Friday, March 22, 2013

Chapter 3 of a Detailed Photo Essay on Sigiriya, or Lion's Rock, in Sri Lanka: Thoughts and Impressions of My Visit.

What Pidurangala is – a monastery in caves or an ancient Over-the-Horizon Early Warning Radar next to the Sigiriya "Lion's Rock"?


This is a continuation of the :
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There is an unusual "bald" granite mountain at exactly 1 km distance (by centers) to the rocky plateau of Sigiriya, with flat inclined top of triangle shape, as if it were cut obliquely by the giant knife.

Sigiriya, Pidurangala Mountain view, monastery cave complex, inclined granite top triangle shape, cut obliquely, artificial rock

View from lake, Sigiriya, Pidurangala Mountain, stone radar reflector, advanced ancient technology, civilization, alternative hidden history

There is a monastery in caves of the Pidurangala Mountain, quite a big cave complex. Though the walls of the caves have been reconstructed the tell-tale signs of early civilization are evident. The face of the rock is carved to form grooves to prevent rain water from directly falling onto the caves. Furthermore, a rock inscription written in early Brahmi script links the cave to Lord Pussa and has been dated to 3 BC - 1 BC. This proves that the caves at Pidurangala were inhabited prior to King Kashyapa's era.

Here's how it looks like from the top of the rock of Sigiriya:

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Chapter 2 of a Detailed Photo Essay on Sigiriya, or Lion's Rock, in Sri Lanka: Thoughts and Impressions of My Visit.

Sigiriya - what is it? A 'Garden of Eden' or The Fountains of Paradise? 
More mysteries of Sigiriya: The Mirror Wall, frescoes in the sky, balanced stone of thousands of tones weight, reptilian paws of Ishtar Goddess, miracle inhuman pool and pyramid on the top of a rock with unexpected guards.




3. Sheer rock with path along it, fenced by the Mirror Wall - the lower part of the Sigiriya rock, 3-rd level. 

Steep stairs made of bricks and already familiar to us marble steps led us to a steep rock of Sigiriya, and ascent was began. 

Observation: Path is stone-paved by marble plates and fenced from the abyss by the Mirror Wall made of "some kind of porcelain", as described in official sources. Such a name as Mirror Wall was given to wall because it was polished so splendidly that ancient people were able to see their reflection on it, during walking along the path. There are many verses on the wall, scratched on it by people of old with some sharp and thin tools. 

Impression: the Mirror Wall, made of "some kind of porcelain", is surpassed all imagination. Currently I am working for porcelain stoneware factory and know very well, how difficult (I mean impossible) it is to make "some porcelain thing" by the size of couple hundred meters. For example, we burn our porcelain stoneware tiles in kiln (gas-furnace) at the temperature of 1200 Centigrade's, and even small differences in burning conditions causes many defects of the surface of porcelain. What the great kiln it was, to burn properly porcelain wall of many hundred meters length?!? 

Mirror Wall, Sigiriya, Sri Lanka point of interest, spiral metal staircase above leading to frescoes gallery

 Mirror Wall entry, Sigiriya, Sri Lanka point of interest, world heritage, alternative history of humanity evidence Mirror Wall, Sigiriya, Sri Lanka, ancient civilization advanced technology, alternative history of humanity evidence, porcelain made  

The Mirror Wall looks very good, despite of gone thousands of years - surface texture, color, evenness of dyeing look like newly made. Numerous, but barely noticeable scratches (ancient writings from 8 century AD) don't count.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Chapter 1 of a Detailed Photo Essay on Sigiriya, or Lion's Rock, in Sri Lanka: Thoughts and Impressions of My Visit.

Sigiriya - what is it? A 'Garden of Eden', ancient resort, or just a pyramid on the top of a rock? Machine processing of granite stone and other evidences of advanced ancient technologies.  


In this essay, I outline my impressions, based on facts and observations – including observations of some things that are unexplained in terms of what we are familiar with in the 21st Century. As these are simply my impressions, I would appreciate comments (and, perhaps answers) to any questions my own comments and observations give rise to. My visit to Lion's Rock made me realize that this place is more mysterious than commonly known, and worth more serious attention than I ever expected. So, let's begin!

Aerial view photo, Sigiriya rock plateau, Lion Rock, Sri Lanka, ancient fortress, palace ruin
Aerial view - photo of Sigiriya rock plateau or Lion's Rock, Sri Lanka

Reference (information from Wikipedia - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigiriya): Sigiriya (Lion's Rock, Sinhalese - සීගිරිය) is a place with a large stone and ancient rock fortress and palace ruin in the central Matale District of Central Province, Sri Lanka... [It is] surrounded by the remains of an extensive network of gardens, reservoirs, and other structures. A popular tourist destination, Sigiriya is also renowned for its ancient paintings (frescos), which are reminiscent of the Ajanta Caves of India. It is one of the eight World Heritage Sites of Sri Lanka.
… According to the chronicles as Mahavamsa the entire complex was built by King Kashyapa (477 - 495 AD), and after the king's death, it was used as a Buddhist monastery until 14th century.

My visit occurred on December 6, 2012, while on holiday with my wife, and Sigiriya was certainly one of the highlights of our trip. The complex appears to be a grandiose construction, placed on five levels. There were neither buildings, nor ruins – just terraces, gardens, and ponds.  Such lovely gardens! Eden! Paradise! However, what seemed obvious to me regarding the complex is that there was nothing resembling a palace or royal chambers. There  also seemed to be no space for any of the 'Royal Helpers' one would expect a king or queen to require. There are no cook-houses, no security towers or lookouts, no warehouses for food and other supplies, no place for a harem, no sheds or stables for animals, etc. In short,  there seem to be no remains of any type of structures one would expect to find, if one followed strictly the official version of what Sigiriya is supposed to have been.
All existing man-made constructions built by bricks and stones have complete view, they do not look like the "foundations" or ruins.
As I explored the site, the sense I had was that the entire complex was designed for aesthetic pleasure.  From simple contemplation of its beauty, to bathing in the numerous pools, Sigiriya seems to invite serene relaxation. The upper part of the complex, built on top of the Sigiriya rock, appears as a ramped pyramidal structure with a flat top.

Aerial view photo, Sigiriya Lion Rock, Sri Lanka, ramped pyramidal structure,  summit
One more aerial view - photo of Sigiriya rock plateau or Lion's Rock, Sri Lanka

Dimensions of the top pyramid platform are approximately 17 meters length and 11 meters width. There is a plate with description "Palace" installed there. This would make it a Palace with total area of 187 square meters - a Lilliputian Palace by any standard!

From the foot of the mountain to the top of mystery rock, the following can be observed: