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SYNOPSIS OF A PAMPHLET BY DR. HEINSCH, OF MOERS (RHINELAND), ENTITLED Principles of Pre-historic Cult-Geography, TRANSLATED AND REVIEWED BY MR. R. P. JONES (referred to on p. 41.)
The propositions appear to be:
(1) That prehistoric man over the whole world (proofs chiefly out of Europe and Palestine) had high ability in the measurement of land, little inferior to that of modern geodesists.
(2) That this was closely connected with a “magical” view of nature which demanded that man should by accurate natural (i.e. divinely ordained) laws of measurement based on cosmic principles “site” all places of (divine) interest in the whole region.
(3) The main basis of this—in addition to basic triangulation on 30° and 60° and relations on diagonals of a square (45°) and double square (26.5° nearly)—is a number of angles based on a line joining a moon-cult-spot in West with a sun-cult-spot in East at an angle of 84° or 96° with the North–South axis. i.e. a declension of 6° from due East.
The first is in Christian times frequently an “Our Lady” church, the second a “John the Baptist.”
Reasons are indicated for calling this base-line a Sun-year-line.
(4) These ideas were more or less consciously adapted and carried on under subsequent changes of religion, Mohammedan, Christian, etc.
(5) Such “Siting” had real meaning for the good of mankind.
The Main Principles are:
(a) The North–South Axis was a chief basis of orientation.
(b) Alignment of holy places along angles connected with the North–South Axis and consequently the “Sun-year-line,” and at definite multiples or sub-multiples of distance, the frequent recurrence of which constitutes a strong basis of proof.
{44} (c) As a minor but important thesis he is at pains to prove that the Metre (or a mult. or sub-mult.) was the universal basic unit of measure throughout all history—vide the Temple, St. Peter’s, Notre-Dame.
After quoting a number of angles he gives the examples from Odry, West Prussia, now Poland,* stone-circles and hills; Chartres in France; Cleves, border of Holland and Germany; Stonehenge; and Palestine.
* Written August 16, 1939.
He emphasizes the (as yet) empirical nature of the principles: offers no “Why,” but suggests and asks for further examination on maps, on which he gives practical advice.
As a final proposition, suggested to him by his own practical necessities as an administrator concerned with the reconstruction of whole areas to conform to modern needs—which he desires to execute with due consideration of traditional elements—he advances the thought that continued study of these alignments (believed by the ancients to be in harmony with “divine” laws of nature) will result in the discovery of laws of “Siting” which would be beneficial to us moderns.