Gunung Padang Excavation
Located in Cianjur District, West Java Province, Indonesia,
Located in Cianjur District, West Java Province, Indonesia,
Located in Cianjur District, West Java Province, Indonesia,
(a) Aerial view of Gunung Padang taken from a helicopter. (b) Topography and site map generated from a detailed geodetic survey. (c) Geology map of the Gunung Padang region (Sudjatmiko, 1972). (d) Orthophoto map obtained from a drone survey conducted in 2014, indicating the locations of trenching sites (white rectangles) and core-drilling sites (red dots). T1, Terrace 1; T2, Terrace 2; T3, Terrace 3; T4, Terrace 4; T5, Terrace 5.
Gunung Padang is a multi-layered prehistoric pyramid
Located in Cianjur District, West Java Province, Indonesia,
Located in Cianjur District, West Java Province, Indonesia,
Simplified reconstruction of Gunung Padang. Unit 1 represents the surficial stone terraces constructed between 2000 and 1100 BCE or more recently. Unit 2 (highlighted in yellow) corresponds to a buried pyramidal-shaped layer composed of columnar rocks and was built around 6000–5500 BCE. Unit 3 (shown in green) dates back to 25 000–14 000 BCE. Unit 4 represents the sculpted massive basaltic-andesite lava.
Observations of megalithic exposures and the surroundings
Located in Cianjur District, West Java Province, Indonesia,
Observations of megalithic exposures and the surroundings
Surface exposures of megalithic stones illustrating two units of construction, Unit 1 (#1) and Unit 2 (#2). (a) South-facing view of T1 landscape, revealing a stone floor and standing columnar rocks of #1, as well as the exposed #2 ramp and altar. (b) North-facing view from T2 onto T1. (c) Columnar rock arrangement example of #1. (d) Unit 2 on the ramp between T1 and T2, showcasing columnar rock fragments enclosed in a fine-grained mortar. (e) Columnar rock wall of #1 construction encircling the margin of T1. (f) Tango trench on T1 exposing the thinly buried #2 columnar rock, aligned in N70°E similar to those on the ramp. (g) Southward view of T2, T3, T4 and T5. (h) Overhead photo of T2 and T3, demonstrating the N55°E alignment of #2 columnar rock with a truncation line. (i) GPR survey uncovering #1 step-stone terraces on the east slope.
Multi-phase construction and hidden layers
Multi-phase construction and hidden layers
Observations of megalithic exposures and the surroundings
Beta-2 cliff exposures on the west slope. (a) Field photo and interpreted stratigraphy of the subsurface layers. (b) Side view highlighting Unit 2 and its distinct boundary with the underlying Unit 3. (c) Plan view of Unit 2, showcasing the alignment of columnar rocks enclosed in a fine-grained mortar. (d) Photo displaying planar rock fragments inserted between columnar rocks. (e) Photo featuring a weathered vertical pillar composed of highly weathered columnar rocks surrounded by fine-grained materials.
Results of trenching
Multi-phase construction and hidden layers
Results of core drillings
Results of geo-archaeological trenching. (a) Fanta trench: A1. Columnar rock alignment visible on the surface of T2, A2. Oblique view revealing underground continuation of columnar rock alignments (#2), A3. Front profile of #2 columnar rocks exhibiting various sizes and shapes, encased in a 5-cm-thick mortar. (b) Charlie1 trench on the east slope: B1. N70E-oriented columnar rock alignment (#2) dipping 15° towards the slope, B2. Cross-section drawing of Charlie1 trench. (c) Trenching Echo2: C1. East–west cross-section drawing of Echo2 trench, C2. Oblique view displaying buried Unit 3 rock wall, C3. Front view of steep wall comprising highly weathered columnar rock alignment. (d) Delta trench on the south slope: D1. Drawing of the trench, D2. Photo revealing rounded, highly weathered rock fragments buried by homogeneous soil fill. (e) Trenching Charlie2 on the east slope: N70E alignment of non-columnar, blocky rock fragments enclosed in mortar. FC-5, Charlie1-3,4,5, EM-4 and ES-1 represent sample locations for radiocarbon analysis. [
Results of core drillings
Multi-phase construction and hidden layers
Results of core drillings
Borehole logs and interpreted stratigraphy units. (a) GP1 borehole. (b) GP2 borehole. (c) GP4 borehole. (d) Logging of the deep trenching Echo1. Figures SC.3–SC.6 provide detailed logging information for other boreholes.
Other sites in Indonesia with fascinating potential
Motif of typical EBEN - Extraterrestrial Biological Entity, carved on rock -
Besoa Valley, Central Sulawesi.
Click on the photo to read more and download power point presentation.
Prof Danny Hilman Natawidjaj at the rock protrusion with an EBEN carving. Besoa Valley, Central Sulawesi.
Click on the photo to read more and download power point presentation.
Voyages of Cheng Ho
Cheng Ho Cultural Museum
Cheng Ho Cultural Museum
Cheng Ho Cultural Museum
Visit the Cheng Ho Cultural Museum to kearn about his exploits in Southeast Asia.
1421 Foundation
Cheng Ho Cultural Museum
Cheng Ho Cultural Museum
The 1421 Foundation is a continuation of Gavin Menzies' work. The 1421 Foundation is a US non-profit that was set up by Ian Hudson with the mission to promote collaborative research, education and public awareness of the history of maritime exploration, showing that globalization has been a process in action for thousands of years.
The 1421 Foundation has become a nexus point for the study of exploration, the exchange of academic and non-academic / public data related to Gavin Menzies controversial research on Zheng He's voyages.
As with other projects that go against the grain of conventional wisdom, there is a need to find alternative sources of funding. Could this be a project that participants of the CWC might want to support?
Books by Gavin Menzies
Cheng Ho Cultural Museum
Books by Gavin Menzies
From personal experience as Malaysians, the stories of Cheng Ho have always been part of the cultural lore. When Menzies' book came out it piqued curiosities. Is there substantial evidence to back his hypotheses? For the past 20 years many had wondered about this. Perhaps with the CWC there is opportunity to explore in greater detail?
Mangrove Desalination Research
Mangrove Desalination
Quest to Quench
Mangrove Desalination Design Revolution
with
Fourth Phase Water
KH Yuen Lab, USM, Penang, Malaysia & Pollack Lab, University of Washington, USA
Mangrove root desalt water by more than 99%. They do this through a physical mechanism at the outermost layer of root skin. This natural process was well established by plant scientists and published 55 years ago in 1968. How does the mangrove achieve this amazing desalting feat?
From the 2010s, several groups of scientists researched the mangrove to try and discover how desalting is done at the outermost layer of the root skin. One group found that more than sixty percent salt is removed in a single pass by pulling seawater through the root skin. When they created a lab-made membrane mimicking the root skin, the synthetic membrane worked but performed poorly. Even when tested against diluted seawater containing a fraction of salt concentration, the synthetic membrane removed much less salt than the natural mangrove root.
After several years of research, they realised that some physical properties of the root skin caused a spontaneous separation of ions. It is this ion separation that allows the root to remove salt. They called this the ion depletion zone. For some reason after discovering that the mangrove root removes salt efficiently, there was not much more research in this direction.
What could be concluded was that this type of spontaneous salt removal required no power input and there were no membrane fouling issues because the salt is removed at the ion depletion zone. Salt does not touch the membrane hence will not easily get trapped in the nanoscale pores.
What these scientists were not aware of is the natural mechanism they have uncovered is better known as exclusion zone water. A form of water also known as the fourth phase of water.
Exclusion zone water has long been defined by Prof. Gerald Pollack at the Pollack Lab. This research spans over 25 years. And amply detailed in a book by Pollack, “The Fourth Phase Water.” It very likely is the critical mechanism for desalting used by the mangrove root skin. Exclusion zone water must be studied more intensively to produce safe drinking water from seawater. Salt is demonstrably removed at the exclusion zone, a section of pure water between a charged membrane and bulk water. This process is spontaneous, requiring minimal energy from sunshine to sustain indefinitely.
The Quest to Quench, is a project for humanity. Initiated from a laboratory in Penang at the University of Science Malaysia, with the technical backing from Pollack Lab. We hereby call for support from individuals to provide expertise and funds for research in designing the first workable mangrove exclusion zone inspired desalination system.
The sole objective is to discover a sustainable way to produce safe and affordable drinking water for humanity using the mangrove root and exclusion zone water method. The basic proof-of-principles has been demonstrated. The exclusion zone water mechanism is well defined. What we now need to do is invent a device that can become the basis to produce water affordably for everyone on earth.
Without drinking water human civilisations will cease to exist.
Urgent now because limited potable water may be an excuse for war and depopulation.
If successful, the exclusion zone desalinated water using natural mangrove root could provide unlimited affordable water for all.
A new sustainable cash crop for the rural economy.
A boon to coastal conservation with enlarged mangrove plantations.
Ushers in a design science revolution with this radical knowledge of the physical properties of water.
Many world changing inventions could ensue.
Asian Institute for Venture Science
Without reinventing the Wheel
Why reinvent the wheel when we can collaborate and emulate what works?
The Institute for Venture Science (IVS) was founded in 2013. Gerald Pollack is the founding Executive Director
The IVS funds scientific inquiries into high-risk/high-reward theses that challenge conventional thinking. By virtue of their break with ideas that may have become more tradition than forward looking concepts, these fresh challenges may lead to fundamental breakthroughs in understanding. The IVS identifies the most promising ideas that challenge prevailing paradigms; for each selected thesis, it will simultaneously fund multiple research teams working independently in various nations around the world. Funding multiple laboratories increases the likelihood that the challenge will bear fruit.
Institute for Venture Science Website
Learning Chinese
ArtWord Project
The ArtWord project is an initiative to combine words and art to illuminate the ancient past through the oracle bone script. It aims to express the root meaning of the oracle bone script through modern art created by the individual learning the Chinese language.
Due to its unique pictograph formation, it represents the original inscription which over time and use by local sinic cultures evolved into the common script - known as contemporary written Chinese.
More than 190 countries are learning the Chinese language today. ArtWord is an innovative method to learn the Chinese language by visualizing the root word from oracle bone script. This is then tied to stories from universal sacred manuscripts of Abrahamic religions.
ArtWord is in the final stages of seeking accredited with the Certificate for Teachers of Chinese to Speakers of Other Languages (CTCSOL), which is the "International Chinese Teacher Certificate" gained through a standardized examination hosted by the China-Foreign Language Exchange and Cooperation Center.
The founder of this method, Dr Joseph Cheong spent years travelling in China to explore and discover evidence of connections between the oracle bone script and genesis stories of the Abrahamic traditions that became major world religions.
Description of the painting
ArtWord Singapore - And the Waltz Goes On 杨起和谐之舞Inspired by the oracle bone script 画 huà (picture insert on the right）
This Oracle bone script 'picture' depicts 父father + 乂prudent = 画一之法 huà yī zhī fǎ. It refers to laws and policies that are followed by everyone without exception.