Chichen Itza(El Castillo)
(pronounced /tʃiːˈtʃɛn iːˈtsɑː/;[1] from Yucatec Maya: Chi'ch'èen Ìitsha',[2] "At the mouth of the well of the Itza") is a large pre-Columbian archaeological site built by the Maya civilization located in the northern center of the Yucatán Peninsula, in the Yucatán state, present-day Mexico.
The site contains many fine stone buildings in various states of preservation, and many have been restored. The buildings are connected by a dense network of formerly paved roads, called sacbeob. Archaeologists have found almost 100 sacbeob criss-crossing the site, and extending in all directions from the city.
The buildings of Chichén Itza are grouped in a series of architectonic sets, and each set was at one time separated from the other by a series of low walls. The three best known of these complexes are the Great North Platform, which includes the monuments of El Castillo, Temple of Warriors and the Great Ball Court; The Ossario Group, which includes the pyramid of the same name as well as the Temple of Xtoloc; and the Central Group, which includes the Caracol, Las Monjas, and Akab Dzib.
The Sphinx of Giza
WHAT WAS THE PURPOSE OF THIS GREAT TEMPLE OR MONUMENT?WHAT DID REPRESENT ?WHO BUILT IT-WHEN WAS BUILT IT?http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PotS7hPQZTUThe majestic Sphinx, with the body of a lion and the head of a king, presides over the Giza necropolis as if it were it’s guardian. It wears a pharaohs nemes and faces the east. A beard used to hang from it’s chin, but it has long since fallen away.
The Greek word "sphinx" may have derived from the Egyptian shesep-ankh, which translates to "living image". It stands taller than a six-story building and as long as a city block. It is made from megaliths, which are estimated to weigh 200 tons apiece, the smallest weighing 50 tons. The megaliths are fashioned from a single knoll of rock.
Many scholars believe that the face of the Sphinx was carved to represent Khafre, who the Greeks knew as Chephren. Khafre reigned from 2520 to 2494 BC. Some also believe that it dates back to the Old Kingdom during the fourth Dynasty. However, the Sphinx is carved of rock, so it cannot be dated by the radio carbon technique. The only other method of dating is by using contemporary texts that refer to its construction. There are none of these, therefore, no definite facts are known.
Another notion is that it was built when the Sahara was still green. We know that the Sahara was once fertile, but over the millennia, it slowly eroded. This could be an explanation for the water damage done to the outer walls of the Sphinx.
The awe-inspiring monument lies on an east-west axis. The east and west walls each have six secluded places, perhaps used in rites of the rising and setting of the sun. They also have twenty-four pillars, which may represent the twenty-four hours in a day. There are many legends about the Sphinx. One such legend claims that it is a sole remnant of an advanced civilization lost to archaeology.
A small number of people believe that the evidence for this lost civilization is under the right paw. There is no archaeological data to support this claim. Another legend states there are secret underground passages. The Egyptian Antiquities Organization excavated and found three tunnels under the monument.
The first tunnel is found under the head of the Sphinx. It travels inside the body for five meters. The second is found in the tail and is thirty feet long. The third is located on the north side. All of these tunnels date to pharaoh times, but the purpose for them is unknown.
A red granite Stella sits between the front paws. It tells a story of King Thutmose IV when he was still a prince. He went hunting near Giza and fell asleep in the shade of the Sphinx. The awesome lion appeared before him in a dream and complained that his body was falling into ruin.
The creature promised that Thutmose IV would be king one day if he restored the monument. The rest of the inscription has eroded away, but Thutmose IV did become king. He removed sand from around the Sphinx and reset some of the facing stones that had fallen off. He erected the Stella that tells his story.1 The present damage done to the face of the Sphinx was done in 1380 by Arab sheikh and later by the Mamelukes who used it for target practice.
Back to Giza to the year 10,500 BC. If we looked at the skies, what would we see? If we sat at the paws of the Sphinx just before sunrise, we would see the zodiacal constellation of Leo- a constellation that resembles a lion. At the exact moment of which the solar disc breaks over the horizon ahead of us, we make a ninety-degree right turn to face due south. Consummating at the altitude of nine degrees twenty minutes, we see before us the three stars of Orion’s belt forming a pattern in the sky that is identical to the ground plan of the Giza Pyramids.
Graham Hancock, the author of "The Message of the Sphinx", believes that it is a lion because it was built in the Age of Leo. The Age of Leo lasted from 10,970 to 8810 BC. He supports his argument by stating that in the Age of Pisces the symbol of Christianity if the fish. In the proceeding Age of Aries we find rams sacrificed in the Old Testament. Egyptians worshiped Apis, the bull, in the Age of Taurus and the bull-cult flourished in Minoan Crete. 4 Coincidence?
