Connection between ruins in South Africa and Jordan

Originally written by Jaimy Visser on July 22nd, 2012

Working on the Marcahuasi Project has brought me all over the world, from behind my desk - I've never discovered so many new things in such a short period of time, especially not on this kind of scale. Usually, when someone refers to archaeology, the only monuments they are ever able to mention are Stonehenge and the Pyramids at the Giza plateau, whereas I was interested in finding out just how many of them are out there. 

Searching all over the web for more locations I could add to it, I came across Michael Tellinger's presentation of the South African ruins during Megalithomania 2010, which were discovered by Johan Heine. Fascinated by the stone circles he had found, I started marking them on the Marcahuasi Project - which lead me to the discovery that they stretch on for over 40 kilometers. 

(Image : The South African ruins. From North ( -25° 33' 56.19", +30° 14' 1.45" ) to South ( -25° 53' 30.55", +30° 16' 43.19" )

I thought I had seen it all, and continued with my search for more locations to add. However, what I came across next was definitely not something I was expecting. 

In an article written by Owen Jarus from Livescience.com, it said they had discovered "ancient geoglyphs" in the Azraq Oasis, stretching from Syria to Saudi Arabia. 

Visible Only From Above, Mystifying 'Nazca Lines' Discovered in Mideast

"They stretch from Syria to Saudi Arabia, can be seen from the air but not the ground, and are virtually unknown to the public.

They are the Middle East's own version of the Nazca Lines — ancient "geoglyphs," or drawings, that span deserts in southern Peru — and now, thanks to new satellite-mapping technologies, and an aerial photography program in Jordan, researchers are discovering more of them than ever before. They number well into the thousands.

Referred to by archaeologists as "wheels," these stone structures have a wide variety of designs, with a common one being a circle with spokes radiating inside. Researchers believe that they date back to antiquity, at least 2,000 years ago. They are often found on lava fields and range from 82 feet to 230 feet (25 meters to 70 meters) across."

Article source : http://www.livescience.com/16046-nazca-lines-wheels-google-earth.html

When I came across the article, I was hoping to discover some new geoglyphs to add to the Marcahuasi Project. However, when I saw the picture, I soon realized that I wasn't looking at ancient geoglyphs - I was looking at the exact same structures found in South Africa!

(Image : Just one of many ruins found in South Africa. These specific ruins can be seen at ( -25° 43' 9.04", +30° 17' 35.06" )

Obviously, I was shocked, and decided to comb through the Azraq Oasis to see if this was a mere coincidence, or if there was more than a few similarities between the two to be found. Imagine the look on my face when I discovered that the area covered by the ruins in the Azraq Oasis by far exceeded the South African ones!

(Image : Comparison of the total area of South African ruins (left) with those found in Jordan (right).  (Please click to enlarge)

(Please note that neither of them are complete, marking-wise - as I am convinced I have marked but a fraction of the total amount of sites, regarding both locations.)

By taking the sheer amount of ruins scattered all over the Azraq Oasis into consideration, I am convinced that we are not dealing with geoglyphs, but settlements of sorts -- Since most of the ruins are located on the edge of the now dried up rivers, which would be ideal conditions for a civilization to inhabit at the time, more evidence of actual settlements rather than geoglyphs arises.

(Image : Just one of thousands of circular structures located next to the (now) network of dried up rivers.)
Please note that not all of these structures are stand-alone ruins. There are multiple locations where there is clear evidence of people building their settlements near each other. 

(Image : Another cluster of ruins found in the Azraq Oasis. ( 32.758254,36.935681 )

The image below clearly shows how they purposely built multiple settlements next to the river. Seeing as the ruins cover an incredibly large area, I wouldn't shut out the possibility of them traveling down the river in order to reach others. It also suggests that fish was an important part of their diet, if you ask me.

(Image : Multiple ruins alongside the now dried up riverbed. ( 31.906744,37.207303 )

Here is another close-up of one of the settlements to show the incredible size of the structure.

(Image : Circular structure with multiple other, smaller settlements surrounding it. ( 31.899726, 36.750003 )

To sum it all up : 

        - The ruins in South Africa are, according to Michael Tellinger, over 50,000 years old,

        - The same type of ruins found in the Azraq Oasis have been mistaken for geoglyphs,

        - There are literally thousands of these ruins scattered in the Azraq Oasis,

        - Of which most are conveniently located alongside the (now dried up) river.

At this point, I'm still speculating... but it does raise a couple of questions. The two major ones being :

Are these traces of a long-lost civilization? Just how old ARE these ruins? 

Jaimy Visser

External links related to the topic :http://www.viewzone.com/adamscalendar.html

http://www.livescience.com/16046-nazca-lines-wheels-google-earth.html