Prehistory Decoded by Martin Sweatman

Author:Martin Sweatman
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Matador
Published: 2019-06-02T16:00:00+00:00

Figure 23. Snakes (meteors) emanating from the body of a crane (Pisces) on Pillar 33. They emanate from the body of a fox on the opposite face.

Probably, these symbols represent abstract concepts, not actual scenes of wild animals, a view reinforced by the appearance of yet more H-symbols on this pillar which, as we have seen, possibly indicate a sky-scene. With our astronomical interpretation the explanation is obvious – Pillar 33 is very likely describing the Northern Taurid meteor stream once again. On one face we have meteors (snakes) radiating from the northern asterism of Aquarius (the fox), while on the other face they radiate from Pisces (the crane). They are actually a very good representation of meteor showers. In astronomical terms, the difference between these scenes amounts to just a few weeks as the Northern Taurid radiant moves across the winter night sky.

Now, this is really interesting. Remember, following Klauss Schmidt’s reasoning, the tall central pillars seem to represent deities – probably comet gods according to the evidence here. So, the other symbols here probably have an astronomically related mythological interpretation too. And we know there is a very long history of snake, or more properly serpent, worship (ophiolatry) across the world, stretching back to the earliest historical records.

In Western Europe we have the dragon, or wurm, and the Norse Jormungandr, while in India and Indochina there are the Naga (serpents) and other serpent aspects of many different gods. In Judaism and Christianity, we have Satan represented as a serpent in the Garden of Eden and a great red dragon in the Book of Revelations. In ancient Greek mythology we have Python, who was defeated and cast down by Apollo, while Typhon (the serpent) was vanquished by Zeus. In ancient Sumer, Tiamat (the serpent) is slain by Marduk, while in Ancient Egypt the god Set, often represented with the head of a fox, slays the chaos serpent Apep, said to have a head of stone.

There are many more examples of serpent worship by ancient civilisations in the Americas, from the horned serpent of many North American tribes through to Quetzalcoatl (literally the ‘plumed-serpent’) of the Aztecs in Central America, who is likened to Viracocha of the Incas in Peru. Is it possible these cases are all inspired by the Taurid meteor stream? Is it even possible they are not separate inventions, but related to a very early mythology that spread across the world at a time when the Americas were connected to Eurasia by the Beringian land bridge, between north-east Siberia and north-west America, during the ice age when sea levels were over 100 metres lower? This is perhaps not so crazy as it sounds. After all, our giant comet (Satan) likely entered the solar system over 20,000 years ago, and perhaps double that. That would certainly allow sufficient time and opportunity for a worldwide serpent mythology to develop.

In fact, the roots of ophiolatry have concerned scholars for centuries121. Why are serpents represented in seemingly disparate mythologies and cultic

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