YouTube Video Here: https://www.youtube.com/embed/KA0VWfJEn9U?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1

While we know a great deal about the Vikings thanks to books, documentaries, and other sources of information, what do we really know about how these ancient people lived when they weren’t out conquering other lands?

Sadly, the answer is that we don’t know much at all regarding the home life of Vikings.

But that’s changing thanks to a groundbreaking new book from Marianne Hem Eriksen entitled Architecture, Society and Ritual in the Viking Age. Doors, Dwellings, and Domestic Space.

First of all, it should be noted that the “average” Viking household was a far cry from what we think of when we think of how people live now, Eriksen writes in an article she penned for The Conversation:

“The Viking household, while varied, did not conform to the idealized nuclear family of Western modernity. The largest households could be composed of a couple, concubines, subordinates, farmhands and warriors, animals, itinerant workers, guests, and a range of ‘mine, yours, and our’ children. Although they lived under one roof, everyday tasks and the architecture itself created thresholds between groups and made people different from each other.”

And it wasn’t just the living who inhabited a Viking house.

Archaeological finds suggest that the dead also had an important place and role in the Viking home. At times, human bones were even embedded into the house. That included dead infants who were buried in hearths and postholes:

“It must have been meaningful for people to place body parts of their dead under the threshold or in the postholes of the longhouse, or to inter the dead in the house when they abandoned the settlement.

“There is a clear ambiguity to dwelling with the dead. On the one hand, people sometimes kept the dead close, embedding them in the living space. Infants and ancestors may have helped protect the house, anchor it in local histories, or empower its residents.

“If they became malevolent, they could threaten the household – and so the threshold to their world needed to be controlled.”

Some Viking homes even contained what can best be called portals between the living and the dead. The most frequent location for such a portal was the threshold of the home.

“Two written sources tell the narrative of a woman being lifted over a door to see into a different realm. One is an  eyewitness account of a ship burial on the Volga River, where a slave woman is lifted above a freestanding portal (much like a doorframe). This allows her to speak with the dead chieftain.

“The other is an obscure text about a ritual gone wrong, where the lady of the house asks to be lifted “over hinges and door-beams, to see if she can save the sacrifice” — perhaps to see into another realm or into the future. The door could thus be a portal to other powers and beings . Perhaps for this reason, freestanding portals were sometimes erected at Viking burial grounds.”

Archaeologists also found many objects that must have held some special significance to the Viking residents: Pots, knives, and iron rings.

The objects were usually buried in or near doorways, suggesting that they may have been used as talismans or artifacts imbued with magical powers that were believed to protect the house from powers on the outside.

Eriksen concludes her article with a reminder that while we do indeed have much knowledge about Vikings, there remains much we still need to learn:

“When the Vikings engaged with the wider world through raids, trade, and settlement, their understanding of the world was anchored in their everyday experience in the home from childhood onwards. The time is ripe to broaden the topics we associate with the Viking Age, and to discuss the unfamiliarity and strangeness, as well as the role of inequality, in this pivotal period of European history.”

Tour a Viking turf house by watching this incredible video

Featured Image Via Joxean Koret/Flickr

YouTube Video Here: https://www.youtube.com/embed/4jwxUcoHL5Y?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1

Just four months before he died on October 9, 2010, ancient astronaut theorist Zecharia Sitchin, 90, was staking his life’s work on a DNA test. The author of 14 books was pushing hard for the Natural History Museum to conduct DNA testing. He knew that the results could undermine everything he ever wrote, but he was willing to pursue the truth wherever it led. He knew he faced resistance and scorn from the mainstream scientific community, who viewed him as a pseudo-historian. He knew his request was fundamentally “challenging science to corroborate the bibles,” upsetting conventional ways of thinking.

Sitchin wanted the museum to test the 4,500-year-old remains of a high-ranking Sumerian woman called Queen Puabi. Her remains were discovered in the 1920s and 30s around the same time as Tutankhamun’s tomb in Egypt. It was one of the 20th century’s greatest archaeological finds.

Her name and title are clear from the short inscription on one of three cylinder seals found on her person. She may have ruled on her own without a husband. London’s Natural History Museum determined she probably died around 40 years old at the time and was Queen of the First Dynasty of Ur.

During his studies, Sitchen discovered that Queen Puabi was described as “Nin” in the ancient Sumerian, translated to “Goddess.”

In an interview with NBC News, Sitchen discussed his quest with the “Cosmic Log.” The author nearing the end of his life believed the Queen’s DNA could prove that the Annunaki described in Sumerian tablets genetically altered humans. Not only that, but they purposefully held back certain traits in humans.

“He suggests that Puabi was an ancient demigod, genetically related to the visitors from Nibiru. What if these aliens tinkered with our DNA to enhance our intelligence – the biblical tree of knowledge of good and evil – but held back the genetic fruit from the tree of eternal life? Does the story of Adam and Eve actually refer to the aliens’ tinkering?

The way Sitchin sees it, the ancient myths suggest that ‘whoever created us deliberately held back from us a certain thing – fruit, genes, DNA, whatever – not to give us health, longevity, and the immortality that they had. So what was it?’

Sitchin wants scientists to test the DNA from Puabi’s remains, just in case it holds the answer. ‘Maybe by comparing her genome with ours, we would find out what are those missing genes that they deliberately did not give us,’ he told me. ‘Maybe. I cannot guarantee that, but maybe.’”

The Natural History Museum responded to the journalist, but would not commit to doing the test.

“The Natural History Museum says that any request to conduct DNA tests on Puabi’s remains would have to come from ‘a researcher with recognized experience and skills in this field, or with access to the necessary facilities required to undertake ancient DNA analysis.’ Sitchin told me he’s checking with various research groups, including some of the researchers behind last month’s Neanderthal DNA findings and the DNA analysis conducted on 4,000-year-old human hair from Greenland. ‘I’m offering from my minuscule family foundation to fund this, by the way, so I’m not asking them for money,’ Sitchin told me. ‘And I’m not asking them to say Sitchin is right or wrong. I’m asking them to tell the museum in London this is too important not to do it. And that’s where it stands.’”

For some context: At that time in 2010, about 32 percent of Americans believed in UFOs. Today, that number is far higher. According to Vox, “More than half of American adults and over 60 percent of young Americans believe in intelligent extraterrestrial life” in 2019. Sitchin may not have been credible enough for the museum to consider his request back then, but what about today? What is there to lose anyway?

Queen Puabi was buried adjacent to a “Great Death Pit.” Seventy-four individuals, six of whom were male and the rest female, were possibly sacrificed or drank poison. They may have died to accompany an important woman to the afterlife. One of the female bodies was adorned very similar to Queen Puabi and may have been a royal figure or priestess. Clearly, these women were of supreme importance. But was the Queen also more than merely a human, as Sitchin suggested?

One of the Entu-Priestesses, Enheduana, is now considered one of if not the first-named author, writing her name on a tablet dating back to at least 2300 BCE. (see video below)

See more about her elaborate dress and history from Penn Museum

What happened to the DNA test of Queen Puabi?

All these years later, it seems that Queen Puabi’s DNA test results are not in, at least not publicly. With Sitchin gone, it seems the momentum disappeared. However, today there is a growing interest in ancient astronaut theory, thanks no doubt to the History Channel’s popular “Ancient Aliens” series. Will there be another push to test Puabi’s remains?

DNA tests on a Pharaoh

In 2014, reports indicate that geneticist Yehia Gad became the first scientist permitted to sequence Egypt’s most famous pharaoh, King Tut. It took decades thanks to resistance from Egypt’s politicians. They no doubt feared the controversy of what the results would determine. There was understandably strong motivation to protect the delicate remains as well as Egyptian heritage.

The extremely complex story is spelled out in a fascinating way by Medium. It’s much too elaborate to cover here. In the end, the mummy wasn’t officially tested for 86 years, as DNA testing technology progressed.

Controversial results

Indeed, the results were controversial, finding that Tut’s parents were siblings amid a media blitz. An anonymous mummy from tomb KV55 found nearby had a similarly-shaped head. Was it Pharoah Akhenaten? The team believed it was, although it has never been confirmed.

“The union between Akhenaten and his sister planted the seed of their son’s early death,” he wrote. ‘Tutankhamun’s health was compromised from the moment he was conceived.’”

Rather than finding that Pharaoh Tutankhamun was of alien origin, the results sadly set off disputes about the race of ancient Egyptian royalty. However, there was no information on the mummy’s racial or ethnic origins provided by the tests. The results were disputed by the Journal of the American Medical Association, which stated the test wasn’t accurate. The sample was contaminated with modern DNA, and what remained was degraded.

Thereafter, a period of political upheaval and looting of Egyptian artifacts soon followed. Galleries containing items from Tutankhamun’s tomb were smashed and broken on the floor. No further testing would go forward.

Even so, next-generation sequencing has advanced, to the point where King Tut’s DNA could be much more accurately studied today, as could DNA from Queen Puabi.

It seems ironic that the ancient process of mummification may have been done to preserve DNA. Why? Today, many people seem reluctant to test the mummies. How much longer will we wait? Maybe the secrets will remain so long as their ancient spirits will it so, or are we finally nearing the time when humans are ready for the truth?

More about King Tut’s DNA below from the History Channel:

YouTube Video Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1oj7h1ifLM

Featured image: Ur excavations (1900) by Internet Archive Book Images via Flickr with YouTube screenshot

YouTube Video Here: https://www.youtube.com/embed/cmDUcj4mJ0o?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1

Mount Kailash, which is located in Tibet, is often called “the spiritual center of the universe” because it’s the birthplace of four religions: Hinduism, Jainism, Buddhism, and Bön.

But it turns out that the mountain may also have once been the site of an ancient nuclear reactor built by aliens who visited Earth, according to “Ancient Aliens,” which notes that remains found at the site indicate nuclear ash and also that the bodies found there contained traces of radioactive elements.

A book which explores some of the theories set forth in the “Ancient Aliens” TV show also reports that celestial beings gathered around Mount Kailash “because of the energy that was emitted from it.” The myth goes on to note that it was this power that “fed these celestial beings or kept them alive.”

Pyramid Shape

Mount Kailash is unique among mountains in that it has the shape a pyramid. The pyramid shape is seen throughout the ancient world, in Egypt, Central America, and other places. And the shape is also associated with the worship of gods or transporting of souls to other realms beyond the grave. Was Mount Kailash holy because it possessed special powers bestowed upon it by visitors from the cosmos?

Ancient Power Grid?

Not only could the pyramid shape have a religious significance, but it could also be part of a larger power grid which reached across the ancient world:

“Ancient Alien theorists speculate that remnants of a world-wide power grid may be found among the sacred ruins of ancient civilizations all over the world.”

If the power plants that provided energy to these ancient civilizations failed, it might also explain the fall of empires such as those built by the Egyptians, Mayans, and Inca.

Who Built Such Reactors?

Nuclear technology is largely a 20th century creation. The first reactor was constructed in 1942 by Enrico Fermi, who later took part in some of the experiments which led to the building of the first nuclear bomb at Los Alamos, New Mexico, as part of the Manhattan Project to build a nuclear weapon which was later used by the U.S. military against Japan at the end of World War II.

So where exactly would man have gotten the technology to build a reactor thousands of years ago?

Again, this is where aliens play an integral role:

“According to the Ancient Astronaut Theory, extraterrestrials have always been motivated by the idea of advancing human civilization. They’ve given us so many gifts of knowledge that power is pretty much a no-brainer. The thing all these ancient cultures had in common is they included stories and artifacts that are meant to honor those who gave them this knowledge, the ‘gods,’ and the gods were extraterrestrials.”

Clearly, there are more questions than answers, especially when it comes to things that cannot be proven or disproven thousands of years after they happened. But in time we may find out that we have never been alone in the universe, and that our greatest advances were indeed aided by the assistance of benevolent forces visiting from afar.

Here’s more on Mount Kailash from the “Ancient Aliens” television series:

Featured Image Via YouTube Screenshot

YouTube Video Here: https://www.youtube.com/embed/_DPc6_ARWU0?feature=oembed&enablejsapi=1

Archaeologists in France have uncovered rare monolith stones for the first time in the central part of the country at a site containing a skeleton from the Neolithic era.

Found across Western Europe from the United Kingdom to Italy and even as far away as Northern Africa and India, standing stones known as menhirs are common sights that attract tourists and researchers alike.

A series of such standing stones makes up what we know as Stonehenge.

But such stones are not found in central France. That is, until now.

According to the National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research (INRAP):

The excavation of 1.6 hectares revealed about thirty monoliths, from 1m to 1.60m. These menhirs form a more or less rectilinear and continuous alignment, stretching 150m in the grip of the excavation and probably beyond. They are lined with another alignment of large blocks of stone, in the continuity of which, five stones make up a set of horseshoes. Finally, six blocks, regularly spaced, form a circle of 15m in diameter.

Highly visible in the landscape, the largest alignment presents an astonishing prospect: the largest menhirs are mainly at the top of the slope to the north, the smaller ones to the south, less spaced from each other. This alignment follows a north-south axis, close to the passage of a pass.

The discovery was made near Veyre-Monton during the widening of a major highway.

Unfortunately, like other monoliths, the stones were apparently brought down and covered up as if the community wanted to bury past beliefs, most likely by early Christians, and the site reminds the researchers of other similar sites.

Like some monuments, including Belz in the Morbihan, the menhirs of Veyre-Monton were shot down. Pushed into large pits, sometimes mutilated or covered with earth, monoliths seem to have been intentionally removed from the landscape.

This ensemble first evokes the great Armorican megalithic monuments, notably that of Carnac, but it is part of a dense network of megalithic expressions present throughout Western Europe.

Located in northwest France in Brittany, the Carnac stones are an amazing example of still-standing monoliths that represent Neolithic peoples in the present day.

INRAP points out that the menhirs would have taken much effort to transport to the site and stand them up, and they have a good idea where they came from.

The menhirs of basalt come from different origins. Their weight less than a tonne does not imply technical prowess for their transport, but nevertheless represents a considerable human investment. Among other things, we can imagine that different communities have contributed to the alignment by bringing stones from their territory. Two of the possible extraction sites, the Crest and Corent plateaus, are important places of occupation during the Neolithic and Protohistory periods.

And that’s not all. Sometimes, menhirs are carved to be anthropomorphic, and one menhir found on the site is exactly that.

Rough anthropomorphic, the statue has a rounded eminence, placed on shoulders summarily sided, and two small breasts. These reliefs were obtained by cutting the entire surface of the stone. Fifty centimeters under the breasts, symmetrical abductions, very eroded, but forming an engraved chevron could correspond to forearms placed on the abdomen.

The team also found the remains of a cairn, which often served as stone burial mounds during Neolithic times, a few of which can still be seen today.

Unfortunately, even the cairn appears to have been dismantled and buried to erase it from the landscape.

Like the alignment of menhirs, the cairn was finally deliberately removed from the landscape. The stones that constituted its elevation were torn from the monument and thrown into a large pit next to it.

The team estimates that at least 30 tons of stones were used to construct the cairn and had been transported from a few miles away.

And like a true burial cairn, the team soon found a skeleton.

The cairn, 14 m long and 6.5 m wide, quadrangular, is built around a tomb. This burial welcomes the remains of a tall man. His body was protected by a receptacle of wood now disappeared, surrounded and wedged blocks. Given their size, some of these blocks may correspond to displaced or even deliberately fragmented menhirs.

INRAP has hailed the site as the first of it’s kind unearthed in the area.

“This is the first time that such alignments, cairn and statue-menhir, are brought to light in Auvergne, and more widely in central France,” the institute said.

We know almost nothing about the people who erected the menhirs. We don’t know their language, nor do we know their religious beliefs. We can presume, however, the early Christians believed them to be pagans. Archaeologists believe that there used to be far more monolith sites in the world than the 10,000 that currently stand today. So, perhaps one day, they will uncover a monolith that provides us the knowledge we crave about these prehistoric humans from several thousand years ago. Until then, it’s just another major mystery waiting to be solved.

More discussion on the megaliths from FRANCE 24 English below

YouTube Video Here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o_i8PBQZBUE

Featured Image: National Institute of Preventive Archaeological Research