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Tuesday, March 1, 2011

The “Phoenician” inscriptions in Brazil. Pedra da Gavea

 
First part on the "Phoenician" inscriptions found in Brazil.
 
See Index on all my posts on Phoenicians in America.
 
Pedra da Gavea mountain in Rio de Janeiro. Phoenician inscriptions
Pedra da Gavea in Rio de Janeiro. The "Phoenician inscriptions" seen from afar. Adapted by A. Whittall form a photograph by Paulo Afonso de A. Teixeira

In the southern part of the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, right beside the beach, there is a steep mountain that rises 842 m (2,760 ft.) above sea level. It has a sheer rock face and is known as Pedra de Gávea (“topsail” rock, in Portuguese).

Besides being a beautiful sight, with rugged face and its base covered with lush tropical vegetation, it is also intriguing, because it has some strange marks on its face that have been said to be man-made inscriptions.

This is just one of the many alleged pre-Hispanic inscriptions found in Brazil. Today’s post will review them with a critical eye.

LAABHTEJRABRIZDABNAISNEOFRUZT

In 1839, Januário da Cunha Barbosa and Araújo Porto-Alegre published a paper in the Intituto Histórico e Gegráfico Brasileiro (IHGB) journal on the possible existence of ancient inscriptions on the Pedra da Gavea.

In their article (Relatório sobre a Inscricao da Gávea”, RIHGB (1): 77-81), they concluded that after an “in loco” inspection that their were not sure if these inscriptions were real or not, and suggested that the Institute should undertake a deeper investigation.[1]

Neary one century later, in 1920 the matter was taken up again by a "scholar", actually a retired industrial magnate (who of humble origins, and became an orphan at a young age, later made his fortune as a natural rubber tapper) named Bernardo Azevedo Silva Ramos (1858-1931).

Silva Ramos was a self educated archaeologist and historian, president of the Instituto Geografico de Manaos. Living in Manaos, in the Amazon, he compiled several hundreds of “Phoenician inscriptions” from that region, which [2]

He published, with government support a book on the native inscriptions in Amreica: “ Inscricoes e Tradicoes da America Prehistorica — Especialmente do Brasil”, in two volumes ( R. de Janeiro, 1930-39), in which he dealt with Gavea's inscriptions. Below is an image of these inscriptions and their translation according to Silva Ramos:

Gavea Phoenician inscriptions
Pedra da Gavea "Phoenician" inscriptions.

Ramos interpreted the inscriptions (which, by the way, the Brazilian government and most scholars consider the work of erosion and natural weathering of the mountain's rock face) as follows:

LAABHTEJ - RAB - RIZDAB - NAISINEOF - RUZT

And, considering that the Phoenicians wrote from right to left (like modern Hebrew, the opposite to the way Western languages are written), he inverted the phrase:

TZUR - FOENISIAN - BADZIR – RAB - JETHBAAL

Which, he translated as:

Tyro Phoenicia, Firstborn Jethbaal”.

A cryptic phrase which has a historical backing: Badezir ruled Phoenicia from 855 to 850 BC, and he was the son of Jehtbaal, who ruled from 887 to 856 BC.

This would be so neat and nice if, (there is always an if!) it had said “Canaan” instead of “Phoenicia”, because, “Phoenicians” is a name given to them by the Greeks, and as Western science derives from Greece, we use their words as our own. But, real Phoenicians didn’t call themselves that way. They used the name “Canaan”.

This may hint at (if the "letters" were not formed by natural weathering) a "forced" interpretation of symbols.

You may expect that Badezir was some name made up by Silva Ramos, and therefore lacking evidence to back it up. However, the name is true and it exists, in a list of the “Kings that had reigned at Tyre” published by Romano-Jewish historian Josephus (37 – c.100 AD), and he in turn cites a Phoenician author of the second century BC, Menander of Ephesus:

...Pheles who took the kingdom and reigned but eight months though he lived fifty years he was slain by Ithobalus the priest of Astarte who reigned thirty two ye ars and lived sixty eight years he was succeeded by his son Badezorus who lived forty five years and reigned six years he was succeeded by Matgenus his son...[6]

Text mentioning Ithobalus and Badezorus
Text mentioning Phoenician kings Ithobalus and Badezorus. From [3]

Where Ithobalus is Jethbaal and Badezorus is Badezir (by the way, I have seen in the Internet an outlandish comment suggesting that the name Brazil comes from Badezorus!).

By the way, the biblical Jezebel is the daughter of Jethbaal (she married the King of Israel Ahab, and led him astray from Jehova inducing him to tolerate the cult of Baal - 1 kings 16:31).

Closing comments.

As I said above, the marks according to most "reliable" sources are natural. And I tend to believe the same thing. Why would the Phoenicians climb up a sheer rock face to carve a strange phrase there?.

Then we have the use of the word "Phoenician" instead of "Canaan". It is as if an American expedition after reaching the Moon would have left a plaque there and signed it "Gringos" instead of "Americans".

The historical / biblical part of the translation is coherent, and neat (too neat in fact), which makes me wonder if the symbols were interpreted with the intention of finding what was in fact found: the name of Jethbaal, father of Jezebel and Badezir (aka "Brazil").

It is wishful thinking. Not the work of Phoenicians.

Next post will deal with some other inscriptions and, the famous Paraíba (or Parahyba) inscription.


Sources.

[1] Manoel Luiz Lima Salgado Guimarães, Carlos Fico, (2006). Estudos sobre a escrita da história: anais do Encontro de Historiografia e História Política : 10 e 11 de outubro de 2005. Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro. Programa de Pós-Graduação em História Social. 7 Letras , pp 103
[2] Stone inscriptions and escutcheons. American Anthropologist vol. 22. pp. 388+
[3] Flavius Josephus, William Whiston, (1810). The genuine works of Flavius Josephus: containing five books of the Antiquities of the Jews : to which are prefixed three dissertations, Volume 6. Printed for Evert Duyckinck, John Tiebout, and M. & W. Ward pp. 216


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27 comments:

  1. The burden is on the Nay-sayers & Hoax-callers to try explaining these Phoenician/Canaanite inscriptions -when found all who knew the writing (much less how to dupe it) were inside Academia LOL~ the winds & currents with this outstanding locale point at its being authentic!

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  2. Thanks for commenting!
    Austin

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    1. thank you sir for the great effort that you made to show the truth .. and as a Lebanese - Phoenician myself , i assure you that all my Lebanese fellows will be so proud of you when i share these precious informations with them , "El " Bless you

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  3. TZUR - FOENISIAN - BADZIR – RAB - JETH-BAAL

    translates in:

    Phoenician Emperor Badzir Is Servant of God.

    TZUR= supreme ruler over people
    RAB= slave, servant. It is common in Serbian language to refer to all people (including the emperor) as Servants of God.

    I am laic for anciant anything but I can read this easily in native Serbian language. Besides, Phoenician alphabet is derived from the old Serbian "cirilic" (know in Serbia as "Vincansko Pismo" or "Srbica") which is dated back to around 4,000 BC.

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  4. Yes and all the knowledge of humankind came from old Serbian cirilic people, even if the cyrilic alphabet is known to have been introduced during the Bulgar Empire - see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyrillic_script. WTF...the slavic people were not migratory people but the first inhabitants of Europe. Let it go! It stinks.

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  5. Herculano L. E. NetoMarch 16, 2013 at 9:57 AM

    A good image of Pedra da Gavea is at

    Rezende, Adilson,
    http://www.panoramio.com/photo/44945780
    http://static.panoramio.com/photos/original/44945780.jpg .

    Herculano L. E. Neto

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  6. Austin, I wanted to thank you for posting such information. "Modern" science, that mass of Ostrich, heads firmly stuck in the sand, refuse to entertain any findings or speculation that might disprove the glory that is Columbus. They have held on graspingly for so long. But the ground they stand on is quicksand.

    This inscription may well be "weathering", but I find it difficult to disbelieve every piece of evidence listed here and elsewhere that tell of visitors to both orth and South America.

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  7. Following a study recently found that one of the petroglyphs found at Del cerro de los Chivos, Tacuichamona, Sinaloa shows symbols of European Neolithic civilization (V sing, bucraniul (bull skull), and comb).
    These symbols were transmitted over time and can be found on clay statuettes belonging to the Bronze Age culture Zuto Brdo - Garla Mare, and a bronze seal ring found on Seimeni, Dobrogea, Romania.
    https://sites.google.com/site/seimenineoliticsipreneolitic/

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  8. 3. Badezir was not some random Canaanite, some weekend explorer who likes to hike the Appalachian trail to see nature. Badezir was the son of the King, and he was the King himself. We have no real knowledge in our Democratic culture of what a true Monarchy is. So the word "King" does not quite conjure up the mindset of these ancient peoples.

    Their kings reigned some 50 years, some much shorter. But the possibility was always there that whoever sat as king would be king essentially for a persons whole lifetime. The people knew their king intimately. Think of the way we get to know a President of the US in only 4 or 8 years. Imagine a President's 35th year of reign. The people had known him since he was born. That was the weight this Phoenician King Badezir carried on this epic journey.

    4. This King Badezir sailed around the world and arrived at South America. This was no trip to the supermarket. It was epic, heroic, fraught with danger and adventure, and the whole nation's heart was likely with him on the journey, for he was the King's son and heir.

    As a young king and obvious hero, it is completely sensible to imagine that upon his arrival at this shore, thousands of miles from his kingdom, through storms and islands and fishes and all wonders, he would make his mark commensurate with the full weight not only of his person, but also the full magnitude of the expedition itself.

    You make a comment about astronauts going to the moon and leaving a placard that says "Gringos". I think your point is misguided, but the placard is what interests me. We did leave a placard on the moon. We leave placards everywhere we explore, from the North Pole to the Antarctic. This represents the historical exploratory nature of humanity.

    Therefore it is completely plausible that not only would King Badezir leave his mark, but that he would do so in the most ostentatious and lasting way he could devise. This is the way of kings.

    4. Before we go into the nature of the inscription itself, I have to address one point you sort of passively-aggressively made throughout the article. That is that the "Brazilian Government and most scholars consider the work of erosion and natural weathering of the mountain's rock face..." I really don't even want to address this assertion since you posted a picture of the relief of the inscription itself, and only the most rudimentary knowledge of earth science tells you that natural forces do not produce sentences.

    The markings are not forced, they are not fanciful. They are letters and they are clearly seen in the progress from inscription to translation in said relief. To say that "most scholars" consider this the work of erosion is simply the most fanciful, and dare I say, ignorant, statement that could be made, considering the nature of erosion (which the 3000 foot mountain itself is formed by) to smooth out hollows and rough spots on a vertical surface. This is simple physics and geology.

    Erosion may form patterns that could be interpreted much like an abstract painting, and one could see anything one wishes, just like looking at the clouds and seeing elephants. But one thing erosion does not do is carve out letters, which happen to string together in a straight line, joining up to form words, places, statements and thoughts--all of which are historically verifiable. Erosion erodes, it does not inscribe. If the relief is accurate (and I have no suspicion that it is not), we can all see that erosion is not culprit, not matter how many "scholars" agree that it is.

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    1. Congratulations Imagine I found the inscriptions of Pedra Gavea, in the site of Wikipedia on Skepticals. For them it was the perfect examples of Pseudo-science.
      Let's thank these guys

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    2. After a very fast research, I Found that the name phoenicians, is derived from a very old Egyptian word meaning wood cutter. And the greeks 5 or more centuries later, had no reason to invent a new name for the Canaanite sailors. They traded red colors with the Canaanites.
      I am quite sure, that Badezir called himself a Phoenician, it was their Trademark for many centuries.

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    3. In the inscription they use the word BAR and not RAB , Bar means son in Hebrew

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  9. 5. This is getting long, so I will conclude by returning to your closing thought that the Biblical connection is "too neat." I'm not sure how to take this statement at face value. Do you prefer that the evidence remains a jumbled mess, only able to be deciphered by "trained professionals" and "scholars?" (Btw, what degree do you have to attain to become a "scholar"? BS in scholarship?) If you came home to find your window broken and found a baseball on the kitchen floor in the direct line of trajectory from the broken window, would the conclusion, "The baseball came through the window" be "too neat"? Of course it wouldn't. Unless, of course, the Bible had said, "Baseballs will go through windows when kids play in the yard." Then it would likely be "too neat," for you I imagine.

    Your statement reveals your own bias. The whole article does so as well. I know nothing about you other than this article and I sense that you are among the many who will not allow evidence to enter their consideration which contradicts the official narrative. That's understandable, but very sad. For it means you are relegated to a life that refuses to see the truth and perpetuates the same narrative you are entrenched in, and obviously vested in protecting.

    Basically, the sum of your thesis is this: "Since this 'inscription' verifies the validity of the Scripture's testimony regarding kings and cities and nations, the 'inscription' is suspect and even "wishful thinking". So the sum of your life's thesis must be the same. So sad.

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    1. fantastic dude, i agree with your words 100%

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  10. Le roi Phenicien Badezir, fils aîné de Jeth Baal, n'est nul autre que Baal Ezzer 1er fils de Hiram roi de Tyr. Son histoire concerne le pays d'Ophir au temps du roi Salomon, cité par la Bible au 1er livre des rois. L'inscription phenicienne sur Pedra da Gavea fait parti de son trajet pour atteindre le Perou via le fleuve Amazone pour s'approvisionner de Santal et des pierres precieuses. Ce dernier est cité par la sourate Al Kahf (la grotte) a partir du verset 83 à 96. Pour plus de details, je vous invite a visiter ce site : www . elalim . com

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  11. Thanks, So it appears that the inscription was done during a voyage by Baal Ezzer (oldest son of Hiram) to Peru via the Amazon River to stock up on gems and Sandalwood.

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  12. Message pour monsieur Austin Whittaul
    L'inscription phénicienne de Pedra da Gavea est une inscription très importante des histoires du10eme siecle av J.C.
    Elle est le point de le départ pour expliquer par rapport au christianisme:
    - la légende de Hiram
    - l'énigme du pays d'Ophir
    - la relation entre le roi Salomon et la reine de Saba
    - les roi David et Salomon
    Et d'après l'Islam:
    - Dhul Qarnayn ( l'homme au deux cornes )
    - la barrière de Dhul Qarnayn
    - Gog et Magog
    Pour plus d'informations veuillez me joindre par email à travers mon site : www.elalim.com et merci.

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  13. Mr Austin il faut revoir les textes publiés. Il y'a un problème de traduction. Merci Annonyme.

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  14. In short....we think the Phoenicians thought of themselves as Canaanites. That in itself may be in dispute. But even for a moment if they thought the world knew them by only this name, would they have not carved Phoenicians and not Canaanite.

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  15. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gv4asg86jOU.>>> giants petrified in mud from the flood.

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  16. https://youtu.be/nc3IGGOQ7K8?t=59m20s - All the Truth about Brazil and Secrets.

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  17. I'm the only one to point out that the marks on the rock do not look at all like the phoenician characters that they are claimed to be?

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  18. I'm the only one that notices that the marks on the rock do not look at all like the Phoenician characters they're claimed to be?

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  19. Giant heads of black people and others from other races in Mexico seem to be a solid proof that america was visited from time to time from phoenicians and other maritime ancient nations.

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  20. Giant heads of black people and also of other races in Mexico seem to me a solid proof that phoenicians and other maritime ancient nations visited Ameria from time to time in the past.

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  21. Giant heads of black people and also of other races in Mexico seem to me a solid proof that phoenician and other maritime ancient nations visited America from time to time in the past.

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  22. I'm wondering if Phoenicians didnt refer to themselves as Phoenicians, why then does the inscription spell Phoenicia?

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