“That would be true if we were talking about a normal dig, Michael” David interjected. “But this project is vaster than anybody has ever seen. And nothing about it is normal.
In the first place, we won’t have to grub around for money. With the budget already allocated the problem is rather how to apply it efficiently. We will obviously have accountants to manage the details, but we need someone with a wider vision to decide on strategy.
Secondly the project does not consist of a single dig, or even a couple of satellite digs. Rather it is a number of large scale investigations around the world. Keeping all of them running smoothly is not going to be an academic exercise.
And thirdly, we are bringing in a number of new technologies and techniques which will revolutionize the way we conduct a dig. Don’t make any mistake, in the end it will still come down to digging, sifting and cataloguing by hand, but how we decide where to dig is going to suffer a revolution.
Getting people to accept that kind of change is also not going to be a walk in the park.
So what we really need is proper management and coordination, both in a project and business sense. The kicker of course being the fact that whoever gets this position must also have a strong archeological background.
In the first two areas you are an acknowledged expert – we have a fairly good idea what people pay you to sort out their businesses. And in the second your record of publications speaks for itself.
You have also proven that you can think out-of-the-box, so you fill that need as well.”
“Your archeological experience is not a problem, even without the vested interest you have in this “secret society” of ours, you are well known for your work on the volkerwandrung and the interglacial civilization.
In addition your recent expansion into linguistics has not gone unnoticed in the field. A lot of people are waiting for your opinion on anything new that comes out of the Maharashta data.”
“One thing,” Marianne continued. “You won’t have to worry about your income if you take the job. This is one time when Archeology is going to pay off. The board wants the best it can get, and they are prepared to pay for it.
However, you don’t need to decide right now, we have a formal offer for you with all aspects fully documented. I just thought this would be a good time to plant the idea with you.
We realize this is not a minor decision – if things work out this could be a complete change of career for you. This job won’t be over in a couple of weeks or months.”
David agreed. “Take a good look around first, at what we are doing and the new techniques we will be using. We would like your reaction to the new approach, as well as your input on improvements or alternatives.
This is new to all of us.”
“Good idea David. Marianne, I will definitely consider this offer. If it looks good, it might just be exactly what I have been looking for.
But first I need to know what is involved. And I have some very specific ideas about the staff team.” Michael approved. “But now: Tell me more about the dig itself.”
“First, let’s hear what you know about the site.” Marianne suggested.
“Well,” responded Michael, “I know that it was discovered in the 1870s and that a large amount of gold and other treasures were found there.
I believe that there were some attempts to prove that it was of Arab or even Phoenician origin.
I am not very up to date on the site, since I have been concentrating on the material coming in from India.”
“That is essentially correct. Although there is mention of it as early as 1531, when Vicente Pegado, Captain of the Portuguese Garrison of Sofala, described it as: ‘a fortress built of stones of marvelous size, and there appears to be no mortar joining them’” David responded. “In broad terms, Great Zimbabwe was a large iron-age settlement that existed from the 11th to 15th centuries.
It lent its name to modern-day Zimbabwe. The name is said to derive from a Shona word meaning ‘house of stone (amongst others)’.
The central site consists of two main parts: the Great Enclosure, with its 250m wide and 11m high perimeter wall, is the largest single ancient structure south of the Sahara Desert, while the Hill Complex rises 79m above the surrounding area on a steep, granite hill. However the full extent of the ruins span 1,800 acres (7 km²) and cover a radius of 100 to 200 miles (160 to 320 km).”
Marianne continued: “For many years, the origins of Great Zimbabwe and its inhabitants were the subject of much debate.
As you said, various extravagant claims for its origins were made by different groups following its official discovery in the 1870s.
However, archaeologists have proved that it is actually an authentic native African site, developed by a long-dead civilization, the vast empire known as the Munhumutapa Empire (also called Monomotapa or Mwene Mutapa Empire) which was advanced enough to trade with people as far away as China.
The current day Shona people are believed to be descended from the inhabitants of Great Zimbabwe”
“That is one of the reasons we were especially interested in this specific site.” David interjected. “We believe that the level of civilization that has been proven is a lot higher than would be appropriate for that period.”
“We believe that the discrepancy might indicate a degree of continuity at some level; either a priestly caste or in the nobility, which allowed them to build on older developments. We are especially interested in any connections with ancient Egypt, the central African plateau and the Queen of Sheba.”
“Wouldn’t it also be appropriate to look for a connection to the cult of the Rain Queen in South Africa?” Michael asked.
“You see what I mean David?” Marianne exclaimed. “You are quite correct, of course, Michael.
There is a demonstrable connection. The evidence suggests that the cult of Mushashi has its roots in a much older civilization.
Parts of the culture were taken over by the first invader tribes to move down from the north. The Rain Queen has ruled for centuries, and continues to do so today,”
By the time they turned off to Great Zimbabwe, Marianne and David had thoroughly updated Michael on the history and current status of the site. They also discussed some of the ideas that they were exploring for the current investigation.
“I can see what you meant when you said you were changing the ground rules of archeology, David.” Michael remarked. “Some of the technology you have been talking about seems totally strange to me.”
“Different times, different tools, Michael.
If you and Marianne hadn’t opened the can of worms that you did – with your inner temple – the tools of our fathers would still have sufficed us.
But we aren’t dealing with palookas. If this ‘secret society’ of yours was active here, their traces will not be obvious.”
When they arrived they drove directly to the dig village, sited behind the hill, away from the parts of Great Zimbabwe which are open to the public.
After registering at security and clearing Michael for access for access to all areas of the dig, they dropped of him and his baggage at the hut that was allocated for his use.
David and Marianne also went to their respective huts to freshen up.
Three quarters of an hour they met at Michaels hut again.
Since it was close on suppertime they decided to show him the rest of the sights the next day, and went off to the communal mess.
After supper they had a meeting of all the senior members of the dig.
David introduced the various specialists to Michael, including Doctor Joseph Nkomo, the specialist on ancient African archaeology, on loan from the University of Zimbabwe at Bulawayo.
“And last, but definitely never least, my fiancée, Dianna Elizabeth Gordon. Dianna, this is Michael de Haan, Marianne’s friend we have heard so much about!”
Interlude
Omo Kibish [Ethiopia], North Africa, Godstone Day 9, month 5, Year 10
From her perch o
n the roof of her house, Anzashi surveyed the small town proudly. It was almost impossible to believe that only a couple of years had passed since this community was nearly wiped out by a disease carried by a stone which dropped from the heavens..
Most of the town still consisted of thatched huts, built in the traditional method, but the new stone buildings developed by Seshat and Auf were slowly but surely gaining ground. Building with stone was a lot harder, but it had definite advantages – not the least of these being the ability to sit on the roof. After the first attack by the Batugoi, a tribe who lived in the next valley, everyone had joined in to erect stone walls and watch towers.
She liked the gently rounded towers, rising above the broad stone walls. Some were talking about using large dressed stone blocks, but she liked the natural feel of walls built by fitting relatively natural stones together.
Even now she could remember those fearful days, as one after another the whole tribe fell before the grim specter of the godstone disease. How she held out, even though she was already shaking with the ague, until Awaki woke up, and she could quietly surrender. How well she remembered waking from the coma.
Around her was the pitiful remnant of their once thriving community. They had numbered almost two hundred and fifty individuals when Awaki and L’ki returned from their latest adventure. They had gone to investigate a falling star a couple of valleys over. They brought back a porous silvery stone with an oily appearance.
Within hours the first people started falling sick. By morning they had lost at least ten people, and a couple of others lay like dead, but still breathing.
A large number of those who had not yet succumbed to the plague fled by the third day, and she and a steadily dwindling handful of helpers, nursed the sick over the next couple of days. For a couple of days she had to manage by herself, until Awaki awoke.
When she finally recovered, she found only forty four other members of the tribe, almost a third of them children.
The worst was that she, as the medicine woman of the tribe, had to decide what to do with those who had lost their souls. Eventually she called a tribal counsel, which decided that they should be declared holy, touched by God, and everyone should help to care for them.
That first year had been the worst.
If they hadn’t had quite a large stock of food stored in the pits, they would never have survived. One of their first major projects was to repair the damage the gardens had suffered during their illness. They also had to hunt constantly for fresh meat.
Many of them had lost life partners and family, and new pairings and family groups formed slowly. It was especially hard for the children, many of whom had lost all their relatives. But as time went by they adapted, and fit themselves into compatible families.
In order to protect others from the sky stone, Awaki and L’ki went to the crater and collected all the fragments they could find. These were stored in baskets and sealed with clay. The baskets were then stored in the small cave behind the medicine woman’s hut.
When they built her new stone house, they positioned it against the cliff, so that it sealed off the secret storeroom. .
Some of the men went to neighboring tribes to try and get either help or new recruits, but they were warned of by armed warriors. The stories of the plague had reached all the tribes, and they would allow no contact.
Another tribe, four valleys over, was hit by the plague about a month after she awoke. Anzashi took Awaki, Renpetet, Auf and two others, and as much medicine as they could carry to the village.
About a third of the hundred and fifteen strong tribe had fled as soon as the plague started. She managed to save fifteen of the remaining tribe members, seven of whom were children.
These survivors joined them in their village, rather than try to start from scratch by themselves. No other village would take them – everyone from the stricken villages was considered bad luck by their neighbors.
Several things about the plague still intrigued Anzashi.
The first was the rate of recovery once the victim awoke from the coma. Instead of being weak and slow for a long time as she would have expected, all those who recovered showed exceptional energy and strength.
Then there were the strange things that happened around some of the recovered victims. Just after Awaki and L’ki woke up, Awaki knocked over a mortar and pestle. To L’ki it seemed as if it picked itself up without spilling a thing.
They could not believe their eyes, so they wrote it off to tiredness and the aftermath of the plague.
But, slowly it became clear that certain individuals had changed, and there were strange occurrences manifesting in the village.
L’ki as usual was not satisfied to leave well enough alone.
He followed Awaki around, knocking over things for him to catch. Sometimes he would throw things at him unexpectedly to get the reaction he wanted. Eventually even Awaki had to admit that something strange was happening...
Once the Wanderer accepted the idea, things got moving.
He and L’ki started collecting details of the various occurrences, and he started experimenting, looking for ways to test and control them.
Anzashi was often involved, both as medicine woman and as Awaki’s mate.
They started working on Awaki. He began by analyzing his mental state when he caught an unexpected object.
He then started meditating to try and attain a similar mindset. His first success happened one evening when he was very tired.
After the first small stone his powers developed apace. He started working with Anzashi and L’ki to see if he could train them to do the same thing.
*** *** ***
Anzashi started hearing voices. While they were meditating to try and activate her telekinesis, she kept getting a terrible headache. Then the voices would start.
Initially she thought it might be another side effect of the plague. Then she realized that although there was a constant mumble of voices, one was becoming steadily clearer. It was the voice of Awaki.
She started watching him and concentrating on the mental voice. After a while she was able to tune out all voices except him.
As she used this capability it became slowly stronger, until she found she could hear what he was thinking at various levels at once. She could also tune this hearing so that she could isolate any of the multitudes of voices.
Awaki she could hear at will, at any time, merely by focusing on what she called his signature. She could hear him from anywhere in town.
This set her to thinking. If she was able to hear him, surely she could make him hear her.
She chose her time carefully. Her experience led her to believe that the best time to make the attempt would be a period when he was meditating. When Awaki and L’ki joined her for their early morning training session, she took the leap.
“I’m afraid I won’t be able to work with you this morning, Awaki. I have a few urgent errands to run, first thing, but I will be back at lunch. Maybe we can fit something in this afternoon.”
Awaki was disappointed, but he rallied quickly. “Don’t worry, my dear. I doubt if anything interesting is going to happen this morning. I thought that we would review what we have achieved so far, and see if we cannot find a solution to the control problem.
As you know, I can now reliably lift up to three fist sized stones. But anything more or larger seems to be beyond my conscious control.
Now you and L’ki are having the same problem, so we can safely assume that there is something fundamentally wrong in our approach.
It is obviously not a matter of size or mass, since each of us has ‘caught’ bigger and heavier objects. My feeling is that the problem lies in the effort we are putting in to try to control the lift.
As Gods Above Page 5