Thor's Haven

by Richard S Young

  He almost skipped with joy as the hopes of his off-the-cuff plan had come to fruition and borne fruit with results that he could have only dreamed of. As he walked off in search of a decent bed for the night, Daniel contemplated that the success of his hopes was not down to the concepts of hope itself but more likely attributable to him simply having some faith - faith in himself, his capabilities and putting faith in the military system that he fully understood and appreciated could be relied upon when he really needed it to.

  09.23am – 13th April, present day.

  Ancient city of Pergamon, north-east of Bergama, northern Turkey.

  The 116 kilometre (72 miles) journey from Şirinyer was fairly uneventful driving for Daniel as the road meandered northwards through some charming countryside and busy little towns while affording him with getting occasional glimpses of the Aegean Sea away to his left. The highways he initially travelled upon were fairly quiet at first but the traffic soon began to increase with the commencement of the morning rush hour period and then became congested as more and more packed tourist coaches took to the road on scheduled excursions, all readily identifiable with their signs stating ‘Gallipoli’, ‘Troy’, ‘Teos’, ‘Izmir’ and ‘Pergamon’ as their designated destinations. The 100 minute drive came to an end as Daniel followed the road signs pointing to the ancient city of Pergamon located just outside the modern city of Bergama.

  Located on a promontory to be found slightly north of the Bakırçay River, 26 kilometres (16 miles) inland from the Aegean Sea, Bergama has a current population of about 102,000. The ruins of what once was the ancient city of Pergamon lie just to the north and west of the modern city. At the height of its power and influence in the 1st Century AD, Pergamon sustained a population of over 150,000 souls and was revered as one of the major cultural centres of both the Greek and Roman worlds. Many remains of its impressive monuments can still be seen throughout the ruined city and archaeologists and historians uncover new wonders and discoveries regularly throughout the site. In the 21st Century, Pergamon is a designated UNESCO World Heritage site and Daniel stopped his vehicle at the entrance gates. He scanned the various signs looking for directions for where the World Archaeological Congress (WAC) offices could be found. The World Archaeological Congress sponsors an on-site research team to operate during the spring and summer months and collate their seasonal findings and notes together for other archaeological bodies to utilise. A specialist survey team had arrived a few weeks earlier under the leadership of a Dr Debbie Gilbert, a classics lecturer at the famous St. Andrew’s University in Scotland, with the mission to compile a comprehensive mapping survey of the whole site and then create 3-dimensional digital computer graphic models that would be the latest and definitive study and examination of the whole area.

  After a brief discussion with a security officer followed by a flash of identity papers, the signing of a site-visitors book and the cursory tick on a delivery clipboard, Daniel drove slowly towards a row of wooden huts that were not far from the entrance gates. As Daniel approached them, he noticed that the huts served different purposes: some were offices, some were rest rooms, some were store-rooms and the last two were toilet blocks. A small copse of bare-leafed Turkish hazel trees provided some shade in the morning sun with their early springtime blossom of yellow catkins casting soft shadows onto the buildings. As he parked and exited the vehicle, Daniel noticed a woman emerge from one of the huts and walk towards him. He couldn’t help but notice that the woman was tall and was of an indeterminate age as dark shoulder-length hair enlivened her facial features while dark eyes twinkled in the sunshine. He reckoned she was about 40. Her purposeful gait was accentuated by her desert boots, jeans, blouse and cotton jacket while a cloth satchel gently bounced off her right hip as she strode towards him.

  “Hi! I’m looking for a Dr Debbie Gilbert. Do you know if she is around just now?” said Daniel.

  “I am she. Can I help you?” came the reply.

  “Oh! My name is Daniel Lauridsen. I’ve just driven up from the air-base at Şirinyer with some equipment for you from Copenhagen University. I brought it from Afghanistan last night.”

  “Brilliant. The LIDAR gear is here.” and Debbie called over to some colleagues in a wooden hut who then arrived and began to remove the four crates from the back of Daniel’s vehicle.

  As Daniel watched the crates being removed, he passed over the envelope of instructions and manuals he had been asked to give to Debbie. He couldn’t help himself and asked.

  “Forgive me for asking, but why do you need to use this type of technology at a place like this? Will this provide any assistance to the work that goes on here?”

  “Those are two really good questions to ask, Mr. Lauridsen. The use of LIDAR, an acronym for light detection and ranging, is essentially 3-D scanning and the use laser scanning at sites of antiquity like this, has become an essential part of the work that we do. In fact, 21st Century archaeology depends on its use more and more for many reasons, not just to conduct surveys or possibly discover new sites but to preserve as many of the existing heritage locations as humanly possible.

  The world is changing and not for the better. Revolt, rebellion, civil war and armed uprisings are all far too common events and unfortunately such occurrences often lead to the destruction of parts of our history. In recent years, a great many of the historically important places of interest located in say, Libya, Iraq, Syria, Sudan, Rwanda, Somalia etc, have been damaged or even deliberately destroyed by warring factions during whatever armed conflict that’s been going on. If modern day archaeologists and historians can generate or create new and permanent site records by using LIDAR, they are preserving these places for future generations to enjoy, and because of LIDAR usage, a bespoke computer graphic model can be produced for reference should there be a need for repair, or even reconstruction, of any given venue.

  Following the unfortunate 2016 July coup events that took place here in Turkey, several universities were closed down and dozens of academics, scholars and historians were subsequently intimidated, persecuted and criminalised. There was a real and genuine concern that Turkey was going to become an insular state and possibly descend into civil war, and if that happened, some of the most important heritage sites in the world would be lost forever, or at the very least become inaccessible until further notice. Fortunately, the political situation has improved and here we are in Turkey doing what we do, but my profession has been given a warning shot across its bows about what could possibly happen in the future and we cannot take anything for granted anymore. The global mission of archaeological practice is now all about working together to achieve, maintain and record everything we do, including excavation, survey, publication and curation of any recovered materials for the benefit of the national archaeological organisations that are responsible for the maintenance of such, while preserving them for posterity and for future generations to enjoy and appreciate. Once places like this are gone, it will be hard to recreate them without having detailed reference information.”

  Daniel absorbed what Debbie had just told him and recognised within himself that he was very guilty of not appreciating what the consequences of armed conflict could have upon the history and heritage of a nation. He had witnessed firsthand the wanton destruction of historically important and sacred sites in Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia during his own military service and admittedly had not given such incidents much thought, because the sole focus of his concentration had always been on the mission tasks that he had to perform at the time.

  “But this LIDAR system seems to differ from others that I am aware of. I know that this system has recently had a Danish military use in Afghanistan yet here I am delivering it to you at Pergamon for an archaeological survey, so forgive me for questioning you about it.”

  “No, that’s alright. You are entitled to ask and if I was in your shoes, I’d be doing the very same. Copenhagen University developed t
he technology and then tested it with different applications. In 2014, somebody, I don’t know who, had the bright idea of attaching a LIDAR system to one of the drones and then test-flying it at Borrering just to the south of Copenhagen. The drone team was hoping to find evidence of previous dwelling houses but they certainly weren’t expecting to discover a a previously unknown Viking fort that could be added to the list of the known Viking trelleborgs, or ring forts.

  Only seven of are thought to exist and although there were some aerial photographs from the early 1970s that indicated that something had once stood at the site, the historical records were totally silent about the existence of a fortress. The only mentions of there ever being a ring fortress at Borrering were scant references appearing in the romance of occasional literature through the ages.

  However, the LIDAR data showed that something large was hidden beneath the surface at Borrering, so the drone team made contact with fellow departments and universities and asked for additional help and assistance. With the aerial LIDAR application now being used by drone instead of the conventional helicopter or aeroplane methods, time and money was subsequently freed up to further develop the technology. So much so, terrestrial LIDAR applications documented the topography at the site causing bespoke computer software being developed to allow the data from the terrestrial and aerial LIDAR systems to converge and conjoin with each other to produce 3-D graphic models of the site. This information produced high definition data being extrapolated that assisted the ongoing archaeological expedition, and the success of this technological discovery led to other uses for the drone LIDAR system being considered.

  Police forces around the world already use LIDAR in speed guns and cameras and other uses can be found in cutting edge forensic reconstructions of crime scenes for bullet trajectories and the like. Military applications already exist like the Airborne Laser Mine Detection System (ALMDS) for counter-mine warfare and there are variances of that system being used to detect hidden tanks and vehicles. The Israeli Defence Force have a system in place to detect tunnel networks in and around the Gaza Strip and the Americans use something similar in their efforts to thwart the drug cartels moving narcotic materials and the trafficking of people over the Mexican border, but someone in the Danish military recognised that the aerial and terrestrial LIDAR system that had been developed by the universities for archaeological and topographical surveys could possibly be applied for other purposes.

  NATO agreed to allow Denmark to test a military version of this software in Afghanistan to detect tunnels, bunkers, cave complexes, disguised buildings, pathways, hidden ordnance and munitions dumps and transport routes, but the Danish forces needed to have a specific type of drone and terrestrial laser scanning module to use and also a skilled person to calibrate their operating systems. I have at my disposal some aerial mini-drones and the terrestrial laser scanning modules and can configure them both to work with military software.”

  “Were you in Afghanistan programming the drones?” asked Daniel and was impressed with Debbie’s nodded reply.

  “Now that you have your LIDAR system back, what do you plan to do with it here at Pergamon? Having explained the background of the LIDAR system and how the world is changing, I can understand the necessity for a complete site survey to create 3-D digital models that will be available for people to reference, but surely this site has been excavated, explored and documented for decades and there is nothing left to be found?”

  Debbie frowned at Daniel.

  “There are always discoveries to be made. The Library of Pergamon was the second largest in the ancient Greek world after the famed Library of Alexandria in Egypt, containing at least 200,000 scrolls. The actual location of the library building here has not been definitively ascertained although the extensive 19th Century excavations have always suggested that the library was an annex of the northern stoa of the sanctuary of Athena in the Upper Citadel way over there to our left, but the recent discovery of inscriptions amongst the ruins of the gymnasium just along there to our right now suggest that for 200 years we’ve been looking in the wrong place. It seems that the library building might be located in that area, and the LIDAR system will confirm for us whether it is or not.”

  “How long do you think it will take you to complete the survey? From what I can see, it is a massive site and can imagine that you will be very exact with the plotting and mapping of it.”

  “The mapping process itself isn’t as long as you think. The Pergamon site is 90 hectares (220 acres) and we’ve already planned how to go about the process of diligently recording the whole area by following a plotted grid pattern. The mini-drones will go overhead each segment of the grid and record while at ground level, we will use the terrestrial laser scanning modules. A quick survey by the drones will take about 3 hours to compile a detailed digital surface area schematic that will we use as the initial working model, and all we do is add our findings to it as we work our way through the grid-plan. The initial aerial survey allows mathematical algorithms to calculate volume area between specific points on the grid-plan and measure the topographic undulations that we will then repeatedly survey by air and on the ground. It will take about three weeks in total to complete the survey that we wish to do, but we are taking our time with it to make sure we get everything recorded properly.

  Basically we survey a grid, upload the data and move on to the next one until completed. We will then repeat the process but use different filters and measuring tools available on the drones and terrestrial units and upload the data. Every time we upload data into the working digital computer models, the better the definition of the finished product that will create an augmented reality platform for tablets and smart phones for anyone to use. You wander around the site and all you see is broken masonry, ruins and rubble. You then point your tablet or smart phone at what you are looking at, and suddenly on your device, what once stood there appears as a digital recreation displaying the original magnificence. It is a surveyor’s dream job and heaven for the computer software designers but we have to accept that it will be a slow process to finally complete but it will be ultimately rewarding, especially if we then discover something that has been missed previously. Every single anomaly we uncover during the survey will be investigated and that is the time consuming aspect. It could take years for each and every one of them to be excavated, analysed, recorded and researched, and that’s what makes what we are doing here very exciting. It’s the possibility that this digital survey will find something new that changes established thought and then sharing it with the world to appreciate.”

  Debbie offered to take Daniel on a brief tour of the site but she just needed a few minutes away to go and supervise the storing of the LIDAR equipment. Daniel went back to his vehicle and removed a folder from his backpack, locked the vehicle’s doors and leaned against the bonnet while patiently waiting for Debbie’s return.

  On her return, she handed Daniel a laminated layout map of the Pergamon complex that had the key features highlighted.

  “That’s for you to get your bearings. We are here and I will give you a short tour. There’s a viewing area not far from here that can give you a perspective of how large this city was.”

  Daniel followed Debbie’s lead and as time progressed, he began to appreciate the scale of what had once stood at ancient Pergamon. He noticed that Debbie became very animated in her descriptions of the various sites that they passed and it was evident that her work was her true passion in life. They arrived at the viewpoint that looked out and over the ruined city and Daniel was taken aback at the sheer size of the Pergamon Theatre complex that cascaded steeply down the hillside below him. As they stood and looked at all around them, Debbie explained that this well-preserved theatre had space for around 10,000 people to be sat in 78 rows of seats, and at a height of 36 metres, it was the steepest seating incline to be found at any of the ancient theatres.

  Daniel took the opport
unity to explain to Debbie that he had offered to return the mini-drones back to her because someone in Afghanistan had suggested that she might be able to assist him with a private research project that he was working on. He opened up his folder and asked Debbie to look at some photographs for him and give him her professional opinion. He described in detail the twist of fate circumstances surrounding his chance finding of the white stone in Pakistan, how he had then conducted an extensive internet search about the symbols, which resulted in travelling over into India and the city of Srinagar and making some queries with a local seer whose information had brought him to come to Pergamon. Daniel explained the various phrases and words that Jnvandeep Mdhansh had uttered during their brief meeting and he passed over his written notes about ‘Yuz Asaf’, ‘Pertho’, ‘Pergamon’, ‘under the tree,’ ‘naadi jothidam’, ‘Poorva Janma’, ‘Montségur’, ‘Otto Rahn’ and ‘Yggdrasil’. This information had made his quest become confused while his own investigations made him form a host of conclusions, suggestions and presumptions that he was uncomfortable with. All he wanted was someone professional to tell him what the stone was for or what it signified.

  Debbie carefully studied the photographs of the stone intently and then slowly drew her right forefinger along the grooves of the markings that the images displayed. She sucked her breath in through her teeth, cocked her head slightly to the right and held the images closer to her face for further inspection. Her nose wrinkled as her facial expressions denoted that she was obviously considering possibilities in her mind as to the purpose and origin of the stone. Daniel became enraptured with the analytical processes of this expert he had only just encountered this morning.