Among some DVDs we rented last weekend was Stonehenge Apocalypse, a movie made for TV - USA's SyFy channel. I'd spotted it, almost hidden on the bottom shelf, and though suspecting it'd be a tacky bit of hokum, the mention of Stonehenge appealed to me.
Hokum it was, yet I thoroughly enjoyed it. The obviously faux Stonehenge made of styrofoam was a bit offputting at first though! Reviews of the film read later had little good to say about it - but I seldom agree with reviewers. Disbelief suspended, a drink or two to hand, and it turned out to be darn good entertainment.
Although the words "ley lines" were never mentioned once in the movie, I immediately recognised from whence the idea for the story had originated. Long ago and far away I'd read a few books on ley lines. There may or may not be a link to astrology, though I suspect there has to be some connection.
A quick nutshell version of the plot first.
Stonehenge Apocalypse was directed by Paul Ziller, who co-wrote the story with Brad Abraham. Main character is Jacob (played by Misha Collins) a guy who was once a child prodigy, became a respected physicist, now discreditied by skeptics and reduced to running a conspiracy theory type of phone-in radio show from
a shack in the woods, somewhere in the USA. He is alerted by a caller to some strange elevated electromagnetic energy readings which seem to emanate from Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England.
A string of disasters spread across the world. Jacob has a theory. He travels to England and somehow gets himself accepted into the group of scientists, military and government bods who are trying to understand what's going on. Throughout the world, more disasters are occurring, all linked to ancient sites, for example an eruption at Chichen Itza in Mexico.
Jacob’s ideas are ridiculed; he's written off as a tinfoil hat quack.
A former colleague of Jacob's turns up in the plot, he has become a fanatical cult leader...... That's as far as I'll take it, except to say that it did turn out that a network of lines of electro-magnetic energy was found to connect points all around the globe, specifically linked to ancient stone constructions.
The network of connecting lines wasn't referred to as ley lines in the movie. That term was coined by an Englishman, Alfred Watkins (left) back in 1921. Watkins had discovered a straight alignment passing through various ancient sites and churches on a map of the Blackwardine area. He theorised that these lines marked Neolithic trading routes, published his findings in his book Early British Trackways (1922). In 1925, he published more of his theories and findings in The Old Straight Track. Watkins' massive information gathering, research, and his mathematical proof point out and support that the distribution of the key points along the ley lines could not have resulted by mere chance. Later researchers have found ley lines connecting ancient pyramids in China, Egypt, Mexico (Mayan & Aztec), and Greece; Grand Canyon in Arizona; The Recumbent Stone Circles in North East Scotland; Stonehenge; Easter Island and many other sites.
Skeptics have tried to discredit the ley line theory by pointing out that distant points of any kind can be joined by straight lines. Join all museums or all pubs, or all concert halls, for instance. But what gives the ley lines theory extra plausibility is the layer of ancient folk lore and tradition which link to the points involved. These lines have different names in different cultures: fairy lines, song lines, spirit ways, death roads, etc.
Various theories as to the meaning or use of ley lines have been proposed over the years. Mr. Watkins' trades routes seems reasonable, as does a recent theory that, in England in particular, the lines formed a kind of sat-nav for primitive man (see a piece in the UK's Telegraph). Are these ley lines similar to possible lines that birds, mammals, insects and bacteria use to migrate across long distances? Sacred geometry is involved, it seems, and Feng Shui has connection to the theory, as does dowsing. Early astronomical positions have to form part of the puzzle - most (all?) locations/positions of these ancient structures link to the solstices or equinoxes.
Some theories are harder to accept, but nothing should be considered out of the question these days. Do the lines run along the joints of Earth's tectonic plates, so that some kind of magnetic energy might escape along them? Did a civilisation more ancient than any we currently have on record leave behind some knowledge of a network of energies, possibly related to earth's magnetism or the position of certain stars or planets? Is the grid of energy lines a remnant of some magical artefact used by the people of lost Atlantis? Do the freemasons hold any secret information on this? Do UFOs appear at points along these lines? Finally, an even more way out there whacky one: was Princess Di's death connected to a ley line in France?
You can attach all manner of "stuff" to any theory. Some ideas make the storyline of Stonehenge Apocalypse seem almost sensible.
Best all-round article on ley lines I've found online is here:
http://www.ancient-wisdom.co.uk/leylines.htm
Another interesting site: THE PREHISTORIC ALIGNMENT OF WORLD WONDERS -PART I - THE GREAT CIRCLE : http://home.hiwaay.net/~jalison/index.html
Hokum it was, yet I thoroughly enjoyed it. The obviously faux Stonehenge made of styrofoam was a bit offputting at first though! Reviews of the film read later had little good to say about it - but I seldom agree with reviewers. Disbelief suspended, a drink or two to hand, and it turned out to be darn good entertainment.
Although the words "ley lines" were never mentioned once in the movie, I immediately recognised from whence the idea for the story had originated. Long ago and far away I'd read a few books on ley lines. There may or may not be a link to astrology, though I suspect there has to be some connection.
A quick nutshell version of the plot first.
Stonehenge Apocalypse was directed by Paul Ziller, who co-wrote the story with Brad Abraham. Main character is Jacob (played by Misha Collins) a guy who was once a child prodigy, became a respected physicist, now discreditied by skeptics and reduced to running a conspiracy theory type of phone-in radio show froma shack in the woods, somewhere in the USA. He is alerted by a caller to some strange elevated electromagnetic energy readings which seem to emanate from Stonehenge in Wiltshire, England.
A string of disasters spread across the world. Jacob has a theory. He travels to England and somehow gets himself accepted into the group of scientists, military and government bods who are trying to understand what's going on. Throughout the world, more disasters are occurring, all linked to ancient sites, for example an eruption at Chichen Itza in Mexico.
Jacob’s ideas are ridiculed; he's written off as a tinfoil hat quack.
A former colleague of Jacob's turns up in the plot, he has become a fanatical cult leader...... That's as far as I'll take it, except to say that it did turn out that a network of lines of electro-magnetic energy was found to connect points all around the globe, specifically linked to ancient stone constructions.
The network of connecting lines wasn't referred to as ley lines in the movie. That term was coined by an Englishman, Alfred Watkins (left) back in 1921. Watkins had discovered a straight alignment passing through various ancient sites and churches on a map of the Blackwardine area. He theorised that these lines marked Neolithic trading routes, published his findings in his book Early British Trackways (1922). In 1925, he published more of his theories and findings in The Old Straight Track. Watkins' massive information gathering, research, and his mathematical proof point out and support that the distribution of the key points along the ley lines could not have resulted by mere chance. Later researchers have found ley lines connecting ancient pyramids in China, Egypt, Mexico (Mayan & Aztec), and Greece; Grand Canyon in Arizona; The Recumbent Stone Circles in North East Scotland; Stonehenge; Easter Island and many other sites.Skeptics have tried to discredit the ley line theory by pointing out that distant points of any kind can be joined by straight lines. Join all museums or all pubs, or all concert halls, for instance. But what gives the ley lines theory extra plausibility is the layer of ancient folk lore and tradition which link to the points involved. These lines have different names in different cultures: fairy lines, song lines, spirit ways, death roads, etc.
Various theories as to the meaning or use of ley lines have been proposed over the years. Mr. Watkins' trades routes seems reasonable, as does a recent theory that, in England in particular, the lines formed a kind of sat-nav for primitive man (see a piece in the UK's Telegraph). Are these ley lines similar to possible lines that birds, mammals, insects and bacteria use to migrate across long distances? Sacred geometry is involved, it seems, and Feng Shui has connection to the theory, as does dowsing. Early astronomical positions have to form part of the puzzle - most (all?) locations/positions of these ancient structures link to the solstices or equinoxes.
Some theories are harder to accept, but nothing should be considered out of the question these days. Do the lines run along the joints of Earth's tectonic plates, so that some kind of magnetic energy might escape along them? Did a civilisation more ancient than any we currently have on record leave behind some knowledge of a network of energies, possibly related to earth's magnetism or the position of certain stars or planets? Is the grid of energy lines a remnant of some magical artefact used by the people of lost Atlantis? Do the freemasons hold any secret information on this? Do UFOs appear at points along these lines? Finally, an even more way out there whacky one: was Princess Di's death connected to a ley line in France?
You can attach all manner of "stuff" to any theory. Some ideas make the storyline of Stonehenge Apocalypse seem almost sensible.
Best all-round article on ley lines I've found online is here:
http://www.ancient-wisdom.co.uk/leylines.htm
Another interesting site: THE PREHISTORIC ALIGNMENT OF WORLD WONDERS -PART I - THE GREAT CIRCLE : http://home.hiwaay.net/~jalison/index.html
Some theories are harder to accept, but nothing should be considered out of the question these days.
ReplyDeleteThese days or eternally, Twilight?
Gosh you do dig up some extraordinary stuff for your blog, T. Enough to ruminate for the whole day as I leave on my long drive to St. John's.
ReplyDeleteXO
WWW
If Stonehenge, pyramids and other similar places (some of which I have studied and visited) serve one thing, it's possibly to remind us that the barbarians were not necessarily the ancients but maybe us modern inhabitants of this earth.
ReplyDeleteJames Higham ~~~ "These days" because none of us is going to be here eternally :-)
ReplyDeleteAnd"these days" because of the incredible stuff physicists and technology are coming up with at ever increasing speed.....these days.
WWW ~~~ I hope your journey is pleasant.
ReplyDeleteThis topic just presented itself as a result of the DVD we'd watched, mixed with my own memory of books I'd read. I've always had interest in these semi-weird subjects. ;-)
Gian Paul ~~~ Ain't that the truth GP!!
ReplyDeleteIf those old monuments could tell a story we'd be picking our jaws up from the ground, that's a stone cold (no pun intended) certainty.
;-)