The Adam calendar is considered to be the oldest man-made structure in the world, which is quite controversial. It is sometimes referred to as the "African Stonehenge" and predates both Stonehenge and the Great Pyramids of Giza by tens of thousands of years. Located in the Mpumalanga province of South Africa, it is a standing stone circle with a diameter of about 30 meters and is estimated to be more than 75,000 years old. Various astronomical arrangements have been identified at the site, and it is probably the only monolithic stone calendar in the world that is fully functional and largely intact.
Adam Calendar is located in the picturesque Mpumalanga region of South Africa (Wikimedia Commons)
The mountainous regions of South Africa are dotted with thousands of stone circle sites. In 1891, the number of these sites was first estimated by the British explorer Theodore Bent. He estimates that there are about 4,000 stone circle sites in this part of the world. By 1974, the estimated number had risen to 20,000. Today, Michael Tellinger, a researcher and authority on the subject, estimates the number of ancient stone remains at 100,000, and possibly more. Some of these 'stone circles' have no doors or entrances, while most are connected by an extensive network of passages, which some historians often misinterpret as 'roads'. These connected ring-shaped ruins are immersed in the endless terraces of ancient agriculture that surround these buildings. The Adam calendar is considered to be one of the most famous of these sites.
Google Earth screenshot showing parts of South Africa with rich ancient earth and rock structures (Google Earth)
Known as the "Birthplace of the Sun" or "Inzalo y'Langa" by the African Elders, the site was first made public in 2003 by South African pilot Johan Heine.
The place is in the middle of nowhere, and only a few rough dirt roads can reach it. If the pilot had not made an emergency landing due to an accident, it would most likely remain hidden to this day.
But Heine's discovery was truly unusual. This megalithic site turned out to be a very old stone complex, and in recognition of its extraordinary antiquity, it was named the "Adam Calendar".
For more than 20 years, he has been flying over the mountains of Mpumalanga province in South Africa, developing a keen interest in the thousands of strange round stone objects scattered around the region and starting to photograph them.
When consulting experts about the origin of the stones, he was told that they were the remains of "cattle pens" (cattle pens) left by the Bantu people when they migrated from the north around the 14th century. Today, this claim is far from conclusive, as these buildings differ from other Bantu cattle pens in that they are usually made of thorny shrubs and have only one entrance to the herd. In addition, there are thousands of these cattle pens, spread over tens of thousands of miles.
Bantu cattle pen - modern central Africa
A plane crash involving a crew member led John Heine to accidentally discover the mysterious megalithic ring. While looking for one of the pilots who had fallen on the edge of the cliff, John noticed a number of large rocks sticking out of the ground next to the crash site. In the process of rescuing the injured pilot on the edge of the cliff, John walked up to the stelae and found that they were aimed at the north and south, east and west corners, and the spring equinox and summer solstice. There are at least three steles lined up in the direction of the sunrise, but on the west side of the neatly arranged steles, there is a strange hole in the ground. After weeks and months of measurements and observations, John suspected that it was a stone calendar.
The site was aptly named the Adamic Calendar because the stones were placed to track the movement of the sun, which casts a shadow on the stones. Today, it still works perfectly as a calendar, as it tracks the shadow of the setting sun, which is projected by a tall stone monument in the center onto the flat stone next to it. This remarkable calendar originally consisted of a large circular stone structure resembling Stonehenge, with two upright stones in the center of the "circle", said to have been carved. Its original shape is still clearly visible from satellite imagery. The stones are all dolomite, each weighing up to 5 tons, and are said to have been transported from afar.
It is worth noting that the area around the Adam calendar is rich in gold. According to reports, there are several mines in the area, among which the Sheba Gold Mine, located in Mpumalanga Province, is one of the richest mines in the world today. The abundance of gold mines not only attracted attention in the 80s of the 19th century, but early evidence of mining of minerals by historical civilizations is also described in the writings of early Europeans.
Floor plan of the Adamic calendar of Rodney-Hale and its arrangement from 11500 BC (computer simulations)
Orion is famous for its three bright stars that make up the mythical hunter's "belt". The Earth oscillates on its axis of rotation, so the angle at which stars and constellations appear in the night sky changes periodically. This rotation is known as precession and completes a cycle approximately every 26,000 years.
By determining the time when the three stars on Orion's belt were at level (horizontal) with the horizon, it was possible to estimate the time when the three stones on the calendar aligned with these stars. According to Tylinger, calculations by astronomer Bill Hollenbach based on the timing of Orion's ascent indicate that the site is at least 75,000 years old.
In June 2009, another calculation was carried out based on the ascent of the constellation Orion "lying flat on the horizon" and the "erosion of diabase rock blocks" found at the site, which showed that the celestial age represented at the site was at least 160,000 years. Some fragments of the marker stone have broken and fallen to the ground, exposing them to natural erosion. By the time the stones were put back together, about 3 centimeters of stone had been eroded. By calculating the rate of erosion of the diabase, these calculations help to assess the age of the site.
Michael Tyringer tests the acoustics of the site
The latest and most interesting discovery about the Stone Circle and the Adam Calendar is the frequency of sound coming from underground rock formations. Using modern technology, Tyringer and scientists have been able to detect and measure the acoustic sound frequencies emitted by the soil inside the stone circle. These sounds, from the earth beneath the stones, are molded into sacred geometrical flowers on the floor plan when displayed on the ground.
There's still a lot to be learned about the Adam's calendar, including who the builders were, what their civilization was like, and how they built the calendar with such precise measurements. Perhaps over time, more research will unravel this prehistoric mystery.
Title image: Adam Calendar, Mpumalanga, South Africa (getaway.co.za)
Reference: Ancient Origins