Uriel's Machine: Uncovering the secrets of Stonehenge, ... (ISBN 186204810X)

Amazon.com Review:
The last few years have seen literally dozens of books challenging our beliefs about history and archaeology, each of them seeking to show that the past was quite different from what standard books tell us. With Uriel's Machine, Christopher Knight and Robert Lomas move away from their previous books about the Knights Templar, the Freemasons, and the strange chapel at Rosslyn in Scotland, and turn their attention instead to the much more distant past. The authors believe that Earth was hit by a comet in 7640 B.C., and by another one in 3150 B.C., each time resulting in great devastation. From their study of Stone Age monuments around Britain, and of the nonbiblical Book of Enoch, they conclude that Enoch visited Britain some time before 3150 B.C. to learn how to construct a megalithic celestial calculator that, amongst other things, could be used to forecast the arrival of comets. In the end, of course, there can be no absolute proof of this or any other rewriting of history--or indeed of more orthodox versions of history. Knight and Lomas's conclusions are controversial, but that in itself is no bad thing. Existing paradigms in every discipline should be challenged, and this is what they are doing. --David V. Barrett, Amazon.co.uk

Seek and ye shall find!!!:
I didn't quite know what to expect to find when I started to read this book. It is a considerable read,consisting of 466 pages. I thought I might be tempted to skip over pages at times;but it held my interest like a vise,and I read every page. I went to High School in the early 50's and we were taught that Civilization began about 3,000 or 4,000 years ago with the Sumarians. The fact that the Bible talks about the Great Flood in Noah's time, was pretty much taken a religious fable . Since that time, much research and study is showing that there was much more in the way of civilized societies existing in Prehistoric times than generally taught or believed. The authors have condensed all this study and evidence into a book that is extremely readible and enlightning . It gives the best explanations possible of where the knowledge came from that produced those magnificient ruins we find as evidence of ancient civilizations. The book is a little hard to "get into" in the beginning;but the more you read,the harder it is to put down. Never mind what the "traditional teaching" is,the facts derived from the evidence left behind,is where the truth of the past and beginnings will be found. There is a lot more to be learned from structures such as Stonehenge,Newgrange,Maes Howe,Skar Brae,Bryn Celli Ddu,Knowth,Hill of Tara,the Dead Sea Scrolls,,Rosslyn Chapel,and the Knights of Templar than one ever imagined. We have come to believe that human developmnt is much older than has been generally taught or accepted. A fascinating read and my interest has been kindled to read more from this author and a number of other references quoted. The book comes with an excellent index and an excellent historical Time Line of civilization. The book does an excellent job of showing the realtionships of Judaiasm, Druidism,Celtic Christianity,Knights of Templar,Freemasons,Science,The Bible;and yes Virginia ,Noah's Flood was real--with worldwide consequences!!!

So, I got on this Masonic conspiracy kick:
So, I got on this Masonic conspiracy kick a couple years ago and this is one of the books I purchased. Previously, I had read and very much enjoyed Graham Hancock's Fingerprints of the Gods book and actually picked this one up at the book store since it seemed to mix ancient history with Masonic lore. I was pleasantly surprised at the vast amount of research in this book. With conspiracy and New Age books like these, it doesn't really matter so much whether you agree with the author or not, but rather does the author present a plausible case just to get the reader thinking. This book excels at that. This book covers such diverse (yet possibly linked) topics as the rise of civilization, Stonehenge, Noah's flood, and Enoch's connection. (Enoch was Noah's Grandfather and a significant figure in Masonic lore). I recommend this book for anyone interested in antediluvian Biblical history, Masonic lore, Stonehenge, or undiscovered ancient human civilizations.

Dazzling and Flawed:
So far this book is known as "Uriel's Machine: Reconstructing the Disaster Behind Human History" and "Uriel's Machine: The Ancient Origins of Science". I read the 2004 edition with yet another title: "Uriel's Machine: The Prehistoric Technology that Survived the Flood". However, its dust jacket reads something else once again: "Uriel's Machine: Uncovering the Secrets of Stonehenge, Noah's Flood and the Dawn of Civilization". Seriously, publishers may change the title as often as they want, as long as I don't accidentally order it several times, unrecognized. However, my edition pretends to be the original publishing year. Sick, I have found the earliest edition to be from 1999. Since during those times human knowledge doubled every five years, this isn't really upfull and leads to a subtraction of half a star. The authors suggest that two comet(s) strikes in 7640 and 3150 B.C. merged into the stories of "The Flood" in global proportions. After the first one a sophisticated civilization trained chosen people from all over the planet in detecting comets and rebuilding civilization after the strike, in case the existing one would not survive the global catastrophe as indeed it did not. According to this book, Enoch the Ethiopian - educated by Uriel - was the one who passed on a blueprint to construct a calender machine, which also is able to measure any celestial object in his Book of Heavenly Luminaries: Stonehenge, respectively Newgrange in Ireland and the UK. Taking a holistic approach to existing scientific findings in various fields, the two authors also engage in some science themselves, especially in dating the flood via analyzing magnetic energy surges. Co-author Christopher Knight will go on in a later co-authored book with someone else (Civilization One: The World is Not as You Thought It Was) in revealing much more concerning the megalithic yard, first re-discovered by Alexander Thom some decades earlier and already referenced in this one. It is also much less flawed than this book. Personally, I am not getting that hung up about the flaws - though they do mirror in the substractions of my rating - as overall I find "Uriel's Machine" rewarding to read. To begin with, the part about Enoch is probably the most inspiring account of this important religious figure (e.g. in RastafarI) which I have encountered this far. Even though the real credit goes to someone called Uriel. The theory of global floods caused by comets' impacts sure does merit attention and the authors are not alone in that assumption. Their work has to get confirmed by specialists of the respective fields though. I am not necessarily clinging to the orthodox ones, as there are sure progressive ones. I actually checked the two authors by reading one such book they themselves reference: Rain of Iron & Ice (Helix Books). The update of that one was published immediately before Uriel's Machine was written. That author's task against his own field's establishment is to paint a no-nonsense scientific and very bleak picture of catastrophic potential. However, by comparison Uriel's Machine reads like an exaggeration still. For example, from the latter book one gets the impression, if the comet is big enough, the global tsunami will be as high as the ocean is deep at impact point and will run over the continental lands for a couple of hundreds of miles/kilometers, before it even starts to break. For those measurements they provide slim reasoning. The above reference book paints a picture of a few hundred meters-high waves (not many kilometers-high), running inland without breaking for 2 minutes "only". It all depends on the sort of impact, still, a big discrepancy remains in need of explanation. On the other hand, the reference book lists many more detrimental consequences of an impact than Uriel's Machine. The bottom line is, of course: Both versions would do for a major global flood/catastrophe. Other reviewers mentioned some errors I wouldn't have possibly known. Myself, I am suprised about the recurring inaccuracies. At one time humans are supposed to be 100,000 or 115,000 years old, later they are writing about the genetic bottle neck 300,000 years ago. Usually today, humans are dated 195,000 years old, with the bottle neck happening respectively later. Exactly what homo-group are the authors talking about? But maybe, this is a result of mixing in dated sources. Of 1988 in this instance. Other sources are rather dubious, such as Ancient Traces which I checked as well and would describe as a fine yellow press head banger. As for the controversy on the age of the Egyptian civilization developing on this review site, I would like to quote this very book from page 64: "There are those who claim that the Sphinx in Egypt is 13,000 years old, and we find no reason to believe that this is in any way impossible." This is just one more inconsistency within this book and exposes the Euro-centrism of the authors, averring Europeans invented everything after all. Remaining shy on the skin color of those early Europeans, though, if that is of any importance... If you are interested in the age question of ancient Egypt, I recommend Before the Pharaohs: Egypt's Mysterious Prehistory (only for this topic in the compilation book) and "When We Ruled: The Ancient and Medieval History of Black Civilisations". For a base of civilization in predynastic Egypt read the scientific classic Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings: Evidence of Advanced Civilization in the Ice Age. In one aspect, this book reaped another subtraction: Seriously, had I been aware of the following supposed sell-line on the back cover, I would have refrained from ordering it: "Uriel's Machine presents evidence that: (...) Angels bred with human women to create The Watchers, giant half-human beings". ??? Thankfully, the authors do not go into that sort of content all too heavily, yet they are implying, these angels were aliens from outer space. One thing is sure: It would be easier to produce offspring of a human with a mushroom than with an alien. Simply, because any life on Earth is related and simply not with any life elsewhere. Considering hypothetical genetic engineering by highly advanced aliens: Every human of those ancient times, including every potential half-human, who caused a surviving line of descendents till today is an ancestor of every single human living today. Alien DNA would show up in today's population for sure. It doesn't. For comparison: Earthly "alien" bacteria once having gotten incorporated naturally into "higher" living organisms many, many hundreds of millions of years ago DO show up in every individual. The authors also write about the genetic engineering of domesticated animals. Again: any artificial engineering would show up today. It doesn't. They say, changed animals showed up too quickly to be done in any regular breeding style. Well, did you know that EVERY domesticated golden hamster on this planet - no matter its specific hamster race - is derived from the same four wild individuals (one female, three males) which were picked up in 1930 by zoologists in Syria? So what about those "giants" mentioned in ancient texts? This book writes about an Ethiopian context. Well, considering the Ethiopian periphery, i.e. slightly beyond today's borders, both the smallest and the tallest humans live in relative close proximity to each other. At that time, most humans would be considerably smaller than today. But remains of very much taller homo sapiens have been found. And yes, they could and still can procreate with one another, FULLY human... If you are interested in European megalithic contact with predynastic Egypt read e.g. the somewhat classic "The Megalithic Builders". For connections of peoples please read genetic books, be it on the Ainu or the British. The latter would be Saxons, Vikings, and Celts: The Genetic Roots of Britain and Ireland, in tandem with that author's previous The Seven Daughters of Eve (also about the hamsters). For the alternative origin of the flood story in the drowning of the once fresh water only Black Sea read Noah's Flood: The New Scientific Discoveries About The Event That Changed History. The same principle applied to the Mediterranean in pre-homo sapiens times is the subject of The Mediterranean Was a Desert: A Voyage of the Glomar Challenger. For an alternative, yet largely if surprisingly convincing flood scenario caused by comets destroying a first civilization in "Sundaland" (today's south east Asian island nations) read Voyages of the Pyramid Builders: The True Origins of the Pyramids from Lost Egypt to Ancient America. It should be noted, however, that some theories put forward in this book are in dire need to get scientifically confirmed as in the procedures described in some of the above books. I am afraid, that will not be possible in all cases, i.e. the described scenario probably happened, yet in not quite this big a dimension. To me personally, it's less important that the authors are probably wrong in some aspects than that in others, including the overall idea, they are probably right.

just waiting for a movie to be made from:
If the idea of the cover doesn't pique your interest enough, then maybe you just don't have an imagination or something. It's easy to relegate the "boys" into that very intersting niche of just another couple a mason's,or Donnely's infamous "Atlantis: the antideluvian world kook" factor, but much like Donnelly is now considered even with much more conservative theorists, the boys don't just concoct hair-brained nonsense here that lacks any empirical evidence, but much like any scientist or archeologist, takes from what they can find and pull together, and make some cohesive structure out of it, they create a web of what i believe is entirely possible, kind of like a springboard for a much better and broader analysis... It's like what alot of those new atlantis mag type writers wish they could do, to spark the imagination REALLY.. the only other auther ot come close in my estimation in recent years is Graham Hancock, and I find his web site much more intriguing than his books, though there are a few nuggets spread throughout his work too... (still tryin to plow through his book Supernatural)

Prehistory Reexamined:
The authors have presented a beguiling collection of research and ideas about the prehistory of the British Isles, Megalithic culture and connections with the Freemasons and early Judaism through the legends of Enoch. The story centers around the astronomy inherent in the Megalithic sites of Ireland, Scotland and England. The authors write in a comfortable style of enthusiastic camaraderie. Have they overreached the possible? The mysteries abound. I read it once then turned around and read it again. I loved it.