So my 2020 rant begins yet again ! One must say this decade has ended with quite a bang – unfavorable for most parts. The One Virus That Shouldn’t Be Named, Australian Wildfires, the Pentagon releasing UFO videos and no one caring one bit, the worst kinds of “never in decade” type of natural hazards hitting all over the globe, Siberia in the Arctic Circle experiencing extreme “never heard of” heat and so much more. We have seen/unseen it all. And as if all this wasn’t enough, the end of the decade also threw open several 10-12 feet shining samples of mystery across the world. Monoliths, as the world is calling them, have popped up in surprising places over the past two months, including an American desert, a British beach, a Belgian field, a Moroccan site and almost everywhere else across the globe. The tally of such appearances is closing in on a century. While some quarantined souls have disregarded it as yet another platter 2020 has served upon us, some conspiracy theorists have taken extraordinary liberty to suggest various out of the box explanations for these unexplained and unclaimed appearances. While theories may vary, almost all folks alive have definitely found themselves comparing these events to the extraterrestrial genre film 2001: A Space Odyssey, where an alien monolith is a recurring symbol that appears to play a role in the development of human evolution.
Here are a few images of these monoliths that have shocked 21st century mankind.
There have been multiple theories that the excited Netizens have propagated. The most discussed one has been of extraterrestrial interference as Monoliths have been subjected to expert scrutiny in this regard since time immemorial. And as physicist Richard Feynman said, “…the thing that does not fit is the most interesting.” The tendency to imagine alternatives and to entertain a “what if?” scenario is the same reason we love reading speculative fiction. The other theories include that of Land Art, Net Art, Hoax/Prank. My personal guess would be a technology startup building momentum before its launch. Whatever it be, it has surely caused our interest in Monoliths to pique.
Of Monoliths, Obelisks, Aliens and Myths
Talking technically, a monolith is a geological feature consisting of a single massive stone or rock, such as some mountains, or a single large piece of rock placed as, or within, a monument or building. In architecture, this term is often confused with megalith, which is normally used for prehistory, and may be used in the context of rock-cut architecture or for exceptionally large stones such as obelisks, statues, monolithic columns or large architraves. The reason why monoliths have often been associated with extraterrestrial phenomena is because of the presence of such Monoliths on other extraterrestrial bodies.
According to Mike Bara, author of “The Choice: Using Conscious Thought and Physics of the Mind to Reshape the World” , there’s a very interesting monolith/obelisk on the Moon of Mars, Phobos. And according to Buzz Aldrin, the second man to walk on the moon, it was artificial and not a natural phenomenon. So does it imply that it was placed there by someone else not from Earth ? Only time will tell. Or maybe not. Is there a possibility that similar artificial objects were placed elsewhere too, including the Earth ? According to researcher David Childress, author of “Technology of Gods”, Egypt and Ethiopia have obelisks around 4000-5000 years old. He explains that obelisks are a piece of crystalline granite and within that granite is Quartz Crystal. So obelisks are in themselves a crystal tower with all the properties that quartz crystal brings to technology. It can thus be treated an an Antenna which can both receive as well as broadcast. He suggests that long ago, such networks of obelisks existed all around the world which created a wireless broadcast system and power that was created in the atmosphere by these obelisks was picked up by these obelisks all around the world much like radio today. According to Richard Leviton, author of “Encyclopedia of Earth Myths”, these are not just stones but have an energy field around them and that the stone placement isn’t coincidental but seems well planned, keeping some ancient technology in mind. According to Sam Osmanagich, Professor of Anthropology -American University, the location of the stones is very important. For example, in the famous Stonehenge of England, the stones are placed above the underground water where it flows. The moving water generates energy, which is then received by stones and then slowly released. The ancient people would gather around these monoliths as a ritual and place their hands to gain that energy.
Is it possible that these ancient Monoliths, interconnected by design and tapping into the energy of the Earth, hold the key to answering the biggest question of all time -Are we alone in this Universe ? Well, its 2021. The Pentagon has already released UFO videos. So I would place my bets, even if for the sake of a short-lived adrenaline rush. But before you get convinced by the above suggestions, you must know a great polymath Pierre-Simon Laplace, once suggested “extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence”.
Monoliths around the World
Since we are talking about all things monoliths today, I am sure many history/travel junkies are already itching to add some of them to your bucket lists. While the recent ones are a weird phenomenon, which are clearly disappearing as soon as they appear, one can’t be too sure about seeing them in person. However, here are a few equally enchanting, more beautiful and, of course, ancient monoliths at your disposal, which aren’t moving anytime soon. Well, at least I hope not, since one can’t be too sure anymore. Since I have spoken so extensively about obesity, why not start with them !
- Obelisk – An obelisk is a stone rectangular pillar with a tapered top forming a pyramidion, set on a base, erected to commemorate an individual or event and honor the gods. The Egyptians called them tekhenu, which means “to pierce”, as in “to pierce the sky”. It was the Greek historian Herodotus who gave them the present name Obelisk. True obelisks as conceived by the ancient Egyptians are “monolithic,” or made from a single piece of stone. Around 250 B.C., a Greek philosopher named Eratosthenes used an obelisk to calculate the circumference of the Earth. The obelisk at the center of Place de la Concorde, for example, is monolithic. It is 3300 years old and once marked the entrance to the Temple of Thebes in Egypt.
- Sugarloaf Mountain– It is one of the sights to visit when in Rio de Janeiro and has a unique shape representing a cone. It is 600 million years old.
- Devil’s Tower, Wyoming – Devils Tower is one of the most stunning. Formed from igneous rock, which makes it another extinct volcano plug, it stands 5,112 feet tall, towering over the landscape and looking quite eerie. It even featured in Spielberg’s film Close Encounters of the Third Kind in 1977. The imposing structure is deemed sacred by many Indigenous American peoples, whose names for the monolith refer to bears rather than the devil, making it seem less scary.
- The Stone of the Pregnant Woman – It was discovered by a team of German and Lebanese archaeologists in 2014 in the city of Baalbek in Lebanon. Baalbek, formerly known as Heliopolis, is located in Lebanon’s interior and is home to fantastic Roman temples, which play host to the annual Baalbek festival. is one of a series of three huge man-made monoliths found in a quarry here.
- Gommateshwara statue, Karnataka, India– It is the largest manmade monolithic statue in the world. It is the largest statue hewn from a piece of granite. tanding 57 feet tall and carved in around 981 A.D., it depicts Bahubali, the founder of Jainism.
- Uluru, Northern Territory, Australia – Previously called Ayers Rock, a red rock in the middle of a desert, hundreds of miles from the nearest civilization. Often deemed the world’s largest sandstone monolith, the huge rock is around 550 million years old and is a sacred site for the local resident Anangu people, whose culture dates back some 60,000 years. According to the aboriginal slegends, Uluru was formed during the Dreaming, a term that refers to the era when the earth and its people were created by ancestral spirits. Climbing it is not allowed anymore but one can appreciate its marvel by walking at the base.
- Zuma Rock, Nigeria – It’s an impressive sight which is surrounded by various myths and legends. The face-like pattern that can be seen on the side of the rock is thought to be a depiction of a deity, while the local Gwari people believe the monolith to be a gateway to the afterlife. During the rainy season, the rock is said to catch fire, a natural phenomenon of rain-loosened falling rocks creating sparks but seen by many locals as a divine phenomenon, while the rock is also said to have powers to scare enemies away.
- Gibraltar, UK/Spain – It is a 1396-foot-tall limestone rock, heavily debated as belonging to the British Overseas Territory, but part of mainland Spain, and in a strategic location at the entrance to the Mediterranean.
- Bukit Kelam, Indonesia – Located near the city of Sintang, this Black Rock is the largest in Indonesia. There are several myths and folklores that go around it. One speaks of an ugly monster that wanted to marry the lovely Princess Dara Juanti. But the Princess’ protector cursed the monster and it fell over and died, turning into a huge rock. The monolith is about 900 meters (3,000 feet) high.
- El Capitan – One of the most famous sights in Yosemite National Park, the granite monolith El Capitan rises almost 910 meters (3,000 foot) vertically from Yosemite Valley. It’s a quite a rage among tourists for rock climbing.
If you are expecting to witness all the “interesting” theories we discussed above, then rest assured you won’t. Unless Aliens choose to bless you of course ! The above-described marvels are to be appreciated purely for their creative genius- natural or manmade. However
if that curious mind of yours is still wandering, here let me serve you some wine along with food for your thought.
A Little Detour to Bizarre
- Peru’s Nazca lines – They are a group of very large geoglyphs made in the soil of the Nazca Desert in southern Peru. These shallow depressions in rock from around 500 BCE form colossal shapes of animals and plants which, intriguingly, are best observed from the air. The shapes are usually made from one continuous line. The largest ones are about 370 m (1,200 ft) long and because of its isolation and the dry, windless, stable climate of the plateau, the lines have mostly been preserved naturally.Anthropologists, ethnologists, and archaeologists have studied the ancient Nazca culture to try to determine the purpose of the lines and figures. One hypothesis is that the Nazca people created them to be seen by deities in the sky. Maria Reiche asserted that some or all of the figures represented constellations. Some theories are that the geometric lines could indicate water flow or irrigation schemes, or be a part of rituals to “summon” water. The spiders, birds, and plants may be fertility symbols. It also has been theorized that the lines could act as an astronomical calendar.
- Crop Circle – According to the Smithsonian, “They may not be evidence of UFOs, ancient spirits or secret weapons, but there is something magical in their allure”. These complex geometric patterns, which apparently form overnight in fields across the world, have captured imaginations for decades.
- In both the above cases, Some have said the Nazca lines were created to communicate with space travellers. Crop circles, others say, are the product of alien labour meant to send us a message. As for me, I would leave it to your wisdom.
Awesome.
Glad you liked.