a journey through myth and magic (Heavens Mirror: Quest for the Lost Civilization - Graham Hancock, Santha Faiia)

Member Name: steerpyke

Product:	Heavens Mirror: Quest for the Lost Civilization - Graham Hancock, Santha Faiia
Date:	17/07/05 (107 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: well laid out and easy to follow

Disadvantages: none

Books in the genre of archaeology are rarely an easy read, their very nature requires concentration and often prior background knowledge of the particular subject. Heavens Mirror then is the answer to this, an easy to access book on alternative archaeology, with an easy to follow text and sumptuous photographs. The book was designed to go hand in hand with the Channel Four series and as such is presented in a way designed to appeal to the non-academic, a breath of fresh air.

Those familiar with Hancock’s previous work will already have an understanding of the nature of this book. Hancock has spent years questioning some of the fundamental ideas of mans past. His general theory, which provides a sort of overview of his work, is that the growth of man from nomadic hunter-gatherer took rather longer than the accepted history books suggest. It is quite a thing to believe that man rocketed from unsophisticated subsistence level tribal groups to the race he is today in no more than 5000 years. Graham Hancock doesn’t believe this and here offers ideas to explain a longer time span for development. This then by its very nature means that man was up to a few very spectacular tricks a lot earlier than the current theories suggest.

Once you get your head around his main thrust certain other anomalies fall into place, and his main argument lies with an understanding of precession. Without going into too much depth precession is a given fact relating to the movement of the stars, or more properly their apparent movement in relation to the viewers position, that is, the earth.

The stars above us appear to move position slightly every year when viewed from the earth, due to a wobble in the earth orbit and this is known as precession. Every year this slight movement follows a measurable and predictable route, but is only really noticeable over very long periods of time. Over a period of 25000 years the stars move full circle. Once this idea was noticed by man it was easily recorded by noting where the sun rose on a specific day of the year. Over time the star pattern behind the rising sun would change. This is also the way that we have developed the Zodiac system and its 12 houses. The Age of Aquarius that we are just moving into is defined by the fact that the sun rises in that area of the sky on the vernal equinox, in 2000 years or so it will have moved into a different part of the sky. Once this is understood you then have a framework to place other ideas. Hancock puts forward the idea that many ancient structures were built facing a star constellation that was important to the culture that created it. The sphinx for example, which has lion characteristics, was built to face the constellation of Leo. In the modern sky it no long faces that constellation, Leo having moved round due to the precessional movements. It is then only a short logical step to wind back the star clock to see when in history the sphinx did face Leo and that will give you the date of its creation. Even if the actual structure was built later, it’s planning must reflect the time suggested. This idea of matching ancient structures to a star clock can then be applied to many other locations. With this theory tucked under our belts, we the reader are taken on an odyssey of the worlds oldest and most sacred sites, from the pyramids of Egypt to the enigmatic statues of Easter Island, from the haunting ruins of South America to the beauty of Ankor Wat. And when the theory of precession is applied the date that comes up is not only similar across the globe, it is of a date that is surprising in its age.


The book is part astronomy, part archaeology and part detective work, many of the ideas will be new but are fascinating none the less. The text is concise, not the usual over whelming mass of information and acts as a not only a good introduction to Graham Hancock’s weightier tomes but as a great place to dip your toe in the waters of alternative or forbidden archaeology as its dramatically known. Unlike his other works this book is filled with a mass of gloriously sumptuous photographs and is worth the cover price for these alone. The photographic work lifts the books out of a purely academic category and adds a much-needed splash of colour and beauty into a subject that can seem not just dry, but often arid.

As a starting point to alternative archaeology, I can recommend no better book, and even if like me, you didn’t see the TV series, this book is an easy read to novices and devotees alike. The Daily Mail put this book on a top ten books that could change your life, and whilst that might be going a bit far, it will hopefully stir up enough interest that you will want to get further into the subject, and explore this fast growing, popular interest area

Summary: a great introduction to Hancocks work and alternative historical theory in general