous work, the Sefer Yetzirah, supposedly dates back to the patriarch Abraham. According to Apocalyptic literature, esoteric knowledge, such as magic, divination, and astrology, was transmitted to humans in the mythic past by the two angels, Aza and Azaz'el (in other places, Azaz'el and Uzaz'el) who 'fell' from heaven (see Genesis 6:4).

This appeal to antiquity has also shaped modern theories of influence in reconstructing the history of Jewish mysticism. The oldest versions of the Jewish mysticism have been theorized to extend from Assyrian theology and mysticism. Dr. Simo Parpola, a researcher at the University of Helsinki, has made some suggestive findings on the matter, particularly concerning an analysis of the Sefirot. Noting the general similarity between the Sefirot of the Kabbalah and the Tree of Life of Assyria, he reconstructed what an Assyrian antecendent to the Sepiroth would look like.

He matched the characteristics of En Sof on the nodes of the Sepiroth to the gods of Assyria, and was able to even find textual parallels between these Assyrian gods and the characteristics of god. The Assyrians assigned specific numbers to their gods, similar to how the Sepiroth assigns numbers to its nodes. However, the Assyrians use a sexagesimal number system, whereas the Sepiroth is decimal. With the Assyrian numbers, additional layers of meaning and mystical relevance appear in the Sepiroth. Normally, floating above the Assyrian Tree of Life was the god Assur, this corresponds to En Sof, which is also, via a series of transformations, derived from the Assyrian word Assur.

Jewish mystical traditions always appeal to an argument of authority based on antiquity. As a result, virtually all works pseudepigraphically claim or are ascribed ancient authorship. For example, Sefer Raziel HaMalach, an astro-magical text partly based on a magical manual of late antiquity, Sefer ha-Razim, was, according to the kabbalists, transmitted to Adam (after being evicted) by the angel Raziel. Another famous work, the Sefer Yetzirah, supposedly dates back to the patriarch Abraham. According to Apocalyptic literature, esoteric knowledge, such as magic, divination, and astrology, was transmitted to humans in the mythic past by the two angels, Aza and Azaz'el (in other places, Azaz'el and Uzaz'el) who 'fell' from heaven (Genesis 6:4).

http://www.crystalinks.com/kabala.html


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The Assyrian Origin of Devil Worshippers


Father Garzoni appears to have been the first among modern travellers who called attention to the singular fact of the Izedis paying adoration, or at least a sort of worship, to the figure of a bird placed on a kind of candlestick, and called Melek Taus. Mr. Rich and Mr. Fraser corroborated the fact. " Once a year," says the latter, " they worship the figure of a cock, which is called Malik Taus, placed before the assembly on a sort of candlestick." Since that time, the same fact has been attested by numerous missionaries and travellers.

Unfortunately, some discrepancy has arisen in the translation of the word MelekTaus, from the convertibility of the vowels, as well as in the orthography, as also the several meanings of the same word, in oriental languages. Melek means king in Hebrew, and malak, angel. Hence Melek Taus has been translated by Hyde {Vet. Pers. Relig. Hist., p. 518) as " angel peacock;" by Layard, in the same page {Nineveh and its Remains, vol. i, p. 245), as both " king" and " angel;" and by the Rev. Dr. Justin Perkins, missionary of American Board, " mighty angel" (see Miss. Her. Feb. 1838, p. 53). But almost all others translate it king cock, or king peacock. Melek, pronounced malik, is a term still used among the Khaldis to designate their chiefs,-in the sense of king, not of angels. A writer in the Journal of the American Oriental Society (vol. iii, p. 502) says : " The gram­matical interpretation of Melek Taus, ' king peacock,' we may now consider as established." So far true, but Taus is also used for the cock simply, as well as for peacock; just as Taok signifies in the Kurdish and Turkish languages poultry generally. It is also used sometimes in the general sense of a bird, and the Taochians, mentioned by Xenophon as met with in Georgia, appear to have been so called from their living like birds, perched on high mountain fortresses.

and cement of all things, as being that by which the natural and spiritual world are comprehended in one idea. (Tusc. Quaest., i, 10.)

The writer was, on the occasion of his visit to Sheikh Adi, unsuccessful in obtaining any information in regard to this bird worship. It appears, indeed, that the greatest secrecy and reserve are observed by the Izedis with respect to the worship of this symbol. When Mr. Layard, at a subsequent period, attended the annual festival of the Izedis at the same place, although he was regarded by them as their friend and protector, still he was not allowed to see the sacred symbol.

" Some ceremony," he relates, " took place before I joined the assembly at the tomb, at which no stranger can be present, nor could I learn its nature from the Kawals. Sheikh Nasr gave me to understand that their holy symbol, the Malek Taus, was then exhibited to the priests, and he declared that, as far as he was concerned, he had no objection to my witnessing the whole of their rites; but many of the Sheikhs were averse to it, and he did not wish to create any ill-feeling in the tribe." (Nineveh and its Remains, vol. i, pp. 293-294.)

It appears from the same authority that there is some asso­ciation of ideas in existence among the Izedis between the Devil and the Melek Taus. "When they speak of the Devil," says Layard, " they do so with reverence as Malik Taus, 'King Peacock,' or Malik al Kut, 'the Mighty Angel.'"

Dr. Forbes says, " At the village of Sheikh Adi is the figure of a peacock in brass, called Malik Taus (King Peacock), which is venerated as the emblem or representative of David and Solomon, to whom they (the Izedis) offer sacrifices, and of whom there are images near the Malik Taus.

When Layard returned to Assyria in 1848-49, in company with the Kawal Yusuf, bearer of an Imperial firman giving the Izedis equal rights with Mussulmans, a complete toleration of their religion, and relief from the much-dreaded laws of conscription, there was nothing that these poor persecuted people would not almost have done for him.

Being in Redwan, a town in Kharzan, part of ancient Armenia, on the upper Tigris, at the time that the Kawals were collecting the revenues, upon which occasion they always have with them their national symbol the Melek Taus, he asked to see the mysterious figure, and was not refused. ' " I was conducted," he relates, " early in the morning into a dark inner room in Nazi's house. It was some time before my eyes had become sufficiently accustomed to the dim light to distin­guish an object, from which a large red coverlet had been raised on my entry. The Kawals drew near with every sign of respect, bowing and kissing the corner of the cloth in which it was placed. A stand of bright copper or brass, in shape like the candlesticks generally used in Musul and Baghdad, was surmounted by the rude image of a bird in the same metal, and more like an Indian or Mexican idol than a cock or pea­cock. Its peculiar workmanship indicated some antiquity, but I could see no traces of inscription upon it."

This, it is to be understood, was only a copy of the original symbol or banner of the tribe kept at Sheikh Adi. Layard tells us there are four such images, one for each district visited by the Kawals.

The Izedis declare that, notwithstanding the frequent wars and massacres to which the sect has been exposed, and the plunder and murder of the priests during their journeys, no Melek Taus has ever fallen into the hands of the Mussulmans. Kawal Yusuf, once crossing the desert on a mission to Sinjar, and seeing a body of Bedwin horsemen in the distance, buried the Melik Taus. Having been robbed and then left by the Arabs, he dug it up, and carried it in safety to its destination.

Not the least interesting fact associated with the existence of this strange ornithological symbol is the connexion that is manifest between it and certain sacred symbols found carved on the rocks at Bavian, near Sheikh Adi. In the latter we have simple or ornamented stands, staffs, or cylinders, bearing the ram's head, sacred among the Izedis as well as the Assyrians, bulls' heads, and the fir cone, citron, or other well known conical emblem. In the Melek Taus, we have a bird instead of the more common Assyrian symbols; and, for want of a better, a modern brass candlestick is made to serve for a pedestal or staff. Perhaps it is not so in the original at Sheikh Adi. Still, the evident connexion between this modern symbol and the more ancient sacred symbols of the Assyrians sculptured on the Royal Tablets at Bavian, tends to identify still more closely the Izedis with their predecessors in the same country. And the very fact of these sculptures being met with in the vicinity of their chief sanctuary, and where they keep their sacred banner, lends additional strength to this view of the subject.

With one exception, all travellers agree that, whatever may be the reading of Melek Taus, king or angel, cock or peacock (and the poor ignorant and superstitious Izedis may confound the four), that the bird symbol is associated with the Evil Spirit.

That exception is Dr. Grant, who, on the contrary, asserts that the angel of light, or good principle, is represented by the Melek Taus; and he remarks that' it is represented not by a peacock but by a cock, that bird being the harbinger of day.

It is not, however, solely from its association with old Assyrian symbol worship, as depicted on the neighbouring rocks of Bavian, that we would deduce the pre-Magian or Persian origin of this bird-worship, but other circumstances come to the support of this view of the subject.

The idol of the Cuthites, called Nergal in 2 Kings xvii, 30, has been identified by the Rabbinical commentators with the cock. The Babylonian Talmudic treatise Sanhedrin (fol. 63, p. 2) offers the following explanation of the passage which states that the men of Kuth made Nergal their god. "And what was it? A cock."

Another Rabbinical allusion to the cock, as connected with the evil principle, is the following, which is taken from the same Talmudic treatise, Beracoth (fol. 6, p. 2): " He that wisheth to know them (the evil spirits) let him take sieved ashes, and lay them on the bed, and in the morning he will perceive thereon footsteps of a cock."

This identification has been disputed by Nerberg, Gesenius, and other inquirers into the astrolatry of the Assyrians and Chaldaeans, and who consider that the idol represented Mars. The two conjectures are not inconsistent with one another, for the harbinger of day has been from remote times associated with the worship of the god of war.

According to Professor Movers, in his valuable work Die Religion der Phcenizier, p. 423, the cock was the symbol of the planet Mars, from the fact of the combative propensity of this bird, which therefore constituted him the type of the god of war. Movers considers the word as a co-ordinate form of another, which signifies an axe, and we have a representation of the latter on the lintel of the door at Sheikh Adi. (Compare the Syriac translation in Deut. xix, 5, and Matthew iii, 10.)

It has lately been argued, however, by Dr. Jblowicz, that the cock worship of the Cuthites had nothing to do with Mars, but that it was a Moloch cultus, comprising the sacrifice of children. Dr. Jolowicz argues, in favour of this view of the subject, that the Talmud classified the cock among the demons on account of its lustful propensities; that the Izedis at the present day call their deified cock Melek Taus, in which the term Moloch is plainly discernible; and because the Assyrian coins show the representation of Dagon together with Nergal (the fish and the cock), he says there is little doubt but that both gods thus placed together represent the Phallus and Moloch worship.

There is no doubt that the Satanic associations connected with the Melek Taus lend some countenance to the view enter­tained by Dr. Jolowicz, but they are not borne out by the other bearings of the question. The word Nergal, for example, contains the Cuthian (ancient Mede and Persian) word for fire, as well as the Sabian name for Mars, according to Nerberg and Gesenius. Van Bohlen finds the name also in the Sanscrit Nrigal, " man devourer," spoken of a fierce warrior, and corresponding to Merodach, the Mars of the Assyrians and Chaldseans. (Gesenius, Thesaur. p. 913, and Comment, zu Jesu, ii, p. 344.)

The word is also traceable in a variety of forms, all having reference more or less to the same idea. Thus Nergal Sharezer, prince of fire (Jer. xxxix, 3), Boanerges, son of thunder (Mark iii, 17), Anerges or Astara, of the dynasty of Phanagoria (Du-bois de Montpereux, tome v, p. 59.). Nur in the Arabic, as Kalah en Nur, Castle of Light, and Jebel en Nur, Mountain of Light, in Cilicia, and Nurhag, or fire temple, in Sardinia.

The site of the city of the Cuthites, in Babylonia, called by the Hebrews Kuth or Cutha, and by Abu Muhammed, in his Universal History, Kutha, has been for some time proximatively known to archaeologists (Mes. in Assyria, p. 165). Dr. Julius Oppert believes the mound which constitutes the north-east corner of the boundaries of ancient Babylon, and which is in the present day called Oheimer, to be the actual ruins of the Temple of Nergal. {Trans, of the Hist. Soc. of Lancashire and Cheshire, vol. viii, p. 97.)

There seems little doubt that the cock symbol was not con­fined to the temple of the Cuthites, but was known extensively among the Chaldaeans and Assyrians, for it is met with on several Assyrian cylinders. A gem has been figured by Mr. Layard, being an agate cone, upon the base of which is en­graved a winged priest or deity, standing in an attitude of prayer before a cock on an altar. On a cylinder in the British Museum, a priest is represented, wearing the sacrificial dress, standing at a table before an altar bearing a crescent, and a smaller altar, on which stands a cock.

The cock may indeed be considered at the head of what were known in antiquity as Iynges or sacred birds, and more particularly connected with the Assyrian as well as Babylonian religions. They were a kind of demons who exercised a peculiar influence over mankind, resembling the Ferouher of the Zoroastrian system. (Ignatius de Insomn., p. 134, ed. Patav. Schol. Niceph.) The oracles attributed to Zoroaster describe them as powers animated by God --

(The intelligible Iynges themselves understand from the Father; By ineffable counsels being moved so as to understand.)

Their images, made of gold, were in the palace of the King of Babylon, according to Philostratus (lib. i, c. 25, and lib. vi, c. 2.). They were con­nected with magic. (Selden de Dis Syriis, p. 39.) It is possible that the bird borne by warriors, in a bas relief from the ruins of the central palace of Nimrud, may represent the Iynges. Layard has given a representation of this bird in Nineveh and its Remains, vol. ii, p. 462. This figure, he adds, may, however, resemble the golden eagle carried before the Persian monarchs. (Xenophon, Cyroped. lib. vii; Anab. lib. ix; Quintus Curtius, lib. iii, c. 3.)


W. Francis Ainsworth, 1861

http://www.logoi.com/notes/devil_worshi ... ers_5.html

[CrackSmokeRepublican]

The Scapegoat of Azazel

Often we encounter sections and practices in the Old Testament that seem
very strange to us. It should not be surprising that some of these can be
clarified with knowledge gleaned from the ancient Near East. In what is
arguably the most important ritual for ancient Israelites, the Day of Atonement
(Yom Kippur), the people are instructed to designate one goat as a
"scapegoat"—a ancient attempt to render an obscure Hebrew word, Azazel.
In his Leviticus contribution to ZIBBCOT, ritual specialist Roy Gane writes:

Rather than the traditional "scapegoat" translating la 'aza,zel here, we should
read instead "to Azazel" (NRSV; NJB).1 We know that 'aza,zel should be the
proper name of a party capable of ownership because a lot ceremony
designated one goat layhwh, "belonging to Yahweh," and the other goat as la
'aza,zel , "belonging to Azazel" (16:. However, we do not know what the
name "Azazel" means.2

A number of scholars have attempted to answer the question by reconstructing
etymologies based on ancient Near Eastern parallels. For example, in accord
with the rabbinic tradition that during the Second Temple period Azazel's goat
was driven over a cliff to its death (m. Yoma 6:6), G. R. Driver took Azazel to
mean "jagged rocks/precipice," derived from the Semitic root 'zz, from which
also comes the Arabic word 'azâzu(n), "rough ground."3 O. Loretz suggests a
linguistic relation between Azazel and the Ugaritic divine name 'zb'l.4 Based
on their interpretation of the Hurrian term aza/ushri in light of Akkadian use of
the root 'zz, which refers to divine anger, B. Janowski, and G. Wilhelm
interpret the "Azazel" ritual as expulsion of a goat in order to overcome divine
anger.5

If Azazel is a proper name, la 'aza,zel in 16:10 following the words "by
sending it into the desert" most naturally indicates the one to whom the live
goat is sent: "to Azazel" (cf. 16:26). This rules out the common interpretation
of 'aza,zel as "(e)scapegoat," referring to the goat itself. Obviously the goat
would not be sent "to the scapegoat."6

The fact that Yahweh, owner of the goat slain as a purification offering (16:9,
15), is supernatural suggests that Azazel, owner of the live goat, is also some
kind of supernatural being. Because transporting a load of Israelite toxic
waste, consisting of moral faults, to Azazel in the wilderness and abandoning it
there by the command of Yahweh (16:10, 22; cf. Zech 5:5–11) is a singularly
unfriendly gesture, it appears that Azazel is Yahweh's enemy.7 Therefore,
Azazel is most likely some kind of demon (so Jewish tradition recorded in 1
En. 10:4–5), who dwells in an uninhabited region (cf. Lev. 17:7; Isa. 13:21; 34:
14; Luke 11:24; Rev. 18:2).8

The biblical ritual expels moral faults to Azazel, who is apparently the ultimate
source of their sins (cf. Gen. 3; Rev. 12:9). By contrast, non-Israelite rituals
involving demons were concerned with expelling the demons themselves.9 For
example, a ritual for purifying the Ezida shrine of the god Nabû on the fifth day
of the Babylonian New Year Festival of Spring began by covering the shrine
with a golden canopy. Then the high priest and a group of artisans recited an
incantation invoking the gods to exorcise demons who could be lurking there:
"Marduk purifies the temple, Kusu designs the plan, and Ningirim casts the
spell. Whatever evil resides in this temple, get out! Great demon, may Bel kill
you! May you be cut down wherever you are!"10 The Israelites didn't need to
worry about such demons because the Lord's Presence would keep them
away. The people's concern was to acknowledge and banish the sins they had
committed.

Azazel's nonsacrificial "tote" goat (NIV translates "scapegoat") served as a
ritual "garbage truck" to purge the Israelite community of moral faults through a
process of transfer and disposal.11 Other ancient Near Eastern rituals
included transfer and disposal. For example, the Hittite Ambazzi and Huwarlu
rituals closely parallel the Israelite ritual "in that they use live animals as bearers
of the evil and lack the motif of substitution."12 The "Ritual of Ambazzi" to rid
people of "evil sickness" and "evil tension" goes as follows:

She wraps a little tin on the bowstring. She puts it on the right hand (and) feet
of the offerers. Then she takes it away and puts it on a mouse (saying): "I have
taken away from you evil and I have put it on the mouse. Let this mouse take
it to the high mountains, the deep valleys (and) the distant ways." She lets the
mouse go (saying): "Alawaimi, drive this (mouse) forth, and I will give to you a
goat to eat." [Offerings to Alawaimi and other gods follow.]13

Unlike the biblical ritual, a deity is entreated (by words and sacrifice) for help
in getting rid of the animal bearing the evil.14

The "Ritual of Huwarlu" had the purpose of removing an evil "magical word"
from the king and queen and from their palace. A small live dog was waved
over the couple and inside the palace in order to transfer the evil to the animal.
Then an old woman uttered an incantation expressing the dog's ability to bear
the evil, and the animal was taken away to a location regarded as designated
by the gods. By contrast, the oral component of the Israelite ritual was
confession (by the high priest; Lev. 16:21) rather than an incantation, and the
power of the biblical procedure was from the Lord rather than magical in
nature.15 Nevertheless, acting out transfer and disposal provided powerful
assurance to the Israelites that their community was freed from the sins they
had committed during the past year. (Excerpt from Roy Gane, Leviticus in the
Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, forthcoming)

In this case, information from the ancient Near East helps us to see that rituals
of elimination (which is what Yom Kippur is) were common enough in the
ancient world. Furthermore, that the offenses would be sent out to a
wilderness chaos entity resonates well with ancient Near Eastern conceptions.
These similarities show that these rituals share a broad familiarity in the ancient
world. At the same time, the Israelite rituals focused on cleansing sacred space
from the offenses of the people rather than from demonic powers.

http://www.therapturesite.com/scapegoat.htm

[CrackSmokeRepublican]

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible:

...Human sacrifice as more generally referred to in the phrase, "the one who makes his son or daughter pass through the fire," is frequently and exclusively attributed to Canaanite origins by some biblical writers (e.g. Deut. 12:31). Nonetheless, some form of human sacrifice was apparently part of the Yahwistic cult in pre-exilic (and perhaps exilic) times. Isa. 30:33 clearly connects Yahweh and human sacrifice at the Topheth (read Molech for melek in v33b?); if no such connection was intended in this allusion to Assyria's anticipated destruction, one would have expected some disclaimer to that effect. The sacrifice of "the firstborn to Yahweh" and the Molech sacrifice were probably closely related, if not one and the same cult. Although the former required that the firstborn sons be sacrificed to Yahweh while the latter listed as sacrifices children generally (of both sexes), the fact that daughters could legally substitute for sons as firstborn heirs favors the equation of these two cults (cf. Num. 27:1-8 and the texts from Emar and Nuzi regarding the legal substitution of daughters for sons within the context of inheritance). The two traditions might reflect the same cult but from complementary perspectives, one from the more particular and the other from the more general (or is one a subset of the other?). Therefore, texts that refer to the sacrifice of the firstborn to Yahweh (e.g., Gen. 22:1-14; Exod. 13:2, 12-13, 15; Mic. 6:6-7) can be related to the Molech cult. Molech's associations with Baal (rather than Yahweh) in biblical traditions (cf. Jer. 2:23; 19:3; 32:35) are more likely part of the inventive Deuteronomistic rhetorical polemic to "Canaanize" what was formerly a non-Deuteronomistic, but Yahwistic, Israelite practice of human sacrifice.[...]

 Lilith: a name which appears only once in the OT (Isaiah 34:15), where it's translated as "great owl" in the KJV! Her name also appears in the Dead Sea Scrolls, the Talmud, and the Zohar. It's especially noteworthy, that according to Sumerian folklore, she's associated with fire, earthquakes, and yes, the ritualistic sacrifice of children. The relevant imagery generally portrays her with bird-like feet that are usually clutching a corpse, massive wings, and arms with talon-like hands.

I think it bears mentioning here, that chapter 34 of Isaiah invokes the poetic imagery of the "great owl" in the aftermath of "sacrifice".

Verse 6 reads as follows:

6The sword of the LORD is filled with blood, it is made fat with fatness, and with the blood of lambs and goats, with the fat of the kidneys of rams: for the LORD hath a sacrifice in Bozrah, and a great slaughter in the land of Idumea.

http://www.abovetopsecret.com/forum/thread133850/pg9

[CrackSmokeRepublican]

Electric Universe & The Future of Science - Part 3

[youtube:3rltmzfj]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wDiuv7LVyyw[/youtube]3rltmzfj]

7 Feathered Yezidi Peacock mentioned as related.

[CrackSmokeRepublican]

Eye of Providence    
   
The Eye of Providence or the all-seeing eye is a symbol showing an eye surrounded by rays of light or a glory, and usually enclosed by a triangle. It is sometimes interpreted as representing the eye of God keeping watch on humankind. In 1782 the Eye of Providence was adopted as part of the symbolism on the reverse side of the Great Seal of the United States. The Eye, however, was first suggested as an element of the Great Seal by the first of three design committees in 1776, and is thought to be the suggestion of the artistic consultant, Pierre Eugene du Simitiere.

On the seal, the Eye is surrounded by the words "Annuit Cœptis", meaning "He approves (or has approved) our undertakings," "Novus Ordo Seclorum," meaning "New Order of the Ages," and the lowest level of the pyramid showing the year 1776 in Roman numerals. The Eye is positioned above an unfinished pyramid with thirteen steps, representing the original thirteen states and the future growth of the country. The combined implication is that the Eye, or God, favors the prosperity of the United States.

The Eye of Providence also appears as part of the iconography of the Freemasons. Here it represents the all-seeing eye of God, and is then a reminder that a Mason's deeds are always observed by God (who is referred to in Masonry as the Grand Architect of the Universe). Typically the Masonic Eye of Providence has a semi-circular glory below the eye — often the lowest rays extend further down. Sometimes the Eye is enclosed by a triangle. Other variations of the symbol can also be found, with the eye itself being replaced by the letter 'G', representing both the art of geometry and God.

It is a popular conspiracy theory that the Eye of Providence shown atop an unfinished pyramid on the Great Seal of the United States indicates the influence of Freemasonry in the founding of the United States. This was dramatised in the 2004 Disney film National Treasure. The Masonic use of the Eye does not incorporate a pyramid, although the enclosing triangle is often interpreted as one.

Among the three members of the original design committee for the Great Seal, only Benjamin Franklin was a confirmed Mason. Thomas Jefferson was an open supporter of the aims of Freemasonry who attended lodge meetings and corresponded with many masons, but no direct evidence exists to support that he was a member himself.

Possibly the most famous use of the eye is on the back of the United States one-dollar bill. The original design for the 1935 bill was initially approved by then-president Franklin D. Roosevelt. Roosevelt, a 32° Scottish Rite Mason, then changed his mind and placed conditions on his approval. With his signature, Roosevelt included a drawing that reversed the appearance of the sides of the Great Seal of the United States on the dollar, such that the Seal's reverse (back) including the Eye, counterintuitively appears first on the left. He then added the words "The Great Seal" to appear beneath the Eye of Providence design, and added "of the United States" to appear below the Bald Eagle design of the obverse of the Seal, which he moved to the right. Secretary of Agriculture Henry A. Wallace and Secretary of Treasury Henry Morgenthau, Jr., both Freemasons, were heavily involved in the 1935 dollar design change as well. Some Masonic organizations have explicitly denied any special connection to the original creation of the Seal. Frequently cited as public evidence to this are the claims that the pyramid portion of the seal holds no symbolic significance to Masons, and that records suggest the Eye of Providence was not adopted as a Masonic symbol until 1797.

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.p ... id=3284768  (not the best source...--CSR)

[CrackSmokeRepublican]

Bracelet reveals amazing craftsman's skill from 7500BC (so good it couldn't be bettered today)

By Ted Thornhill

Last updated at 9:13 AM on 23rd December 2011

A 9,500-year-old bracelet has been analysed using the very latest computers – and the results show that it is so intricate even today's craftsmen would struggle to improve it.

Researchers from the Institut Français d'Etudes Anatoliennes in Istanbul and Laboratoire de Tribologie et de Dynamiques des Systèmes studied the bracelet's surface and its micro-topographic features revealing the astounding technical expertise of the maker.

The bracelet is obsidian – which means it's made from volcanic glass – and the researchers analysis of it sheds new light on Neolithic societies, which remain highly mysterious.

Polished skills: The obsidian bracelet contains remarkable detail



Discovered in 1995 at the site of Asıklı Höyük in Turkey, it was analysed by software designed to characterise the 'orange peel effect' on car bodywork.

This process revealed that the bracelet – 10cm in diameter - was made and polished using highly specialised manufacturing techniques.

In fact, the surface was polished to a degree equal to that of today's telescope lenses.




The bracelet is the oldest known example of an obsidian item, common during the Neolithic period.

The obsidian craft reached its peak in the seventh and sixth millennia BC with the production of all kinds of ornamental objects, including mirrors and vessels.

Neolithic people - or those leaving in what's sometimes termed as the New Stone Age - were essentially skilled farmers, who could also turn their hand to the manufacture of various ornaments.

The result of the study is published in the December 2011 issue of Journal of Archaeological Science.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/ ... today.html

[Wimpy]

I read the article earlier today and thought, 'why not show a real photograph rather than a computer rendition'?  Thinking on that, it may be possible they are showing this graphic to perhaps reveal an artifact hoax; don't really know.

I am aware of some unusual artifacts that date back around that time period but none are made with the precision shown (note the parallel lines and rows of dots).  It appears to be laser cut with a highly focused, high temperature pulsed beam.  There are industrial CO2 lasers available that might do this or  an EDM (electro discharge machining).

(2002) and Morgan et al. (2004) showed that micro-grinding tools made by micro-EDM
can fabricate micro-geometries in hard and brittle materials such as tungsten carbide
and glass.
This paper describes the state-of-the-art in using micro-EDM to make micro tools for
mechanical cutting and grinding, and it demonstrates their application in a wide range of
conductive and non-conductive materials. Section 2 describes the method to fabricate
micro-tools, and several examples are presented to illustrate possible tool geometries.
Section 3 presents manufacturing techniques for the fabrication of micro features in
conductive materials by micro-EDM, micro-cutting and micro-grinding. Section 4
demonstrates techniques for grinding micro-geometries in non-conductive brittle
materials with several examples. Section 5 presents an experimental technique used to
optimise process parameters such as depth-of-cut and feedrate. Finally, Section 6
presents the conclusion.

 http://mdrl.mne.psu.edu/papers/edmtools.pdf

I just noticed this paper is from Penn State University. :shock:

[CrackSmokeRepublican]

I read the article earlier today and thought, 'why not show a real photograph rather than a computer rendition'?  Thinking on that, it may be possible they are showing this graphic to perhaps reveal an artifact hoax; don't really know.

I am aware of some unusual artifacts that date back around that time period but none are made with the precision shown (note the parallel lines and rows of dots).  It appears to be laser cut with a highly focused, high temperature pulsed beam.  There are industrial CO2 lasers available that might do this or  an EDM (electro discharge machining).

(2002) and Morgan et al. (2004) showed that micro-grinding tools made by micro-EDM
can fabricate micro-geometries in hard and brittle materials such as tungsten carbide
and glass.
This paper describes the state-of-the-art in using micro-EDM to make micro tools for
mechanical cutting and grinding, and it demonstrates their application in a wide range of
conductive and non-conductive materials. Section 2 describes the method to fabricate
micro-tools, and several examples are presented to illustrate possible tool geometries.
Section 3 presents manufacturing techniques for the fabrication of micro features in
conductive materials by micro-EDM, micro-cutting and micro-grinding. Section 4
demonstrates techniques for grinding micro-geometries in non-conductive brittle
materials with several examples. Section 5 presents an experimental technique used to
optimise process parameters such as depth-of-cut and feedrate. Finally, Section 6
presents the conclusion.

 http://mdrl.mne.psu.edu/papers/edmtools.pdf

I just noticed this paper is from Penn State University. :shock:

Very interesting Wimpy.  I was not familiar with EDM techniques before seeing your post.

The original French research site has a few pieces to look at. Nothing close up though.
http://www2.cnrs.fr/en/1941.htm#

I found this link from 10 years ago which points to the use of Wood-Ash?

-------

Grinding it Out    April 2, 2001
by James F. Vedder

Making a mirror the old-fashioned way



Cypriot ship painted on a modern pot shows clearly on polished obsidian surface. (James Vedder)

Among the intriguing finds at the Neolithic site of Çatalhöyük in central Anatolia are a few polished obsidian artifacts believed to have been used as mirrors. In a letter in response to an article, "The World's First City" (March/April 1998), which mentions the obsidian mirrors, P.H.M. Hawley wrote, "to make such a mirror requires considerable technology in a sense. To grind a flat surface and then achieve a true polish is not easy" (May/June 1998, p. 11). In an accompanying comment, Orrin Shane (an author of the original article and a curator at the Minnesota Museum of Science) said of the Çatalhöyük mirrors, "Their exceptional planar surfaces are highly polished and reflect a sharp image." I was curious just how difficult it would be and how long it would take to make an obsidian mirror.

In December 1999, I started to fashion a small one by hand, using various readily available materials (some artificial) to grind and polish a broken obsidian nodule. A fragment of concrete sidewalk provided the rough surface for the initial grinding. Once there was a flat surface, I continued, using in order, the side of a discarded abrasive wheel, a fine whetstone, and a fine clay slip on a piece of plate glass. The result was a nearly flat polished area that produced an excellent reflection. After this first success, I used three more obsidian nodules and an obsidian lump with conchoidal surfaces that had lost their luster during long exposure, grinding and polishing them with materials such as granite, quartzite, sandstone, slate, marble, sand, fine-grained stone, clay, and wood ash. The most used for grinding were granite, sand, sandstone, and the fine-grained stone. The fine grained stone gave a fairly good polish, while the others were used briefly to verify that a wide range of materials are effective in the process. I observed the sun's reflection and examined the obsidian surface with a 10x hand lens to evaluate the progress of the grinding and polishing and took great care to keep the surface clear of extraneous material to reduce the possibility of generating scratches. I have yet to explore fully various possible final burnishing, buffing, and polishing procedures. The wood ash was briefly tried as a final polishing agent, but it was probably too fine-grained to improve the existing state of the polished surface with out the expense of an inordinate amount of time. Materials for grinding and polishing comparable to those listed above can be found in Turkey.

The largest mirror surface I produced is about 4 by 6 centimeters (1.6 by 2.4 inches). With experience, one could probably select an optimum set of materials to expedite the creation of a mirror surface. Since achieving the final polish may take the longest time, I can not estimate now the time required to make a mirror.

All of the mirrors produced good images, and all were slightly convex as expected from manual grinding in which linear and rotary motions result in greater pressure being applied around the perimeter of the surface. The only technical reference that I have seen on an obsidian mirror from Çatalhöyük states that it is slightly convex. With special preparation of a core and great care during the grinding process, one could probably make a nearly flat mirror with no obvious distortions in the image.


"STOP" image is reflected in experimental obsidian mirror. (James Vedder)

During my stay at Çatalhöyük in August 2000, I collected information from unpublished notes and speaking with those at the site who had any familiarity with obsidian and grinding stones. I was able to see eight of the Çatalhöyük mirrors. Three each were in the Archaeological Museum of Konya and the Museum of Anatolian Civilizations in Ankara. Dim lighting and glass cases made it difficult to discern details of fabrication. Two in storage at the Konya museum could be inspected close-up. Their faces were slightly convex, as I had suspected; but they were badly scratched, probably from post-manufacturing usage and disposal.

Pictures of at least six obsidian artifacts from Çatalhöyük were published and claimed to be mirrors by the site's first excavator, James Mellaart, who dug there in the 1960s. Naomi Hamilton (a participant in the current efforts at the site) in her unpublished inventory of artifacts from Çatalhöyük held in the Konya and Ankara museums lists 11 items as mirrors or possible mirrors. Those shown by Mellaart are in this list. I have verified that eight of the 11 objects are mirrors and rejected two. One of these two, described by Hamilton as possibly a broken mirror with grinding marks, has linear sets of abrasions at several angles that have obliterated the luster on 60 percent of the surface but have not flattened it. The other, described as a questionable mirror fragment or flake, is a long, thin curved piece lacking luster. The eleventh item, in storage at the Konya museum, is possibly the beginnings of a mirror in the early stage of grinding a core to produce a flat surface.

What purpose did they serve? The conventional answer given by Mellaart is for a woman to view her application of make-up, but few obsidian mirrors have been found and these only in the middle occupation levels at Çatalhöyük. Various alternative uses have been suggested, some practical (illuminating rooms or shafts, starting fires, reflecting sunlight for a compact seasonal calendar, or signalling) and some spiritual (viewing one's soul or performing special rites). No mirrors have been found in the recent excavations, under the general direction of the University of Cambridge's Ian Hodder; but only the group from the University of California, Berkeley, is working at the levels IV to VI in which Mellaart discovered the objects.

In conclusion, there is abundant archaeological evidence for grinding and polishing stone to make tools and ornaments. No technological innovation was required before obsidian mirrors could be produced. While the only raw materials available locally to the ancient inhabitants of Çatalhöyük were clay, lake-bed marl, grasses, and animal hide, at some distance, the Tarus Mountains to the south and several volcanoes in other directions, could have been the sources ofmaterials suitable for grinding and polishing obsidian.
-----
© 2001 by the Archaeological Institute of America
http://www.archaeology.org/online/news/mirrors.html

[Wimpy]

Interesting and remarkable but the 'recent' bracelet discovery is extraordinary in that it differs greatly from a flat polished surface; huge difference in creating a perfectly round AND thin walled object from obsidian.  Excuse my skepticism but I am.  A flat polished surface is common.  A round polished solid surface is also a unique but common archeological find, but I never before seen anything remotely close to this even from much later time periods.