Paranormal
From an announcement made on August 17, 2001
From an announcement made on August 17, 2001
A 5000 year old alphabet has been found on six global continents.
Translations and grammar suggest a global human culture thrived in antiquity.
Abstract
The author, in attempting to document some unusual and very old rock art in remote North America, has discovered an ancient alphabet. This alphabet is similar to ancient writing found in other locations around the globe and the author suggests that this is the result of a cultural migration. The author's discovery is in Colorado and has been dated to before 800 BC. In the Negev desert of Israel, this same alphabet has been dated to 1500 BC. In South Australia the alphabet is estimated to be over 5000 years old.
The alphabet has been given the name "old Negev," after the location of the alphabet's initial discovery in the Sinai (See James Harris, Ph.D., Brigham Young University). In Australia it has been known by the name "Panaramitee Art," while in the Americas it has been misrepresented as Native American Indian sign language (See LaVan Martineau, The Rocks Speak). The alphabet has most recently surfaced in Yemen, where it was carved in a font style associated with the Sabatean Empire under the Queen of Sheba. The alphabet is now understood to be proto-Himyaritic, or Sabaean, and translated using a proto-Canaanite dialect.
The author recognizes the danger of describing the language as "old Negev" or "old Hebrew," despite the fact that root-Semetic languages are used in the translations. Evidence of the antiquity of this script in both America and Australia suggest that this root language may pre-date that of the Hebrews by at least a millennia. The author and his associates suggest using an unbiased name, such as "the First Tongue," to avoid any biased association with a specific people or era. The content of the translations, although not complete, suggests a common culture and religious belief system. But more scrutiny of this language system, its content and occurrence around the globe is indicated.
Photographic evidence is presented and on-going translations are posted from the Expedition in May 2000. A discussion of the evidence is welcomed. Additional translations from ViewZone's Expedition 2001: Yemen will be made available as completed.
A helpful summary of background data is presented HERE.
The Alphabet
Summarized Links by Topic and Region
The Alphabet contains basic, distinct geometric shapes, 22 in all (with some variations). Certain letters have more than one symbol so that they can be used consecutively with either inclusion or exclusion of the corresponding word. Since there are no word breaks in this language, this is a requirement.
Each shape or symbol has a corresponding phonetic (sound) meaning. The vowels (except for Y) are almost always omitted.
Earlier attempts at translation failed because the alphabet was thought to have been proto-Arabic. However, translations have successfully been made through an old Hebrew dialect, concentrating on words containing one, two or three consonants..
The alphabetical symbols were originally found pecked in stone. The stone surface is typically flat and has a dark patina of oxidized minerals which is breached with a sharp object, removing small chunks of the patina. An exception to this was the discovery of the Sabaean font in Yemen, which utilized the finest masonry and carving techniques.
At the time of their creation, this cruder method of pecking the shapes would have revealed the contrasted, bright underlying layer of fresh stone. This made petroglyphs an excellent and permanent medium for writing. The pecked out symbols are often found in collections or arrangements that can be mistaken for pictures or maps. These "ligatures" can be broken down into discrete letters and phrases. Curiously, many of the ligatures are made such that the word meaning is conveyed both phonetically (for those that can read) and symbolically. A typical word or phrase will have two or three symbols in length. The direction of flow and the grammar are explained in detail in subsequent papers linked from this page.
Background Data
The Expedition 1998 was undertaken as a way of becoming familiar with petroglyphs. The four-corners area of Monument Valley were documented, as well as Anasazi habitats never before filmed. Special attention was given to the nature and style of the petroglyphs and pictograms (painted on rock) of that area.
An attempt is made to translate some of the symbols using the methods of LaVan Martineau, with limited success.
The Expedition visited the Hopi Reservation and was allowed to document ancient petroglyphs, never before photographed, and to explore the mythology and tradition of the oldest North American habitat.
All of the visits to known American Indian sites were in preparation for assessing the southeast Colorado petroglyphs, which were meticulously documented in the feature, "The Picketwire People," shown for the first time on ViewZone Magazine in 1998. At the time, no similar alphabet was known.
Photographic Evidence
Colorado, USA
We revisited the Colorado location in May of 2000 with higher resolution imaging and recording apparatus and documented many new areas that were found to be excellent examples of both ancient Hebrew language and culture. These images are currently being shown on Viewzone Magazine.
The Colorado Documentation (2000)
Other Atrifacts recently translated.
OKLAHOMA Translations! -- NEW.
South Australia
Most recently, Viewzone.com received photographs from a team in Australia who depicted similar petroglyphs of a much older date (i.e. in excess of 1800 B.C.) These were examined and translations of the material proved that it originated with the same root culture and ascribed to the same rules of grammar and symbols.
Translation of these Australian panels, a style known locally as Panaramitee Tradition, has been completed but the complete results have been withheld at the request of the Australian team.
Viewzone is currently planning an expedition to the site and will shortly have more information to share.
The Australian Petroglyphs (2000) #1 and Petroglyphs (2000) #2
Negev Desert, Israel
The Negev Desert has been explored by Dr. James Harris, of BYU, who identified some of the grammar and structure of the Middle-East petroglyphs and has described this alphabet as "old Negev." His translations are reviewed in detail.
Update from Yemen: Translations
On October 15, John McGovern, busy documenting the First Tongue in Australia, located pictures of inscriptions from the alleged Queen Sheba's archaeological site in Yemen. The language on the wall, although stylized into a font, appears to be First Tongue. Click HERE to see a recently uncovered panel and our attempt at a meaningful translation. Additional translations of a stone, partially buried in the sand and unexcavated, are attempted HERE.
It is our belief that this ancient alphabet was used much as Latin inscriptions and Roman Numeral dates are used on contemporary dedication plaques. A dead language never changes and is therefore constant through time.
Queen of Sheba
The Mahram Bilqis contains priceless documents, artifacts from the time of the biblical queen.
September 13, 2000, 01:43 PM
TORONTO (Reuters)
A Canadian archaeologist said on Tuesday that his team was slowly unravelling the secrets of a 3,000-year-old temple that may have belonged to the Queen of Sheba. Half-buried under the sands of the southern Arabian desert in northern Yemen, the Mahram Bilqis or Temple of the Moon God contains priceless documents and artifacts from the time of the biblical queen.
The Yemeni government does not have control over the various tribal groups that live in the country and who believe that they own the land'The temple was a sacred site for pilgrims in Arabia from around 1200 BC to to 550 AD, the time that fits with history's record of the Queen of Sheba and her visit to King Solomon of Israel. "To have such historical, religious and cultural connection to one site is tremendous. Not often in archaeology do we have that." Professor Bill Glanzman the project's director told Reuters. The discovery and excavation of the temple began in 1951 by the late American archaeologist Wendell Phillips. But it was halted abruptly a year later because of political unrest. Work was restarted in 1998 by the American Foundation for the Study of Man, a nonprofit organisation that spearheads such projects.
Surprisingly, Phillips and Jamme, in the 1950's, remarked that some of the oldest scripts in Yemen seemed to have proto-Canaanite characteristics and did not translate using Arabic dialects. The team were ousted from Yemen before this could be explored. Curiously, none of the subsequent research -- including the present work at the Temple Bilquis -- has attempted to apply this method to the texts.
Glanzman, leader of the recent University of Calgary expedition to Yemen, said the Bilquis Temple could become an "eighth wonder of the world," attracting people from around the world. But another expert disagrees. "This is the most optimistic of statements at the moment, given the economic and political situation and the problem of raising money for such things," said Edward Keall, senior curator of Middle Eastern Archaeology at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.
"I do not expect to see it in my lifetime," he said. "As of the moment, the Yemeni government does not have control over the various tribal groups that live in the country and who believe that they own the land," Keall said. But Glanzman tries to sell the importance of the excavation, saying it is as important a discovery as the ruins of Pompeii, the pyramids of Giza or the Acropolis. "The sanctuary is packed with artifacts, pottery, artwork and inscriptions, opening a new door to the ancient civilisations of southern Arabia," he said. Glanzman said his team could be finished with the excavation within 15 years.
