Megiddo Mosaïc documentary

“The fascinating mosaic presents groundbreaking physical evidence of the practices and beliefs of early Christians, including the first archaeological instance of the phrase ‘God Jesus Christ’.” Dr. Yotam Tepper https://www.museumofthebible.org/newsroom/a-new-documentary-explores-one-of-the-greatest-arc A New Documentary Explores One of the Greatest Archaeological Finds of the 21st Century the Megiddo Mosaic WASHINGTON, D.C., February 28, 2025 — Museum of the Bible announces their partnership with Angel Studios and Evolve Studios for the release of the documentary, “The Mosaic Church,” about the discovery of the 1,800-year-old Megiddo Mosaic in Megiddo, Israel. The documentary tells the story of the Megiddo Mosaic, a decorative floor of the oldest-known Christian worship space in history, dated to AD 230, located within a Roman military camp 15 miles southwest of Nazareth. The mosaic was discovered in an excavation by the Israel Antiquities Authority underneath a maximum-security prison and was conserved by the Israel Antiquities Authority in 2005. The mosaic made its world debut at Museum of the Bible in September 2024 and is currently on display in partnership with the Israel Antiquities Authority. “We are thrilled to make this film available for the public and continue to tell the remarkable story of one of the most important archeological discoveries of the 21st century,” said Bobby Duke, chief curatorial officer at Museum of the Bible. “This mosaic is critical for encountering and understanding early Christians at a time when they might have suffered persecution by the Roman Empire. It is a story that must be told.” According to Dr. Yotam Tepper, director of the excavation on behalf of the Israel Antiquities Authority, “The fascinating mosaic presents groundbreaking physical evidence of the practices and beliefs of early Christians, including the first archaeological instance of the phrase ‘God Jesus Christ.’ Also featured on the mosaic are one of the earliest examples of a fish being used as a Christian symbol and the names of several of the Christian prayer hall’s patrons — a Roman centurion, an artist, and five women.” “The Mosaic Church” is produced by Emmy Award-winning Evolve Studios in association with The Natural Studios and Alafim Productions and is streaming exclusively at Angel.com/MOTB and on the Angel App. The documentary is narrated by Bear Grylls, star of the Emmy Award-nominated “Man vs. Wild” TV series and host of the Emmy Award-winning interactive Netflix show “You Vs Wild.” "Uncovering the Megiddo Mosaic has been a powerful journey into the early Christian spirit of resilience and faith. I am honored to narrate this story, bringing to life the legacy of the world's oldest-known church for audiences worldwide,” shared Bear Grylls. The documentary weaves together expert insights, historical analysis, and firsthand accounts from those who worked on discovering and conserving the Megiddo Mosaic. It also reveals deep insights into the life of early Christians from just a few generations after the accounts of the New Testament. Watch the trailer HERE. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DfN0o9h_4Xg The Megiddo Mosaic is on display at Museum of the Bible in Washington, D.C., until July 6, 2025. ….

“The greatest destroyer of peace today is the cry of the innocent unborn child”

“To me the nations who have legalized abortion, they are the poorest nations. They are afraid of the little one, they are afraid of the unborn child, and the child must die because they don’t want to feed one more child, to educate one more child, the child must die”. Mother Teresa Nobel Peace Prize 1979 Mother Teresa Acceptance speech Mother Teresa’s Acceptance speech, held on 10 December 1979 in the Aula of the University of Oslo, Norway. Let us all together thank God for this beautiful occasion where we can all together proclaim the joy of spreading peace, the joy of loving one another and the joy acknowledging that the poorest of the poor are our brothers and sisters. As we have gathered here to thank God for this gift of peace, I have given you all the prayer for peace that St Francis of Assisi prayed many years ago, and I wonder he must have felt the need what we feel today to pray for. I think you have all got that paper? We’ll say it together. Lord, make me a channel of your peace, that where there is hatred, I may bring love; that where there is wrong, I may bring the spirit of forgiveness; that where there is discord, I may bring harmony; that where there is error, I may bring truth; that where there is doubt, I may bring faith; that where there is despair, I may bring hope; that where there are shadows, I may bring light; that where there is sadness, I may bring joy. Lord, grant that I may seek rather to comfort than to be comforted; to understand, than to be understood; to love, than to be loved. For it is by forgetting self, that one finds. It is by forgiving that one is forgiven. It is by dying, that one awakens to eternal life. Amen. God loved the world so much that he gave his son and he gave him to a virgin, the blessed virgin Mary, and she, the moment he came in her life, went in haste to give him to others. And what did she do then? She did the work of the handmaid, just so. Just spread that joy of loving to service. And Jesus Christ loved you and loved me and he gave his life for us, and as if that was not enough for him, he kept on saying: Love as I have loved you, as I love you now, and how do we have to love, to love in the giving. For he gave his life for us. And he keeps on giving, and he keeps on giving right here everywhere in our own lives and in the lives of others. It was not enough for him to die for us, he wanted that we loved one another, that we see him in each other, that’s why he said: Blessed are the clean of heart, for they shall see God. And to make sure that we understand what he means, he said that at the hour of death we are going to be judged on what we have been to the poor, to the hungry, naked, the homeless, and he makes himself that hungry one, that naked one, that homeless one, not only hungry for bread, but hungry for love, not only naked for a piece of cloth, but naked of that human dignity, not only homeless for a room to live, but homeless for that being forgotten, been unloved, uncared, being nobody to nobody, having forgotten what is human love, what is human touch, what is to be loved by somebody, and he says: Whatever you did to the least of these my brethren, you did it to me. It is so beautiful for us to become holy to this love, for holiness is not a luxury of the few, it is a simple duty for each one of us, and through this love we can become holy. To this love for one another and today when I have received this reward, I personally am most unworthy, and I having avowed poverty to be able to understand the poor, I choose the poverty of our people. But I am grateful and I am very happy to receive it in the name of the hungry, of the naked, of the homeless, of the crippled, of the blind, of the leprous, of all those people who feel unwanted, unloved, uncared, thrown away of the society, people who have become a burden to the society, and are shunned by everybody. In their name I accept the award. And I am sure this award is going to bring an understanding love between the rich and the poor. And this is what Jesus has insisted so much, that is why Jesus came to earth, to proclaim the good news to the poor. And through this award and through all of us gathered here together, we are wanting to proclaim the good news to the poor that God loves them, that we love them, that they are somebody to us, that they too have been created by the same loving hand of God, to love and to be loved. Our poor people are great people, are very lovable people, they don’t need our pity and sympathy, they need our understanding love. They need our respect; they need that we treat them with dignity. And I think this is the greatest poverty that we experience, that we have in front of them who may be dying for a piece of bread, but they die to such dignity. I never forget when I brought a man from the street. He was covered with maggots; his face was the only place that was clean. And yet that man, when we brought him to our home for the dying, he said just one sentence: I have lived like an animal in the street, but I am going to die like an angel, love and care, and he died beautifully. He went home to God, for dead is nothing but going home to God. And he having enjoyed that love, that being wanted, that being loved, that being somebody to somebody at the last moment, brought that joy in his life. And I feel one thing I want to share with you all, the greatest destroyer of peace today is the cry of the innocent unborn child. For if a mother can murder her own child in her own womb, what is left for you and for me to kill each other? Even in the scripture it is written: Even if mother could forget her child – I will not forget you – I have carved you in the palm of my hand. Even if mother could forget, but today millions of unborn children are being killed. And we say nothing. In the newspapers you read numbers of this one and that one being killed, this being destroyed, but nobody speaks of the millions of little ones who have been conceived to the same life as you and I, to the life of God, and we say nothing, we allow it. To me the nations who have legalized abortion, they are the poorest nations. They are afraid of the little one, they are afraid of the unborn child, and the child must die because they don’t want to feed one more child, to educate one more child, the child must die. And here I ask you, in the name of these little ones, for it was that unborn child that recognized the presence of Jesus when Mary came to visit Elizabeth, her cousin. As we read in the gospel, the moment Mary came into the house, the little one in the womb of his mother, leapt with joy, recognized the Prince of Peace. And so today, let us here make a strong resolution, we are going to save every little child, every unborn child, give them a chance to be born. And what we are doing, we are fighting abortion by adoption, and the good God has blessed the work so beautifully that we have saved thousands of children, and thousands of children have found a home where they are loved, they are wanted, they are cared. We have brought so much joy in the homes that there was not a child, and so today, I ask His Majesties here before you all who come from different countries, let us all pray that we have the courage to stand by the unborn child, and give the child an opportunity to love and to be loved, and I think with God’s grace we will be able to bring peace in the world. We have an opportunity here in Norway, you are with God’s blessing, you are well to do. But I am sure in the families and many of our homes, maybe we are not hungry for a piece of bread, but maybe there is somebody there in the family who is unwanted, unloved, uncared, forgotten, there isn’t love. Love begins at home. And love to be true has to hurt. I never forget a little child who taught me a very beautiful lesson. They heard in Calcutta, the children, that Mother Teresa had no sugar for her children, and this little one, Hindu boy four years old, he went home and he told his parents: I will not eat sugar for three days, I will give my sugar to Mother Teresa. How much a little child can give. After three days they brought into our house, and there was this little one who could scarcely pronounce my name, he loved with great love, he loved until it hurt. And this is what I bring before you, to love one another until it hurts, but don’t forget that there are many children, many children, many men and women who haven’t got what you have. And remember to love them until it hurts. Sometime ago, this to you will sound very strange, but I brought a girl child from the street, and I could see in the face of the child that the child was hungry. God knows how many days that she had not eaten. So I give her a piece of bread. And then the little one started eating the bread crumb by crumb. And I said to the child, eat the bread, eat the bread. And she looked at me and said: I am afraid to eat the bread because I’m afraid when it is finished I will be hungry again. This is a reality, and yet there is a greatness of the poor. One evening a gentleman came to our house and said, there is a Hindu family and the eight children have not eaten for a long time. Do something for them. And I took rice and I went immediately, and there was this mother, those little ones’ faces, shining eyes from sheer hunger. She took the rice from my hand, she divided into two and she went out. When she came back, I asked her, where did you go? What did you do? And one answer she gave me: They are hungry also. She knew that the next door neighbor, a Muslim family, was hungry. What surprised me most, not that she gave the rice, but what surprised me most, that in her suffering, in her hunger, she knew that somebody else was hungry, and she had the courage to share, share the love. And this is what I mean, I want you to love the poor, and never turn your back to the poor, for in turning your back to the poor, you are turning it to Christ. For he had made himself the hungry one, the naked one, the homeless one, so that you and I have an opportunity to love him, because where is God? How can we love God? It is not enough to say to my God I love you, but my God, I love you here. I can enjoy this, but I give up. I could eat that sugar, but I give that sugar. If I stay here the whole day and the whole night, you would be surprised of the beautiful things that people do, to share the joy of giving. And so, my prayer for you is that truth will bring prayer in our homes, and the fruit of prayer will be that we believe that in the poor, it is Christ. And if we really believe, we will begin to love. And if we love, naturally, we will try to do something. First in our own home, our next door neighbor, in the country we live, in the whole world. And let us all join in that one prayer, God give us courage to protect the unborn child, for the child is the greatest gift of God to a family, to a nation and to the whole world. God bless you!

‘We live in a world that is burning’: Pope Leo XIV

Taken from: Pope Leo interrupts holiday to issue warning: ‘We live in a world that is burning’ Pope Leo interrupts holiday to issue warning: ‘We live in a world that is burning’ Story by Joshua McElwee Pope Leo XIV has issued a stark warning about a “burning” world as he interrupted his two-week holiday to urge Catholics to address the climate crisis. This marks the Vatican's second significant appeal on global warming within a week. Speaking from Castel Gandolfo, an Italian hill town near Rome where he is on holiday, the pontiff declared during a small outdoor ceremony: "Today … we live in a world that is burning, both because of global warming and armed conflicts." Leo, who was elected on 8 May to succeed Pope Francis, said: "We have to pray for the conversion of many people … who still do not see the urgency of caring for our common home." While refraining from naming specific climate-induced disasters, he characterised the global situation as an "ecological crisis". Leo said the 1.4-billion-member Catholic Church was committed to speaking about the issue, "even when it requires the courage to oppose the destructive power of the princes of this world". The Mass included a prayer for victims of the flash flooding in Texas, where at least 111 people have died and 173 are still missing. Leo celebrated Wednesday's Mass according to a new Catholic rite that exhorts people to care for creation, first published by the Vatican on 3 July in its latest push to address climate issues. Cardinal Michael Czerny, a senior Vatican official who helped to organise the Mass, said that Leo's decision to interrupt his holiday was a sign of the importance the new pope will place on environmental matters. "By offering this Mass … at the beginning of his holiday, Pope Leo is giving a beautiful example of thanking for God's great gift and praying that the human family learns to care for our common home," said Cardinal Czerny. Garden mass Francis, who died on 21 April, was also a firm proponent of care for creation. He was the first pope to embrace the scientific consensus about climate change and urged nations to reduce their carbon emissions in line with the 2015 Paris climate accord. ….

Mysterious mountain in the Karkom valley may be the sacred Mount Horeb

by Damien F. Mackey However, neither Flavio nor his brother, Claudio, believes that professor Anati is correct in his linking of both Sinai and Horeb as one and the same sacred mountain. They came to believe that the real Mount Horeb was an un-named mountain (no. 788) in the middle of the Karkom valley. The Midianites amongst whom Moses would dwell for forty years (from age 40-80) were descendants of Abraham by his second wife, Keturah (Genesis 25:1-2). The atmosphere living amongst those presumably God-fearing Semites must have been totally different from that of Moses’s first forty years of life, living amongst those fearers of the gods in “the land of Ham” (e.g., Psalm 78:51) - the Hamitic Egyptians and the Ethiopian descendants of Cush, the oldest son of Ham (Genesis 10:6, 8). Locating Midian and Mount Sinai Where was this land of Midian with its Holy Mountain, Horeb, or Sinai, that will become a central point of focus during this time? Here I substantially - but not entirely - follow professor Emmanuel Anati, who spent approximately the same time in the region as had Moses, about forty years, researching in the Negev and Paran deserts. In his books, e.g. The Mountain of God (1986), professor Anati was able to point out the locations of the local tribes of Moses’s day, the Midianites, the Amalekites, and so on, near the environs of Har (Mount) Karkom in the SW Negev desert. Australian archaeologist, Deb Hurn, who has also spent a lot of time in the region, basically concurs with his conclusions, though with some notable differences. Unlike many amateurish approaches - that attempt to locate holy Mount Sinai without any due regard for Israel’s trek to there from Egypt being described stage by stage in the Pentateuch - the more serious and informed researchers take fully into account such vital issues as wells for drinking water. Don’t forget that we are dealing with tens of thousands of nomadic people in a region that looks something like a moonscape. {I do not accept that there were over 2 million fleeing Israelites, as a typical interpretation, lacking in common sense - and also in an appreciation of the variety of meanings of Hebrew words, notably elef (אָ֫לֶפ) in this case - would insist upon}. Professor Anati has firmly concluded that the biblical mountain was - definitely not the popular Jebel Musa (“Mount of Moses”) of the tourists, in the Sinai Peninsula - but what is today called: Har Karkom (“Saffron Mountain”). And he is also steadfast in his view that Sinai and Horeb were one and the same sacred mountain. What is at least certain is that the Karkom valley is where the Exodus Israelites had sojourned. Flavio Barbiero, who, with his brother, Claudio, was heavily involved there with professor Anati, has been able brilliantly to pinpoint the specific location of the Tabernacle of the Hebrews, but also to re-create it on precise measurement lines: THE CAVE OF TREASURES ON MOUNT HOREB (3) THE CAVE OF TREASURES ON MOUNT HOREB Flavio Barbiero has no doubts that: It finally gave us certainty on two fundamental points: 1.- that the Exodus account is based on actual facts and is reliable 2.- that the Karkom valley is precisely where the events narrated by Exodus took place, and therefore, the sacred mountain of Moses had to be located in the valley itself. However, neither Flavio nor his brother, Claudio, believes that professor Anati is correct in his linking of both Sinai and Horeb as one and the same sacred mountain. They came to believe that the real Mount Horeb was an un-named mountain (no. 788) in the middle of the Karkom valley. A week ago, on May 6th, I received this Message from Flavio Barbiero: Dear Damien, I am pleased that you have downloaded my book "The Treasure Cave on Mount Horeb". I hope you have read all of it and you are aware of the historical and archaeological importance of my conclusions. I'd be gratefull if you could help me convincing the Israely archaeological authorities to complete my research, by excavating that cave (before somebody else would do it). I appreciate that you are on the good way to do it, by quoting my research on mont Horeb. I suggest you to quote also my conclusions about Moses' wife, the "cushite" Zipporah. I see that you agree on this point. Best wishes Flavio Barbiero. Here are some relevant excerpts from Barbiero’s ground-breaking article (pp. 64 ff.): The mountain without a name Since our first arrival at Har Karkom, we have been struck by a small mountain that stands isolated in the middle of the valley. Arriving from the Egyptian border, it impressively resembles an Egyptian pyramid, with the horizontal stratifications of the rocks giving a realistic idea of the various orders of stones. …. Seen from the north, the mountain had a particular shape, like a large crouching dragon, with a large stone slab at the top of its back, which resembled an enormous lectern. That little mountain was the most notable point in the whole valley and could be seen from any direction. It was the constant reference for knowing where one was. With its unmistakable silhouette constantly under the eyes, it was impossible to get lost or go wrong. We were especially attracted by that large flat rock on the top which from below almost looked like a ramp launched towards the sky. One evening, at the usual assembly after dinner, we asked Anati what that mountain was called and what was on the top. "It's a mountain without a name," was the reply. 'Only the quota is shown on the maps: 788 metres. The Israeli cartographers considered it part of the Karkom complex and did not consider giving it a specific name. …. At the plain's beginning, a large triangular stone was stuck in the ground; it showed clear signs of workmanship to give it a cuspidal shape. On its side, there was a flint "eye" set in the rock and underneath some engravings with a mysterious meaning. It was oriented north-south but pointed towards a small escarpment, a few tens of meters ahead, from which a path began that climbed towards the top of the mountain. On the left was the huge boulder … surrounded by stones, most of which were flat and stuck in the ground. It looked like a large altar surrounded by steles, at the foot of the mountain. A stone vaguely shaped like an animal's head, placed on the rock who knows when and by whom, recalled the image of a calf. We called that boulder "the altar of the golden calf ", jokingly at first, but then with more and more conviction. …. While we were in front of the altar, imagining the scene of dancers around it with a golden calf on top, we looked up towards the mountain and gasped: of the large rock that was on top, we could only see the north side, framed by a saddle formed by the gully along which the wadi descended. …. We decided to go up, heading towards the path indicated by the cusp stone. After a few meters of steep climb, we arrived at a false plain sloping gently down from the mountain. At this point the path passed through a gap created in a row of stones lined up along the edge of the escarpment, clearly a boundary line. On the sides of the gap were two steles, about sixty centimetres each, knocked down to the ground and, in the centre of the path, a serpent's head made of flint … facing those who climbed up. We couldn't help but think of the words of the Bible: “And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death." (Ex.19,12; 19,20; 24,1). … That gap seemed to be the only access to Mount 788 on that side … and that row of stones on the edge, with the two steles on either side, clearly constituted "limits". The serpent's head placed between the steles, in the centre of the path, was an all too evident threat of death addressed to those who climbed it. This is an undeniable indication that this was precisely the mountain to which the words of Exodus referred. …. The view that is disclosed to those who cross the entrance open into the wall is of extraordinary impact. The platform looks like a natural ramp to the sky, and it is paved by a sort of cyclopean natural tiles. …. We were fascinated by the sight of the "basolato", a sort of paved floor of large stones encrusted with green-blue lichens. One day, we had the chance to see the Acropolis after a short downpour. The wet lichens that covered the stones had become phosphorescent of an intense blue and offered an incredible, breathtaking spectacle, the same described in Ex 24,9: “Then went up Moses, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel: and there was under his feet as it were a paved work of a sapphire stone, and as it were the body of heaven in his clearness.” We had never seen anything like it. It instinctively came to us to follow the command of Ex. 3:5: "put off thy shoes from off thy feet, for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground.." …. From the top of the acropolis, you can dominate the entire surrounding valley and the desert, in the direction of Egypt, up to the distant horizon; to the north, you can see the edge of Maktesh Ramon and the dome of the Mizpé Ramon Natural History Museum, on the edge of the crater, more than twenty kilometres as the crow flies. From there you can control every corner of the Karkom valley and the entire plateau. No one could approach that mountain without being seen. Isolated as it is in the centre of the valley, with its unmistakable silhouette, it constitutes a unique natural landmark …. … The perfect setting of the events narrated by Exodus As far as we could see at that moment, Mount 788 fully corresponded to the biblical account’s description of Mount Horeb. The limits, the snake head on the access paths, and the impressiveness of the acropolis were important clues, but another thing also proved it. Throughout the valley, you could meet rock engravings everywhere. All the hills around the valley and the valley itself were strewn with rock engravings and on the plateau of Har Karkom there was the largest concentration of the whole Sinai. We expected we would also find many on the 788 because of its central location in the valley. In the following years, my brother and I inspected the mountain from top to bottom, stone by stone, but found no engravings, not even a scratch. …. But what about the cave? Having read Barbiero’s article, I was vague about one thing. Whereas Har Karkom has a small cave atop, the un-named mountain did not appear to have anything so visible. Thus I put this query to Flavio Barbiero: …. One matter about which I am not clear at all after having read your paper. Apparently there is a small cave (cleft) on Mt. Karkom, but neither it nor the mountain seems to fit the [biblical] description. What exactly is the nature of the cave on your un-named mountain? It does not appear to be like the one on Har Karkom. Does it sink downwards into the mountain? Barbiero’s reply: …. the cave on mount Horeb is described with precision in my book, and also its entry is exactly identified and indicated. The cave consists of 9 subterranean chambers, one on top of the other, like the tombs of Judah's kings in Jersusalem. In these chambers Moses and his direct descendants were buried, and later on the high priests of Jerusalem until its destruction by Nebucadnezar. Solomon also and david were buried there, in a chamber that was visited by Hircanus I, son of the last of the Maccabees, who took away 3,000 silver talents. After 80 years the chamber was savagedly pillaged by Herods, who arrived to the point of stripping the jewels from the bodies of the two kings. All this information and many more are in my book “the cave of treasure on mount Horeb”. They are supported by strong evidence. ….

The Pumapunku Megaliths have “organic matter in volcanic rock”

“After different analysis on thin sections and under an electronic microscope, Joseph Davidovits claims that his team has found “organic matter in volcanic rock”, which is, by nature, impossible”. Taken from: https://www.davidovits.info/tag/pumapunku/ On 7 Aug 2018 In Archaeology At the 10th Geopolymer Camp in 2018, Prof. Joseph Davidovits presented during his annual keynote a brief summary of his last studies on the Tiwanaku (Tiahuanaco) / Pumapunku Megaliths. In November 2017, an international team (a geologist from Universidad San Pablo at Arequipa, Peru and a member of the Geopolymer Institute) went on the site to carry on a survey on these stones. After different analysis on thin sections and under an electronic microscope, Joseph Davidovits claims that his team has found “organic matter in volcanic rock“, which is, by nature, impossible. This points to man-made stone and C-14 dating of the geopolymer stone as well as of the monument (on going research). Go to Tiahuanaco-Pumapunku read the transcript or watch the video of his conférence (English or Spanish dubbed) or also on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-CIo8nUxlo Two scientific papers have been now published in renown international scientific journals. See the details at Scientific Articles SUMMARY OF THE STUDY Tiahuanaco, on Lake Titicaca in Bolivia, is a village known throughout the world for its mysterious Gate of the Sun, ruins of temples and its pyramid. Archaeologists consider that this site was built well before the Incas, around 600 to AD 700. The site of Pumapunku is right next door with the ruins of an enigmatic pyramidal temple built at the same time. Because it is not restored and developed for touristic activity, it is less known to the general public. However, there are two architectural curiosities there: four giant red sandstone terraces weighing between 130 and 180 tons and small blocks of andesite, an extremely hard volcanic stone, whose complex shapes and millimetric precision are incompatible with the technology of the time. And for good reason, since archeology tells us that the Tiwanakans had only stone tools and no metal hard enough to carve the rock. But they would have carved the gigantic blocks of red sandstone (these ancient blocks are the largest of all the American continent!) and were able to carry these hundreds of tons on the site, then to adjust them precisely. Also, they would have been able to carve other smaller blocks made of volcanic andesite, an impossible-to-carve stone with an incredible finish! Archaeologists cannot give any rational explanations on how this was possible. Therefore, for the general public, the assumptions generally advanced to explain these wonders are the achievement by a lost ancient super civilization or by aliens’ involvement. In November 2017, scientists gathered samples taken in the red sandstone and andesite from the Pumapunku site. For the first time, these stones were analyzed under the electron microscope, this had never been done before! They discovered the artificial nature of the stones. They compared the monuments’ stones with the local geological resources and found many differences. Andesite rock is a volcanic stone from magma. It is composed mainly of silica in the form of plagioclase feldspar, amphibole and pyroxene. But the scientists have discovered the presence of an organic matter based on carbon. “Carbon-based organic matter does not exist in a volcanic rock formed at high temperatures because they are vaporized. It is impossible to find it in andesite rock. And because we found organic matter inside the volcanic andesitic stone, scientists will have the opportunity to carry out a Carbon-14 dating analysis and provide the exact age of the monuments”, according to Luis Huaman, geologist at Universidad Catolica San Pablo, Arequipa, Peru. This organic element is a geopolymer based on carboxylic acids which was therefore added by human intervention into andesite sand to form a kind of cement. The giant blocks of red sandstone raise another problem. Sandstone is a sedimentary rock composed of quartz grains and a clay binder. There are several possible geological sources but none correspond to the stones of the archaeological monuments. No known quarry is able to provide massive blocks of 10 meters long. In addition, the local stone is friable and small in size. Scientists have discovered under the electron microscope that the red sandstone of Pumapunku cannot come from the region because it contains elements, such as sodium carbonate, not found in the local geology. Therefore, where does the stone come from? From hundreds to thousands of kilometers? With what means have they been transported? In fact, electron microscopic analysis proves that the composition of the sandstone could be artificial (a ferro-sialate geopolymer) and manufactured to form cement. What is this technology mastered by the Tiwanakans? “Artificial stones were formed as a cement. But, it is not a modern cement, it is a natural geological cement obtained by geosynthesis” says Ralph Davidovits, researcher at the Geopolymer Institute. For this, they took naturally friable and eroded rock like red sandstone from the nearby mountain, on the one hand, and on the other hand, unconsolidated volcanic tuff from the nearby Cerro Kapia volcano in Peru to form andesite. They created cement either from clay (the same red clay that Tiwuanakans used for pottery) and sodium carbonate salts from Laguna Cachi in the Altiplano Desert to the south, to form red sandstone. For gray andesite, they invented an organo-mineral binder based on natural organic acids extracted from local plants and other natural reagents. This cement was then poured into molds and hardened for a few months. Without a thorough knowledge of geopolymer chemistry, which studies the formation of these rocks by geosynthesis, it is difficult to recognize the artificial nature of the stones. “This chemistry is not a difficult science to master. It is an extension of the knowledge of Tiwanakans in ceramics, mineral binders, pigments and above all an excellent knowledge of their environment,” says Joseph Davidovits. Without the selection of good raw materials, these extraordinary monuments could not have been created 1400 years ago. Finally, this scientific discovery confirms local legends that say, “The stones were made with plant extracts able to soften the stone.” This explanation has always been rejected by archaeologists because it made no sense. The evidence provided by the team of scientists from France and Peru shows that the oral tradition was right: they made soft stones that could harden! The hypothesis of the lost ancient super civilization or aliens intervention is false. Tiwanakuans were intelligent human beings. They knew their environment perfectly and knew how to exploit the resources brought by nature. ….

Giza blocks “are not natural limestone”

by Damien F. Mackey The sample chemistries the researchers found do not exist anywhere in nature. “Therefore”, Barsoum said, “it's very improbable that the outer and inner casing stones that we examined were chiseled from a natural limestone block”. Though I am no technician, I had been very impressed by the theory of the French polymer scientist, professor Joseph Davidovits, Director of the Geopolymer Institute in St. Quentin, France, who had been claiming that the stones of the Giza pyramids were actually made of a very early form of concrete, or liquid (wet) cement, created using a mixture of limestone, clay, lime, and water. According to the Wikipedia article, for a basic view on the professor (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Davidovits): Davidovits was not convinced that the ancient Egyptians possessed the tools or technology to carve and haul the huge (2.5 to 15 ton) limestone blocks that made up the Great Pyramid. Davidovits suggested that the blocks were molded in place by using a form of limestone concrete. According to his theory, a soft limestone with a high kaolinite content was quarried in the wadi on the south of the Giza plateau. It was then dissolved in large, Nile-fed pools until it became a watery slurry. Lime (found in the ash of ancient cooking fires) and natron (also used by the Egyptians in mummification) was mixed in. The pools were then left to evaporate, leaving behind a moist, clay-like mixture. This wet "concrete" would be carried to the construction site where it would be packed into reusable wooden molds. In the next few days the mixture would undergo a chemical hydration reaction similar to the setting of cement. Using Davidovits' theory, no large gangs would be needed to haul blocks and no huge and unwieldy ramps would be needed to transport the blocks up the side of the pyramid. No chiseling or carving with soft bronze tools would be required to dress their surfaces and new blocks could be cast in place, on top of and pressed against the old blocks. This would account for the unerring precision of the joints of the casing stones (the blocks of the core show tools marks and were cut with much lower tolerances). Proof-of-concept experiments using similar compounds were carried out at Davidovits' geopolymer institute in northern France. It was found that a crew of ten, working with simple hand tools, could build a structure of fourteen, 1.3 to 4.5 ton blocks in a couple of days. According to Davidovits the architects possessed at least two concrete formulas: one for the large structural blocks and another for the white casing stones. He argues earlier pyramids, brick structures, and stone vases were built using similar techniques. [End of quote] However, as there appeared to be amongst mainstream pyramid experts little interest - to practically none whatsoever - in what seemed to my mind to be the eminently sensible and scientific thesis of Davidovits, and since I personally did not have the sort of scientific expertise to push the case of the matter, I have tended to lose interest in the theory until now. This was not because I am unprepared to back a supposed rogue ‘maverick’ against the mainstream flow of conforming scholars. My acceptance of the revision of ‘maverick’ scholar, or ‘wayward polymath’, Dr. Immanuel Velikovsky (Ages in Chaos series), against the conventional view of chronology, is clear evidence of this. Anyway, my interest in the theory of Davidovits has been rekindled by the following article in support of it: http://www.livescience.com/1554-surprising-truth-great-pyramids-built.html The Surprising Truth About How the Great Pyramids Were Built telling about the discovery along the same lines by one Michel Barsoum, described therein as “a well respected researcher in the field of ceramics”, and “a distinguished professor in the Department of Materials Science and Engineering at Drexel University”. The authors of this article, Sheila Berninger and Dorilona Rose, write about how Barsoum, initially as a sceptic, came to reconsider the whole matter: …. Barsoum received an unexpected phone call from Michael Carrell, a friend of a retired colleague of Barsoum, who called to chat with the Egyptian-born Barsoum about how much he knew of the mysteries surrounding the building of the Great Pyramids of Giza, the only remaining of the seven wonders of the ancient world. The widely accepted theory — that the pyramids were crafted of carved-out giant limestone blocks that workers carried up ramps — had not only not been embraced by everyone, but as important had quite a number of holes. Burst out laughing According to the caller, the mysteries had actually been solved by Joseph Davidovits, Director of the Geopolymer Institute in St. Quentin, France, more than two decades ago. Davidovits claimed that the stones of the pyramids were actually made of a very early form of concrete created using a mixture of limestone, clay, lime, and water. "It was at this point in the conversation that I burst out laughing," Barsoum said. If the pyramids were indeed cast, he said, someone should have proven it beyond a doubt by now, in this day and age, with just a few hours of electron microscopy. It turned out that nobody had completely proven the theory … yet. "What started as a two-hour project turned into a five-year odyssey that I undertook with one of my graduate students, Adrish Ganguly, and a colleague in France, Gilles Hug," Barsoum said. [End of quote] The article goes on to explain some of the geology of the matter, “these blocks are not natural limestone”, and to account for what has puzzled Egyptologists over a long period of time: namely, the high water content: A year and a half later, after extensive scanning electron microscope observations and other testing, Barsoum and his research group finally began to draw some conclusions about the pyramids. They found that the tiniest structures within the inner and outer casing stones were indeed consistent with a reconstituted limestone. The cement binding the limestone aggregate was either silicon dioxide (the building block of quartz) or a calcium and magnesium-rich silicate mineral. The stones also had a high water content — unusual for the normally dry, natural limestone found on the Giza plateau — and the cementing phases, in both the inner and outer casing stones, were amorphous, in other words, their atoms were not arranged in a regular and periodic array. Sedimentary rocks such as limestone are seldom, if ever, amorphous. The sample chemistries the researchers found do not exist anywhere in nature. “Therefore”, Barsoum said, “it's very improbable that the outer and inner casing stones that we examined were chiseled from a natural limestone block”. More startlingly, Barsoum and another of his graduate students, Aaron Sakulich, recently discovered the presence of silicon dioxide nanoscale spheres (with diameters only billionths of a meter across) in one of the samples. This discovery further confirms that these blocks are not natural limestone. [End of quote] The article then comes to the same dramatic (and somewhat poignant) conclusion arrived at also by chronological revisionists along the lines of Dr. Immanuel Velikovsky (though not intended by the authors of the article): We have been misled. Generations misled At the end of their most recent paper reporting these findings, the researchers reflect that it is "ironic, sublime and truly humbling" that this 4,500-year-old limestone is so true to the original that it has misled generations of Egyptologists and geologists and, "because the ancient Egyptians were the original — albeit unknowing — nanotechnologists." As if the scientific evidence isn't enough, Barsoum has pointed out a number of common sense reasons why the pyramids were not likely constructed entirely of chiseled limestone blocks. Egyptologists are consistently confronted by unanswered questions: How is it possible that some of the blocks are so perfectly matched that not even a human hair can be inserted between them? Why, despite the existence of millions of tons of stone, carved presumably with copper chisels, has not one copper chisel ever been found on the Giza Plateau? Although Barsoum's research has not answered all of these questions, his work provides insight into some of the key questions. For example, it is now more likely than not that the tops of the pyramids are cast, as it would have been increasingly difficult to drag the stones to the summit. Also, casting would explain why some of the stones fit so closely together. Still, as with all great mysteries, not every aspect of the pyramids can be explained. How the Egyptians hoisted 70-ton granite slabs halfway up the great pyramid remains as mysterious as ever. [End of quote] Whilst ignorance in such cases can be to some degree simply a natural outcome of pioneering efforts to reach right conclusions about an overwhelming mass of early evidence, Velikovskian-inspired revisionists would be well aware, too, of another common factor that is inexcusable: the persistence by mainstream scholars to proceed in the face of hard evidence. On this sad phenomenon, see e.g. my article: Dumb and Dumbfounded archaeology (8) Dumb and Dumbfounded archaeology | Damien Mackey - Academia.edu

Angelic salutation: Hail Mary

One day Saint Gertrude had a vision of Our Lord counting gold coins. She summoned the courage to ask Him what He was doing. He answered: ‘I am counting the Hail Marys that you have said; this is the money with which you can pay your way to Heaven’. https://www.motherofallpeoples.com/post/heaven-s-greatest-invitation Saint Louis de Montfort - Heaven’s Greatest Invitation Updated: May 30, 2020 The Angelic Salutation is so heavenly and so beyond us in its depth of meaning that Blessed Alan de la Roche held that no mere creature could ever possibly understand it, and that only Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ Who was born of the Blessed Virgin Mary can really explain it. Its enormous value is due first of all to Our Lady to whom it was addressed, to the purpose of the Incarnation of the Word for which reason this prayer was brought from heaven, and also to the Archangel Gabriel who was the first ever to say it. The Angelic Salutation is a most concise summary of all that Catholic theology teaches about the Blessed Virgin. It is divided into two parts, that of praise and petition: the first shows all that goes to make up Mary’s greatness and the second all that we need to ask her for and all that we may expect to receive through her goodness. The Most Blessed Trinity revealed the first part of it to us and the latter part was added by Saint Elizabeth who was inspired by the Holy Spirit. Holy Mother Church gave us the conclusion in the year 430 when she condemned the Nestorian heresy at the council of Ephesus and defined that the Blessed Virgin is truly the Mother of God. At this time she ordered us to pray to Our Lady under this glorious title by saying: “Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now, and at the hour of our death.” The greatest event in the whole history of the world was the Incarnation of the Eternal Word by Whom the world was redeemed and peace was restored between God and men. Our Lady was chosen as His instrument for this tremendous event and it was put into effect when she was greeted with the Angelic Salutation. The Archangel Gabriel, one of the leading princes of the heavenly court, was chosen as ambassador to bear these glad tidings. In the Angelic Salutation can be seen the faith and hope of the patriarchs, the prophets and the apostles. Furthermore it gives to martyrs their unswerving constancy and strength, it is the wisdom of the doctors of the Church, the perseverance of holy confessors and the life of all religious (Blessed Alan de la Roche). It is also the new hymn of the law of grace, the joy of angels and men, and the hymn which terrifies devils and puts them to shame. By the Angelic Salutation God became man, a virgin became the Mother of God, the souls of the just were delivered from Limbo, the empty thrones in heaven filled. In addition sin was forgiven, grace was given to us, sick people were made well, the dead were brought back to life, exiles were brought home, and the anger of the Most Blessed Trinity was appeased and men obtained eternal life. Finally, the Angelic Salutation is a rainbow in the heavens, a sign of the mercy and grace which God has given to the world (Blessed Alan da la Roche). The Hail Mary—Beauty Even though there is nothing so great as the majesty of God and nothing so low as man insofar as he is a sinner, Almighty God does not despise our poor prayers. On the contrary, He is pleased when we sing His praises. Saint Gabriel’s greeting to Our Lady is one of the most beautiful hymns which we can possibly sing to the glory of the Most High. “I will sing a new song to you” (Ps. 143:9). This new hymn which David foretold was to be sung at the coming of the Messiah is none other than the Angelic Salutation. There is an old hymn and a new hymn: the first is that which the Jews sang out of gratitude to God for creating them and maintaining them in existence—for delivering them from captivity and leading them safely through the Red Sea—for giving them manna to eat and for all His other blessings. The new hymn is that which Christians sing in thanksgiving for the graces of the Incarnation and the Redemption. As these marvels were brought about by the Angelic Salutation, so also do we repeat the same salutation to thank the Most Blessed Trinity for His immeasurable goodness to us. We praise God the Father because He so loved the world that He gave us His only Son as our Savior. We bless the Son because He deigned to leave heaven and come down upon earth—because he was made man and redeemed us. We glorify the Holy Spirit because He formed Our Lord’s pure Body in Our Lady’s Womb—this Body which was the Victim of our sins. In this spirit of deep thankfulness should we, then, always say the Hail Mary, making acts of faith, hope, love and thanksgiving for the priceless gift of salvation. …. Although this new hymn is in praise of the Mother of God and is sung directly to her, nevertheless it greatly glorifies the Most Blessed Trinity because any homage that we pay Our Lady returns inevitably to God Who is the cause of all her virtues and perfections. When we honor Our Lady: God the Father is glorified because we are honoring the most perfect of His creatures; God the Son is glorified because we are praising His most pure Mother, and God the Holy Spirit is glorified because we are lost in admiration at the graces with which He has filled His Spouse. When we praise and bless Our Lady by saying the Angelic Salutation she always passes on these praises to Almighty God in the same way as she did when she was praised by Saint Elizabeth. The latter blessed her in her most elevated dignity as Mother of God and Our Lady immediately returned these praises to God by her beautiful Magnificat. Just as the Angelic Salutation gives glory to the Blessed Trinity, it is also the very highest praise that we can give Our Lady. One day when Saint Mechtilde was praying and was trying to think of some way in which she could express her love of the Blessed Mother better than she had done before, she fell into ecstasy. Our Lady appeared to her with the Angelic Salutation in flaming letters of gold upon her bosom and said to her: My daughter, I want you to know that no one can please me more than by saying the salutation which the Most Adorable Trinity sent to me and by which He raised me to the dignity of Mother of God. By the word Ave (which is the name Eve, Eva), I learned that in His infinite power God had preserved me from all sin and its attendant misery which the first woman had been subject to. The name Mary which means “lady of light” shows that God has filled me with wisdom and light, like a shining star, to light up heaven and earth. The words full of grace remind me that the Holy Spirit has showered so many graces upon me that I am able to give these graces in abundance to those who ask for them through me as Mediatrix. When people say The Lord is with thee they renew the indescribable joy that was mine when the Eternal Word became incarnate in my womb. When you say to me blessed art thou among women I praise Almighty God’s divine mercy which lifted me to this exalted plane of happiness. And at the words blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus, the whole of heaven rejoices with me to see my Son Jesus Christ adored and glorified for having saved mankind. The Hail Mary—Fruits …. The Hail Mary is a blessed dew that falls from heaven upon the souls of the predestinate. It gives them a marvelous spiritual fertility so that they can grow in all virtues. The more the garden of the soul is watered by this prayer the more enlightened one’s intellect becomes, the more zealous his heart, and the stronger his armor against his spiritual enemies. The Hail Mary is a sharp and flaming shaft which, joined to the Word of God, gives the preacher the strength to pierce, move and convert the most hardened hearts even if he has little or no natural gift for preaching. The Hail Mary—Blessings This heavenly salutation draws down upon us the blessings of Jesus and Mary in abundance, for it is an infallible truth that Jesus and Mary reward in a marvelous way those who glorify them. They repay us a hundredfold for the praises that we give them. “I love them that love me … that I may enrich them that love me and fill their treasures” (Prov. 8:17, 21). Jesus and Mary have always said: “We love those who love us; we enrich them and fill their treasuries to overflowing.” “He who soweth in blessings, shall also reap blessings” (Cor. 9:6). Now, if we say the Hail Mary properly, is not this a way to love, bless and glorify Jesus and Mary? In each Hail Mary we bless both Jesus and Mary: “Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.” By each Hail Mary we give Our Lady the same honor that God gave her when He sent the Archangel Gabriel to greet her for Him. How could anyone possibly think that Jesus and Mary, who often do good to those that curse them, could ever curse those that bless and honor them by the Hail Mary? ….