Consider this: who actually built the Tower of Babel? Why do
textbooks speak of pride and linguistic confusion, when
ancient sources hold a far more disturbing and grim secret.
Even before the Great Flood, when humanity possessed
knowledge that we today are only trying to restore, a
certain king named Saurid (Surid) erected two giant pyramids
and ordered the priests to hide in them all records of
sciences, arts, and the cycles of catastrophes that
periodically shook the Earth. The Arab historian Masudi,
relying on lost manuscripts, affirms: this was done for
those who would be able to understand the mysteries after
the global cataclysm. So it was not only in Egypt that
knowledge was preserved. The Indian sacred books, the Agni
Purana and the Bhagavata Purana, speak of the saved Vedas.
The Babylonian priest Berossus tells of King Xisuthros, who,
warned of the flood, ordered the history of humanity to be
buried in the City of the Sun-Sippar. And what did Plato
tell us? He describes the devastation: a vast desert, a
handful of surviving shepherds on mountaintops, who had
forgotten everything but names. Iron, copper, ores were
mixed with the earth, and people learned again to extract
metal, so as not to sink to the level of wild beasts. And
how many centuries passed before humanity felt solid ground
under its feet? It is not clear. And then, when the plains
dried out and became covered with lush vegetation, one of
the peoples-the very one that gave rise to the Indo-European
language family-moved from east to west. A huge caravan of
nomads reached the valley of the Tigris and Euphrates.
There, on the swampy plains where stones are rare, they
began to build cities from silt and clay bricks. Remembering
the tragedy of the flood and the ancestors' covenant to
build settlements only on hilltops, they decided to create a
tower that would reach into the sky. Why? Stop and think: it
was not a symbol of pride, but a giant refuge! On its high
terraces, an entire people with livestock and belongings
could take shelter during the next flood. There were stored
supplies of food, ships, and boats for sailing to the
western mountains. The summit was crowned by a temple of the
Sun God with a golden roof, visible from everywhere. Below
were stalls for cattle and dwellings for strangers and
slaves. Higher up-houses for craftsmen and householders.
Even higher-warriors with military leaders. Then-hanging
gardens and palaces of the royal elite. And finally-a temple
complex with the main altar. But the grand plan was not
destined to come true. And it was not the elements that were
to blame. When only the roof of the Sun Temple remained to
be completed, disagreements flared up among the upper class:
who would rule the lower castes? The dispute spread
downward, and everyone felt wronged. The priests, maddened
by desperation, made a fateful decision: to abolish all
hierarchy, declaring all castes equal. And then something
strange happened-people stopped understanding each other.
Rebellion, scuffle, and the unfinished rescue tower
collapsed. The surviving warriors gathered the scattered
slaves and founded a new city-Babylon. And the descendants
of the unified people-the Indo-Europeans-scattered across
the entire continent, founding settlements that became the
core of other civilizations. The single language split into
many. But where did these mysterious builders come from?
Some historians call them Proto-Sumerians,
others-Dravidians, still others-Ubaidians. And here is what
is striking: the Ubaidians, unlike other inhabitants of
Mesopotamia, wore beards. The Atlanteans, according to
legends, were also bearded. Could the Ubaidians have been
those few who escaped from the flooded Atlantis? Was it not
their ancestors who built the tower that preserved the
memory of antediluvian knowledge? Consider: what are the
chances that the Tower of Babel was the last desperate
attempt to preserve the legacy of a vanished civilization,
and its destruction-not God's punishment, but a tragic
mistake that divided humanity forever?

Source: gopher://shibboleths.org/0/phlog/310.txt

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* Origin: Shipwrecks & Shibboleths [San Francisco, CA - USA] (700:100/72)