Faith Booysen is the author of “The Sphinx and Stonehenge Connection,” a book that compares the internationally known monuments and interprets their meanings. After receiving an honorable mention at the Paris Book Festival, we sat down with Booysen for a few questions regarding her work.
DIY: What inspired you to write this book/
BOOYSEN : I have always been interested in the mysteries surrounding Stonehenge, the pyramids of Egypt, the Sphinx and the many pyramids and ancient sites in Peru and Mexico. In fact, the ancient sites around the world. They just seemed to defy logic. How did the ancients manage to haul these massive stones in the first place? And for what purpose? The answers given by academics didn’t satisfy my curiosity and as stated in my books, I watched a program in 2006 which gave precise measurements of the various circles and standing stones at Stonehenge.
My first breakthrough came when I realized that the circle of 56 Aubrey Postholes was four more than 52 (the number of weeks in a year). I soon came to understand that the additional 4 posts would have been used to divide the circle in four to mark the 4 seasons in a year. By placing a marker at sunrise each day in line with the wooden posts until there were 7 to each post, there would be 91 markers in each quadrant (season). It then dawned on me that the Chichen Itza pyramid in Mexico had four staircases, each with 91 steps and that the platform on top was used to mark the last day of the year. This could not be a coincidence.
One can view the circles, monuments and temples as one views the face of a clock (without the hands to indicate the time). By using the sun at sunrise each day, the ancients could mark their calendars in such a way that they could read the date. If there were two sites that lined up so perfectly, surely there would be more. Additional research then led to the discovery of the other calendars and how they evolved over time.
DIY : Talk about the research methods used to compile the book. It's obvious you've spent some time at the sites. What else did you do?
BOOYSEN : Yes, I’ve been to Stonehenge and the various sites in Egypt. However, although I enjoyed these visits, I only became interested in doing the work and finally the first book after watching the t.v. program mentioned. I had read about the Chichen Itza Pyramid in Graham Hancock’s book “Fingerprints of the Gods” and remembered the 4 staircases with 91 steps each. This information is common knowledge and available to anyone interested in this pyramid and seems to confirm the calculations I had arrived at regarding the Aubrey Postholes.
It took me five years to decode the calendars. I spent hours on the internet and watched every documentary on the subject. I was always richly rewarded and came to understand how brilliant the ancients actually were. I also read a book “Circles and Standing Stones” by Evan Hadingham who is now the Senior Science Editor at NOVA, WGHB, Brighton, Massachusetts. I purchased photographs from iStockphoto and Dreamstime and used them in the book. I also built polystyrene models of the calendars at Stonehenge, photographed them and included them in the book. I spent hours drawing the calendars and included them in the books. I believe the accuracy of these calendars should convince any sceptic.
DIY: When did you realize the connection between the locations?
BOOYSEN: After my first book had already been published, I was again watching a documentary on television. This particular program was hosted by Mark Lehner, the famous archaeologist and Egyptologist. He is also the director of Ancient Egypt Research Associates (AERA). In the program and while explaining the pillars in the Sphinx Temple on the Giza Plateaux, he mentioned that they reminded him of Stonehenge. I was immediately interested and started my research on the temple. It wasn’t long before the Sphinx temple and two additional temples on the Plateaux turned out to be precise solar calendars. I spent most of 2012 researching these particular calendars. The Giza Plateau and Stonehenge area now seemed to have very similar functions.
While researching the calendars, I couldn’t understand why the Egyptians, whose monthly calendar had been in existence for hundreds of years, would now need one that displayed the date using the weekly method. It struck me that they were, more than likely, trading with countries that were using the weekly method to record their date. The dates and times corresponded perfectly with my conclusion that the Egyptians were, more than likely, instrumental in designing and building Stonehenge.
DIY: Are there other monuments that are similarly tied together?
BOOYSEN: While I do not have the measurements of the Goseck Circle in Germany, the Nebra Sky Disc (discovered there) is a perfect example of the solar calendar (12 months of 30 days each plus 5 added days at the end of the year). The disc was more than likely used as a sighting rule for the design and building of calendars. The Bush Barrow Lozenge discovered near Stonehenge seems to confirm an Egyptian presence there. Please see attached.
DIY: While your book takes a scholarly approach, there are a number of other, more fantastic, explanations for both monuments. Do you put any credibility or possibilities in them?
BOOYSEN : I was one of those who, for lack of any further evidence, took note of these explanations. However, I was always skeptical and was thrilled, therefore, to come up with a credible and provable explanation. (Math being a universal language). This is what I find fascinating about the ancients. They left behind enough information to benefit their descendants as well as anyone wanting to understand their calendars. Obviously I am referring to the calendars and not the numerous other structures in Egypt. However, I am quite sure that the Stonehenge area was used solely for the purpose of tracking the date..
I tasked myself with deciphering the calendars. With that said, I am sure that once the calendars are understood and accepted, we will discover new and wonderful facts regarding the designers and builders. Were we visited by aliens? Personally, I don’t think so. And if we were, where did they get the information? Surely, somewhere, somehow, someone came up with the intelligence to design calendars. And why not right here on earth? The evidence that alien theorists come up with could just as easily support the theory of a superior race on earth. As previously mentioned, if I am to believe these more fantastic theories, I would like more proof. Not just because someone says “Because I say so!”.
DIY : Have you presented the work in public?
BOOYSEN : I have had many people read my book but no, as yet, I haven’t presented the work in public. I was in the process of marketing “Stonehenge: Times Square BC” when I realized the significance of the temples on the Giza Plateaux. I held back on the first book and went into full research on the second book which I believe will have additional appeal. I am now ready, in fact busy, with presenting the work in public. I was interviewed by a journalist from our local newspaper on Thursday and am expecting her article to appear soon.
DIY What have scholars said about your work?
BOOYSEN: As previously mentioned, all who read my book, scholars included, are thrilled to finally know what the circles, temples and monuments represent.
I have (very recently) forwarded my book to a professor of archaeology in Birmingham, England but have still to hear from him. I include herewith a link where he speaks about a find they recently made in Scotland. While their find is very old I believe my calendars are far more accurate. He also mentions that the Winter solstice played an adjusting role in the lunar calendar they discovered. I had already come to the conclusion in my book that the solstices were used to adjust any miscalculations made during the year.
In my book I say “Ballachroy is a very convincing astronomical site, especially in the way in which the stones simultaneously indicate clear alignments for both midsummer and midwinter – the key points in any solar calendar. I believe that where there are stones indicating solstices, I believe there is a solar calendar in the vicinity. Theirs is a very recent find (15th July 2013). I have no idea how he will respond to my book.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-north-east-orkney-shetland-23286928