Travis Simpkins: America's Stonehenge

Sunday, October 15, 2017

"Echoes of Atlantis" by David S. Brody

Echoes of Atlantis

Crones, Templars

and the Lost Continent

by David S. Brody

Eyes That See Publishing, 2016

Notes by Travis Simpkins

Echoes of Atlantis is the sixth book in David S. Brody's "Templars in America" series, and for all intents and purposes, essentially picks up where The Isaac Question left off… continuing the story of protagonist couple Cameron Thorne and Amanda Spencer as they investigate the secret pre-Columbian history and artifacts of North America. However, it is also very much a stand alone novel and can still be thoroughly enjoyed without prior reading of the first five installments in the series.

The plot only hints at the author's usual Templar material, focusing instead on the lost continent of Atlantis, providing observations on potential links between the legendary sunken landmass and archaeological sites like Gobeki Tepe in Turkey, Baalbek in Lebanon and the Sphinx in Egypt. Along the way, interesting parallels are drawn between various groups on opposite sides of the ocean with shared flood mythologies. To discuss the plot further would be an injustice to the many surprises contained within the book's pages.

Like in his previous work, David S. Brody assembles a collection of artifacts related to the ancient exploration of America long before Columbus and weaves a fast-paced thriller around them in expert fashion. This book mentions the Red Paint People skeletons, the Frost Valley Petroglyph, ancient cave art in Lascaux and Altamira, the Venus of Dolni and a Burrows Cave artifact. There are surprisingly few references to the Freemasons this time around, but Brody's beloved New England sites like America's Stonehenge and the Newport Tower appear briefly. Both informative and entertaining, this book (along with Brody's other work) is deserving of praise and more wide-spread attention.

Echoes of Atlantis. Templars in America. David S. Brody: Newport Tower

Echoes of Atlantis. Templars in America. David S. Brody: Frost Valley Petroglyph, NY

Echoes of Atlantis. Templars in America. David S. Brody: Mandan Girl

Echoes of Atlantis. Templars in America. David S. Brody: Hypothetical Atlantis

Echoes of Atlantis. Templars in America. David S. Brody: Tlazolteotl. Aztec Goddess

Echoes of Atlantis. Templars in America. David S. Brody: Zeno Map

Echoes of Atlantis. Templars in America. David S. Brody: Tikal Pyramid Carving

Echoes of Atlantis. Templars in America. David S. Brody: Mercator Map, 1606

Echoes of Atlantis. Templars in America. David S. Brody: Cave Art. Lascaux, France

Echoes of Atlantis. Templars in America. David S. Brody: Cave Painting. Altamira, Spain

Echoes of Atlantis. Templars in America. David S. Brody: Venus of Dolni

Echoes of Atlantis. Templars in America. David S. Brody: Gobekli Tepe

Echoes of Atlantis. Templars in America. David S. Brody: The Sphinx, Egypt

Echoes of Atlantis. Templars in America. David S. Brody: Sphinx Wall Enclosure Erosion

Echoes of Atlantis. Templars in America. David S. Brody: The Sphinx, Egypt

Echoes of Atlantis. Templars in America. David S. Brody: Trilithon. Baalbek, Lebanon

Echoes of Atlantis. Templars in America. David S. Brody: Baalbek, Lebanon

Echoes of Atlantis. Templars in America. David S. Brody: Belcourt Castle. Newport, RI

Echoes of Atlantis. Templars in America. David S. Brody: America's Stonehenge, NH

Echoes of Atlantis. Templars in America. David S. Brody: Sacrificial Stone. America's Stonehenge

Echoes of Atlantis. Templars in America. David S. Brody

Echoes of Atlantis. Templars in America. David S. Brody: Gobekli Tepe

Sunday, September 24, 2017

"America B.C. - Ancient Settlers in the New World" by Barry Fell

America B.C.

Ancient Settlers in the New World

by Barry Fell

Pocket Books, 1976

Notes by Travis Simpkins

In the opening pages of his landmark 1976 book, America BC, Barry Fell states: "America, as we now realize, is a treasure house of records of man's achievement upon the high seas in bygone ages. Even more so are our inscribed rocks and tablets a heritage from a forgotten era of colonization." Thus begins his thesis that North America was visited, explored and inhabited by Europeans and others long before Columbus set sail in 1492. The bulk of Fell's text centers on the ancient Celts, who Fell believes settled areas of present day New England in about 800 B.C. Various stone chambers found in the eastern woods are testament to their presence and present historical and cultural evidence of their handiwork. The complex of stone chambers and monuments at Mystery Hill (now called America's Stonehenge) in Salem, New Hampshire are central to Fell's research and provide the most intriguing clues to support his theory… including a sophisticated positioning of the stones to correspond to astronomical alignments that facilitate a religious purpose and serve as a practical calendar.

Long stretches of dry analysis that examine the ancient system of Ogam language and writing utilized by the Celts comprises a large part of the text. Such details might not interest the casual reader, but provide necessary background information to support Fell's hypothesis. He concludes, "We find in New England some two hundred stone chambers, many of which are oriented and constructed in such manner as to make them serve as astronomical observatories for the regulation of the calendar of festivals. There are also systems of standing stones that indicate a calendar divided into eight half-seasons, all based on the annual cycle of the sun's motions in the sky… we are obliged to conclude that they are the work of ancient Celts."

The 294-page book also makes reference to the Phoenicians and the Egyptians as other ancient visitors to the New World and provides some artifacts to support this, but maintains that these other groups mainly sought to deal in trading with the resident Celts. Suffice to say, many critics have dismissed Fell's work as being fanciful and far-fetched. All in all, the book, which differs greatly from mainstream historical teachings, presents an interesting case that if read with an open mind, can offer serious pause for thought.