Smyrna times., 1904-11-30
M0NOLTTH PROBLEMS
MYSTERY OF THESE STRANGE STONE
MONUMENTS OF THE PAST.

the American Continent as Well as
Those In the East, Were Built by
the Ancient PhOeEicians.
Among the greatest mysteries in the
mystery of the past human history on
earth the monOliths that stand in vari-
Gus parts of the globe have always
been chief
These strange stone monuments. gen
orally rude, with hardly any sculpture.
but wonderfully large in size. are scat
tered everywhere. The most famous
of them are the cromlechs. such as
those in Stonehenge, in England. 9th
ers are found in the western part of
France. in the northern part of Ger
many as far as the Oder river, in Den
mark and in Sweden.
Northern Africa, Madagascar and
Asia, from Mount Sinai and the eau
casus to India, all have some here and
there
Lately they have been discovered
even in Siberia. There are several
places in Japan where such stones
| stand.
Others have been found in North and
South America Among the most Won
| derful and mysterious of them all are
| the vast, almost terrifying stones.
rudely sculptured, that have been
found on Easter island, in the Pacific
ocean.
! The mystery as to what these stones
meant was not the only puzzle. The
greatest puzzle was how primitive peo-
pie, without knowledge of engineering
and without known appliances, could
have moved and erected such giant
| blocks, some of which weigh as much
as 250 tons. In many districts where
the great memorials stand there are
no stones of such size to be found in
the earth. Consequently they must
have been transported from places long
distances away.
For many generations-ever since
men have spent any time in thinking
over these matters-scientists have
puzzled their heads over the mOnoliths
in vain. Whether they classed them as
all being the same or whether they
divided them into different classes,
they remained the same riddle
In more recent years, however, there
has been a systematic study of all the
monolith memorials of the world, and
as a result a novel theory has been
advanced.
1t is that one race-that of the
erected all these monu-
ments.
OF course if this is correct it means
that history will have to be revised,
for it would show that the Phoenicians
once knew all about the whole globe
and that they had visited America and
Asia long before modern days
The first thing that led to the as.
sumption that the Phoenicians had
raised the monuments was the obser
walton of NJ. Levistre, a French ar
chaeologist, that almost all the mono
liths were to be found near the mouths
of great rivers or along their courses
This pointed to a people that used
ships.
Now, the Celts were never strong Oh
the water. Their boats were primitive
being mostly of wickerwork covered
with hides, and they were unable t
move any distance from land in these
clumsy and unseawOrthy cOntrivances
Consequently, when the question
arose as to what race was advanced il
navigation in that early time wheI
these monuments were put up, thu
answer naturally came that the Onl!
race known to be a race of sailors anC
merchants then was the race of tn,
PhOenicians.
And if they were the Phoenician
+ how did they come to reach America
They had colonies on the islands 0
the western Mediterranean and evel
in the islands of the Atlantic ocean
as history proves. 1t is not hard t
imagine that they may have fOun'
their way to America. Some archae
olOgists are even willing to believ
that they reached America by way 0
the lost Atlantis, that legendary con
tinent that is now sunken SOmewher
in the Atlantic ocean, il it ever eX
isted
At any rate, the theory that tn
+, Phoenicians were the erectors of tn
monoliths of the world to commend
rate discoveries or for religious pun
poses still later on gained strengt
through the discovery of a great uI
right stone near the river Loire, whic
has Phoenician words engraved deepl
on it. Translated, these words sa!
"On this spot was slain our brave con
rade."
In San Luis, in Bolivia, is one {
these stones. which has on it the el
craving of a foot printed and a snak
with it's head raised. The footprint
a we'll known PhOenician symbol
death and is found on many stone
that cover ancient Phoenician buri;
sites. And the snake with head raise
is another acknowledged Phoenicia
emblem. Exactly the same symbols
those on the South American stor