The Origin Map: Discovery of a Prehistoric, Megalithic, Astrophysical Map and Sculpture of the Universe

by Thomas G. Brophy

Book Overview

On a desolate plain in the Egyptian Sahara desert, west of Aswan, there is a very remote prehistoric site called Nabta Playa. There, a recently discovered complex of extremely ancient man-made... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0595241220
• ISBN13: 9780595241224
• Release Date: September 2002
• Publisher: iUniverse
• Length: 188 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 6.0" x 9.1"

Customer Reviews

The Origin Map

If you have ever heard of the Nabta Circle or are interested in henges,megaliths, ancient maps etc, then Thomas Brophy's book is for you. Not the easiest of reads for the completely uninitiated, but you will soon get his message and you will be astounded by his revelations. This completely rewrites our present concept of prehistory and will certainly challenge the traditionalists. However, that is not to say that Brohpy's work is not scholarly and dedicated towards unveiling the truth about our origins and the knowledge of previous civilisations. Roll on Mr. Brophy, bring us the next installment, I can't wait! Surely this book will inspire and challenge other achedemics to get out there with him and gather and varify further clues presently being revealed beneath the dust of ages.

Highest Recommendation

Several decades ago a team of archaeologists discovered a megalithic stone circle in a remote corner of Egypt's extreme southern desert, an area known as the Nabta plain. In photos the megalithic stones resemble a pile of derelict rocks -- no more. But thanks to Brophy's astute analysis the Nabta stones now speak to us after thousands of years of neglect. The henge circle lies in a wind blown desert that is desolate beyond belief. But at one time -- when it was laid out -- the region was a well watered (and well peopled) grassland. The archaeologists who discovered the Nabta stones puzzled over their meaning. But Brophy's The Origin Map succeeds in showing that the megaliths are anything but a jumble of random stones scattered across the plain. Whoever laid them out had a purpose in mind -- and an astonishingly advanced knowledge of astronomy. Based on his analysis of the Nabta stones, Brophy argues that Robert Bauval and Adrian Gilbert were essentially correct (see The Orion Mystery, 1992) that the pyramids of Giza were laid out to represent the three stars of Orion's belt. The much older Nabta stones were laid out in a similar fashion. In fact, the monuments of Giza were probably based on the astronomy recorded at Nabta. If Brophy is correct, the dozens of megaliths at Nabta actually comprise an intricate star map involving knowledge of astronomy so advanced it may even surpass our own. Brophy shows that the pyramids of Giza match the celestial alignment of Orion at two dates: 9,420 BC and 11,772 BC. He then raises the key question (p 74): Why would the ancients monumentalize these dates? Brophy thinks the reason had to do with bracketing the Zodiacal year with the culmination of the Galactic Center at around 10,600 BC. But in my view his answer is less persuasive than the rest of his case. Still, he may be onto something big: 9,420 BC is not just any random date. I suspect the henge was constructed after a major earth upheaval that occurred at the end of the Pleistocene. Two other writers, DS Allan and J.B. Delair argued in their book Cataclysm that around 9,500 BC earth encountered a huge object -- probably a comet. The intruder wreaked devastation on our normally peaceful planet. It caused vast floods, moved the crust, and triggered mass extinctions, especially on N and S America. The henge circles of the world, including the one on the Nabta plain, were probably erected in the aftermath to reconstruct the calendar and preserve ancient astronomical knowledge. Brophy will not venture into such terrain. But it's likely his work will contribute (in ways he does not anticipate) to a drastic revisioning of human history, one that ultimately explains the cyclical rise/fall of successive civilizations. It appears that Plato was right, and Aristotle wrong. The Origin Map is a stunner. Even though the argument is rather technical the book succeeds in being a page turner. Brophy's writing is adequate, if not inspired. But his thesis is

Essential but with problems

How strange that a book of this importance should come from a small, print-on-demand press. It's pretty much the same with "Hamlet's Mill" mentioned in another review--another well-researched eye opener that few seem to read. Quite simply, this book is extraordinary and should be read by anyone interested in archeology and anthropology. On the other hand, despite his awesome credentials, the author diluted this book by having had John Anthony West write an introduction. Mr. West is a swell guy but his longtime association with the fringe and New Age pyramid set gives his presence here a corrosive quality. He wrote a book titled "The Case for Astrology." Worse, Brophy has authored another book that steers directly into New Age turf. Few tenured professors (and even fewer hoping for tenure) of Archeology will leave a copy of this book sitting on their desks for all to see. In fact they'll be frightened to death of it. I know these sorts of folks, have great discussions with them, and ask them why we can't simply look at the possibilities of the past without dragging metaphysics into it. This stuff will always sit on the fringes as long as that happens. However, the problem is so persistent (even Charles Hapgood, a former Military Intelligence guy, went woo-woo at the end of his career--authoring "Voices of Spirit") that I'm lately wondering if it isn't intentional. Take the recent book "The Hunt for Zero Point"-- a remarkable exploration of possible anti-gravity and exotic energy technology by an editor of Janes Publications--who is also a specialist in high-end military aircraft. The book is largely excellent and then, at the end, there's a totally gratuitous and jaw-droppingly flakey chapter about some bizarre Canadian psychic. There are a few other singularly odd moments scattered through the book including an odd "reverie" that plants the idea in the reader that exploring the topic at hand could be deadly for them. The result is that the reasonable content, for the critical reader, is thoroughly wrecked...and for no reason as these "extras" added nothing to his material! So, we find this wrecking going on to some degree in the UFO field (which may be a sort of mega-wrecking machine anyway--no one who spots anything unusual in the skies is taken seriously any more) but almost always in anything about Black technologies (every book on Tesla is rife with wild speculation and goofy anecdotes), ancient civilizations (Atlantis), and ancient catastrophes. All the information is suspect but the common factor is what I'll call a "Strange Attractor," a ghostly presence touching a certain set of subjects and making absolutely sure that no books on these topics will ever be taken seriously by real scientists or thoughtful mainstream readers. The best one can hope for is to get a "sense" that something's up, that something's behind the curtain. What's equally odd is the number of these more substantial authors--from this one, to Hapgood, to many oth

Thomas Brophy Proves Ancient Sophistication!

In 1969 Giorgio de Santillana and Hertha von Dechend published their work in a book titled "Hamlet's Mill" putting forth the theory that ancient mythology was, in fact, the scientific language of the ancients. Since then numerous authors and researchers have endeavored to prove that megalithic structures of our ancient past served their builders in astronomical ways. However, proof has always seemed hard to come by concerning these megaliths. That was before Thomas Brophy examined a series of structures in the Sahara desert.In his book Brophy proves that the ancient mind was sophisticated and able to accomplish sophisticated projects using precise calculations. His findings are astonishing. The Nabta Playa megaliths were a user-friendly star map of the constellation Orion applicable between 6400 and 4900 BC. And he proves his case in multiple ways. Even more astonishing is sculpted bedrock eight feet below the main megalith. Carved into its surface is a map of our galaxy! He doesn't stop there and also addresses the Giza Plateau as an astronomical Zodiac Clock. This is no fringe theory either. Brophy's credentials as an astrophysicist are impeccable and the supporting documentation is excellent. Without a doubt this is one of the most important books ever written about ancient civilizations. Someday history will have to be rewritten and Brophy will be mentioned in the first chapter.

Sophisticated Ancient Astronomers

Astrophysicist Brophy has focused his considerable scientific background and research skills to demonstrate that a 17,000-year-old culture that lived in what is now the western desert of Egypt knew precise data about our galaxy. Analizing a recent archaeological find at the site of Nabta Playa (radio carbon dated to as early as 10,000 BC), he demonstrates that finely carved stones and engraved bedrock contained specific coordinates of stars as early as 16,500 BC. They also contained accurate information on the configuration of our Milky Way with the exact position of our Sun and the galactic center as of 17,430 BC. A valuable scientific detective story that confirms very ancient prehistoric human knowledge.