The purpose of this essay is to briefly demonstrate both the extent to which meteorites have been venerated in the Near East, and the depth of antiquity from which this phenomena originates. And how certain aspects of Judaeo-Christian and Islamic mysticism directly reflect and perpetuate traditions established long before the advent of the 'Classical Civilizations' of the Mediterranean basin and 'near east'.

The following work is an attempt to demonstrate what appears to be a closely related series of traditions and events, suspended within a mythology that appears to predate the oldest known organised religions on this earth. Included are several references from the Bible and Koran, and in addition, a transcript of information relayed personally to me by an Islamic Sufi.

It would seem appropriate to begin by considering the first known recorded example of meteorite veneration, which existed during the old and middle kingdoms of ancient Egypt.

The 'House of the Phoenix' situated at Heleopolis in northern Egypt appears to have originally comprised of a solitary stone pillar upon which was placed the sacred relic known as the 'Ben-Ben' stone. Conical in shape, the relic was recorded as having been several tonnes in weight. The ancient Egyptians considered the stone to be the seed of the gods, fallen from heaven. 'Ben' is a Semitic word that translates as 'seed'. The ancient Egyptians themselves were aware that the Benben stone had been worshiped for a considerable time before the rise of 'Dynastic Egypt'. Evidence would suggest that ancestors of the ancient Egyptians, the Neolithic 'Chaldean , inhabitants of northern Egypt had by legend revered a stone that was believed to be the egg of the fabled bird of rebirth and eternity, the 'Phoenix' (later to be referred to by the ancient Egyptians as the 'Bennu Bird' and was symbolically represented as an Ibis/Stork).

At some unknown date the stone mysteriously disappeared without a trace. Many Egyptologists have presented the idea that the benben stone was used as a capstone (pyramidion) for the great pyramid of'Khufu' (Cheops) at Ghiza.

Although at the present this scenario cannot be ruled out, it is perhaps more likely th~t the disappearance of the stone was due to the powerful priests of the temple, the 'Magi'. This priesthood would have been comprised of priests from noble and high ranking backgrounds, an elitist, secular order whose influence was without a doubt considerable. Their power over religious matters and political affairs were probably second only to the royal household itself. And it is possible that in the case of the BenBen stone, even greater. In order to safeguard the relic, it is likely that it was hidden at a secret location known only to the religious elite.

Some Egyptologists have suggested that it is buried in an unexcavated chamber between the front legs of the Great Sphinx of Ghiza. And others that it lies undisturbed in a hidden chamber, somewhere within the great pyramid of Kufu, (Cheops). Unfortunately the truth of the whereabouts or fate of the 'Ben-Ben' stone to this day remains unknown. The only surviving record documenting this event is from the reign of the Pharaoh Sestrosis I (whose date and dynasty remains uncertain), the stone was recorded as having been removed at some point from its sanctuary at Heleopolis. As a reaction to this Sestrosis is recorded as having the site not only restored, but also considerably extended.

The significance and importance of the lost stone can be gauged by the fact that the pharaoh, as a token of reverence for the missing relic, ordered the construction of a massive obelisk to record the event. But despite its impressive size and mass, it was considered to be a poor substitute for the original relic. It seems a little odd that the king Sestrosis, despite his all-encompassing powers of rule as Pharaoh did not know the whereabouts of the relic. This does lend some credit to the idea that the disappearance of the stone was a result of actions committed by or on behalf of the high priests of Heleopolis for reasons known only to them.

Not only was the site at Heleopolis important as the shrine of the 'Ben-Ben' stone but according to the recent revelations by Mr Gilbert and Mr Bauval concerning the reasoning behind the positioning of religious structures in Dynastic Egypt. The very positioning of the temple of the Phoenix itself is significant to ancient Egyptian stellar religions. Research by Mr Bauvall and Gilbert, summarised in their book 'The Orion Mystery' suggests that many of the religious sites of ancient Egypt were arranged in relationship to one another, in order that they would form a perfect reflection of the major stellar constellations of the night sky across the landscape of Egypt. The temple of the Phoenix at Heleopolis was constructed as a carefully aligned representation of the star Sirius and the pyramids at Giza having been aligned to represent Orion's belt and the river Nile representative of the milky- way.

Bearing in mind the Animistic fertility- based ideas of the ancient Egyptians it seems fitting that as a symbolic ritual the Ben-Ben stone, seed of the god Osiris, was housed within the temple of the Phoenix at Heleopolis, presided over by Isis, the mother goddess and wife of Osiris. Isis was represented in the night sky by the star Sirius/Sothis, which was also the primary star in the ancient constellation of the Phoenix. Thus the symbolic union of the celestial 'mother and father' was permanently represented and was thereby believed to perpetuate and preserve the cycles of the stars and nature itself, thus ensuring the perpetual existence of Egyptian civilization.

Examples of 'meteoric' cults are also recorded by several other cultures of the ancient world. Greek classical literature has provided us with further evidence that gives an indication of the antiquity of such cults. One example, the 'Great stone of Kronos', housed and venerated at the Sanctuary of Delphi was known as the 'Zeus Baetylos'. Although somewhat smaller than the Ben-Ben stone, the meteorite was regarded with awe by the ancient Greeks. Evidence suggests the Sanctuary at Delphi contained several fine examples of recovered meteorites, perhaps as many as forty stones were kept at the Sanctuary. This does give an indication that both the recovery and collection of meteoric debris had been an on-going process, and was a primary concern to the presiding religious elite. Eventually the appearance and inclusion of reproduced 'Omphalos' ('navel stones') became a common feature in many Greek shrines. These stones were token copies of originals, usually carved from marble or limestone. The 'Sun-stone' of Thebes was considered to be the 'transitive device' by which the 'Sibyls' (priestesses) would mediate and orate the meanings of divine messages and omens from the gods. The stone was originally situated at Thebes, in the province of Boeotia and was known as 'The seat of Manto'.

According to legend Manto was the high priestess of Thebes and daughter of the wise sage Tieresias who as a young man, was blinded by the goddess Athena for watching her bathe. Athena as an act of reconciliation for her reckless reaction, granted Tieresias the powers of prophetic vision. The stone was later re-situated at Delphi along with the priestess Manto. A record of the stone and Manto written by the scholar Plutarch indicates that the sacred stone was primarily iron in composition, this being discernable by the stones apparent magnetic qualities. Plutarch commented that Manto claimed, "For, as the iron oftentimes acts as if it were being attracted and drawn towards the stone, and oftentimes is rejected and repelled in the opposite direction". Meteoric connections also exist in the cult of Athena in the form ofher original character function, the goddess of storms, lightning and thunder . The oldest known representations of the goddess were the 'Palladia'. These were stones of meteoric origin, having been seen falling from the heavens and were considered to contain inherent powers that could bestow divine protection or give oracular sight to chosen individuals. Olympian legend relays how a Paladia made by Athena to represent her &iend and foster-sister, was accidentally hurled to earth by Zeus, landing in the province of Ilium, where a shrine was built to house it.

The possession of a 'Palladium ' was considered to be of paramount importance by individual sanctuaries, provinces and kingdoms, especially within the state of Athens. In the classical works of Homer, it is mentioned that one of the most celebrated relics of the ancient world was the Palladia of Troy.

The power of meteoric stones as protective Talismen was considered so great that the Greek army besieging Troy believed that their eventual victory was impossible while the Trojans retained a certain Palladim. The matter of how to overcome the powers of the talisman stone was addressed by the Greek military high command. The crisis of the' divine stone' was addressed by the actions of the fabled heroes, Odysseus and Diomedes. They decided that they should steal the precious relic to ensure the demoralization and subsequent defeat of the entire Trojan army. The story continues that the two heroes failed in their mission, having stolen a copy of the Trojan Palladim. The original was hidden in an inner sanctum deep within the citadel. Despite the reputed powers of the stone, the city eventually fell to the Greeks and the stone taken to Italy by Aneas as a spoil of war. Later, the relic was moved to Loctris where it was put on open display, for the sake of both state prestige and veneration by the public.

Similar accounts exist of meteorites having being worshipped in Syria, Phoenicia and Phrygia. The venerated stones have been ascribed as belonging to many and various gods and goddesses including 'Cybele', the mother goddess who was represented by a black conical stone. The presiding attitudes in the ancient Near East surrounding meteorite worship bear striking similarities throughout the area despite tribal, regional or secular differences.

Not only do the above examples illustrate that ideas and traditions relating to certain special stones were shared by early cultures covering most of the ancient world, but that similarities exist today in more than one of the worlds religions. The most noteworthy of these is the 'Black-Stone' of Jeddah, in Saudi Arabia.

This large ovular stone of meteoric origin is considered to be the most holy of all Islamic relics. It is to the Ka-Ba that every Muslim should at least once in their lifetime (circumstances allowing), perform the 'Hajj' (holy pilgrimage) preferably in time for the month of 'Dhu-ul-Hijja'. The Black Stone was venerated long before the advent of Christianity or Islam. The age of the shrine and its meteoric relic was without a doubt of primary importance to successive waves of pre-Islamic invaders and migrants to the Meccan area. Of these the most influential was the tribe of 'Qurayesh " a powerful clan who had occupied the territory by force under the command of Qusayy (a direct ancestor of the prophet Mahomet).

Due to the far- reaching cultic significance of the Black Stone and the trade routes that ran through the city, the Qurayesh became both powerful and wealthy, thereby holding the title of 'Guardians of the Shrine'. At this point in history the Ka-Ba was a place of pilgrimage to many systems of Polytheistic and Animistic beliefs.

This issue was well illustrated by the actions of the prophet Mahomet after his victory over opposing factions of the Qurayeshi clan (their tribal beliefs comprising of primarily pagan and Christian traditions) when he proceeded to systematically 'cleanse' the shrine by destroying some 360 images of idols and effigies that depicted various pagan gods and 'Jinn', irreverently venerated alongside the sacred Black Stone. Amongst the most noteworthy of these were images of 'Hubal' the moon god, and the four goddesses' AI-Huzza', ‘Al-Laht', 'Manut' and 'Wudd'.

Furthermore, the prophet was instructed by god to test the fidelity of the population in their devotion towards the new order of lslam. Mahomet fulfilled Gods wishes by giving instructing the faithful, which decreed that rather than an individual turning to face Jerusalem to perform prayers (which had been the tradition of the Christian element of the Qurayeshi), the faithful believers and converts to the new order of Islam should pay homage to god by the recitation of daily prayers while facing and prostrating themselves towards the sacred Ka-Ba (performing the 'Quibbah ').

It is worthy of note, historically there have been several attempts to remove or damage the stone. These accounts include the theft of the relic by the 'Qarmatis' who removed it ftom its shrine during their invasion of Jeddah/Mecca in the year 920 AD. It was returned to its rightful place some 21 years later (having cost the ruling Qurayeshi Sultan a large fortune in ransom payment).

Evidence of the continuation of an older religious system existing within Islamic tradition emerges once again in the form of the Tawaf. This ritual requires the pilgrim should approach the 'Holy of Holies' by circumnavigating the area (originally known as the 'Masjid', a word with root connections to the term Magi) around the Ka-Ba in an ever decreasing spiral of seven revolutions, then upon reaching the Black Stone, perform prayers, 'kiss' the relic by placing their foreheads against the stone. The ritual action of physically placing ones head against the stone would appear to arise ftom the belief that the stone possesses the quality of being able to act as a 'transmitter' through which god and the angels can more clearly view the mind of man.

Direct similarities to the idea that certain stones possess divine and oracular powers can be found in the Bible. For example, in the Old Testament book of Genesis (Gen 28, 11-22,) Jacob, in order to save his own life, flees into the wilderness where he finds a depression in the ground in which to hide and sleep. Jacob is described as having chosen a particular stone to use as a pillow. As a result of his head being in contact with the stone he experiences visions of both angels and God. Upon waking, Joshua immediately decided that the stone was sacred, and went about 'setting it up'. Jacob then proceeded to anoint the stone with holy oils in order to venerate the 'inherent' spirit of god. Some time after the event, in another vision (Gen 35, 1-15.) God gave Joshua instructions to return to the site, and there erect an altar (on which to place the stone?). It is interesting to note that Jacob named the place 'Bethel' meaning 'Gods abode/house'. This translation can be interpreted as an indication that certain geological objects were undoubtedly believed to contain properties of an oracular or 'supernatural' nature. Despite the fact that at no point is the stone referred to as being meteoric of origin, it is obvious that it was considered to inherently contain and transfer some form of 'divine' phenomena.

The book of 'Joshua' (Josh 24,26-27,) refers to Joshua as having 'Took up a great stone and set it up in a sanctuary dedicated to the worship of Yahweh'. The stone is given credit by Joshua as having the ability to act as a witness against n1ankind's infidelity towards god. The verses relay 'Behold this stone shall be a witness against us, for it hath heard all the words of God which he spake to unto us. It shall therefore be a witness against you lest you deny your God'.

The same information is contained in the book of Genesis (Gen 31, 45-52). In this case Joshua is described as having 'Took up a stone and set it up as a pillar'. The verses again refer to the stone as having the ability to act as 'a witness to events'.

The above excerpts from the Bible can be interpreted as being similar to the traditions surrounding the Black Stone of Mecca, in that the verses make direct reference to both the physical, or near physical contact with the stone and the notion that the stone operates as some form of 'transmitter/receiver' to an alternative consciousness.

At no point in any of the above examples is reference made to the sacred stone having been altered in any way. In the long recorded history of the Black Stone there have been no attempts to alter the surfaces, or shape of the stone. Other than pathetic attempts to destroy the relic, or remove pieces, committed by aggressive outsiders. In the case of meteorites comprising mostly of iron, or other metallic elements, they would have appeared as being indestructible to human hands or any tools available to mankind at the time.

Due to the celestial nature of the meteorites, the recovery of any debris would have been of virtually unparalleled importance to the Animistic inhabitants populating the impact area. It is likely that recovered meteorites were considered far too precious and sacred to have been altered or reshaped by craftsmen. This concern is perhaps reflected in the Bible, where Old Testament tradition was originally firmly set against the reshaping of any form of altar stones, as in the book of Exodus (Exod 20, 24~25). This tradition is clearly documented by the lines "An altar of earth (rock/stone) thou shall make unto me, and if thou lift up thy tools upon it, thou hast polluted it".

Also in the book of Deuteronomy (Deu 27,5-6) it is mentioned that in the process of making an altar, no tools were to be used upon it. And again in the book of Joshua (Josh 8, 13) the same protocol is referred to. This tradition could be viewed as evidence that the stones chosen for an altar, were chosen for their quality of rareness, undoubtedly differing from the local geological format in composition, weight, colour and shape.

The question of when in the past the Black Stone was first venerated might not ever be exactly known. Although a clue to the antiquity of the stone as a religious focal point and that of its surrounding cult may exist within the name of the relic's sanctuary, the 'Ka-Ba'.

It is from the language of the old kingdom (and the first known use of Egyptian hieroglyphs dating to the early middle kingdom) that yield an amazing clue into the age of the Black Stone cult. The word 'Ka' represents the ideal of the 'substance' of life and the very 'spirit' of an individual life force. The hieroglyphic symbol representing Ka is a pair of arms fused together at the shoulders, the upper arms being horizontal, the forearms raised vertical, hands extended and open with the palms facing forwards. The Ka was believed to be inherent within a life form from birth, and was viewed as being a part of daily existence in the role of what could be considered as a partially separate entity to the physical body, guarding and guiding its physical aspect throughout its life in the material dimension. After death the Ka was believed to exit the body. Furthermore, Ka was also symbolically representative of the duality of mankind's physical and spiritual aspects.

During the middle and new kingdoms of ancient Egypt the hieroglyph Ka was often represented painted on the inside relief of burial sarcophagi, each hieroglyph carefully arranged in relationship with others that together formed 'magical' texts that would ensure the 'nourishment' of the soul long after the death of an individual. The hieroglyphs would beseech the gods, usually 'Horns' to channel his divine essence (Ka) to the aid of the deceased.

The second syllable of the name Ka-Ba is reminiscent of the hieroglyph 'Ba'.

Ba is again one of a group of words dating from the language of the Egyptian Old Kingdom. The hieroglyph Ba is represented by a bird's body (traditionally considered to be a Phoenix by scholars), with the addition of a human head rather than that of a bird. In funerary texts the head is representative of the deceased individual. The word symbolised the human 'content of thought', the individuality of a person and their effect on the physical world during their lifetime. This was considered to be the part of an individual that remained active after death. The grave offerings left by the living were thought to provide the Ba of the deceased with 'nourishment' in the form of 'Kaenergy' rather than physical calorific energy. The two hieroglyphs when used in co-ordination with one another can be interpreted as symbolising of the transference of the mind and spirit to and from tbe world of the sublime and the gods. The hieroglyph was included in virtually all funerary scripts, in the hope that after death their personality would be able to journey with the individuals Ka to the celestial 'Duat' ('Tuat', home of the gods and heavenly souls), thereby remaining 'spiritually intact' and thereby gaining the gift of immortality.

Is it too much to speculate that old kingdom Egyptian was the root language from which the Ka-Ba has inherited its title? Two unique words, the meanings of which were vitally central to matters of spirituality in the old Egyptian system of religion. The two words when used together can be interpreted as 'The transference of the eternal energy of god, to and from the individual'.

Perhaps the ancient Egyptians/ Chaldeans themselves may have made pilgrimages to the shrine at Mecca at some distant point in the distant past, centuries before the advent of Egypt as a 'superpower' of the ancient world. The journey from Egypt to Mecca (a distance of some 600 miles) would not have been a problem to the notably skilful Egyptian mariners who would have followed a southerly route along the relatively calm waters of the Red Sea, the problem of navigation being simplified by shadowing the west coast of the Middle-Eastern peninsula. This would have ensured that, the journey was relatively easy and safe.

A wealth of archaeological remains, artefacts and writings provide the evidence, that without a doubt these trade routes not only existed but that they positively flourished.

Further evidence relative to this ancient cult appears in the holy book of Islam, the Koran. The verses explain that, coinciding with the rise of the prophet Mahomet as a pious holy man, the synchronistic appearance of a comet was followed by a prolonged ~d violent meteor shower. Verses of the 37th Surah relay how the meteor showers were of such great intensity that astronomers were at a complete loss to explain the phenomena, ironically the situation was made worse by the fact that due to the ferocity of the storms, the soothsayers were unable to venture out to examine the stars and thereby interpret the astrological meanings of the event.

The timing of a comet and meteor shower coinciding with the advent of Mahomet draws a close parallel to the Biblical nativity scene, with the birth of Jesus being shortly preceded by the appearance of a' star in the east' .

Part II.

Part I, I hope, has given some indication of the vast time scale over which meteorites have been venerated and the impact on social, religious and psychological development in the ancient world and, along with the effect of such cults in the development of existing world religions.

An indication again, that perhaps an older tradition and system of knowledge and, spiritual belief is reflected by Islamic, Jewish and Christian traditions alike. And that it is possible that the veneration and rituals of ancient meteorite cults may have lent a hand in the very moulding and shaping of the great world religions originating from the eastern Mediterranean and middle east..

The following text is to document the possible connection between the subject matter contained within Mr Robert Temples' book, "The Sirius Mystery" and certain basic components of Islamic tradition.

In summary Mr Temple suggests that this planet was visited at some point in the distant past, by a race of 'advanced' sentient beings of non-terrestrial origin. This large-scale contact was allegedly to have occurred somewhere on the Iraq/lran border, in what would have been Sumeria. This visiting race are ascribed as having relayed to our ancestors the principals and the primary notions of civilization, agriculture and it would seem, basic laws of astro-physics and the essence of 'Universal' spirituality. This ancient information, having been handed down to us from generation to generation, hidden and disguised in the form of Folklore, orthodox religions, secular cults and their respective rituals.

The visitors were alleged to have originated from the star that we know as Sirius, positioned some 8.9 light years from our own solar system. Mr Temple goes on to explain that various mythologies, occurring from the Western Sahara to the western edge of the Himalayas, all indicate that Sirius is a star system comprising of three 'Heavy' stars. It was believed that the primary star of the group 'Sirius A' is vastly larger than its two companion stars, which have always been invisible to the naked eye from here on earth.

It was not until 1834 that astronomer Johann-Friedrich Bessel first recorded that Sirius was "Wobbling" and "Wouldn't stand still". Just before his death in 1844 he had reached the conclusion that a 'superheavy' and 'massive' star in close proximity could be the only object of magnitude enough to cause such an effect. He thereby stumbled upon the idea that there must exist 'super heavy' stars (although physically small by comparison to other suns) that are capable of producing the characteristic effects of 'giant suns' and that they must be comprised of 'super heavy' elements, then unknown to science.

In 1862, American Alvan Clarke, while viewing the star Sirius with what was then the world’s largest 'state of the art' telescope, observed a previously unseen, unknown faint light source in close proximity to Sirius A.

Again in 1915, Dr W.S. Adams of the Mt Wilson Observatory made subsequent observations of the light source and conclusively proved it to be a smaller companion star to Sirius A and was able to gain enough information to calculate the temperature of Sirius B to 8000 degrees farenheight. This temperature is enough to produce at least three to four times more radiation, light and heat than our own sun. Sirius B was itself not photographed until 1970 by Dr Irving Lindenblad of the United States 'Naval Observatory'.

Astronomers have not yet located the third star . Although some astronomers who having plotted the movement of Sirius B around Sirius A, have observed an anomaly in the orbital path of the smaller star. Thus giving what could be the first clue to the existence of a third, smaller sun that has a gravitational effect on the orbit of Sirius B around the massive 'parent' star.

The question that springs immediately to mind is 'how did the populous of the ancient world, or at least their scholars come by this information '?

Mr Temple, by his systematic analysis of anthropological information originating from the 'Dogon' tribe of Mali, western Africa. By his analysis of the stellar religions/mythology of ancient Egypt and the 'Classics' of the ancient world, suggests that the only possible explanation for this phenomena is that at some point in the distant history of our species we were contacted by technologically advanced beings and were therefore exposed to concepts, ideas and knowledge of a 'non-terrestrial' origin. Mr Temple rightfully points out that the primary religions of ancient Egypt focused upon stellar connections rather than solar (referring to our own '0' type sun). And in turn, that the influence originating from a much older form of religion or knowledge permeated the fabric of their system of theology. Mr Temple also suggests that the Egyptians obtained this information via the ancient traditions of the Sumerians.

It is important to note that it was the Sumerians who invented writing. Their language was of an agglutinate type, with no obvious or apparent connection to any other of the ancient world, or the present. It would seem that when the Sumerian civilization disappeared from history, only fragmented remnants of their language survived, diluted into the form of an archaic 'Classical' tongue of the ancient world (much the same way as Latin did in the Catholic religion). And it is from this position in history that Sumer became the link that invisibly joined the cultures of the Mediterranean and the Middle East.

Sumerian 'wisdom' did survive to become the basis of the stellar religions and thereby the 'magical' writings of the ancient Egyptians, influencing all the subsequent 'Classical' cultures of the ancient world.

Some two years after having first read 'The Sirius Mystery' I was revisiting friends in Srinagar, Kashmir . I had planned on taking time out during my stay to visit as many ancient temples and sites of archaeological interest as possible, and my conversations often revolved around a historical theme. A few days after my arrival, one of the family suggested that we should go on a trek up into the mountains and stay with an elderly relative of theirs. This uncle was a Sufi (Islamic mystic / wise-man), who in his youth had travelled to Multan (in what is now Pakistan) in order to study Islamic law and learn the arts of Sufism. The Sufi was viewed by the Kashmiri locals as being a great authority on the subject ofKashmiri, British colonial and MogulIndian history. The family thought I might be interested in meeting him. It turned out that the uncle who lived as a virtual hermit, was indeed every bit as interesting as had been promised. It soon became apparent that the old man had an amazing sense of history, not only of his own nations' past but the entire world as a whole. He spoke English well and with an exactness that left no room for ambiguity in conversation. Unfortunately, due to the current political instability in Kashmir, it would not be appropriate for me to name the individuals I am referring to. The Sufi I shall refer to as 'Yusuf (Josephus), the Arabic/Semitic word for 'teacher'.

The following passage contains transcribed excerpts of a conversation between Yusuf and me in October 1992. I must once again stress that Yusufhad excellent command of the English language.

One evening I was sitting by the edge of a mountain lake with the Sufi. It occurred to me that despite the fact that I had spent a good deal of time in Moslem countries I still had no idea of the original meaning of the name Mahomet, other than that it was the name of the prophet, so I asked the Sufi.

The old Sufi replied that:

"Mahomet was the name of the last prophet to be sent to mankind by God and that the name when translated into English means- Faithful of/to God".

I replied yes, that I know, but can you tell me when the name was first used, or who was first recorded as being known as or named Mahomet?

The old man looked up at the sky and pointed to the brightest star in the sky, Sirius. "That is the first Mahomet - blessed be his name!" he replied.

"There is the faithful to God" he exclaimed

" It is after its brightness and goodness that the last prophet was named".

The Sufi went on to explain how

"The 'celestial' Mahomet had two sons 'Hasan' and 'Hussein', who the great God had created from the body of their 'father' Mahomet.

Mahomet, who knew 'God's intentions', requested that his two sons should have the angels make a gift for the people of Earth. The gift would be a stone, made from the body of Mahomet.

It was 'God's will' that the stone would be a medium through which the people of earth might more clearly understand the will of God.

So Hasan and Hussein summoned the archangel Jabril (Gabriel) and bid him take the stone to Gods children on earth.

Gabriel then descended to Earth bringing with him the 'Holy Stone' which was presented to Adam, the first man".

The Sufi then explained how later:

"The stone was reclaimed by Mahomet as a sign of Gods displeasure with Adam for having fallen into impurity. It was not until much later, through the loving, selfless acts of devotion performed by the first father Abraham that God was suitably impressed enough to have the stone returned by' Jabril' to the children of the Earth". Immediately, the distinct similarities between the Sufis story and the subject matter of Mr Temple's book 'The Sirius Mystery' became evident.

I then asked the Sufi where he believed the angels came from. He replied:

"The angels are the first conscious creations made by God, they live in the heavens and amongst the stars. They are the messengers of Gods wishes".

I then asked the old man if the angels were comprised of spiritual or physical body? "They are every bit as physical as you or I" he replied. "They are physical, real, with bodies, but different to ours, very different".

In order to make sure I was not misunderstanding the point of what the Sufi had to say, I asked him "So would I be able to physically touch an angel"? He replied "That I do not know, but probably if it would allow you to".

I then asked him if the angels were like the 'Jinn' (entities of the spirit world «in folklore often considered to consist of a single element, i.e. fire, air, water». Often referred to as being either benevolent, or malignant, the Jinn are considered to be the spirits of the dead and other such supernatural manifestations).

He then exclaimed:

"The angels were scarcely aware of the Jinn, but while the Jinn can interfere with the lives of mankind, the angels are untouchable".

For my next question, I decided to be more direct with the Sufi by asking him ifhe thought that the term ' Aliens' would be accurate to describe the angels:

"Yes, I think that term is quite correct" was his answer .

My next question was "So what you are telling me is that the angels are not ethylic or spiritual beings, but "Extraterrestrial Biological Entities' with physical bodies"?

"Oh yes, that is correct, exactly correct" he replied.

At this point in the conversation I described to him exactly what I understood the term EBE to mean and asked him if it was consistent with his view? Although Yusufhad never before heard the term 'Extraterrestrial Biological Entity', his knowledge of English was acute enough for him to reply:

"Of course I know what you mean, each of the three words is very self explanatory and your meaning of the three words together is also self explanatory too".

We were talking about the same thing after all, no ambiguity whatsoever.

The old man continued:

"You see it is very important for men to believe in the reality of the world of the angels. They are much older, wiser and are the Faithful of God".

The implications of what this old Sufi relayed to me are to say the least, quite staggering. Not only does Mr Temple’s work spring immediately into the foreground with the continuation of the same three star solar system 'myths'. In addition to which, two of the stars are noted as being invisible.

Plus direct reference to the existence of a highly advanced race of' Extraterrestrial biological entities' . It is worthy of note that the ancient Greek word for the angels is ‘Angelos', which literally translates as 'messenger'.

Yusuf also ascribes this same function to the angels. Within the theology of Islam, the angels are considered as being 'superior to humans, but inferior to the prophets. And although closer to God they cannot truly know God' . The angels do not have free will or the ability to perceive God as we do.

The theory put forward by the Sufi Yusuf concerning the superior nature of the angels together with another reference to meteorites is recorded in the Koran. The 72nd Surah, which in its first half refers to the Jinn who upon their acceptance of the Koran and lslamic law, thought that they could immediately ascend to heaven. The verses narrate how the Jinn were overcome in their attempt to 'gate-crash' the realm of heaven.

72nd Surah, verse 8,

"We had sought heaven, but had found it filled with strong warders and meteorites".

It is strange that the Islamic verses refer to meteorites in context to what would appear to be space in terms of real time space continuum, space in the form of a 'real' distance that has to be traversed in order to reach heaven. A notion that is identical to the ancient Egyptian religion, in which the spirit of the deceased is required to travel into space, to the 'Duat', the area of the night sky presided over by the divine celestial bodies of Osiris (Orion) and Sothis (Isis/SiriusA). And upon the journey, the confrontation with 'Guardians' committed to testing the purity of the 'celestial' traveller.

The fact that there is considerable difference between the angels and other supernatural entities is accepted and acknowledged by Islam, the actual 'physical' appearance of the angels is not mentioned in the Koran. However, the holy book does make reference to the reasoning behind the prophet Mahomet's cleansing of the Ka-Ba.

The 53rd Surah, verses 18-29, 'The Star'

Tells of how Mahomet, after experiencing a vision (possibly on Mt Hira) casts scorn on the idols of the pagan Arabs. The people had begun referring to their graven images as' angel daughters of God' . Mahomet pointed out to the idolaters "They who name the angels with female names are disbelievers" and that they had "no knowledge thereof'. The verses refer to the images of the four goddesses, who were worshiped at the Ka-Ba, alongside the Black Stone and venerated by idolaters as being the 'daughter-angels' of Allah. A practise that was eradicated overnight by order of the prophet Mahomet.

Two other sections of the Koran give an indication of the underlying importance of the Dog-star Sirius.

The 86th Surah of the Koran begins

"In the name of Allah- our merciful benefactor .

By the heavens and the morning star,

What will tell thee what the morning star is?

The 'piercing star'.

No human soul has a guardian above it.

So let man consider from what he is created".

Once again the subject of guardianship/custody is connected with the star and amazingly, an even more direct reference to the celestial body exists in an earlier Surah. 53rd Surah, line 49,where the lord Allah is referred to as

53rd Surah, line 49,

"He it is, who is the lord of Sirius".

Sirius is the brightest star visible to the human eye, obviously this was evident to mankind far back into pre-history and no doubt the visual splendour of the star was of magnitude enough to 'open the door of legend' and impact on tribal Animistic lore. The regularity of the path traced by Sirius across the heavens would have been of immense help to astronomers in their attempts to calculate the heavens and the procession of the planets and stars by giving a reliable constant by which to measure time. Evidently this could have very quickly led on to the establishing of a powerful mythology around the object of veneration which has undoubtedly occurred in this instance of the star Sirius.

However, despite the obvious visible reasons for this veneration of Sirius the same question still arises, 'how did the ancients know that the star was not solitary but rather accompanied by one, if not two companion stars?' The coincidental nature of the various strands of information mentioned above lead on to more questions rather than answers.

Coincidence could be the mechanism driving the strange series of similarities and connections. Personally I feel that there is a more direct answer rather than pure coincidence. Maybe a great advanced civilization existed before 10,500 BC, destroyed by a great flood, caused by the melting of the great ice caps that marked the end of the last ice age. Perhaps, if this civilization ever existed, then maybe their craftsmen had mastered the skills necessary to develop and produce highly accurate polished lenses and reflectors for telescopes equivalent in quality to those developed in Europe during the last quarter of the 19th century. Or alternately, another form of telescope or radio telescope. Without the aid of a reasonably advanced piece of telescopic equipment there seems no other way that our distant ancestors could have viewed Sirius B.

The only conclusion that seems compatible with the evidence, although far fetched, is the view that our race has at least once been visited by life forms of a nonterrestrial origin. In the not too distant future the answer to this enigmatic and bizarre puzzle may be realised.

Until there is unquestionable evidence to prove how the ancients came by their detailed astronomical understanding of distant solar systems, I believe it would be prudent to retain a very open mind while considering the subject.

For anyone who might doubt that ancient ideas and practises still in common use today could be inherited from such a distant period of our racial history, then consider the 'Old wives tale' that says "Its the Stork who delivers/brings the new-born babies". The same mythological rhetoric and tradition that was relevant and symbolic to the ancient Egyptians in the form of the sacred 'Phoenix' bird of re-generation and reincarnation, represented by the Stork/Ibis 'Bennu' bird. Not to mention such words as 'cane', 'almanac', 'gum' and the term ' Amen' for concluding prayers.

The acts of reverence to and worship of meteorites has undoubtedly acted as a 'crucible' or 'time-capsule' for the legacy of some distant former civilization/race who had the ability to formulate or maybe perhaps chanced upon very advanced scientific and astronomical information.