Before the Pyramids: Cracking Archaeology's Greatest Mystery [Hardcover]

A very important extension of previous analysis of megalithic sites. Makes a solid case that the ancient measuring system was an integrated system for lengths, weights, volumes, and even temperatures, and was based not only on the circumference of the earth but also its mass, as well as basic properties of our moon and, most surprisingly, the ratio of distances (366:300) between the three stars of the Belt of Orion. This study on megalithic measures, and the comparison between Thornborough Henge in England and the Giza Pyramids of Egypt represents the long-sought "smoking gun" of the so-called Atlantean culture of pre-historic times.

The construction of Thornborough around 3,500 BC was the high-water mark of megalithic construction in England. It is also the carbon date of Khufu's boats found buried beside the Great Pyramid at Giza. In 3,500 BC, the ocean levels were the highest they have ever been since the end of the last Ice Age, and were 14 feet higher than they are today (according to the brand new book, "The Complete Ice Age", Brian Fagan, editor).

The authors' discovery that Megalithic standard units were used extensively to form the "sacred architecture" of Washington DC proves that the founding fathers looked to the distant past in order to distance themselves from the oppressive dominance of royal rule and inspire progress in the New World. This discovery also makes for a timely companion to Dan Brown's latest thriller, The Lost Symbol.

-Charles Pope
[...]

After reading the first few chapters of "Before the Pyramids", it dawned on me that, after all these years of me studying archeoastronomy/megalithic mysteries, the ability to determine the Earth's circumference is so easy "a caveman can do it"! These awesome henges, monuments, pyramids, etc., were places of learning as much as they were representative structures. Their easy-going, brotherly, narrative style of sharing this knowledge is great! I am an admitted fool when it comes to science, engineering, mechanics or logic. I need to work on my car with a wrench in one hand and a manual in the other. But I have kept trying to understand all these kind of thing, from ancient history to quantum physics. This time, it paid off. I want to go out into some field and determine the Earth's circumference right away- not to mention star patterns, Venus interactions, solar and lunar cycles, precession, and maybe even obliquity of the ecliptic! The heavens have been an open book to humans all along.

Christopher Dunn's terrific book, "Giza Power Plant", where he goes into an engineer's explanation of some of the arcane aspects of the Great Pyramid is a book whose message has lasted for me. Zachariah Sitchin's idea, in one of his books, that Tiwanaku and other South American places were tin smelters for the Bronze Age, also stays with me. Richard Firestone's absolutely awesome, and exhaustively researched (but ridiculously-named and covered) book, "Cycle of Cosmic Catastrophes", is totally foundational to understanding anything in this genre. And, of course, I cannot forget to note Thomas Pawlicki's classic, "How To Build a Flying Saucer", the best non-levitation book about how megaliths were built I have yet seen (althought he does get into levitation in a totally fascinating, yet- to me- incomprehensible way). Now I can confidently be assured that "Before the Pyramids" is right there with these, my top-shelf references to the past. It is on these personally meaningful, somewhat relativistic terms, that I make this review, rather than use a more traditional, impersonal book report style. Perhaps, in time, I can come back and synthesize my insights a little more clearly, and with greater discipline. But for now, I just want to say this book rocks.

I did find about a dozen typos, and would like the authors to know that I am available as a proofreader for their next manuscript.

Thanks to the authors, I could get warm and comfy and buy "Civilization One: The World Is Not as You Thought It Was", Knight's and Butler's earlier work; or instead, I could save the money, find a broomstick and head out to the prairie to check it out for myself. At any rate, it's nice to have been empowered through their clear writing to make the choice.

Before The Pyramids: Cracking Archaeology's Greatest Mystery by Christopher Knight and Alan Butler has much scientific data about a Megalithic Yard that can be traced back to the pyramids and beyond. While one can get lost in the technical descriptions, they do provide validation to these ideas that might otherwise be just interesting.

Perhaps the authors go too far when they suggest that all major sites in Washington, DC are linked by a web measured in the Megalithic Yard, bringing the Freemasonry mystique to the United States. The authors suggest the possibility "that Washington DC is a continuation of knowledge held by an advanced culture from the extreme past. And there is still an elite group of people who fully understand this" (208).

They claim that the Sphinx and other Egyptian standing structures "prove beyond doubt that the emergence of civilization...took place long before orthodox history has ever considered" (209). And they suggest that now is the time to "look again at ideas of the past" (211). Are their conclusions correct? I don't believe there is enough information available. But their findings pose questions of a past far more exciting than any fiction, and I do believe that the best is yet to come.