Archive for Thursday 6th February 2003 - The 10 World's greatest mysteries...
No. 3 The mystery of the universal tradition

There have been many books recently about ancient civilisations. One question being asked is, Was there an original, universal civilization behind them all?

The first people to raise this question were anthropologists. They noticed that quite different people, in different continents, had the same myths and folklore. Even the names of legendary heroes were similar. This seemed to indicate that all native cultures had a common origin.

The firmest evidence for this is in metrology - the study of traditional units of measure. It is now known that all great monuments of the past - from Stonehenge to the pyramids of Egypt and Mexico - were designed in the same units. And these units are simple fractions of the earth's dimensions. One single code of number and science was used by all the prehistoric civilisations.

Also universal is the legend of a great disaster – like Noah's flood. Some versions say it overthrew a world-wide union of nations, ruled by true knowledge and wisdom. Most people perished, but a few survivors, in different regions, preserved the old knowledge. Later they developed civilisations in imitation of the original.

This is so different from the history we are taught today, that I still find it hard to believe. But facts are facts. Relics and traditions of the same ancient culture are to be found in all ages and places. The mystery is, where did it first come from?

John Michell

Unexplained Phenomena, A Rough Guide Special
(co-author Bob Rickard, rrp £12.99) at the special Mirror Direct price of £9.99 + p&p.
Who Wrote Shakespeare?
(Thames & Hudson, rrp £8.95) for the Mirror Direct special price of £6.95 + p&p.
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