This led to a rod that was a fraction under 1.5 metres, at 149.158 centimetres – almost exactly three Sumerian kush. Jefferson then divided this rod into five parts to create a new unit he called a ‘foot’. He then stated that there would be 1,000 such feet to his proposed furlong.
Unbeknown to the man who was to become third president of his fledgling nation, his foot and furlong taken from the second of time was directly related to the Megalithic and Sumerian systems; 366 Jefferson furlongs are the same as a Megalithic Degree of arc of the Earth and 3662 Jefferson furlongs describe the exact circumference of the Earth. He had never considered the size of the Earth, so it is now clear that the second of time is, in some way, intrinsically related to the dimensions of our planet.
The next step was for Jefferson to define new weights and capacities which he did by means of cubing his linear units. In the course of conducting this work he studied existing measures and, in doing so, detected that there was some ancient pattern underpinning units which were previously (and still are) thought to be random accidents of history. In finding that a cubic imperial foot held precisely 1,000 ounces he deduced that this was not coincidence but due to some extremely ancient design.
He also identified that the two systems of weights (the avoirdupois and the troy) were not separate systems as generally assumed, but two halves of some single ancient system – one based on the weight of water and the other on the weight of the same volume of wheat grain. Jefferson mused on what far-distant circumstances had led to the creation of such an ancient integrated system, saying that it was the result of ‘design and scientific calculation’ rather than coincidence.
One of the great men of American history had, like us, found that there was once a highly-developed system of weights and measures that had become fragmented over the course of a very long period of time.
1 A full account of what Jefferson had to say can be found at http://www.yale.edu/lawweb/avalon/jeffplan.htm and on a number of other websites.
CHAPTER 7
Grains of Ancient Truth
We felt strongly that we would have worked well with Thomas Jefferson. His approach to history was as pragmatic as it was open-minded and he clearly had no reservations about publishing his observations. But his calculations regarding the relative weight and volume relationship between cereal grains and water were distinctly different to our own.
We had found that all grains, whether barley, wheat or rice behave in a very predictable way when poured into a cube-shaped container. Experiments had shown that the shape of the seeds causes them to occupy a volume that is 125 per cent that of the same weight of water, which in reverse meant that an equal volume of seeds weighs 20 per cent less than water. The 4 x 4 x 4 Megalithic Inch cube proved to hold an imperial pint of water but when the same cube was filled with barley grains it weighed exactly one imperial (or avoirdupois) pound. We also found that the same cube filled with wheat also produced a quantity of wheat that weighed one pound, even though the seeds were a different shape and size than the barley.
Successive experiments demonstrated that the process also worked with rye and with whole rice, although not with polished rice or pearl barley (in which the shape of each seed has been altered by polishing). Our practical experiments were very simple and the results were very clear and yet Jefferson had reported a different relationship between water and wheat. This was a dilemma because we could not see where we could have made an error and it seemed unlikely that a man of Jefferson’s abilities was wrong. Could the differences be reconciled?
Avoirdupois and troy weights
Jefferson’s report identifies that there were two separate systems of weights in use in the United States at that time, the one called avoirdupois, the other troy. Jefferson explains them as follows:
‘In the Avoirdupois series:
The pound is divided into 16 ounces;
The ounce into 16 drachms;
The drachm into 4 quarters.
In the Troy series:
The pound is divided into 12 ounces;
The ounce (according to the subdivision of the apothecaries) into 8 drachms;
The drachm into 3 scruples;
The scruple into 20 grains.
According to the subdivision for gold and silver, the ounce is divided into twenty pennyweights, and the pennyweight into 24 grains.
So that the pound troy contains 5760 grains, of which 7000 are requisite to make the pound avoirdupois; of course the weight of the pound troy is to that of the pound avoirdupois as 5760 to 7000, or as 144 to 175.’
Then, as now, it was normal to assume that the two systems were accidents of history, from different origins with no relationship between them, but Jefferson could see that there was a rather interesting ratio of 144:175. He explains why this caught his attention:
‘It is remarkable that this is exactly the proportion of the ancient liquid gallon of Guildhall of 224 cubic inches, to the corn gallon of 272; for 224 is to 272 as 144 to 175.’ [The gallon of Guildhall was an ancient standard gallon kept at the Guildhall in London.]
Here Jefferson had identified that the relationship between the avoirdupois pound, as used today, and the troy pound exhibit the same relationship as between liquid and grain measures. He was highly surprised to discover this and went on to explain that this links up various measures from the past:
‘It is further remarkable still, that this is also the exact proportion between the specific weight of any measure of wheat, and of the same measure of water; for the statute bushel is of 64 pounds of wheat. Now as 144 to 175, so are 64 pounds to 77.7 pounds; but 77.7 pounds is known to be the weight of 2150.4 cubic inches of pure water, which is exactly the content of the Winchester bushel, as declared by the statute…[Winchester weights and measures were very ancient and though from a different city, had been used in London when the London standards had been lost or became corrupt.] That statute determined the bushel to be a cylinder of 18½ inches diameter, and 8 inches depth. Such a cylinder, as nearly as it can be cubed, and expressed in figures, contains 2150.425 cubic inches… We find, then, in a continued proportion 64 to 77.7 as 224 to 172, and as 144 to 175, that is to say, the specific weight of a measure of wheat, to that of the same measure of water, as the cubic contents of the wet gallon, to those of the dry; and as the weight of a pound troy to that of a pound avoirdupois.’
So, Jefferson had identified a relationship between wheat and water that is a ratio of 144:175, which means that he discovered that water is just over 21.5 per cent heavier than grain for a known capacity. Yet our practical experiments with cubes of a given volume had revealed a relationship between wheat grain and water of 4:5 – i.e. water is 25 per cent heavier than wheat grain.
Using his analysis Jefferson then commented as to how these units must once have been used before the relevance became lost:
‘This seems to have been so combined as to render it indifferent whether a thing were dealt out by weight or measure; for the dry gallon of wheat, and the liquid one of wine, were of the same weight; and the avoirdupois pound of wheat, and the troy pound of wine, were of the same measure. Water and the vinous liquors, which enter most into commerce, are so nearly of a weight, that the difference, in moderate quantities, would be neglected by both buyer and seller; some of the wines being a little heavier, and some a little lighter, than water.’
Who was right – Thomas Jefferson or ourselves?
Cubes and cylinders
We rechecked our cube calculations once again and could find no errors. But Jefferson had told us that he used cylinders (‘Such a cylinder, as nearly as it can be cubed.’) We therefore conducted the experiment with cylinders instead of cubes and found that he was quite correct. The conclusion is that grain behaves very differently in a cube-shaped container than it does in a cylinder of the same volume. Strangely, a cube holds 3.47 per cent more grain than a cylinder and we assume this must be due to the way the grains interlock differently where corners are involved.
/> Understanding the volume of a cylinder requires a knowledge of pi and the use of an arithmetical calculation, which implies a more recent origin than the use of cubes. The Megalithic people did not have a notation system and would have been obliged to use cubes but peoples from the Sumerians onwards could easily have used cylinders. There are therefore two traditions, both of which are derived from the relative weights of wet and dry goods based on grain and water – one using cubes and the other using cylinders. But the importance of grain in all measurement systems is now very clear.
Sumerian mythology has passed into numerous cultures and sacred texts, including the Bible. Over the last decade, Chris has researched these very carefully. In particular, he has made an in-depth study of Enoch, a character who appears in the Old Testament of the Bible and in the 2nd century BC document known as The Book of Enoch.
The Book of Enoch tells us that this great-grandfather of Noah was taught highly-advanced astronomy by a person known as Uriel, apparently at the time that the Megalithic builders were at their peak. In another apocryphal Jewish book, known as The Second Book of Esdras, one section deals with the dead, asking how long they have to wait in their ‘secret chambers’ before they will be resurrected and can be delivered up from their hidden places. Uriel answers them:
‘Even when the number of seeds is filled in you: for He hath weighed the world in the balance. By measure hath He measured the times, and by number hath He measured the times; and He doth not move nor stir them, until the said measure be fulfilled.’
We can be confident that this dates from an extremely archaic period because it is accepted that it was an oral tradition long before it was actually written down. Here Uriel talks of weighing the world and measuring time and quantity.
Barley grains were of great importance to the Sumerians and to all cultures thereafter as a means of measurement – something our newest American associate clearly understood. After some experimentation, we had successfully resolved the potential problem of our ‘disagreement’ with Thomas Jefferson regarding the relative weight of wheat grains.
CONCLUSIONS
Thomas Jefferson had identified a relationship between wheat and water that was a ratio of 144:175 – whereby water is just over 21.5 per cent heavier than grain for a known capacity. This was at odds with our practical experiments with cubes which had shown a relationship between wheat grain and water of 4:5, with water being 25 per cent heavier than wheat grain. This was reconciled by the fact that we had used cubes and Jefferson had used cylinders of known volumes. Barley and wheat obviously compact quite differently in the two kinds of container. This indicates that cylinders have been used for establishing capacities and weights for a very long time indeed.
The Sumerians/Babylonians used the barley seed as their smallest unit of weight and of linear measure. Ancient documents talk of the world being measured in barley seeds.
CHAPTER 8
The Weight of the World
Alan began to feel somewhat haunted by the words of the angel Uriel in the ancient Book of Enoch:
‘… for He hath weighed the world in the balance.’
He began to reflect on the idea of ‘weighing the world’ and decided to run through some rather unusual calculations. He began by looking up the total mass of the Earth and found that this is now generally quoted as being 5.9763 x 1024 kilograms.1 Written as a conventional number this would be: 5,976,300,000,000,000,000,000,000 kg.
Alan then converted the number into Sumerian units of weight. We had already established that this unit of weight was arrived at by taking one-tenth of the length of the double-kush or barley cubit and by making a cube with this dimension. The weight is determined by filling such a cube with water. The mass of the water then becomes the Sumerian unit of mass – the double-mana. The double-mana weighed 996.4 grams so there are 5.9979 x 1024 double-manas in the planet’s mass, which can be seen as 5,997,600,000,000,000,000,000,000 double-mana. This number is as close to 6 followed by 24 zeros as to stand out as being very odd indeed, particularly bearing in mind that we could not be certain as to the ‘exact’ intended size of the double-kush. Of course, it could be a coincidence but it remains a fact that the weight of the world is only one part out in 2,850 from being precisely:
6,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 Sumerian double-manas.
If it were not for the fact that this number conforms so spectacularly to the Sumerian/Babylonian base 60 system of counting we would not have reported it. But it is a tantalizing thought that this ancient unit may have a relationship to the mass of the Earth, either by some brilliant calculation or due to some practical experiment that produced the result by a mechanism unknown to the originators – or to the modern world. Furthermore, we knew that the Sumerians considered that there were 21,600 barley seeds to one double-mana so we can also venture to say that the entire planet is equal to 1,296 x 1026 barley seeds – which then gives the following result:
One degree slice of the Earth
=
360 x 1024 barley seeds
One minute slice of the Earth
=
6 x 1024 barley seeds
One second slice of the Earth
=
1023 barley seeds
So, a one-second wide section of our planet weighs the same as an incredibly neat 100,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 barley seeds. Simply astonishing!
Again, all of this is entirely consistent with the numbering system used by the Sumerian civilization.
The mass of the Earth
It looked to us as if this was a system of measurement that was designed with the mass of the Earth as its starting point. We therefore decided to try the process from the beginning, as though we were creating new units from some progenitor measurement system:
Step 1: Divide the known mass of the Earth into 6 x 1024 units. This gives us a theoretical unit that equals 996 grams.
Step 2: Establish a size for a cube that holds 996 grams of water. Such a cube would have sides of 9.986648849 centimetres.
Step 3: Take the length of the cube’s side to be one-tenth that of a new linear unit. This unit would therefore be 99.86648849 centimetres.
Now we have designed our own new unit of length derived from the exact mass of the Earth and using the Sumerian decimal/sexagesimal principle. How does it compare to reality?
The best estimate of the Sumerian double-kush was taken from studying the rule carved into the statue of King Gudea which gave a length of 99.88 centimetres. The difference between the double-kush and our hypothetical unit of length is therefore 0.1351151 of a millimetre – less than a hair’s breadth! This amazing fit may well say more about the skills of the archaeologists who studied Gudea’s statue than anything else.
We had to remind ourselves that this could still be a coincidence, however wonderful the fit with Sumerian mathematics. But then we tried another oddball calculation: ‘How’, we wondered, ‘would the imperial pound fit into the mass of the Earth?’ – remembering that the pound was produced by a one-tenth Megalithic Yard cube filled with barley seeds.
Starting again with the mass of the Earth at 5.9763 x 1024 kilograms we converted into modern (avoirdupois) pounds, which gave a figure of 1.31,754 x 1025 pounds. This was another large and apparently meaningless number, so Alan divided it by 366 to find the number of pounds in a one Megalithic degree slice of the Earth. Alan’s calculator threw up the answer – 35,998,360,655,737,704,918,033 pounds.
This was a startling result. Alan divided again by 60 to get the result for a ‘minute’ slice. The numerals this time read: 599,972,677,595, 628,415,300.
Now he completed the sequence by dividing by 6 to find the number of pounds in a Megalithic-second section of the entire planet (which would be 366 Megalithic Yards wide at the equator). The result was: 99,995,446,265,938,069,217.
Suddenly the entirely random numbers from the metric system had blossomed into beautiful near-perfect integers – whole numbers of extraordinary roundness. The weight of
the world is defined by the Megalithic system combined with the imperial pound because the following is absolutely true!
1 Megalithic-degree section
of the Earth
=
360 x 10 20 pounds
1 Megalithic-minute section
of the Earth
=
6 x 1020 pounds
1 Megalithic-second section
of the Earth
=
1020 pounds
The bottom line is that the modern pound weight is one 100,000,000,000,000,000,000th part of a slice of the Earth one Megalithic second wide at the equator! The accuracy is as good as it gets, since there is a correspondence greater than 99.995 per cent – which boils down to a deviation of one part in 20,000 against science’s modern estimates for the mass of the Earth (5.9763 x 1024 kilograms). What is more, when the mass of our planet is viewed in terms of imperial pounds, the result reveals an exact fit with the Megalithic geometry we have already established, just as the result for the Mesopotamian calculation was a classical sexagesimal pattern such as the Sumerians devised.
This could still be a double, outrageous coincidence but the odds against both systems fitting like a near-perfect glove and bearing in mind the Sumerian base 60 method of calculation, made it seem impossible. Somebody in the distant past appears to have known the mass of the Earth to a very accurate number.
Civilization One: The World is Not as You Thought it Was Page 11