THE SWAN STONE

The Swan Stone from Burrows Cave, Illinois, bears a petroglyph of a serpent with a large head in the shape of the wing of a bird. It tells the famous story of the discovery of the sailing routes across the Atlantic during the Old Kingdom of Egypt. Finally, after a long struggle of several millennia people were able to reach the back side of the planet Earth. However, immediately after this success was a Comet Catastrophe which resulted in the Biblical Flood (c.2344 BC). Because of a precipitation of nine meters of water within a time period of four months more than half of the world population perished (2.6 million men). It resulted in the end of all ancient civilizations on Earth, including the Old Kingdom itself.

Introduction

The Swan Stone is a black slate stone having a length of 20 cm, a width of 15 cm, and a height of c.8 cm.^1-3 It bears a nice petroglyph of a serpent finishing in a kind of wing (Fig.1). It is a so-called Burrows Cave artifact, found in a cave along a branch of the Little Wabash River near the town of Olney, in southern Illinois. This cave is situated at a distance of 100 miles due east of Cahokia, the ancient capital of North America. Further due east is Washington D.C., the present capital of the USA. All these very important places are located at the holy latitude of 39^oN. It is the latitude of the West Azores, in the middle of the North Atlantic Ocean. These were the westernmost islands of the civilization in the Old World.

Discovery of America

The Egyptian discovery of America occurred via the southern Aleutian islands, at the south side of the Bering Sea, at the complementary latitude of 90^o - 39^o = 51^oN. In antiquity, the use of complementary latitudes was very common. In the Old World latitudes and complementary latitudes were already in use for thousands of years, as early as 4700 BC. One degree above Burrows Cave is the important latitude line of 40^oN. It shows this discovery happened in the Fourth Dynasty of Egypt. The complementary latitude of 90^o - 40^o = 50^oN illustrates the 5th king. It was the 5th king Menkaure (Mycerinos, c.2580-2562 BC) of the Fourth Dynasty who discovered America!^{4- 9}

However, the complementary latitude of 90^o - 40^o = 50^oN also encodes the Fifth Dynasty, when all Crossings of the Atlantic were discovered. The Swan Stone should be placed in a vertical position, as shown in Fig.1. The surface of the Stone symbolizes the North Atlantic Ocean. The two tips of the Tail and the three feathers of the Wing confirm the 2 + 3 = 5th Dynasty, when these important discoveries were made. The two tips of the Tail at the bottom represent the 2nd king Sahure (c.2510-2498 BC), who discovered the two southern Crossings. The three feathers of the Wing on top represent the 3rd king Nefererkare (c.2498-2478 BC), who discovered the third, northern Crossing.

A ship sailed from the Cape Verde Islands, with the wind and the current, over a distance of 2 Moiras= 20 degrees, to Cape Sao Roque (the holy Rock), Brazil, at 5^oS. It illustrates that the 2nd king Sahure of the Fifth Dynasty discovered the Southern Crossing. The sailing direction of 30^oSSW shows it was an Egyptian king from the Nile Delta, at 30^oN. The same ship sailed from Newfoundland, with an initial sailing direction of 20^oESE, with the wind and the current, over a distance of 2 Moiras to the two islands of the West Azores, and further to the five islands of the Central Azores. It confirms, that the 2nd king Sahure of the Fifth Dynasty also discovered the Return Route to the Old World. The Swan Stone shows the whole sailing route to the West Azores, at the holy latitude of 39^oN (Burrows Cave). The circle in the center of the serpent illustrates this round trip. Together with the previous discoveries, it was also the first circumnavigation of the planet Earth.

Another ship sailed from the Shetland Islands, via the south cape of Greenland, to Cape Chidley, Canada. These three land points, represented by the three feathers, are located at the complementary latitude of the Nile Delta, at 90^o - 30^o = 60^oN. It confirms that the 3rd Egyptian king Nefererkare discovered the third, northern Crossing. He was the brother of king Sahure, as suggested by the connection on the Swan Stone. This Stone was found at Burrows Cave, 9 degrees above the Nile Delta, at 30^o + 9^o = 39^oN. It suggests, that the 9th king Unas (c.2403-2370 BC) discovered the Return Route via Bermuda to the West Azores. Bermuda is located 9 degrees above the holy Tropic of Cancer, at 23^o + 9^o = 32^oN. He sailed, with the wind and the current, over 3 Moiras = 30 degrees from Bermuda to the 9 islands of the Azores. The three feathers of the Wing appear to confirm the long sailing distance.^6,7

The Tropic of Cancer is the holy line of the Sun religion. At midsummer day the Sun is there at right angles above. The slow northerly movement of the Sun turns into a southerly movement. So, one believes in the Egyptian SunGod Ra. This latitude line crosses the River Nile at 23^oN, as shown by the 2 tips of the Tail and the 3 feathers of the Wing (20^o + 3^o = 23^o). It is the center of the Southern Egyptian Empire, but also the center of the Sun religion. King Sahure as well as king Nefererkare were the substitutes of this SunGod.^4-9 In the Egyptian tradition these kings were represented by parts of an animal, by the split Tail of a Serpent, and by the Wing of a Swan, respectively.

Fig.1 The Swan Stone tells the story of the discovery of the sailing routes across the Atlantic in the Fifth Dynasty and the Comet Catastrophe after it, when more than half of the world population perished. (First Millennium BC, Burrows Cave, near Olney, Illinois)^1-3

Comet Catastrophe

When studying the Swan Stone a special feature of the petroglyph becomes apparent. The Wing on top is much larger than the split Tail at the bottom. This is surprisingly, because the two southern Crossings discovered by Sahure are much more important than the Northern Crossing discovered by Nefererkare. So, it appears the Stone is telling an additional story. The circle in the center is the planet Earth, and the serpent now appears to represent a Comet (or Comet Swarm).^10-20

The lower half of the wing shows what appears to be three additional feathers. These emphasize the central feather on top of the glyph, representing the south cape of Greenland. In antiquity, the island of Greenland symbolized the Head of a Comet, with the North Atlantic Ocean below it as its Tail. Like the Head of a Comet Greenland consists of stone and ice, and like the Tail of a Comet the Ocean contains an awful lot of water. The 3 + 3 = 6 feathers confirm the latitude of the south cape of Greenland, at 60^oN. It shows this Comet Catastrophe happened in the Sixth Dynasty. It occurred because of a cosmic collision of the planet Earth with the Tail of a Comet.^21-26

The circle in the center of the serpent now symbolizes the Moon, and the three feathers on top are the 30 days of the month. The split Tail shows the planet Earth was inside the Tail of this Comet for 2 Months, or 2 x 30 = 60 days. The latitude of the south cape as well as the 3 + 3 = 6 feathers of the wing confirm it. The falling rocks caused huge forest fires, and the melting ice of the Comet caused torrential rains. There were huge floodings everywhere. It was completely dark on Earth. This time period was probably the worst.

After these two months the Earth left the Tail of the Comet. However, the three feathers on the lower half of the wing also symbolize the 30 days of the month. The whole climate on Earth was completely disrupted. The split Tail shows the planet Earth was outside the Tail of the Comet for another 2 Months, or 2 x 30 = 60 days. The latitude of the south cape as well as the 3 + 3 = 6 feathers of the wing confirm it. The torrential rains continued, but it also became bitterly cold. So, these rains were changing in ferocious snow and hail storms. The huge floodings continued, and many people died from starvation.

The serpent encircles the planet Earth. It shows it was a worldwide Disaster. The 2 tips of the tail and the 6 feathers of the wing encode a total number of 2.6 million casualties. The third feather on the lower half of the wing has not fully been carved. The 2 tips of the tail and the 5 remaining feathers correspond to 2 + 5 = 7 units, encoding the 7 figures of this number. The 3 feathers on top count for two (Fig.1). Together with the 6 feathers of the Stone these encode the circumference of the planet Earth, 36 Moiras, or 360 degrees. It confirms it was a worldwide Disaster. The complementary latitude of 90^o - 36^o = 54^oN encodes the percentage of casualties, 54%. So, the world population before this Calamity was (100/54) x 2.6 = 4.8 million people. The number of survivors was 4.8 - 2.6 = 2.2 million men. Many of them were seriously injured.

The width of the serpent increases from 1 unit at the bottom, via 2 units around the Earth to 3 units at the top (Fig.1). The total number of 1 + 2 + 3 = 6 units confirm the Biblical Flood happened in the Sixth Dynasty. The single unit at the bottom shows it happened during the reign of the 1st king Teti (c.2370-2338 BC). Tree-ring dating indicates it happened c.2344 BC. The 2 units around the Earth confirm it was a two-stage event, having a total duration of 60 + 60 = 120 days. The three feathers on top point to the latitude line through the south cape of Greenland, at 60^oN. It corresponds to the approximate periodicity of the Comet, c.600 years (a number of 3 figures). The 2 tips of the tail and the 3 feathers of the wing indicate an average latitude of 2.5 degrees above the Nile Delta, at 30^o + 2.5^o = 32.5^oN (Poverty Point, NE Louisiana). The complementary latitude of 90^o - 32.5^o = 57.5^oN encodes the exact periodicity of 575 years.

The two tips of the tail and the six feathers, or the six units, show, that the total precipitation during the Flood was about 20 + 60 = 80 micromoiras= 8 x 1.1 = 9 meters of water. The Biblical Flood had a profound influence on the climate on Earth. The Wing of the Swan points to Greenland, indicating a much colder climate. The three feathers on top (and below them) illustrate that this colder and dryer time period lasted for three centuries, from c.2344 BC till c. 2000 BC, which is at the start of the Twelfth Dynasty (Middle Kingdom). People used feathers of birds in their coats for protection against these colder conditions.^10-26

Discussion

The 2nd king Sahure of the Fifth Dynasty discovered the two southern crossings of the North Atlantic Ocean. His Pyramid is the first one located in Abusir ("Home of the god Osiris"), at the NW side of the Lake, which is just south of Gizeh. The 200-meter long procession road from the valley temple to his Pyramid is oriented due west. The groundplan of the pyramid temple is called the conceptual start of all other temples of the Old Kingdom. The walls of the complex were covered with reliefs having a surface area of c.10,000 square meters. These belong to the oldest of their kind. Behind an open space is a passage at right angles for the interior part of the temple. On the eastern wall are reliefs about sea voyages, one of the earliest about this subject. In the hart of the temple copper tubing is used for drainage purposes, probably imported from the Lake Superior region.^27-31 It is probable, that the Sahara desert is called after this king.

Fig.2 King Sahure (at the right side) as god of the sea (the waves). He discovered the two southern crossings of the Atlantic. The sailing distances of 2 Moiras = 20 degrees over open sea were the longest crossings ever accomplished. (Pyramid temple of Sahure in Abusir, near Cairo, c.2500 BC) ³²

The 3rd king Nefererkare discovered the northern crossing of the Atlantic. His larger Pyramid was built besides the one of his predecessor Sahure, but more to the west. The slope of its four sides was clearly steeper compared to the pyramid of Sahure. The 380-meter long procession road from the valley temple to his Pyramid is oriented due west, again. The complex is especially known for the Abusir papyri, which deal with the Pyramid of Nefererkare.

The 9th and last king Unas of the Fifth Dynasty discovered the Return Route via the island of Bermuda to the Azores. His Pyramid is located in North Saqqara, a little southeast of Abusir. Its size is comparable with the one of Sahure, but the orientation of the 750-meter long, curved procession road is completely different. Only a small portion of the reliefs are preserved, but these show sailing ships and people working on copper and gold (from America). South of the procession road are two 45-meter long boat pits. However, king Unas is especially famous for the pyramid texts in his burial chamber, the oldest of their kind. It is highly probable, that these mysterious texts and the many stars on the ceilings refer to the Comet Catastrophe, which ended the Fifth Dynasty. These stars and pyramid texts were present in almost all pyramids of the next, Sixth Dynasty (c.2370-2189 BC), which was the last one of the Old Kingdom.

The Comet Catastrophe or Biblical Flood happened during the reign of the 1st king Teti of the Sixth Dynasty. His Pyramid is located close to the one of his predecessor king Unas of the previous, Fifth Dynasty. It is characteristic for the transition to the standard features of the pyramid temples of the Sixth Dynasty. (However, the valley temple near the lake is lacking.) The walls of his burial chamber were decorated with pyramid texts, and there were stars on the ceilings, again. His sarcophacus is the first one with pyramid texts, and also the roof of his chapel was decorated with stars. These all refer to the Comet Catastrophe, which killed more than half of the Egyptian population, and seriously wounded almost all survivors. In many cultures on Earth the number "six" (of the Sixth Dynasty) means "death". If you are "sick", you have an illness. The name of king "Teti" lives on in words like "to test", "testimony", and "testament". The slopes of all Pyramids of the Sixth Dynasty is 54 degrees, encoding the percentage of victims of the Biblical Flood, 54%. The complementary angle of 90^o - 54^o = 36^o shows it was a worldwide Disaster, because the circumference of the Earth is 360 Moiras, or 360 degrees. However, king Teti also wanted to remind his people to the glorious days of the Old Kingdom. Some square granite columns in his pyramid complex resemble those of the Fourth Dynasty, and some altars in his temple resemble those of Sahure, Nefererkare and Unas of the Fifth Dynasty.³²

References