PRESS RELEASE

The annual MEGALITHOMANIA CONFERENCE returns for its fourth convention of the megalithic arts and sciences at The Assembly Rooms, Glastonbury on 23rd & 24th May 2009. This year’s line-up includes Graham Hancock, Robert Temple, Christine Rhone, Michael Hodges, Robin Heath and many others. Since it’s humble beginnings in 2006, MEGALITHOMANIA has become Europe’s foremost assembly of scholars, authors and researchers on all things megalithic. The varied subjects blend academic disciplines with cutting-edge research from a variety of fields, including archaeoastronomy, geomancy, archaeoacoustics, geodesy, earth energies, navigation and geometry.

A late addition to the 2009 line-up is Robin Williamson, a master bard and storyteller, who founded The Incredible String Band. He is also a researcher of ancient myths and legends of the British Isles, and will be performing a Bardic account about the Tuatha de Danaan; notably the two battles of Moytura, the sacred megalithic complex at Sligo in Ireland. An ancient oral tradition that recounts conflicts of the ancestors at the dawn of the world, gleaned from Irish mythology. He will be presenting on Saturday afternoon and also be doing an exclusive Saturday evening concert.

One of the most popular authors on this subject of ancient civilisations, who has spent twenty years travelling, researching and scuba diving to find evidence of it, is Graham Hancock, who has written three books on the subject – Fingerprint of the Gods, Heavens Mirror and Underworld. Hancock believes we are a species with amnesia, who have completely forgotten our remarkable past, but fortunately our ancestors left clues in great stone monuments all around the planet that seem to be triggering a cultural memory recall. Graham will be discussing his latest research into lost civilisations and will talk about how our current culture could be on the brink of becoming the next Atlantis. He will be the keynote speaker at Megalithomania on the Saturday evening.

Almost every week a major archaeological discovery is made that shifts back the date of advanced cultures. For example, in Southern Turkey, a recently discovered settlement called Gobekli Tepe, that has sophisticated rock carvings and megalithic technology has been dated to 8,000 - 9,000BC. This fits in with the dating of other sites that Edmund Marriage has been researching in the Biblical area of the Garden of Eden. In Iran, Turkey and the Lebanon, great canal systems, megalithic construction and vast remains of cities have been discovered, that are believed to be of a similar date to Gobekli Tepe. Edmund, who runs a research organisation called The Golden Age Project, will be outlining these new discoveries in the context of other megalithic sites in the area on Sunday at the conference.

There is also evidence that the Sphinx in Egypt is also much older than originally thought, perhaps going back to 9,000 BC (according to geologist Robert Schoch), and that it used to have a different ‘head’ on it. It did not have the face of a Pharoah, which is fairly obvious when looking at the size ratio of head to body, but according to Prof. Robert Temple, it did not have the head of a Lion either, which is what many people think it once was (partly because the recently rebuilt ‘paws’ look feline). Robert postulates that it was in fact the crouching Jackal god, or Anubis to be precise. The Sphinx Mystery: The Lost Origins of the Temple of Anubis is his new book co-authored with Olivia Temple that is being launched at Megalithomania and they will be speaking on Sunday afternoon outlining their breakthrough research into this particular anomaly of prehistory.

Robin Heath, author of Sun, Moon & Stonehenge will be guiding full-access tours to Stonehenge and Avebury on the Friday and Monday and also presenting his groundbreaking new research on an 'ancient national grid' across Britain at the conference on the Sunday. On a similar note, Tom Brookes will be screening his new film about a prehistoric geodetic survey of Southern England linking earth-mounds, standing stones and other archaeological features into a coherent, scientific system that has been completely ignored by the academic fraternity. He has been studying this subject for nearly fifty years, contacted every University in Britain about his discoveries, published a book on the subject, but his conclusions have been dismissed as ‘arcane’ and simply ‘impossible’ for such a developed standard of surveying to have existed 5,000 years ago. Both Robin & Tom have hit ‘brick walls’ when presenting their findings to the academics and this is an ongoing problem encountered by many researchers; a theme that will be discussed at the event.

The pioneer of the earth mysteries renaissance, John Michell, passed away on Friday 24th April at 12.30am, so we are dedicating the conference to his memory. He was the main inspiration for creating the event, and even gave us permission to use the Megalithomania name (from his 1982 book). He has been involved in the first three events since its inception in 2006 and will be greatly missed by us all. The speakers forum on the Sunday afternoon will be about his life and work and how he has inspired generations of Megalithomaniacs with his cutting-edge discoveries, original ideas and visionary understanding of the ancients. There will be contributions from John Martineau, John Neal, Jamie George, Christine Rhone, Robin Heath and several others who were close to John.

One must ask who these people really were and why did they go to so much effort to construct such great megalithic temples across the entire planet that would withstand the tests of time? Find out this and much more at this year’s MEGALITHOMANIA conference. With a total of thirteen talks, a megalith-forum, tours to Stonehenge and Avebury and an extensive megalithic art exhibition it is your opportunity to officially become a Megalithomaniac!

A total of thirteen talks and one film screening are planned with book signings, a megalitho-market place and Glastonbury town on the doorstep of the venue. Tickets for the conference are £80. Field trips to Stonehenge and Avebury will take place on the Friday and Monday. Field trips are not included in the price. Call +44 1458 831800 for tickets, email info@megalithomania.co.uk or visit www.megalithomania.co.uk for more details.