Uriel's machine
Encyclopedia
Uriel's Machine:The Ancient Origins of Science is a book published in 2000 by Christopher Knight
and Robert Lomas
. The book's name is derived from a character of the same name in the Book of Enoch
. In Knight and Lomas's interpretation of the Book of Enoch, Uriel
warns Enoch
about the impending flood, giving him instructions for building a form of solar observatory for the purpose of preserving advanced knowledge into a time of global disaster by teaching him the movement of the Sun against the horizon over a period of time, which Enoch then records in detail in the Book of the Heavenly Luminaries.
mythology there are many references to seven, which the authors speculate could refer to seven cometary fragments. These seven cometary fragments are described in the book as hitting the earth in prehistory causing tsunami
s. The authors link this speculation to the work of geologists Edith and Alexander Tollmann
. Their work proposes a series of meteors hitting the earth over the last 10,000 years, especially circa 7640 BC. Their evidence and counter-evidence is discussed in the article Tollmann's hypothetical bolide
.
The book proposes that what the authors believe to have been stellar observatories (such as the first wooden Stonehenge
) in Britain, and structures in the Boyne Valley in Ireland, show sufficient knowledge to be able to predict prescribed solar, lunar and venusian events and cycles, such as solstices and equinoxes. If rituals at Stonehenge involved stargazing, there is then the opportunity for an anomalous object to be spotted far more quickly if the cycles of observed celestial objects are known.
The authors quote textual evidence from the book of Enoch
. They also note other coincidences made between Enoch and astronomy; for example, it is said he lived 365 years, which could be a reference to a year (365.25 days). It is also said that he knew what sacrifices to make during different times of the year, which is at odds with the Jewish lunar calendar
.
The authors suggest that chambers (souterrain
s) found in Britain might have been attempts to build shelters to be sealed against Tsunami
that would have been caused by a cometary impact in the sea. Current archaeological thought dates souterrains as late Iron Age, some 9,600 years after the supposed impact event.
Archaeologists and astronomers have been extremely skeptical about this idea. Prof Archie Roy (an astronomer and psychic researcher) and Robert Lomas
gave a joint talk about technological possibilities in Megalithic society at the 2000 Orkney International Science.
which has been rejected by specialists in meteorite
and comet
impacts.
"I believe that the astronomical basis of this book is sufficiently flawed as to render any conclusions that the authors draw from it to be highly suspect." ~ Stephen Tonkin
Christopher Knight (author)
Christopher Knight is an author who has written several pseudoarcaeological and pseudohistorical books dealing with theories such as 366-degree geometry and the origins of Freemasonry...
and Robert Lomas
Robert Lomas
Roberto Lomas is a British writer and business studies academic. He writes primarily about the history of Freemasonry as well as the Neolithic period, ancient engineering and archaeoastronomy...
. The book's name is derived from a character of the same name in the Book of Enoch
Book of Enoch
The Book of Enoch is an ancient Jewish religious work, traditionally ascribed to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. It is not part of the biblical canon as used by Jews, apart from Beta Israel...
. In Knight and Lomas's interpretation of the Book of Enoch, Uriel
Uriel
Uriel is one of the archangels of post-Exilic Rabbinic tradition, and also of certain Christian traditions...
warns Enoch
Enoch (ancestor of Noah)
Enoch is a figure in the Generations of Adam. Enoch is described as Adam's greatx4 grandson , the son of Jared, the father of Methuselah, and the great-grandfather of Noah...
about the impending flood, giving him instructions for building a form of solar observatory for the purpose of preserving advanced knowledge into a time of global disaster by teaching him the movement of the Sun against the horizon over a period of time, which Enoch then records in detail in the Book of the Heavenly Luminaries.
Evidence for the idea from the book
In MasonicFreemasonry
Freemasonry is a fraternal organisation that arose from obscure origins in the late 16th to early 17th century. Freemasonry now exists in various forms all over the world, with a membership estimated at around six million, including approximately 150,000 under the jurisdictions of the Grand Lodge...
mythology there are many references to seven, which the authors speculate could refer to seven cometary fragments. These seven cometary fragments are described in the book as hitting the earth in prehistory causing tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
s. The authors link this speculation to the work of geologists Edith and Alexander Tollmann
Tollmann's hypothetical bolide
Alexander Tollmann's bolide, proposed by Kristan-Tollmann and Tollmann in 1994, is a hypothesis presented by Austrian geologist Alexander Tollmann, suggesting that one or several bolides struck the Earth at 7640 BCE , with a much smaller one at 3150 BCE...
. Their work proposes a series of meteors hitting the earth over the last 10,000 years, especially circa 7640 BC. Their evidence and counter-evidence is discussed in the article Tollmann's hypothetical bolide
Tollmann's hypothetical bolide
Alexander Tollmann's bolide, proposed by Kristan-Tollmann and Tollmann in 1994, is a hypothesis presented by Austrian geologist Alexander Tollmann, suggesting that one or several bolides struck the Earth at 7640 BCE , with a much smaller one at 3150 BCE...
.
The book proposes that what the authors believe to have been stellar observatories (such as the first wooden Stonehenge
Stonehenge
Stonehenge is a prehistoric monument located in the English county of Wiltshire, about west of Amesbury and north of Salisbury. One of the most famous sites in the world, Stonehenge is composed of a circular setting of large standing stones set within earthworks...
) in Britain, and structures in the Boyne Valley in Ireland, show sufficient knowledge to be able to predict prescribed solar, lunar and venusian events and cycles, such as solstices and equinoxes. If rituals at Stonehenge involved stargazing, there is then the opportunity for an anomalous object to be spotted far more quickly if the cycles of observed celestial objects are known.
The authors quote textual evidence from the book of Enoch
Book of Enoch
The Book of Enoch is an ancient Jewish religious work, traditionally ascribed to Enoch, the great-grandfather of Noah. It is not part of the biblical canon as used by Jews, apart from Beta Israel...
. They also note other coincidences made between Enoch and astronomy; for example, it is said he lived 365 years, which could be a reference to a year (365.25 days). It is also said that he knew what sacrifices to make during different times of the year, which is at odds with the Jewish lunar calendar
Lunar calendar
A lunar calendar is a calendar that is based on cycles of the lunar phase. A common purely lunar calendar is the Islamic calendar or Hijri calendar. A feature of the Islamic calendar is that a year is always 12 months, so the months are not linked with the seasons and drift each solar year by 11 to...
.
The authors suggest that chambers (souterrain
Souterrain
Souterrain is a name given by archaeologists to a type of underground structure associated mainly with the Atlantic Iron Age. These structures appear to have been brought northwards from Gaul during the late Iron Age. Regional names include earth houses, fogous and Pictish houses...
s) found in Britain might have been attempts to build shelters to be sealed against Tsunami
Tsunami
A tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
that would have been caused by a cometary impact in the sea. Current archaeological thought dates souterrains as late Iron Age, some 9,600 years after the supposed impact event.
Archaeologists and astronomers have been extremely skeptical about this idea. Prof Archie Roy (an astronomer and psychic researcher) and Robert Lomas
Robert Lomas
Roberto Lomas is a British writer and business studies academic. He writes primarily about the history of Freemasonry as well as the Neolithic period, ancient engineering and archaeoastronomy...
gave a joint talk about technological possibilities in Megalithic society at the 2000 Orkney International Science.
Comments
In the book Public Archaeology, the archaeologist Tim Schadla-Hall, referring to the book as an example of pseudo-science, says that the authors "quote established academics in such a way as to make it seem as though they support their arguments". The geology in the book is based on Tollmann's hypothetical bolideTollmann's hypothetical bolide
Alexander Tollmann's bolide, proposed by Kristan-Tollmann and Tollmann in 1994, is a hypothesis presented by Austrian geologist Alexander Tollmann, suggesting that one or several bolides struck the Earth at 7640 BCE , with a much smaller one at 3150 BCE...
which has been rejected by specialists in meteorite
Meteorite
A meteorite is a natural object originating in outer space that survives impact with the Earth's surface. Meteorites can be big or small. Most meteorites derive from small astronomical objects called meteoroids, but they are also sometimes produced by impacts of asteroids...
and comet
Comet
A comet is an icy small Solar System body that, when close enough to the Sun, displays a visible coma and sometimes also a tail. These phenomena are both due to the effects of solar radiation and the solar wind upon the nucleus of the comet...
impacts.
"I believe that the astronomical basis of this book is sufficiently flawed as to render any conclusions that the authors draw from it to be highly suspect." ~ Stephen Tonkin
See also
- PseudoarchaeologyPseudoarchaeologyPseudoarchaeology — also known as alternative archaeology, fringe archaeology, fantastic archaeology, or cult archaeology — refers to interpretations of the past from outside of the academic archaeological community, which typically also reject the accepted scientific and analytical methods of the...
- ArchaeoastronomyArchaeoastronomyArchaeoastronomy is the study of how people in the past "have understood the phenomena in the sky how they used phenomena in the sky and what role the sky played in their cultures." Clive Ruggles argues it is misleading to consider archaeoastronomy to be the study of ancient astronomy, as modern...
- Tollmann's hypothetical bolideTollmann's hypothetical bolideAlexander Tollmann's bolide, proposed by Kristan-Tollmann and Tollmann in 1994, is a hypothesis presented by Austrian geologist Alexander Tollmann, suggesting that one or several bolides struck the Earth at 7640 BCE , with a much smaller one at 3150 BCE...
- the asteroid in question - UrielUrielUriel is one of the archangels of post-Exilic Rabbinic tradition, and also of certain Christian traditions...
- Nebra skydiskNebra skydiskThe Nebra Sky Disk is a bronze disk of around 30 cm diameter, with a blue-green patina and inlaid with gold symbols. These are interpreted generally as a sun or full moon, a lunar crescent, and stars . Two golden arcs along the sides, marking the angle between the solstices, were added later...
- a controversial object - Goseck circleGoseck circleThe Goseck circle is a Neolithic structure in Goseck in the Burgenlandkreis district in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany. It consists of a set of concentric ditches 75 metres across and two palisade rings containing gates in defined places. It is considered the earliest sun observatory currently known in...
- perhaps an ancient German 'stellar observatory'
Sources
- Christopher KnightChristopher Knight (author)Christopher Knight is an author who has written several pseudoarcaeological and pseudohistorical books dealing with theories such as 366-degree geometry and the origins of Freemasonry...
and Robert LomasRobert LomasRoberto Lomas is a British writer and business studies academic. He writes primarily about the history of Freemasonry as well as the Neolithic period, ancient engineering and archaeoastronomy...
, Uriel's Machine, Element Books Ltd, 2000. ISBN 1-86204-810-X