Circles of Stone

by Dan Arnold

  “It depends. The typical brush kraals aren’t decorated, but some huts are painted, inside and out. I’ve never seen any rock carving in a kraal, so, I don’t know. Again, that’s not my line.”

  “That’s fair enough. More research is warranted. Think about it. On the way here we flew over hundreds of ancient rock structures. All of those stones had to be collected and carried to build up those walls. You said brush was the most common building material. Why were all those ancient kralls built of stone? There’s more here than immediately meets the eye. Are you familiar with the Nazca lines in Peru?”

  “I’ve heard of them. Aren’t they some sort of rock art that can only be seen from the air?”

  “They are. Those geoglyphs cover an area of at least two hundred and fifty square miles. Many of them are hundreds of feet in length. From the ground they don’t look like much of anything. From the air, they’re spectacular. It begs the question—why? Why did ancient people build huge, fantastic representations of birds and animals that they couldn’t even see themselves?”

  “Who knows? What do the Nazca lines in Peru have to do with this site?”

  “I’m not sure there’s any connection. At the same time, you told me there are tens of thousands of ancent stone structures scattered all over this region? Many of them can only be seen from the air. There are lines of stone connecting them. It’s just an interesting piece of the puzzle.”

  The prevailing wisdom is that all those ruins are just old kraals. As you said, they’re common as dirt here. Every village has or had them. Most are built of brush, wood, or cactus. Very few are stone. So, I’m wondering, why would there be tens of thousands of ancient stone kraals, and why would there be lines connecting them?”

  “Wouldn’t the number of kraals be supported by the fact that multiple generations of people built them over several centuries?” Stefan asked.

  “Possibly, but wouldn’t it make more sense to maintain existing kraals than having to go to the trouble of building new ones, especially thousands of them.”

  “There is no way to understand the minds of primitive natives. Maybe they had some kind of ritual that required young men to build stone kraals as part of a coming of age ceremony.”

  Jake looked Stefan and said, “Everything we see in modern times has beginnings in the ancient past. Tradition and cultural heritage are powerful identifiers of any people group. Among the tribal people still living here, do such ceremonies exist today?”

  “Yes. Well, not the building of kraals. But, as an anthropologist, you must be aware that every year hundreds of boys and young women are mutilated or die as a result of circumcision rituals.”

  “While it’s horrible, I’m not sure it’s relevant to the number of kraals. It also doesn’t address the issue of why there are lines connecting the circles.”

  “They’re probably just primitive fence rows.”

  “Are you suggesting the local herdsmen instituted livestock fencing thousands of years ago?”

  “I don’t know, maybe. It had to start somewhere. Isn’t it possible those stone kraals are only a couple of hundred years old?”

  Nodding, Jake said, “Yes, it’s possible. We don’t know when they were built. Another possibility is the rocks were removed from fields and placed in parralel lines that happened to connect the kraals for no particular reason beyond clearing the fields. Perhaps they were used to designate ownership of individual tracts of land.”

  “Do you think so?”

  “No, I don’t have any idea. I’m trying to avoid speculation. That’s why I need to do further research.”

  “Well, Jake, we’re happy to have you look into it, but from an official standpoint, you’re on your own. I see nothing here that warrants spending government money on further research. We call South Africa the ‘cradle of humanity’, because this may be the place where the first humans evolved. Think about it. If that’s true, civilization started right here and spread out over the rest of the world. Here in the Republic of South Africa there are so many ruins, fossils, caves, you name it. The entire country is an archeological site. We just don’t have enough money to research a bunch of old rocks.”

  “Until in-depth archeological research can be done, this calendar site must be protected. Too many archeological sites have been ruined or even destroyed by construction of roads or industry.”

  “Don’t worry. It is protected. This site is within the boundaries of a bird sanctuary.”

  ***

  On the return flight, Jake pointed out the side of the helicopter.

  “Look over there. That hill has dozens of circular structures and what looks like acres of terraces. That suggests highly developed agriculture. Can we get closer?”

  As the pilot circled over the hill, Jake shook his head.

  “This is amazing, Stefan. It looks like this entire area was some sort of highly developed farming community. Not a city like what we think of today, more like what we would call suburban sprawl. Thousands of people built these structures, but they’re not crowded together. It’s as though they were either large family dwellings or small villages, all connected. They stretch out for as far as I can see. They must’ve used millions of stones in the construction. There’s something very significant here. I see it. I just don’t know what it is I’m seeing. When we get back to Pretoria I’ll make some arrangements. I need to do further research.”

  Stefan shrugged.

  “I’m afraid you’ll have to do it on your own time and expense. Officially, there’s little I can do. You said it yourself. These old kraals are scattered everywhere. We don’t have the time or the resources to waste on ancient rock enclosures.”

  “I understand what you’re saying, Stefan, but there’s evidence of something more. I have to look into it.”

  “Well then, good luck and good hunting. Let us know if you learn anything significant.”

  3-Sacrifices must be made

  Ubara-tutu, the Nephalim King of Atlantis, sat upon his throne, listening to the reports of his satraps.

  “There is another sickness killing the slaves, my King.”

  “Another? Will this never end?”

  When the man gave no answer, the king sighed.

  “Which slaves? None of the household servants are suffering.”

  “It is the children of the cave dwellers. The miners of gold, Sire.”

  “Why? What is happening to them?

  “Their skin breaks out. They run fever. They lose control of their bowels. Then they die.”

  “Is it only the children?”

  “No, Sire, adults die as well.”

  “Send for Ombulu, the high priest. He must find a cure.”

  When the priest appeared before the king, in his entire ceremonial splendor, he bowed.

  “You sent for me, Sire?”

  “There is another new disease among the mining slaves. This time it kills children. It’s some sort of pox. What causes this?”

  Ombulu closed his eyes. After a moment he said, “I must consult the spirits.”

  “Well do it, and be fast about it. We’ve lost over a thousand of those barbaric, brainless slaves, just this year, to one disease or another.”

  “It will be as you say, oh King. I will seek guidance from the gods.”

  The next day, when the high priest returned, he was immediately brought before the king.

  “Well, Ombulu, what is this thing that’s killing the hideous children of the slaves?”

  “It is another manifestation of Njoribe’s curse, Sire. The Anunnaki are angry. The women of the slaves have displeased Nanna. Only the death of innocents can please her. We must sacrifice one of our female infants for every twenty slave children who die. These girls must be fed to the fires of Ba’al.”

  “More sacrifices? Did I not say we have lost too many slaves? Now you would have us kill off our own daughters. Have you lost your mind?”

  “It is the will of Nanna, my King. We can get more slaves. You can hav
e more daughters.”

  “That’s easy for you to say. You don’t have to deal with the slave merchants, or our wives. Will these sacrifices stop the disease?”

  “Indeed, my Lord.”

  “Very well, see to it.”

  “I will, Sire, but there is something more important you should hear.”

  “What is it?”

  “I’ve consulted with our astrologers, my Lord. They tell me a time of great change is coming. The portents in the heavens suggest the Annunaki are on the verge of a re-alignment.”

  “What of it?”

  “If this is so, then I fear, my King, your kingdom will experience a re-alignment as well.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “I have only seen a small part, my Lord. I cannot discern the extent of the change. I see fire in the heavens and a great earthquake. Then a flood, cleansing the land.”

  “That’s ridiculous. You priests and astrologers are always seeing death and destruction.”

  “I am but a servant of the gods, Sire.”

  “Is that so? Let me remind you. You are a servant of your king. You would also do well to remember from whom I am descended.”

  The priest blinked. How could he forget? The king was a giant who stood nearly twice the height and weight of any other men in the known world.

  “I have not forgotten, Sire.”

  “Good. Well then, Ombulu, go on about your burning of children. But know this, if the disease does not come to an end, I will bring an end to you. I’ll make you stoke your own furnace, before I watch you burn.”

  4-Layer on layer

  Dr. Jacob Walker opened his laptop and began researching everything he could learn about “Adam’s Calendar”, megaliths, ancient stone circles, and the dawn of civilization.

  It didn’t take long to find more information than he needed. There were ancient megaliths all over the world. Some were still being discovered. Who moved those stones, why and how they did it was unknown. Without sufficient evidence, most of the theories were conjecture. Many of the opinions were outlandish. His search inevitably led him back to the Bible and its account of early civilization.

  He was reminded that science had determined the Bronze Age began somewhere around five thousand, five hundred years ago. It was the second phase of civilization, right after the Stone Age and before the Iron Age. Where the first bronze was smelted from copper and tin was not known, nor how the first person to do so acquired the skill set, or even the idea.

  The Bible stated that a man named Tubal-Cain was, (the first mentioned) “instructor of every artificer in bronze and iron.” Tubal Cain traced his lineage all the way back to Adam. The generations after Adam were listed and the number of years from Adam to Tubal-Cain exceeded two thousand, five hundred years. So, if the Biblical numbers were correct, and if the Bronze Age actually started five thousand years ago, the first man (modern human-homo sapiens) appeared on earth about seven thousand years ago. That didn’t jibe with what he learned in University. He’d been taught that modern man- homo sapiens, has been around for at least sixty thousand years.

  Jake rubbed his eyes. “Back to square one,” he thought.

  Then he remembered something.

  Science was puzzled by evidence of civilizations much older than seven or eight thousand years. There were questions about what technology existed at that time and how those people were able to build some of the things they did. He’d been taught the smelting of ore into metal didn’t start until about three thousand B.C.E., the beginning of the Bronze Age. Anything before that time was the Stone Age. Those ancient people were hunter gatherers. They had no agriculture or masonry skills. They wandered the earth seeking only to survive. How could primitive, stupid, cave men, with no tools but clubs and rocks, build complex structures, even cities?

  There was also considerable evidence for an ancient cataclysmic event that destroyed those long lost civilizations.

  What if there were civilized societies with technology different from our own, long before recorded history? Maybe that was the reason none of the numbers added up.

  As a scientist, he was constantly annoyed that so many of his colleagues spoke with authority as though they knew all the answers. They looked like fools when later information proved them wrong. For him, science wasn’t about answering every question, but observing the data, asking better questions and admitting when the answers were unknown.

  Was there human civilization more than a few thousand years ago? Had there been a cataclysmic event that wiped out those ancient civilizations? If so, perhaps civilization got a re-boot somewhere. If his work had shown him anything, it was that some questions didn’t have answers.

  It was time to ask better questions.

  His first phone call was to Arizona. The rest were to local businesses.

  5-And so it goes

  In the evening air the sound of many voices grew louder, penetrating through the walls of the palace. It took Ubara-tutu, the Nephalim King of Atlantis, a moment to understand what the sound was. It was an outcry on the city streets. His people were screaming and wailing.

  From the way they fidgeted and looked about, he could tell it was making his guests from across the southern sea nervous.

  “Mbuto, go see what all that caterwauling is about.”

  Bowing, the servant said, “Yes, Sire.”

  He opened the doors and stepped out onto the balcony.

  On the streets of the city, far below him, throngs of citizens were looking up at him crying out in terror. No, he realized they weren’t looking at him. They were looking at the sky—behind him.

  King Ubara-tutu motioned for the leader of the southern delegation to continue his narrative.

  “Sire, the portents are clear. The celestial…” The man was interrupted by a loud, thundering boom. Odd, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky.

  Because his view of the sky was blocked by the building, Mbuto couldn’t see what the people were staring at behind him. He turned back and crossed through the room to the balcony that overlooked the sea. Just as he stepped out, rolling thunder sounded and his eyes flew wide open, wider than at any time in his life. He stumbled back into the palace.

  “Your Majesty, You must come see,” The servant said, as he knelt before his king.

  “Come see what? Whatever it is, I can’t be bothered. You deal with it.”

  “I cannot, Sire. You must come see.”

  “What is it, man? Tell me.”

  More thunder rolled, and this time it didn’t stop.

  “Your majesty, the gods are coming.”

  That news silenced the throne room. The members of the southern delegation looked at each other, wide eyed, the servant’s declaration filling them with dread.

  The king, seeing their distress, and the servant’s almost terrorized expression, slammed his fist on the arm of his throne.

  “Enough! Show me this thing.”

  The servant, Mbuto, leaped up to obey, whirling toward the balcony facing the sea. The king had to make haste to keep up. The southern delegation rushed to follow.

  What they saw was unlike anything any of them had ever seen or heard of.

  The flaming orb dominated the evening sky, its blazing orange light reflecting off the surface of the sea. The enormous cloud of smoke trailing to the far horizon diminished the lowering sun’s brightness. As they looked on, many smaller balls of flame broke away. Each time this happened their ears were hammered with thunder.

  The king’s mouth dropped open and his knees grew weak.

  “S-s-send for the astrologers and the high p-p-priest,” he managed to say.

  Moments later Mbuto returned. He fell to his hands and knees, his head lowered nearly to the floor..

  “What it is it, man? Spit it out.”

  “They cannot be found, your majesty.”

  “What? Where have they gone?”

  “I don’t know. They may have fled the city.”

  “How…”


  His words were extinguished by the sound of a distant explosion of momentous power. Everyone in the throne room stood frozen in wonder as a gust of wind with the smell of the open sea ruffled the draperies. When the shock wave rolled through with a rumble, the palace swayed and the occupants of the throne room were knocked to the floor. Within seconds the walls cracked, and the building collapsed, killing them all.

  The last thing on earth Ubara-tutu, the Nephalim King of Atlantis saw was the falling ceiling stones, revealing the darkening sky above him. As his spirit left his crushed remains, he searched expectantly for the arrival of the gods, but in the abyss into which he fell, those who greeted him were somewhat less appealing.

  The tsunami covered the city, the plains and the low mountains, washing away every last vestige of life. The dynasty and all its glory, drowned beneath the nearly two hundred and fifty feet tall wave, ceased forever.

  The impact of the comet caused massive earthquakes. The earth wobbled, volcanoes erupted, and the continents shifted. Most man-made structures were reduced to rubble as the subterranean fountains gushed forth and the sky became black with billowing water vapor. It rained for forty days and forty nights, and the face of the planet changed. Two thirds of the earth was now covered in water. The poles had become instantly and intensely cold. There, the rain changed to snow and ice, covering nearly half of the exposed landmass, and the surface of the sea froze. Mankind, along with most other living things, was virtually eradicated

  6-It takes a village

  Jake met his team at the airport in Johannesburg.

  His teammates included, Harold “Harry” Truitt, an ethnologist with ancestral roots in the region. He looked like a football lineman, which wasn’t accidental. He’d been a Scarlet Knight at Rutgers only a few years back.

  A lady with a keen wit, and a love of all things in and under the earth, the geologist, Dr. Adrienne Whitaker, was a gorgeous blonde, all five feet three inches of her. The team was completed with the inclusion of the Cajun helicopter pilot, Phillipe Robicheaux. Jake and Phillipe had served together as Rangers in Afghanistan. These days, Phillipe generally worked in the oil and gas industry, but if and when Jake called, he always found time to lend his skills.