Before the Pyramids: Cracking Archaeology's Greatest Mystery

by Christopher Knight

  We have already seen that there was a direct megalithic relationship in terms of the distance between the Ellipse centre and the Capitol building. What we wanted to establish now was whether or not the Capitol was another important focal point for megalithic measurements in its own right. We therefore measured the distance between the centre of the Capitol and the centre of a square intersection to be found just under a kilometre to the northeast. This is Stanton Square and it appears to have been part of the original L’Enfant plan for Washington DC. The distance between the centre of Stanton Square and the centre of the Capitol is 3 × 366 MY.

  Parks and intersections on the original plan of Washington DC often had mirror images created for them, and such is the case with Stanton Park. To the southeast of the Capitol is Seward Square.7 The centre of this square and intersection is also 3 × 366 MY from the Capitol.

  Further east than Stanton Park and Seward Square is Lincoln Park. The distance from both parks to the statue 114 m along Lincoln Park, is 3 × 366 MY.

  It started to become clear that there are at least two major nodes that have been present since the very foundation of Washington. The first is the centre of the Ellipse, which itself is situated on the proposed Jefferson Washington DC meridian, and the second is the Capitol building itself. Between them, these two nodes enjoy megalithic relationships with a high percentage of squares and circles that form the framework of Washington DC’s geographical layout. In effect, underpinning the road layout we see today is a ‘spectral’ plan based entirely on megalithic measurements The Capitol building is the seat of government and arguably the most important building in the country – even compared to the White House. But what, we wondered, makes the centre of the Ellipse so significant?

  What we had found, almost by accident, is explosive.

  Washington DC has a completely secret structural plan lying beneath its sidewalks. What is more, it demonstrates a good understanding of megalithic geometry that has, apparently, been lost to the world for some three and a half millennia. We needed to understand and look more closely at the group of men that created the city – with particular reference to their Masonic connections. For Freemasonry is the only conceivable conduit for the transmission such super-ancient information, as regards the last 600 years at least.

  Chapter 13

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  THE FOUNDING FATHERS

  Freemasonic Washington

  It is no secret that Freemasonry played an important part in the founding of the United States of America. Indeed, it would have been very strange if this had not been the case. The intellectually motivated radicals that inspired both the French Revolution and its counterpart in the British Colonies of North America were exactly the sort of men that would be drawn to Freemasonry. From its outset, Freemasonry espoused the virtues that were shouted in both Paris and along the eastern seaboard of the Americas as the white-hot anger of people who felt themselves sorely oppressed found its expression. These virtues were liberty, fraternity and equality.

  So pivotal are these concepts to the very basis of Freemasonry that it might be suggested that the presence of Freemasonry was, in great part, what ‘allowed’ both the American and French Revolutions to take place at all.

  At Freemasonic meetings all brothers are equal. Differences in class and station mean nothing in the lodge and all Freemasons are bound by the same rules and mutually held agreements. Together with the unambiguous secrecy of the Craft this made Freemasonry a wonderful conduit for revolutionary ideals and even revolutionary activity in the 18th century. British and American Freemasons might be quite circumspect about their early revolutionary credentials these days, but the Grand Orient of France – the governing body of many French Freemasons, makes no bones about its involvement in both the American and then the French Revolution. Its own website, discussing a French Freemason called Lafayette who assisted in the American War of Independence, says:

  Thus Lafayette received a sword from George Washington [himself a high-ranking Freemason]1 in honour of the part played by French Freemasons in the American War of Independence.

  In this way, the preparation of the ideas of liberty and equality in the Masonic lodges contributed to the great reforms of the French Revolution.2,3

  Jacobin Clubs, formed in pre-revolutionary France for the discussion of political ideas and the planning of specific activities associated with revolution, were often merely extensions of Freemasonic lodges. This was certainly the case with regard to the highly influential ‘Lodge Les Neuf Sœurs’, established in Paris in 1776. This lodge was derived from a charitable organization known as the ‘Société des Neuf Sœurs,’ which itself had close associations with the French ‘Académie des Sciences’ about which we will have more to say. These French lodges offered both advice and material support to the American colonialists in their efforts to split from Britain.

  The existence of Freemasonic lodges in the American colonies allowed secret discussions to take place amongst the citizens of the colonies and ultimately led to the formation of militias that fought against the British Redcoats once revolution broke out in 1775. Some of the major happenings that spurred the American War of Independence were entirely led by Freemasons. A good example of this was the famous ‘Boston Tea Party’ in which a group of colonialists, dressed as American Mohawks, went aboard ships belonging to the East India Company. The entire cargo of tea aboard the ships was dumped into Boston harbour as a protest regarding the East India Company’s virtual monopoly on tea brought to the colonies. This event, which took place on 16 December 1773, is seen as being a major precursor to the American War of Independence. The attacks were planned at The Green Dragon Tavern in Boston, a building that had been purchased by the St Andrews Freemasonic Lodge of Boston in 1764.

  The organization that destroyed the East India tea was known as the ‘Sons of Liberty’, but nobody has ever doubted that the majority of those involved, and certainly those organizing the event,4 were Freemasons from St Andrews Lodge, which met regularly in a room above the Green Dragon Tavern.

  It is common knowledge that George Washington, the most famous American general in the War of Independence and later the first President of the United States of America, was a Freemason. Indeed he never attempted to hide the fact. For example, he presided at the laying of the cornerstone of the US Capitol on 18 September 1793 in full Masonic regalia, which was about as public a demonstration of his allegiance to Freemasonry as would have been possible.

  Although the percentage of Freemasons involved in the War of Independence, and the subsequent republic that followed, is sometimes exaggerated, there can be no doubt about the influence of those who were of a Freemasonic bent. At the signing of the American Constitution on 17 September 1787, 9 of the 39 men who signed the document were already Freemasons and 6 more became Freemasons subsequently. Thus we can see that, of the 39 signatories, almost half (15) were, or would be, Freemasons.

  A slight diversion is called for at this point, specifically regarding the signing of the American Constitution and also the laying of the cornerstone of the US Capitol in Washington DC. Both dates are quite significant in terms of something we have discovered about Freemason-inspired ceremonies that had not been noticed prior to our own individual and common research. These have a bearing on our later findings regarding Washington and megalithic measurements.

  Just one of the facts that made us suspect a commonality between Freemasons and those who had inspired and used the megalithic system of geometry and measurements so long ago, was a specific interest in the planet Venus. We demonstrated in Civilization One that Venus had provided the means of setting the size of the Megalithic Yard after around 3200 BC. It was Venus that was observed, across one Megalithic Degree of the sky (at specific times during its orbit) that had allowed the megalithic priests to set the length of the pendulum that in turn offered the true size of the Megalithic Yard. Although we have shown that the technique of establishing the true size of the Megalithic Yard was o
riginally reliant on the movements of a star, this would have proved to be too variable for the extreme accuracy required. It was at a period sometime around 3500 BC that Venus was first used for the purpose. Venus was also important in setting the length of the 1-metre–1-second pendulum.

  The Power of the Goddess

  In most cultures of the world Venus, as a deity, has been considered feminine. This is probably not too surprising. Both as a morning and an evening star Venus is a spectacular and beautiful sight, far outshining any celestial object apart from the Sun and Moon. No other planet and no star come anywhere near to the brightness of Venus and in a moonless sky it is capable of casting a shadow.

  Many Freemasons would be shocked to discover that much of their Craft is based on the adoration of the planet Venus and on goddess worship, but there are many reasons for believing that this is indeed the case. Arguments favouring Freemasonry as being based upon a species of Mystery Religion in which the Great Goddess, who was once worshipped universally across Europe and Asia, are set out in Alan’s book The Virgin and the Pentacle5 and also in our co-authored book entitled Solomon’s Power Brokers.6

  Substantial evidence, not only for the importance of the ‘feminine’ in Freemasonry but also regarding the Craft’s deep interest in astronomy and astrology, comes from studying not so much what Freemasons have done in the past but rather when they did it.

  As an example, let us first look at the signing of the American Constitution, which we can reasonably assume would have been influenced by leading Freemasons such as George Washington and Benjamin Franklin. The chosen date for the ceremony was 17 September 1787 in the then capital city of Philadelphia, where Franklin was a past Grand Master of the Provincial Grand Lodge of Pennsylvania. Before this date the infant United States had relied heavily on the Declaration of Independence that had been rather hastily drawn up and signed on 4 July 1776, without much in the way of prior planning. The United States of America did not become a true republic until it had a constitution, and this was not finally thrashed out until 1787.

  The delegates from the various fledgling states of the original United States had come together in Philadelphia as early as May of 1787 and they had gathered and talked throughout much of the following three and a half months. In fact there is good reason to believe that the substance of the Constitution was decided upon quite some time before 17 September, but there were agencies involved that clearly wanted the ratification of the Constitution to take place at a very specific time on a very particular date.

  We now come to the world of astrology, which deals not just with the position of planets and stars in the sky from a scientific point of view, but rather with regard to the bearing these positions might have on the Earth and its inhabitants. Astrology has been more or less totally debunked by science and astronomers in particular hate any mention of it. However, this does not matter a jot as far as historical research is concerned because although most intelligent people may not give astrology much house-room these days, our forebears certainly did. Freemasonry is riddled with astrological lore, and at the time it came into official being it was in good company. It disturbs many astronomers to learn (which is why they rarely talk about it) that their greatest hero, Sir Isaac Newton (1642–1727), the eminent English scientist and all-round genius, spent far more of his life studying astrology than he ever did astronomy or physics!

  We are both individually convinced from separate and mutual research that Freemasonry is based on astronomy and, by ancient dint, a variety of astrology. One significant source of evidence for this view came from a photocopied version of an old book that came into Chris’ possession some years ago whilst on a talking tour in the USA. At the time this book, Stellar Theology and Masonic Astronomy7 was not generally available and, as it was clearly astrological, Chris passed it to Alan, who has studied this subject for many years. To say this book was an eye-opener for Alan is something of an understatement. He devoured it. It was originally written in 1882 by an American Freemason, Robert Hewitt Brown, and to anyone with a good understanding of historical astronomy and astrology it demonstrates one specific fact beyond doubt: It shows that Freemasonry is not merely influenced by astronomy and astrology – its entire framework is built upon them.

  As an interesting side issue, in the photocopied pages of Stellar Theology and Masonic Astronomy certain passages were extremely difficult to read. This was because the passages in question had been intentionally ‘crossed out’ in the original book, presumably so as to prevent those consulting the book in the Masonic library from reading these particular sections. By a great stroke of luck the process of photocopying the pages had re-instated the words below the pen strokes – at least enough to read them. Almost all the sections in question dealt with the planet Venus, the zodiac sign of Virgo and information appertaining to the Mystery Religions and Demeter. Someone, at some time in the past, obviously did not want run-of-the-mill Freemasons to access this information.

  Alan began to look closely at Freemasonic events from the past in order to ascertain whether those organizing such occasions had taken note of what was happening in the sky over their heads at the time. There have been long periods of history, both ancient and more modern, in which nobody would make an important move regarding a treaty, an important dynastic marriage or in fact any other major event of state, without consulting a competent astrologer.

  Alan drew up an astronomical/astrological chart for the date upon which the American Constitution was signed and, although he expected that something significant might be forthcoming, the result shocked even him.

  At the time of the signing of the Constitution, the Sun, together with the planets Mercury and Venus were all in the zodiac sign of Virgo. Just as surely as Venus is the ‘planet’ of the goddess, Virgo is her zodiac sign. The zodiac sign called Virgo is named for ‘the virgin’, one of the guises of the Great Goddess of ancient religion to this very day. As a modern example there is nothing remotely coincidental about the appearance of the Virgin Mary in the New Testament of the Bible. If anyone was going to adopt the new religion in its very early days, the virgin simply had to be there. Why? Because she was in just about every other religion, and her presence was especially pivotal in the ‘Mystery Religions’ that proliferated prior to, and long after, Christianity came into being.

  The Mystery Religions, of which the Mysteries of Demeter and of Isis were the most popular, were celebrated across the known world. They had much in common, one with another, and without going into detail the presence of a virgin, a young god who is sacrificed and who is then resurrected, together with much of the detail we find in the early part of the New Testament were present in all the Mystery cults of the ancient world.

  The pivotal period for the sacrifice of the god, and for the lamentation of his mother the holy virgin, was the start of the autumn8 and for a very important reason. It is at this time of year that the Sun stands in the zodiac sign of Virgo – or at least it did in ancient times. In the northern hemisphere the period when the Sun was in Virgo was marked by the harvest. It was at this time of year that the corn was cut, and the sacrificed god was often known as the ‘corn god’. In other words the corn and the god were synonymous. Of course ‘as’ the corn he rose again when the next crop grew, but it was necessary for him to die in order that humanity could survive another season.

  We see some of the symbols of the Mystery Religions and the sacrificed and risen corn god still present in Freemasonic iconography and practice. Included are the sheaf of corn, the weeping virgin, the story of Hiram Abif, who was sacrificed at the completion of Solomon’s Temple, the death and rebirth that are a major part of the Third Degree ceremony and in various other symbols and rituals. In short, nobody who has a really good understanding of ancient religion and astrological symbolism could possibly fail to recognize the many aspects of the Mystery Religions that exist in Freemasonry.

  How far back the corn god and the virgin go, in terms of developing religion, is
not known, though something of the sort was almost certainly present at the time the henges were being created in Britain and as Egypt began to rise to importance along the river Nile. Just as surely as Greece had the sacrificed god Dionysus, Egypt had his counterpart Osiris – both of whom were expressions of religious imperatives that were almost certainly already hoary with age in the period we refer to as ancient. In fact we can say with some certainty that the myth of the dying and reborn corn god, together with his mother who was paradoxically also a virgin, probably goes back to the very earliest days of farming by human beings.

  In Greece this Goddess was Demeter who was herself, in the conception of many scholars, merely a counterpart of a goddess worshipped in the Island of Crete, certainly prior to the middle of the second millennium BC, far back into the Bronze Age. On the mainland of Greece Demeter was especially venerated at a place called Eleusis, not far from Athens.

  Each year thousands of existing Demeter worshippers, plus a large number of new recruits, gathered in September at Athens. After ritual preparation in the sea nearby they walked in procession all the way to Eleusis. There, each celebrant met the Goddess face to face in a ceremony about which we know little or nothing. The reason the Mysteries of Demeter remain so mysterious is because worshippers were warned on pain of death not to divulge anything that took place in Eleusis. It is possible that a ritual meal of barley cakes was eaten, and also almost certain that each adherent went through some figurative death and rebirth ceremony, probably not unlike the one still present in Freemasonry. Whatever the magic was, it had a profound effect on people for many centuries and Demeter worship continued well into the Christian era.

  All of this is interesting enough but would have seemed well beyond our remit when we embarked on this particular book. However, it is interesting to note that when the Constitution of the United States of America took place, it happened on 17 September 1787. The worshippers of Demeter had met each year in Athens on what is now 14 September, when certain ritual objects were brought to Athens from Eleusis. The worshippers then went to the coast for ritual bathing and, on 17 September, sacrifices were made at a temple in Athens known as the Eleusinion. The procession to Eleusis began on 19 September.