Posted on 07/11/2006 2:21:15 PM PDT by blam
Dilmun calendar theory backed
By GEOFFREY BEW
A SAUDI archaeologist who has been trying for nine years to prove his theory that the Dilmun civilisation celebrated New Year on June 21 - the first day of summer - has finally received some official recognition.Information Ministry Assistant Under-Secretary for Culture and National Heritage Shaikha Mai bint Khalifa Al Khalifa is said to have endorsed his judgement after visiting the 4,000-year-old Saar settlement to observe the phenomenon last month.
Archaeologist Nabiel Al Shaikh says an ancient temple at the settlement, which features an oddly positioned triangular room, was used as an astronomical device to measure the position of the sun, letting priests know it was the beginning of the New Year.
If correct, his hypothesis means the Dilmun civilisation would have been one of the first to base its calendar on the movement of the sun, making it different to other societies of the time such as Mesopotamia, Iran and Egypt.
Bahrain National Museum director of heritage Yousif Bumtaia, who was part of the official visit to the site, believes Mr Al Shaikh's theory has some validity.
"I am not an archaeologist, but I saw something and felt that maybe he is right," Mr Bumtaia told the GDN.
"Shaikha Mai also likes the idea and she supports the idea. "Next we have to prove his theory and we have to see this thing for two or three years.
"It will take three or four years to prove his theory.
"We have to make some leaflets because we want people to know what is going on.
"We want to tell the people who are interested in these matters. "We also have plans to support him by making a small booklet about his theory using our budget."
Mr Al Shaikh, who works for the Dammam Regional Museum in Saudi Arabia, had received little support for his theory as the sun no longer sets over the corner of the temple and is offset by around 10 degrees.
However, he argues this can be explained by the movement of soft sand beneath the settlement, which stands on raised ground.
Mr Al Shaikh said he was delighted to learn there was some support for his theory.
"I am very pleased," he said.
"Shaikha Mai reacted immediately when she saw it and she later had the report I had written on the site translated into English."
The archaeologist admitted he was frustrated with the lack of support for his hypothesis over the past nine years, but said he never felt like giving up.
"It has been nearly 10 years," he said.
"I did slow down, but I never thought of giving up, no way. "This proves that the Dilmun civilisation was into astrology and was advanced.
"They were different to the rest of the world in their calendar."
GGG Ping.
Sounds like the same scientific method used by Algore to prove global warming.
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It's time for a change!
Vote for June 21st.
ID and proof of Dilmun citizenship not required!
Wouldn't the rotation of the earth's axis over 26,000 years cause a change in where the sun set relative to the temple. If I am correct, then he should be able to calculate when the sun would have risen in the correct place and calculate the date of the temple.
I also discovered some interesting references to Dilman in Gloria Farley's book "In Plain Sight: Old World Records in Ancient America" regarding correlation between certain sacred images in Dilman and some found in "amerindian" sites in the USA.
Holy Cow - why isn't this in Breaking News??!!??
"...there is in the Talmud the information that the Temple of Solomon was built so that on the equinoctial days of the year the direction of the rays of the rising sun could be tested. A gold plate or disc was affixed to the eastern gate: through it the rays of the rising sun fell into the heart of the Temple."
Page 336 Worlds in Collision.
The eastern gate of the Temple of Jerusalem was no longer correctly oriented after the cardinal points had become displaced. On his accession to the throne following the death of Ahaz, Hezekiah 'inaugurated a sweeping religious reformation."
"he in the first year of his reign, in the first month, opened the doors of the house of the Lord and repaired them."
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Dilmun, sometimes described as "the place where the sun rises" and "the Land of the Living" is the scene of a Sumerian creation myth and the place where the deified Sumerian hero of the flood, Ziusudra (Utnapishtim), was taken by the gods to live for ever.
There is mention of Dilmun as a vassal of Assyria in the 8th century BC and by about 600 BC, it had been fully incorporated into the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Dilmun then falls into deep eclipse marked by the decline of the copper trade, so long controlled by Dilmun, and the switch to a less important role in the new trade of frankincense and spices. The discovery of an impressive palace at the Ras al Qalah site in Bahrain is promising to increase knowledge of this late period.
Otherwise, there is virtually no information until the passage of Nearchus, the admiral in charge of Alexander the Great's fleet on the return from the Indus Valley. Nearchus kept to the Iranian coast of the Gulf, however, and cannot have stopped at Dilmun. Nearchus established a colony on the island of Falaika off the coast of Kuwait in the late 4th century BC, and explored the Gulf perhaps least as far south as Dilmun/Bahrain. From the time of Nearchus until the coming of Islam in the 7th century AD Dilmun/Bahrain was known by its Greek name of Tylos. The political history for this period is little known, but Tylos was at one point part of the Seleucid Empire, and of Characene and perhaps part of the Parthian Empire. Shapur II annexed it, together with eastern Arabia, into the Persian Sasanian empire in the 4th century.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dilmun
Read it, good book.
This is an intresting articel becasue very little is known about pre-Islamic Saudi Arabian history.
The Muslims aren't interested in anythng that happened before Mohammad except to condemn it and have in the past actively discouraged archaeological investiagtions in the "Kingdom".
Bulldoze or blow uit up like they did with that giant Buddha in Afgahnistan.
Most people really don't realize what savages and barabarians we are dealing with here.
Bulldoze it, because it uses a heretical solar calender, rather than an orthodox Lunar calender, as sanctioned by their moon god.
"This is an intresting articel becasue very little is known about pre-Islamic Saudi Arabian history."
The history of Dilmun has nothing to do with Saudi Arabian history - Dilmun is steeped in Sumerian legend.
The Land of Tilmun/Dilmun
"The first known account of a paradisial garden appears on a cuneiform tablet from ancient Sumer. Here we learn of the mythical place called Dilmun, a pure, clean, bright place where sickness, violence, and old age do not exist. At first this paradise lacks only one thing: water. Eventually this is provided by the Sumerian water god, Enki. At once, Dilmun is transformed into a garden of fruit trees, edible plants, and flowers. Dilmun, however, is a paradise for the gods alone and not for human beings, although one learns that Ziusudra (the Sumerian counterpart of Noah) was exceptionally admitted to the divine garden."
- An Encyclopedia of Archetypal Symbolism
BAHRAIN - History in Brief The island of Bahrain is originally thought to have torn off the Arabian peninsula in 6000 BC. The main island of Bahrain is known to have been inhabited since pre-historic times. Bahrain is known to have been a center for trade in the ancient world far back as 3000 BC. The Dilmun civilization founded in the Bronze Age lasted for over 2000 years. Dilmun developed as a center of trade and commerce because o fits location along the trade routes linking Mesopotamia (Iraq) with Indus Valley (India/Pakistan
http://www.sunfarm.com.bh/location.htm
Nothing to do with a bunch of parasitic nomadic camel and goat herding tribes (arabs) that roamed the desert around Mecca and Medina.
O.K.
My geography is a LITTLE off.
Judging from the map, the island of Bahrain is pretty damn close to Saudi Arabia and the Bahrainians are not Lutheran Norweigans - they are Islamic Arabs.
It still surprises me that they have any interest in pre-Mohammadian history. Perhaps they are more open to inquiry than the Saudis - but being Muslim Arabs, I'm not sure that openness is universal there.
And what I said about tthe attitude of the "Kingdom" towards pre-Islamic History is accurate. The Wahhabists even destroyed Mohhammad's tomb when they took over there.
WHO WERE THE ANCIENT ARAB SEA TRADERS?
Historians tell us that throughout history Arabs have conducted trade between the ancient European kingdoms and Asia. Most ancient historians were content to simply call these traders 'Arabs,' and didn't bother to denote nationality, tribe, or even their ports of origin. This has posed little problem to modern historians, as they too seem content to simply refer to these sailors as Arabs, and to let it be at that...
Strabo Strabo was a Greek historian, born in 63 BC. His collection of 17 books called Geography, give us an excellent glimpse into life during the Roman Empire. In the following pages I will give quotes from Strabo: Geography, Book XVI.
Book XVI.iv.1: Arabia commences on the side of Babylonia with Maecene [modern Kuwait]. In front of this district, on one side lies the desert of the Arabians, on the other are the marshes opposite to the Chaldaeans, formed by the overflowing of the Euphrates, and in another direction is the Sea of Persia. This country has an unhealthy and cloudy atmosphere; it is subject to showers, and also to scorching heat; still its products are excellent."
XVI.iv.2. From Hero'polis situated in that recess of the Arabian Gulf which is on the side of the Nile, to Babylon, towards Petra of the Nabataei, are 5600 stadia. The whole tract lies in the direction of the summer solstice (i.e., east and west), and passes through the adjacent Arabian tribes, namely Nabataei, Chaulotaei, and Agraei. Above these people is Arabia Felix, stretching out 12,000 stadia towards the south to the Atlantic Sea.
The first people, next after the Syrians and Jews, who occupy this country, are husbandmen. These people are succeeded by a barren and sandy tract, producing a few palms, the acanthus, and tamarisk; water is obtained by digging as in Gedrosia. It is inhabited by Arabian Scenitae, who breed camels. The extreme parts towards the south, and opposite to Ethiopia, are watered by summer showers, and are sowed twice, like the land in India. Its rivers are exhausted in watering plains, and by running into lakes. The general fertility of the country is very great; among other products, there is in particular an abundant supply of honey; except horses, there are numerous herds of animals, mules, and swine; birds also of every kind, except geese and the gallinaceous tribe. Four of the most populous nations inhabit the extremity of the above-mentioned country ... Next to these are the Sabaeans, whose chief city is Mariaba. The third nation are the Cattabaneis, extending to the straits and the passage across the Arabian Gulf. Their royal seat is called Tamna. The Chatramotitae are the furthest of these nations towards the east. Their city is Sabata.
Having given this account of the Troglodytae and of the neighboring Ethiopians, Artemidorus returns to the Arabians. Beginning from Poseidium [about twenty-five miles South-Southeast of modern Abu Zanimah] he first describes those who border upon the Arabian Gulf [Red Sea], and are opposite to the Troglodytae. He says that Poseidium is situated within the Bay of Heroöpolis [this is the modern Gulf of Suez], and that continguous to Poseidium is a grove of palm trees, well-supplied with water, which is highly-valued, because all the district around is burnt up and is without water or shade. But there the fertility of the palm is prodigious. A man and a woman are appointed by hereditary right to the guardianship of the grove. They wear skins, and live on dates. They sleep in huts built on trees, the place being infested with multitudes of wild beasts.
Next is the island of Phocae [modern Sheduan], which has its name from those animals [seals] which abound there. Near it is a promontory [modern Ras Muhammad, near Sharm-el-shaykh], which extends towards Petra, of the Arabians called Nabataei [in modern Jordan, about halfway between Aqaba and the Dead Sea], and to the country of Palestine [the modern state of Israel] , to this island [modern Jazirat Tiran] the Minaei, Gerrhaei, and all the neighboring nations repair with loads of aromatics. Next is another tract of sea-coast, formerly called the coast of the Maranitae [Cape Pharan, near Ras Muhammad], some of whom were farmers, others Scenitae; but at present it is occupied by Garindaei, who destroyed the former possessors by treachery. They attacked those who were assembled to celebrate some quinquennial festival, and put them to death; they then attacked and exterminated the rest of the tribe [See: Diodorus Siculus III.41].
Next is the Aelanitic Gulf [modern Gulf of Aqaba] and Nabataea, a country well-peopled, and abounding in cattle. The islands which lie near [modern Jazirat Tiran and Jazirat Sanafir], and opposite, are inhabited by people who formerly lived without molesting others, but latterly carried on a piratical warfare in raftsagainst vessels on their way from Egypt. But they suffered reprisals, when an armament was sent out against them, which devastated their country. Next is a plain [about modern Al-Maqnah], well-wooded and well supplied with water; it abounds with cattle of all kinds, and, among other animals, mules, wild camels, harts, and hinds; lions also, leopards, and wolves are frequently to be found. In front lies an island called Dia. Then follows a bay of about 500 stadia in extent, closed in by mountains, the entrance into which is of difficult access [about modern Ash-Sharmah]. About it live people who are hunters of wild animals.
Next are three desert islands, abounding with olive trees, not like those in our own country, but an indigenous kind, which we call Ethiopic [black] olives, the tears (or gum) of which have a medicinal virtue. Then follows a stony beach, which is succeeded by a rugged coast, not easily navigated by vessels, extending about 1000 stadia [modern Madyan in Saudi Arabia]. It has few harbors and anchorages, for a rugged and lofty mountain stretches parallel to it; then the parts at its base, extending into the sea, form rocks under water, which, during the blowing of the Etesian winds and the storms of that period, present dangers, when no assistance can be afforded to vessels.
Next is a bay in which are some scattered islands , and continuous with the bay are three lofty mounds [modern Jebel Seik, Jebel el-Hawene, and Jebel Hester] of black sand. After these is Charmothas [modern Umm Lajj], a harbor, about 100 stadia in circumference, with a narrow entrance very dangerous for all kinds of vessels. A river empties itself into it. In the middle is a well-wooded island, adapted for cultivation [modern Al Hassan]. Then follows a rugged coast, and after that are some bays and a country belonging to nomads, who live by their camels [the modern Hejaz, opposite Mecca and Medina]. They fight from their backs; they travel upon them, and subsist on their milk and flesh. A river flows through their country, which brings down gold dust, but they are ignorant how to make any use of it. They are called Debae; some of them are nomads, others farmers.
http://nabataea.net/who1.html
"They are called Debae"
Dubai< Debae ?
They may or may not have been Arabs, but the present inhabitants thereof are, are they not?
There are still some non-Arabs left in North Africa - Berbers, Copts, etc, and some even in Iraq - Assyrians.
But the regressive blanket of Islamic Arabism has been
drawn over all of them.
By the way, I REALLY like that site on Islam. I have added it to my favorates.
Ancient Arabia: Pre-Islamic Culture The earliest known civilizations in southern Arabia existed between one and two thousand B.C. Much of Arabia'a prehistory remains obscure despite the many ruins as there are few archaeologists working on them compared with Western sites.
The incense trade was the second largest means of economy following agriculture for the Ancient kingdoms of South Arabia. Certainly, any powerful city had to be located along a trade route. The most important commodities in this trade were being frankincense and myrrh. These scents were highly valued in Egyptian, Greek and Roman rituals, and thus brought great wealth to the ancient kingdoms.
Saba was the greatest of the ancient kingdoms of South Arabia, with its capital located in Ma'rib, then known as Maryab. It was mentioned in the old testament, when the Queen of Sheba went ot visit King Soloman in the 10th century B.C. Among Saba's rivals along the trade route, Najran and Ma'in among them. (See ruins of Ma'rib for more)."
A Sabaen Tablet
Ruins of the gates of the Great Dam
The 'Arsh Bilqis,also known as the temple of the moon.
Saar ‘holding the secret of Dilmun’
Gulf Daily News | June 21st 2007 | Rebecca Torr
Posted on 06/29/2007 12:48:11 PM EDT by SunkenCiv
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/1858386/posts
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