The Mystery of the Coral Castle
The story we are about to tell you is a love story. A story that seems like a fairy tale, it is so full of magic. But it's all incredibly true.
It's the story of a man who waited his whole life for the girl he fell in love with.
He was 26 years old, came from Latvia and his name was Edward Leedskalnin. Her name was Agnes Skuvst and she was only 16 years old. He was sure that she would agree to marry him. Because for her, he had decided to build something special. Something he couldn't forget. For Agnes, Ed had decided to build, with his own hands, an entire castle.
With this idea in mind Ed left Latvia in search of the right place, the ideal place for his dream of love. He toured Europe, Canada and the United States but only when he arrived in Florida did he understand that he had found the right place. How does he understand this? Because in Florida he discovers a particular type of local stone. A beautiful and extremely heavy stone. In these parts they call it Coral Stone: And he will then make for Agnes a solid and very heavy stone Castle which will have a light name: Coral Castle, precisely.
Just under 50 km from Miami, continuing south along Highway 1 in Florida, you can reach Homestead, a small town in the heart of the state. In this country there is one of the most bizarre and incredible man-made buildings: the Coral Castle. At first glance the structure itself does not reveal anything incredible; some see in it important historical finds coming from now forgotten eras and built by ancient populations for ancient cults, others instead see a kind of bizarre postmodern construction "outburst" of some eccentric architect. Both considerations, however, are incorrect. The structure saw the light in the early twentieth century and the architect of the building is a single great genius; his name is Edward Leedskalnin. He, with the strength of his arms alone and with the help of a few rudimentary tools such as pulleys, ropes, hammers and chisels, extracted and sculpted more than 1,100 tons of coral rock. Yet none of the scientists and engineers who have studied and still study the Coral Castle have managed to give a physical explanation of the construction method used by Leedskalnin; the only statement on the construction method comes from the builder himself who stated:
“I have discovered the secrets of the pyramids. I found how the Egyptians and ancient builders in Peru, Yucatan and Asia, with only primitive tools, transported and erected blocks of stone weighing several tons.”
One of the most important and noteworthy sculptures is the access portal to the structure itself: the "Nine ton Gate". It consists of a single block of coral stone 2 meters wide, 2 meters and 30 cm high, about half a meter deep and weighing approximately 9 tons. This incredible monolith is exactly 6 mm from the castle walls on both sides.
Many engineers and scientists went to the site to try to understand how Ed was able to find the exact center of gravity of the enormous block of stone. It is so well balanced on its axis that even a child could open it with the simple pressure of his finger. I say “could have” because today that is no longer the case. In fact, in 1986, a group of engineers and scientists removed the portal to carry out studies on it. Six men and a 50 t crane were used to remove it. Once the portal was removed it was discovered that Ed centered and balanced the 9 t piece of rock by perfectly drilling the 2.30 m of portal from top to bottom by passing an iron rod that rested on an old bearing through it of a truck. In this way the portal could open by rotating on its axis. Today only a laser-controlled high-speed drill could do the same job. The Portal, equipped with new bearings, a replaced shaft, new lubrication and a binding of the stone pieces with a special adhesive, was put back in its place on July 23, 1986. The result was a hard blow for the researchers and for the managers of the castle: the monolith was no longer perfectly balanced and definitively lost its ability to rotate even for hours with a simple push.
Once inside the castle you can notice, on the right, an imposing square tower equipped with external steps that lead to the only entrance to the tower located almost at the top of it. Inside the tower you can see Leedskalnin's actual home. In the center of the room there is a leather cot and all around, on the floor and hanging on the walls, you can find work tools such as hammers, chisels, ropes etc... This enormous structure is made up of approximately 243 tons of rock carved into gigantic blocks of coral stone weighing from 4 to 9 tons each. The roof of the tower alone is made up of around thirty blocks each weighing one ton. Oil lamps and fresh water wells provided everything needed to live in this extraordinary structure. Descending from the tower, returning to the courtyard, you can notice a small altar resting on the south wall. It is made up of two blocks of coral stone and its meaning is still a mystery.
Looking towards the vast courtyard you can notice some chairs carved into the rock. But one in particular immediately catches the eye: it is an enormous rocking chair weighing a ton. And he carved the chair on an enormous block of stone under which he applied two planks of rock to which he gave a curved shape. While the whole result might seem downright uncomfortable, it's actually incredibly balanced and restful.
Next to it you can find some non-rocking chairs that resemble a sitting area oriented towards the morning and midday sun. But these structures are not the only ones with a celestial orientation and meaning.
Looking more closely at the castle, in fact, you can notice many sculptures representing moons, suns and planets of the solar system, all oriented towards precise planetary phenomenologies. Furthermore, next to the castle walls, you can admire a huge monolith 7.5 meters high and weighing 30 tons. Almost at the top of the enormous stone block there is a hole that passes through it from side to side and inside the aforementioned hole you can glimpse two iron rods that cross perfectly in the center of it almost to represent a viewfinder. This “crosshair” centers the North Star exactly.
This rudimentary astronomical tool called the “Polaris Telescope” helped Ed draw a diagram depicting the path of the Earth around the Sun and allowed him to build a very precise sundial.
It is perfectly calibrated to the winter solstice and summer solstice on December 21st and June 21st respectively. It was built so that it could mark the time between 9 am and 4 pm, which is the period of time in which, according to the manufacturer, a man should work. The precision of the sundial is astonishing: the width of a human thumb represented 5 minutes with a maximum error of 1 minute. Obviously this extraordinary instrument is calibrated to mark solar time.
Next to the sundial you can see a fountain called "Moon Fountain" due to its particular composition. In fact, it is carved into three pieces of coral rock of which the one on the left represents the first quarter of the moon while the one on the right of the fountain represents the last quarter. The full moon is represented by the fountain itself weighing approximately 23 tons. The quarter moons weigh 18 each. And he used the fountain as a fish pond in which, in addition to them, various plants such as water hyacinths could also be found, sure that visitors would stop to observe him. Coral stone is a very porous rock so Ed was forced to "reinforce" the fountain with concrete. In the center of the fountain Ed placed a six-pointed star and fed the flow of water with an old pump located behind the fountain. Today the fountain is used as a wishing well and the money raised in this way is donated to charity.
On the north wall the planets of Saturn and Mars are depicted. The latter is built next to a Palmetto plant which signifies the author's belief in the existence of life on the Red Planet.
Many other sculptures representing astronomical systems are present inside the castle such as the so-called "bird bath" formed by three concentric circles of 3.15 meters, 1.5 meters and 46 centimeters in diameter respectively. They represent the three main subdivisions of our Solar System, identifying Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars in the smaller and inner circle, Jupiter, Saturn and Uranus in the middle circle and Neptune and Pluto in the outermost circle.
Still remaining on the north side of the complex, you can admire the imposing obelisk in which Ed carved the most important dates of construction such as the date of the start of the works and the date of the movement of the entire complex from Florida City to Homestead and his own date and place of birth. At the top of the obelisk as large as Stonehenge's grandest obelisk, Ed carved a hole in the shape of the star of his native Latvia.
This obelisk, more than 8 meters tall and weighing 30 tons, is firmly planted in the ground in a hole almost 2 meters deep.
Ed's romantic side is highlighted by the table called “Feast of Love”. It is a heart-shaped table weighing approximately 2 tons. Always practical even in romance, Ed thought that keeping flowers in the center of the table for a long time was a difficult task. He solved the problem by placing a vase of Ixora in the center of the table. This plant placed by the expert hands of Leedskalnin remained in his place, alive and well for over 50 years.
Another of Ed's famous tables, the 20-foot-long Florida State Table surrounded by 10 chairs, was carved in the exact shape and proportions of the state. Carved into the southeastern corner of the table is a basin filled with water representing Lake Okeechobee. It could be used as a finger bowl, bird bath or punch bowl.
A curiosity: he imagined the chair at the head of the table to be for the governor of Florida and he and all the rest of the senators would sit around there to decide to raise taxes.
Another construction dedicated to the genius of Leedskalnin. This time, however, it is not a coral stone sculpture but a pressure cooker. Ed, using the carcass of an old car, built a kind of barbecue which, if necessary, once food had been placed inside, could be hermetically sealed, acting as a pressure cooker. And he placed it in a sort of coral stone fireplace and even today sometimes children on school trips are invited to roast hot dogs in his pot.
Fleets of construction engineers and scientists are drawn to Coral Castle every year to try to understand how this seemingly impossible work was built. For example, in the mid-1970s a group of researchers wanted to try to imitate Leedskalnin. They sculpted and excavated a block of coral stone weighing 30 tons equivalent to the large obelisk inside the castle. To transport the block they used a bulldozer: the vehicle couldn't even lift it.
Many fascinating theories were formulated over the years to try to give at least a plausible explanation to the extraordinary work of the little Latvian.
Many researchers or rather "para" researchers hypothesize that Ed has somehow discovered the functioning of the "World Grid" or rather an invisible scheme of energy lines surrounding the earth which concentrate large quantities of telluric energy at the points of intersection. So Ed would have used the energy of the intersection of these lines to be able to move these enormous blocks of stone. In this regard, Ray Stoner, the researcher and writer of the book “The Enigma of Coral Castle”, states that Ed did not move the castle due to the threat of the expansion of Florida City but rather because a fateful miscalculation intercepted the focal point of the intersection of the lines 16 km from where he actually was. For this reason the castle was moved from Florida City to Homestead, precisely to ensure that the castle structures maximized the telluric energies of the crossing of the ley lines.
Bruce Cathe, in his “The Energy Grid” one of the most important books in the field, states that “the “Coral Castle” site is mathematically related to the earth's energy grid, as are other important ancient structures. Leedskalnin didn't move it by accident. This geometric position was extremely close to a point that might be ideal for exploiting gravitational harmonic motion. The fact that he had access to secret knowledge is much more evident in Coral Castle's relationship to the world's energy grid system."
Stoner, in his book, points out that to build the Coral Castle some particular conditions were necessary such as the fact of being exactly in an energetic vortex itself aligned with certain astronomical events precise enough to precisely establish their periodic recurrences. Furthermore, the work should have a precise shape and even the material with which it is made has its own relevance.
These prerequisites are very reminiscent of the theoretical formulas and experiments carried out on the energy of the pyramids in the mid-seventies where the angles of incidence (variants of 15.2 degrees) and the materials with which they were made (crystalline granite and limestone) determined their success. In the book “Using Pyramid Power” the writer James Wyckoff writes:
“The ancient Egyptians knew that the shape and angle of the pyramids contained a mystical energetic force.”
Many traditions from all over the globe mention cases in which very large stones were levitated. From Great Britain comes the tradition in which Merlin, on one of his journeys to Ireland, discovered Stonehenge and decided to dismantle it stone by stone and transported each boulder by making it "float in the air" to the Salisbury plain. The islanders of Ponape in the South Pacific remember the movement of a large basalt monolith (the Nan Mandol column) by two magicians who made it float in the air.
Assuming that the testimony of the children who saw Leedskalnin in action is true, that is, that they saw blocks of coral stone "floating in the air like balloons", one could consider the fact that he has truly rediscovered the ancient construction techniques lost over the centuries which they would exploit the Earth's gravitational energies.
In the second half of the nineteenth century, John Worrel Keely invented a series of machines for lifting objects into the air and disintegrating stone. Keely used the sound produced by musical instruments and propagated through a metal wire. There were many witnesses to his experiments: from Jules Verne to Thomas Edison, so much so that he pushed the great financiers of the time to set up a company, Motor Keely, committing as many as five million dollars to the venture.
Keely, however, refused to reveal the nature of the "ethereal" force used and the conflict with the financiers pushed him, in a fit of anger, to destroy part of what he had discovered and created. He died poor and forgotten.
Madame Blawatsky, however, reserved an entire chapter of her diary for him: she claimed that Mr. Keely had been given permission to cross a limit, that he had unconsciously discovered the terrible Atlantean sidereal force, called Mixture or Mash Mak. A force so destructive that in the possession of a modern Attila it would reduce Europe to its primitive chaotic state in a matter of days and with no living witnesses.
Many ancient monuments emit low frequency vibrations: from the obelisks of Karnak to the Great Pyramid of Giza. The monoliths of Stonehenge amplify the sounds produced during ceremonies, and the ruins of Tihauanaco in Bolivia feature tuning fork-like carvings in the columns. Chichen Itza is a Mayan city in which the echo is reflected from one corner to another without anyone being able to understand how it is possible. while the sound produced at the base of the Magician's Pyramid in Uxmal reproduces a kind of chirping at its top...
It may just be a coincidence, but Ed's neighbors claimed to hear a continuous sound during the nights he worked: like a very very low vibration...
Eyewitnesses say they have known Tibetan monks capable of lifting and crushing enormous blocks of stone, using the sound produced by drums and their characteristic three-metre long trumpets. They talk about the legendary Sonic Levitation. In recent times it has been demonstrated that it is possible to lift small stones using sound vibrations. According to researchers not recognized by official science, the force of gravity attracts positive charges and repels negative ones, for a reason that is still unknown. By managing the negative charge of matter we could then manage the speed, direction and duration of the "flight".
In this regard, Cathe asserts that
"in certain positions on the globe there are locations where the forces of gravity can be manipulated by the applications of certain geometric harmonies. Where these geometric conditions exist, it is evidently possible for people who have knowledge in the use of gravitational forces to construct enormous buildings of bulky material. Stonehenge, the ancient pyramids, the temple of Baalbek, and even the pyramids in Central and South America were the result of a combination of knowledge and gravitational anomalies. Coral Castle, I believe, occupies one of these positions.”
Despite the vast amount of studies and theories formulated on this complex, no one has yet managed to understand not only the ways and methods of construction but not even the very meaning of the work. What was the purpose of building this enormous structure? Why did Leedskalnin “sacrifice” twenty years of his life in the design and construction of the building? Even today, many scholars and researchers are trying to answer these and countless other questions.
Certainly a controversial and brilliant scientist who came into contact with Ed was Nikola Tesla. What they have in common is the aversion of official science to interpreting their experiments and the long lonely nights spent by the two researchers working on mysterious and fascinating experiments in an America that was not their homeland. Born in Croatia in 1856, Nikola Tesla was probably one of the most brilliant scientists of the twentieth century. He was responsible for many scientific discoveries, even if not all of them were formally recognized: alternating current, the first hydroelectric energy station in the world, even radio.
His life was an incredible series of scientific triumphs, followed by an equal series of personal commercial disasters. The few works he was able to complete still leave us astonished today, such as fluorescent lighting or seismology. In one of his last letters he wrote:
“I continually feel a sense of profound satisfaction in learning that my polyphase system is used in everything around the world to illuminate the dark moments of existence, to improve the quality of life and to give happiness to people in every corner of the world”.
On January 7, 1943, Tesla died as he had lived: alone, poor and destined for oblivion: the FBI in fact confiscated all of his work and classified it, declaring it "TOP SECRET".
Today the Coral Castle attracts tourists and curious people from all over the world, revealing itself as one of the most extraordinary and mysterious architectural works of the 20th century.
History
Edward Leedskalnin was born in Riga, Latvia on 10 August 1887.
According to Joe Bullard's biography, Waiting for Agnes, at the age of 26 Edward was left by his 16-year-old fiancée Agnes the day before their wedding. Following the profound disappointment he began to develop the idea of building a castle to impress her beloved. He began traveling around Europe, Canada and the United States in search of a place to settle.
After being struck by tuberculosis he was forced to move to a place with a mild climate, and thus arrived in Florida in 1918. He then began the construction of his castle near Florida City, where he had purchased 10 acres of land.
In 1936, building expansion led to the construction of new building lots near his property. Leedskalnin, being a very private person, decided to move to a more isolated place. He spent the next 10 years moving each stone from Florida City to the location where Coral Castle currently stands, a distance of about 16 km. In this operation he was helped by a friend who had an old truck.
In December 1951 Leedskalnin fell ill. He engraved the phrase “Going to the Hospital” on a rock and took the bus to the city (he didn't have a car, he led a very simple life and traveled by bicycle). He died a few days later, on December 7. He had been diagnosed with a malignant stomach tumor.
The castle was inherited by a nephew who in 1953, shortly before his death, donated it to a family from Illinois.
Curiosity
Billy Idol wrote and recorded the song “Sweet Sixteen” and shot the video at Coral castle. The song is inspired by Leedskalnin's beloved girl, Agnes Scuff, (to whom he gave the nickname "Sweet Sixteen") who is believed to be the main motive for the construction of the structure.
According to Bullard, many years after the construction of Coral Castle some Latvian tourists heard the tale and contacted Agnes to tell her that Leedskalnin still hoped she would understand his love for her. Having heard the story, Agnes replied:
"I didn't want to marry him when I was sixteen, and I don't want to marry him now."
Leedskalnin died a few years later.
A few years ago some scholars finally managed to track down the "Sweet Sixteen", who moved to Holland and was now eighty-three years old. After having spoken to him at length about Ed's wonderful work and his love for her and inviting her to visit the wonderful construction, she replied: "No thanks, I'm not interested."
The story of Coral Castle ends with a final twist of fate. Now over 60, Ed had shown signs of wanting to reveal the secret of its construction. It seems that he even invited some close friends for the final story. It was November 7, 1951. Ed went to have a minor pain checked out at Jackson Memorial Hospital. At the entrance to the castle he left a sign for his friends that read: "Right Back", I'll be right back. But Ed Is not coming back now or ever again. That little pain was a liver problem that took him away forever, along with the secret of the Coral Castle...
