History from the Closet

Do you searched your closet soon? There are many covered with dust books, antiques, scrolls. Let's open them. Let's see what we can find.

Location: Balkans, New Europe

Monday, January 24, 2005

Who is taller - we or our ancestors ?

Well, after the strong Goddess/feminine stuff, let me offer something for the males. You know males prefer to measure the things - who/what is bigger, longer, taller... Interesting, my account is returning again to the same area - Strandzha Mountain. To begin with one archaeological find.

In the fall of the previous year Novinite wrote:

Bulgarian archaeologists have discovered 3,000-year-old human skeletons, just weeks after Europe's oldest skeleton was unearthed in the country.

The skeletons, discovered near the village of Moguila in the district of Yambol, are about two meters tall, which is unusual for the people who inhabited the region in the Early Bronze era.

The skeletons are balled up in an embryo position, which, ancient peoples believed, immortalized the soul, archaeologists explained.

The people came to the region from the Black Sea steppe and after mixing with the locals gave birth to the Thracians.

It's not important for the purpose of this article where these people came from. Here I prefer to play around the stature issue. The fact is that the local archaeological community recently began to mention often, that our ancestors in that area were taller than expected...

I dug a bit for additional info. And found an interesting travel log - Top secret: Egypt Goddess Sanctuary in Strandzha (unfortunately in Bulgarian). So, I have to translate some excerpts to give you impression what is discussed inside:

On a first glance this is an usual old chapel, but inside there's an entry for ancient sanctuary. By the way the other two St. Marina sanctuaries are simply caves. This is the only sanctuary hidden under the chapel. The local people still honor this place. The scientists didn't examined the chapel / sanctuary, but the treasure-hunters are already here.

"No, the cave haven't been investigated. I can't answer why, but the cave is honored till today. From what we have seen from the treasure-hunter's ditches, this place can be dated around the early Iron age, i.e. the beginning of the first millennia BC" explained Prof. Valeria Fol. "There're clues, which permit us to assess whether this is a sepulcher or sanctuary. In this case we have a sanctuary. There isn't any grave, this isn't a sepulcher."

The local people connect the faith in this place with more recent times. With the story for burning down the monastery from Turks and an unusual rescue of five monks, buried under the debris.

"There were many sheep pens. There were shepherds and one of them heard, that something groaned from inside the ditch, but didn't contemplate there're people inside. While sleeping, he had a dream, there're people buried beneath there, gathered some friends from the village, came on the place and dug them out. The saved were 2 meters and higher tall. They weren't like the ordinary people and than the saved ordered another chapel and monastery to be build on the place." tells Donka Kostova from Gramatikovo village.

Hmmm, by the way, now I remember that this region, the Strandzha mountain area, was one of the places where the Mediaeval Hesychast heresy was wide spread. There was a famous Hesychast monastery - Paroria, founded and led by St. Grigorius Sinait. Are these extremely tall monks connected some way to the Hesychast heresy? Is there some "hidden" reason for their writings, which is believed to be the foundation and source for the Eastern Orthodox esoteric tradition as presented by Boris Mouravieff in his famous trilogy "Gnosis" ?

But let me continue with the excerpts:

"So, that's the legend - from the left side isn't permitted to enter, who enters from the left wouldn't be able to come out. From the right side is OK to enter. Years ago, we all came here at local fair time, entered the cave, from the stones above there was water strained, we smeared our foreheads for health," said further the woman.

There're another two caves, deified by recent days Christians. They both are connected with the St. Marina's name.

"St. Marina. I have long wondered why she's the most honored Saint in the town (Sozopol). She's the town's patron Saint. 13 years old girl - she's not frightful. She is terrible in the Sozopol citizen's minds. They don't fear St. Nikola - they're sailors, fishermen. They fear St. Marina, their honor is for her and they honor her with horror. She kills the youngsters if they don't obey and make some "forbidden" deeds. She was the Great Goddess-Mother. [Her sanctuary] is outside the town. In one hurst [with] spring," explained Bozhidar Dimitrov (Prof., Historian).

Well, well, well... Again St. Marina, again the Mother Goddess. What did I intended to write? Probably the local people beliefs are so deeply "imprinted" with this cult, that neither monotheistic Christianity, neither Communism can make something more than to "twist" a bit the ancient beliefs...

Anyway, my rant is near the end and I'm still unable to conclude. Who is taller - we or our ancestors?


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