The
documentary maker Roel Oostra, who has worked with such great names
as Robert
Bauval, Graham
Hancock, Archie Roy, Bill Sullivan and Hertha
von Dechend, was in Ireland to film part of a documentary about
how ancient cultures tried to replicate what they saw in the sky
on the ground. Tentatively titled "As Above, So Below",
the one-hour documentary will take a year to complete, and as well
as featuring the famous Boyne
Valley passage-tombs here in Ireland, will also visit England,
Holland, Egypt, Japan, South America and Sri Lanka.
During
his visit to Ireland, Roel Oostra, who was accompanied by cameraman
Gé Aarts, concentrated on the Boyne Valley, and in particular
the Cygnus Enigma theory formulated
by Anthony Murphy and Richard Moore, who have been studying the
archaeology and myths of Ireland and their associated astronomy
for the past eight years.
The
documentary makers filmed at Newgrange, Knowth, Dowth and Fourknocks
over the course of two days. As well as exploring the Cygnus Enigma,
they were particularly keen to impart the notion that the Boyne
complex builders were concerned with much more than just the solstice
sun. There was a great emphasis on the moon here, as well as the
stars. It is clear that the megalithic monuments of Brú na
Bóinne are astronomical constructs which have not yet been
fully fathomed. At Dowth, Anthony
Murphy discussed the legend
about how the king of Ireland wanted to build a great tower from
which he could pass to heaven, and how this myth has a solstice
and eclipse influence. Furthermore, Mr. Oostra wanted to explore
the idea that the Boyne river, named after Bóann, the "bright
cow" goddess, may have been seen as an earthly reflection of
the Milky Way, which was called in Irish Bealach Bó Finne,
the "Way of the White Cow".
During
their stay, Roel and Gé stayed at the excellent Newgrange
Lodge, which is located beside the Brú na Bóinne
Visitor Centre. The staff were very courteous and we had the use
of the conference room for filming an interview.
Roel
Oostra is credited in the acknowledgements of Graham Hancock's book
Fingerprints
of the Gods and also by Robert Bauval in the ground-breaking
study of Egypt which he co-authored with Hancock, called Keeper
of Genesis. |
Ancient astronomy documentary team visits Boyne Valley