UFO ROUNDUP Volume 8 Number 32
Volume 8
Number 32
August 27, 2003
Editor: Joseph Trainor
E-mail: Masinaigan@aol.com
OHIO UFOs CAUSED THE BIG BLACKOUT?
"In the hours before the nation's worst blackout" on Thursday, August 14, 2003, "several transmission lines in Ohio were carrying massive amounts of power--"well above" emergency summer standards--before automatically shutting down, a company that owns the lines said Friday," August 22, 2003.
"American Electric Power (AEP) owns or co-owns the power lines with FirstEnergy Corp., which is at the center of a U.S.-Canada blackout investigation. The company released the information with a timeline but didn't offer any conclusions about the cause of the failure."
"The region where investigators suspect the eight- state blackout began Aug. 14 had become a black hole, sucking electricity from generators and threatening to burn transmission lines because of the overload, power company officials said. Many lines automatically shut down to prevent burnout as the blackout spread."
"At some point, the power transmission systems in northern and southern Ohio separated from each other, causing electricity meant to move through FirstEnergy's system to reverse itself and flow over AEP's system through Indiana and into Michigan, then back to FirstEnergy in Ohio, power company officials say."
"'Something happened in the time leading up to the blackout to the north of us,' AEP spokesman Pat Henlepp said. 'Suddenly the electrons destined for Columbus or Cincinnati or somewhere turned tail and headed north (towards Lake Erie--J.T.).'"
"The power failure affected 50 million people in eight states and Canada. It shut down more than 100 power plants and knocked Cleveland's water supply off line." Curiously, strange objects were seen in the skies of northern Ohio before and during the blackout.
According to Filer's Files, "George Ritter, who fought in Vietnam with the 5th Special Forces, videotaped UFOs on (Friday) August 15 (2003), the second day of the blackout. He videotaped a series of photos of large lake- freighter-size (1,000 feet or 300 meters long--J.T.) cylinders flying over his home" in Fostoria, Ohio (population 13,931), 30 miles (50 kilometers) from Lake Erie."
"The video was shot on VHS tape at between 10,000 and 15,000 frames per minute. The speed is fast enough to stop and insect or bird. These craft are moving at thousands of miles per hour."
In addition, eyewitness Daniel Wilson wrote, "I recently read in UFO Roundup about green helicopters being seen in Massachusetts before a power outage in Attleboro, Mass. on (Wednesday) August 13, 2003. This shook me up a bit, because on (Tuesday) August 5, 2003, a low-flying, very loud, green helicopter circled twice over my house in Painesville, Ohio (population 17,503)."
"I was able to see the copter on the second pass as I ran outside to see what was going on. Hospital and bank helicopters fly over my house almost every day, but this green helicopter was not one of those. It was at about 200 feet (60 meters) in altitude."
"I watched it fly off to the south, and the sound went away. About a minute later, I heard the sound again as if the helicopter was coming again. Painesville is also 30 miles (50 kilometers) east of Cleveland, and also five miles (8 kilometers) from the Perry nuclear power plant. (One of the first to shut down Aug. 14--J.T.) Yes, we did have a blackout here on August 14th."
Painesville is on Route 20, approximately 25 miles (40 kilometers) west of Ashtabula, a port on Lake Erie and the site of many UFO events in recent years. (See the Minneapolis, Minn. Star-Tribune for August 23, 2003, "Before failure, Ohio lines carried heavy power load," page A8. Also Filer's Files for August 20, 2003 and UFO Roundup for August 20, 2003, )
CHUPACABRAS RUN WILD THROUGHOUT CHILE
"A strange animal left a trail of blood and death at the Los Lagos commune of the Quinchilca sector" in Chile.
"Fear gripped a humble peasant woman after she learned of the strange death of 50 hens and a pig at the claws of a mysterious beast which few hesitate to identify as the Chupacabra."
"The hideous scene of bloodletting was discovered early in the morning" of Monday, August 18, 2003 "by Edith Mora, owner of the Los Colihues farm, located 4 kilometers (3 miles) from Los Lagos," just east of Valdivia in southern Chile.
"The strong winds and rain felt early Monday morning kept folks from discovering the sinister fact, which took the lives of 50 hens and 9 geese through strange perforations on their necks, as well as the death of a large pig, who presented extensive and deep injuries on both sides and its head."
"The violence of the attack was made manifest by the numerous scratches on the stall doors, one of which was completely destroyed, or all of the numerous prints, recalling those of a puma (cougar or mountain lion in the USA--J.T.) and which were evident all over the henhouse."
"Oddly enough, the three watchdogs on the premises never noticed the strange animal's presence, and it is assumed that they did not hesitate to hide in order to avoid the same fate as the other victims."
"'All of my birds are dead and scattered, and the henhouse door was shredded to ribbons. I was sad to see my little animals dead,' said the sorrowful woman, who is even contemplating the sale of the property and (then) moving far away. 'Some say it was a lion, although others have not dismissed the fact that it could have been the Chupacabra. Whatever it is, my birds are dead, and there's nothing to be done.'"
"'Damn you, Chupacabra, you killed all of my hens!' were the resigned and angry words of Ana Luisa Morales Inostroza when she discovered at 7 a.m. yesterday (Monday, August 18, 2003) the macabre spectacle, as she went, as is her custom, to feed her farm animals."
"Seven chickens in one of her two henhouses were dead, scattered all over the dirt floor. Another small bird was agonizing. The dead birds has lost most of their plumage and presented 2-centimeter (0.8-inch) puncture marks on their necks. The dry flesh of the animals' interiors could be seen through the puncture, as though a strange object had been introduced into the dead poultry's bodies to draw their blood."
The attack took place at Sra. Morales's home on the Calle Los Castanos (street) in Las Cruces, and the owner "reported the event to the Carabineros (Chilean national police--J.T.) barracks at Las Cruces, noting that the Chupacabra was responsible."
"Two dogs guard the house of Ana Luisa Morales, and on an adjacent property, two mastiffs reinforce the sector's safety."
"'These birds have no blood. You can see how pale they are. There's no doubt that it was the Chupacabra, whom they say was in Santiago but has appeared in Las Cruces,' she said, 'I believe that it was the Chupacabra that came in at four in the morning, because at that time everyone is asleep, even the animals.'"
"There was a blackout that night. It was on Wednesday (August 13, 2003), and the labor union had called for a national workers' strike. But all was calm in Poblacion Idahue. Suddenly, there was a noise. Someone was poking around the house of Samuel Bustos."
Bustos, "the announcer for Radio El Carbon, looked out his rear door. His 10-year-old son," Samuel Antonio Bustos, "shined a flashlight. They took some steps into the backyard and then found a white duck, which was frightened by his presence. Bustos's wife, Alicia, raised six of these animals."
"Maluco, the neighbors' dog, was excited and barked ceaselessly. Samuel and his son went into the house and fell asleep. But at three in the morning, there was another commotion. There was no doubt that a prowler lurked outside. Curiously, the dogs did not make any noise."
"'At around 11 in the morning, I went out to feed them, and I found them dead,' recalls little Samuel Antonio. The boy saw three of them. Another two were in a hard-to-reach corner. A third (duck) was agonizing in the bushes along Idahue Creek, which runs through the backyard of the Bustos house."
"'They had two small perforations marked on their throats. I'm sure that this was not the work of a dog, much less that of a human,' said Bustos."
"Prints resembling those of a dog were found in the mud, but it is clearly evident that these (prints) are larger."
"Samuel Bustos's neighbor approached him to say that early last Tuesday (August 12, 2003) she found four of her ducks dead. The birds showed the same wounds."
"Esteban Hidalgo, (another) one of Bustos's neighbors, claims having seen from his window a black creature, one meter (3 feet, 3 inches) tall, crouching among the plants."
"Mystery increased when Jorge Bello, who lives in front of the Frederico Schwager Stadium in Coronel, phoned Bustos Friday afternoon to tell him that he and his wife had seen a strange 'bird' flying over their house. It looked like a bat but was much larger."
"No one claims it's the Chupacabra, but no one dismisses the possibility, either." (See the Chilean newspapers Diario Austral de Valdivia for August 19, 2003, "Mysterious beast slays 50 hens, 9 geese, 1 pig;" El Lider de San Antonio for August 19, 2003, "Chupacabra attack reported;" and Cronica for August 18, 2003, "Chupacabra bares its fangs yet again." Muchas gracias a Scott Corrales, Gloria Coluchi y Liliana Nunez para estos articulos de diario.)
CHUPACABRA CONTINUES ITS RAMPAGE IN NICARAGUA
"Residents of the rural communities of El Barro, Tolapa and Las Marias," in the department (state) of Leon in northern Nicaragua "are frightened of being stalked by the alleged Chupacabra, to whom they ascribe the deaths of 55 goats and sheep, causing financial losses to local farmers."
"'Goats and sheep are harmless animals that are turning up dead in the pens and groves of private properties. Their bodies do not exhibit any signs of struggle, except for two deep holes in the neck area and in the legs, where the so-called Chupacabra bites to stun its victim and later sucks their blood,' explained Jorge Luis Talavera, a rancher from Tolapa."
"He explained that, as a rule, the Chupacabra attacks female animals and helpless newborns under cover of darkness. He added that he has lost 22 animals to the unnatural creature in less than eight days."
"Faced with the predations of the Chupacabra, local peasants have taken steps to adequately fence their animal pens."
"Sra. Felix Albertina Brenes, a peasant from El Barro, stated that two months ago, at midnight, the Chupacabra visited her property for the first time. 'It killed five of the seven sheep I had in the yard. We only heard the racket and the running of the frightened sheep-- they were trying to defend themselves, banging into the wire fence and the house walls.'"
"Although they could hear the commotion, they were too scared to go out at that time of night, and, at sunrise, found five of the seven sheep 'dead and completely bloodless, with holes in their throats,' mourned the humble peasant woman."
"There are more persons affected by the Chupacabra in Malpaisillo, such as Sra. Pilar Ocan, who lost six Peliguey sheep. Jeronimo Blano lost eight, and Maria Carcamo lost 12." (See the Nicaraguan newspaper La Prensa for August 17, 2003, "Terrified of the Chupacabras." Muchas gracias a Scott Corrales y Gloria Coluchi para esto articulo de diario.)
CHILEAN PHOTOGRAPHER CATCHES A UFO ON FILM
"Photographer Patricio Lara was startled a few days ago when he developed photos taken late last month (Monday, July 31, 2003) in Paricanota" in northern Chile "in order to have photos for his Web site."
"Beyond the spectacular landscape, nothing unusual attracted his attention during his trip through the zone. But a few days later, after his return to Santiago de Chile, he began to look at the images obtained and realized that a strange object in the sky had been undetected."
"The photo in question was taken in the vicinity of Copaquilla, looking east over the canyon on July 31 at 1:30 p.m."
"'We were taken to a lookout called Mallku, from which Chapiquina can be seen in the distance. I found that the landscape was beautiful, so I started taking pictures, panning with a Nikon camera, using an 80-200 millimeter lens and Fuji 100 ASA film,' he said."
"According to his testimony, neither he nor the people with him saw anything unusual at the time 'because I would have otherwise taken more photos, since I was carrying a 500 millimeter telephoto lens, which could have been used for greater detail. I only just found out about the object when I developed the roll.'"
Lara checked the lens, the slide and other exposures to insure that the image was not caused "by a defect in the film. He found no abnormalities."
"The image shows the pampa, the Andean cordillera and a clear sky, and, toward the upper left, a rhomboidal opaque form tilted to the left. Says the photographer, 'Calculating the distance of the object and the proportions, it must have been 10 meters (33 feet) in diameter." (See the Chilean newspaper La Estrella de Arica for August 21, 2003, "UFO over Copaquilla?" Muchas gracias a Scott Corrales y Gloria Coluchi para esto articulo de diario.)
(Editor's Comment: Maybe this is the UFO that's dropping off those Chupacabras all over Chile.)
UFOs APPEAR AGAIN IN VENEZUELA
On Tuesday, August 19, 2003, at 8:35 p.m., "Sra. Enza Colucci, who was returning from Los Samanes to her home in Santa Monica," a suburb of Caracas, the capital of Venezuela, "was followed by an enormous round object, surrounded by blinking blue lights."
"Sra. Colucci was very excited, and her chauffeur, Alberto Amoran, phoned CEINPLA," a Venezuelan UFO research group, "to file a report and make their experience known. They regret not having had a camera with them."
"After midnight on Wednesday," August 20, 2003, "while groups opposing the government of President Hugo Chavez reflected their support of a possible recall in the streets of Caracas, three persons were able to witness the displacement of a luminous object flying over the Cerro El Avila (mountain)."
"The event was reported at 12:30 a.m. when the three youths were headed to their home in the barrio El Pedregal (neighborhood) of La Castellana after watching the fireworks and the political demonstration, which had ended shortly before their sighting."
"According to one of the witnesses, who preferred anonymity to avoid ridicule, the object constantly changed colors and remained suspended in the air for a few seconds before hiding behind the mountain after a powerful zigzag motion." (See Mundo Misterioso for August 21, 2003, "Luminous object seen over El Avila, Caracas." Muchas gracias a Scott Corrales, Roger Ivan Lopez y Martha Rosenthal para esto articulo de diario.)
UFO SIGHTED BY TEEN IN SOUTHWESTERN TURKEY
On Wednesday, August 13, 2003, at 11:30 p.m., eyewitness Arzum, 18, "was listening to my Walkman tape on my balcony" in Denizli, a city in southwestern Turkey about 310 kilometers (186 miles) from Ankara, the national capital, when he spotted a UFO.
Arzum reported, "I was gazing at the sky. All of a sudden, an ellipse-shaped object that was bigger than a star and very bright passed me by. I got so excited I stood up at once. My relatives noticed my sudden ascent."
"The object was huge. It could not be compared to the stars. It was the size of a 50 Turkish lira coin (The same as a quarter or a 25-cent USA coin--J.T.) But it looked like an oval or ellipse shape. It sped by on a diagonal line very quickly. It did not leave any physical marks behind. It was too high for me to smell, hear or feel any heat waves. I have never seen anything like this. The object I have seen was not an asteroid, meteor, star, comet or a planet. That I am sure of." (Email Form Report)
MORE UFOs APPEAR OVER NORTH BAY, ONTARIO
On Tuesday, August 19, 2003, at 10:30 p.m., Murray Whitman reported, "I had just let my dogs out for their nightly duty and, while I was waiting for them, I was looking at the sky, watching for satellites" In North Bay, Ontario, Canada (population 54,332), located 160 miles (266 kilometers) north of Toronto, "when I saw this triangular shape very high in the sky, travelling south to north at a very fast rate of speed."
"A second later, a second object of the same shape and size came up behind the first one, and they seemed to fly in formation toward the west. There was no sound, and the objects were very high in the sky. The sighting took place in about five or six seconds. Then they were out of sight."
"Being a pilot myself, I know by the speed they were not any aircraft that I'm aware of, and the speed had to be thousands of miles per hour, as the distance they covered in that short time made even satellites--which travel at about 14,000 miles per hour--seem extremely slow."
"Shapes were triangular, and the color was a reddish and orange mix" with "an estimated speed of 50,000 to 60,000 miles per hour (65,000 to 100,000 kilometers per hour--J.T.)." (Many thanks to Brian Vike for this report.)
UFO FLOTILLA SPOTTED IN FORT McMURRAY, ALBERTA
On Monday, August 11, 2003, at 1:20 a.m., Aaron Heibert reported, "While outside on the deck, chatting with my wife" in Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada (population 34,706) "I happened to look up and noticed a small, reddish glaring light, non-blinking, flying northwest at a very high altitude and at a speed at least four times faster than commercial airliners."
"I thought it may have been test runs from Cold Lake (Canadian Forces) airforce (CFB) base outside of Edmonton, until I counted 11 more of these objects heading in the same direction, not too far behind one another. None were blinking, just solid red and moving very fast."
"After I counted eleven, I was stumped and heading back into the house and decided to look up once more and noticed a 12th object come from the same direction (southwest), double the speed of the other 11. Then came to a stop slowly for at least 30 seconds. Then it accelerated and left in the same direction (northwest) as the rest."
The UFOs had "a red glow, almost like aircraft lights but a bit brighter. Altitude was at least 25,000 feet (7,500 meters) as the cloud ceiling that evening was 25,000 feet, and there were few clouds with lots of breaks (open sky--J.T.) They travelled in single file, approximately 1 kilometer (0.6 miles) between the first three. The fourth followed about 10 seconds after the third., followed by the fifth through eighth objects. Objects 9 through 12 were uniform in speed and distance, just like the first three." (Many thanks to Brian Vike for this report.)
PHANTOM PANTHER ELUDES HUNTERS IN HAWAII
"The big cat expert from the Mainland (USA) summed up his final press conference on Maui," an island in Hawaii, "Wednesday night (August 13, 2003) with new details like long scratch marks on a tree, a sample of fur from a branch and another report of a mysterious animal that bounded into the back of a pickup (truck) only to disappear just as fast."
Since December 2002, the lower Olinda area on Maui has been plagued by a mysterious panther, said by some to resemble a leopard or a jaguar. However, big cats are not native to the Hawaiian islands, and how the creature got to Maui is a continuing mystery.
"But despite infrared cameras set up to snap its picture and audiotapes of jaguar calls broadcast across a gulch, the big cat of lower Olinda remained as slippery as Bigfoot."
"Even though efforts failed to catch the jungle cat during his five-day trip to Maui, Arizona animal specialist Bill Van Pelt was satisfied that the effort was well worth it. So are state officials that said they learned plenty from Van Pelt and will put his recommendations into action."
"'He's added his expert opinion that this isn't a ghost wandering around Olinda,' said Paul Cenry, wildlife program manager of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. 'We'll go ahead and try to capture the animal and capture it alive. We'll initiate the capture plan. We'll continue to do a lot of what we've been doing.'"
"Cenry, Van Pelt and others involved in the search met with 40 Olinda residents and a pack of reporters for about 90 minutes in the cafeteria of Seabury Hall," at a local junior college, "where sightings of the big cat have occurred on campus.'"
"When Van Pelt left the island later on in the day, he was a true believer that the big cat was no hoax. He said the evidence that 'swung him over' was photographs of a deer kill that occurred last month (July 2003)."
"'The signs of the kill were classic predation signs of a big cat,' he said, noting the planting of hairs, biting into the carcass to get 'the choicest pieces of meat' and leaving claw marks on the body in addition to eating its (the deer's) tongue."
"Van Pelt thinks the animal could be a leopard, jaguar or mountain lion."
"While the cat has been seen only in glimpses or occasionally heard shrieking, needed clues have been slow to come in, but they're slowly adding up."
"During a sweep of a gulch above Seabury Hall Tuesday (August 12, 2003), Van Pelt and the wildlife biologists noted 8-inch (20-centimeter) scratch marks gouged nearly 10 feet (3 meters) high onto a guava tree. On closer inspection, they found about seven hair strands that could be from the animal's fur. Van Pelt said he will take the sample back to Arizona to be tested at the university along with a clump (of fur) found two months ago." (See the Maui Weekly News for August 16, 2003, "Big cat expert ends trip with clues but no trophy." Many thanks to Robert Fischer for this newspaper article.)
PHANTOM PANTHER KILLS A RAM IN NORTHERN IRELAND
Equally elusive is the phantom panther (alien big cat in UK--J.T.) prowling the north coast of Northern Ireland.
"A County Antrim shepherd, whose ram is thought to have been killed by a big cat, says he fears for the safety of children in the area."
"Richard Calvin found the dead 70-kilogram pedigree ram at his farm on Thursday," August 21, 2003. "It had major injuries and bite marks to its sides."
"'My biggest worry would be that I have nephews and nieces coming to the farm to see the stock, and they go up the fields on their own,' said Mr. Calvin, 'If they go for a walk and come across something that is capable, no matter what it is, of doing the damage that was done to the ram...well, it doesn't bear thinking about.'"
"Last week, an animal, thought to be a wild cat, was spotted on the north coast, with several reports of sightings in the Portballintrae, Portrush and Bushmills area. People have been warned not to approach such an animal and to report any sightings to the police or the USPCA."
"And earlier this week, police and USPCA officers carried out searches in woods outside Cookston after reports that the animal killed and partly ate a calf in the area."
"On Tuesday," August 19, 2003, "USPCA chief executive Stephen Philpott said he believed the animal might be a puma or lynx."
"'People are told that these are companion animals, that they are exotic pets,' he said, 'They are not. They are wild creatures, and they will behave like this whenever they reach a certain age. These animals are being released in the countryside by irresponsible people who have bought them and can't cope with them. They take them into heavily-wooded areas and release them. My own hunch is that it is either a puma or a lynx.'" (See BBC News for August 21, 2003. Many thanks to Robert Fischer for this report.)
CROP CIRCLES APPEAR FAR AND WIDE IN CANADA
Last week crop circles appeared quite suddenly in three of Canada's provinces.
A second crop circle appeared in Cranbrook, Ontario, "south of the first formation and reportedly more complex."
In Agassiz, British Columbia, about 100 kilometers (60 miles) east of Vancouver, "the formation consisted of a circle with a short path and two smaller rectangles next to it in cattle corn." The Agassiz formation "was not too far from the location of two formations in cattle corn at Mission, B.C. in 2002."
On Wednesday, August 20, 2003, "a third formation appeared in Cranbrook, Ont. The farmer wanted no publicity and the field is already harvested."
In Wadena, Saskatchewan (population 1,477), a town on Provincial Highway 5 about 90 miles (144 kilometers) east of Saskatoon, there appeared "four circles in barley. Plants lightly pressed to ground. Expulsion cavities in stalk nodes."
A "single circle" appeared in Midale, Sask. (population 572), a town on Provincial Highways 39 and 361, about 40 miles (64 kilometers) north of Canada's border with the USA.
(Editor's Note: Midale was the site of elaborate crop circles in 2001 and 2002.)
In Tisdale, Sask., the first formation consisted of "four circles in a line, from smallest to largest. An outer ring connects the smallest and largest together. The largest circle has a standing crescent within it."
On Saturday, August 23, 2003, a second formation appeared in Tisdale, but it was rapidly combined by the farmer.
Finally, in Scott, Sask., a farmer discovered "two large circles in wheat. Near the location of the Revenue, Sask. formation" discovered two weeks ago. (Many thanks to Paul Anderson of Canadian Crop Circles Research Foundation for these news reports.)
From the UFO Files...
2002: INDIA'S MYSTERIOUS PREHISTORIC TEMPLE
India's southern state of Tamil Nadu is home to several ancient temples, of which the most mysterious is the Ranganatha temple.
"The Ranganatha temple...is the largest temple complex in India. It is situated on a large island in the middle of the Kaveri River. The central temple building is surounded by seven external boundary walls. According to some, the seven boundary walls represent the seven material coverings of the eternal self, the atma (Hindi for soul--J.T.). And the path a pilgrim takes through the gates of the seven walls therefore represents a progressive process of spiritual realization."
How old is the Ranganatha temple? Hindus believe that it is very old indeed. The Chaltanya Charitamitra, a Sixteenth Century biography of the avatara Chaltanya Mahaprabhu, states, "It is said that in the year 289 of the Age of Kali, the Alvar (Hindi for saint--J.T.) of the name Tondaradippadi was born...He prepared the third boundary wall of the Ranganatha temple."
"According to the Vedic cosmological calendar, time proceeds in cycles or ages called yugas. There are four yugas in each cycle: a Satya Yuga, a Dvapara Yuga, a Treta Yuga and a Kali Yuga. A cycle of four yugas lasts 4,320,000 years," which by some strange coincidence is exactly how long it takes our Milky Way galaxy to complete one revolution.
"The Kali Yuga began 5,105 years ago, in the year 3,102 B.C., according to our Western calendar. So year 289 of the Kali Yuga corresponds to the Western year 2,813 B.C. This means that the South India Alvar Tondaradippadi was born 4,816 years ago. If he built the third boundary wall of the Ranganatha temple during his lifetime, that means that this Vedic temple has existed for at least five thousand years."
"This contradicts the standard Western account of the antiquity of Vedic culture in India. According to the standard Western account, the Vedic culture goes back no further than 3,500 years in India."
In a recent magazine article, maverick archaeologist Michael A. Cremo stated, "The age of the Ranganatha temple could go back much further than five thousand years. The main deity worshipped in the Ranganatha temple was a reclining form of Vishnu."
(Editor's Note: Similar to the "reclining" rain-god Tlaloc, who was worshipped by the Toltecs of ancient Mexico.)
"During the time of the avatara Rama, the deity was taken by vimana (the UFO or flying machine of the Hindu Puranas--J.T.) for the purpose of transporting it to the island kingdom of Lanka in the south. But along the way, the vimana landed in South India. According to the conditions of transport, if the deity touched ground before its final destination, it would remain there and would go no further. So the deity remained in the place where it landed, and a local king built a temple to accomodate the deity."
"How long ago was that temple built?" Cremo wrote, "The construction of the temple occurred during the time of the avatar Rama, who lived toward the beginning of the Treta Yuga. The Treta Yuga of the current cycle began about 2,155,000 years ago and ended about 840,000 years ago. That would mean the temple was constructed about two million years ago."
However, some Hindu pandits claim that "Rama appeared in the Treta Yuga of the fourth yuga cycle before the present one. If that is true, then the temple may have been constructed almost 20 million years ago."
"That original temple, according to traditional sources, was later lost and covered by sand and jungle. In more recent times, over five thousand years ago, a local king uncovered the deity and began construction of the current temple."
"On the roof of the central temple building, just above the place where the deity (Vishnu) rests inside, there is a gold-covered cupola. This cupola is called in Sanskrit vimana, perhaps a reference to the aircraft by which the deity was transported to its present location. And the third boundary wall around the central temple building housing the deity was constructed by Tondaradippadi, who was born in 2,813 B.C."
Is there any way to determine the exact age of the Ranganatha temple? Cremo thinks there is. He and some Indian archaeologists have petitioned the national government in New Delhi for permits to do some archaeological work at the temple in December 2003.
"The idea will be to see if the present temple is built upon older foundations," Cremo wrote, "Excavations might also reveal Vedic artifacts connected in strata five thousand years old or older. It may also be possible that part of the current structure is quite old. If such parts can be identified, there are also possibilities for dating them. For example, the mortar between the stones could contain organic materials that could be dated by the radiocarbon (Carbon-14) method" or by amino acid testing. (See Atlantis Rising No. 40 for July/August 2003, "The Forbidden Archaeologist" by Michael A. Cremo, pages 18, 20 and 21.)
That's it for this week. Join us next time for more UFO, Fortean and paranormal news from around the planet Earth, brought to you by "the paper that goes home--UFO Roundup." See you in seven days.
