In August 2013, in Piska Nagri village, on the outskirts of Ranchi City in Jharkahnd State, geologist Nitish Priyadarshi analysed a set of large footprints that, according to local legend, may signify the presence of gods from the sky landing on site. But is there any reality to the story?
The larger-than-normal footprints dating back to ancient times are not the first to be discovered. In September 1925, a footprint of prehistoric origins measuring nearly eight feet in length was discovered by James Higgins high on the rock formations of Busy Peak in the US. In October 1926, Oakland newspapers reported a discovery made by Professor George Louderback of the University of California of prehistoric footprints on a cliff near San Jose, measuring about five feet in length. And last year a giant footprint about four feet long was found in rock near Mpuluzi, near the Swaziland border in South Africa, although like others its validity is hotly debated.
However, the latest discovery is somewhat different. The footprints, which also appear as a depression in rock, are of those wearing wooden sandals and not barefoot as the others. One set of footprints measures 11 inches in length and 5 inches in width, and another set in the same area measures 10 inches by 4.5 inches. They also appear to have been purposefully carved into the rock.
“It may have been made by the local people manually at that time in memory of the visitors,” said Priyardarshi. “Seeing the weathering stage of the foot prints it can be said that the age of the foot prints may be thousands of year old.”
Rather peculiarly, the ancient footprints are engraved next to a carved image of a mysterious flying object, which is also somewhat similar to a traditional depiction of an angel with wings. “The footprints and the flying object are on the same piece of rock on each other’s side. Maybe they were engraved to show that the two king gods arrived at the place on a flying object,” Mr Priyadarshi said.
There is a growing body of research in the field of alternative archaeology which presents evidence for a race of very large hominids once walking the Earth. In the early part of the 20th century there were reports of fossilized giants being found in America. For example, the following comes from an article that appeared in the Postville Herald on November 7th, 1919….
“The fossilized remains of a giant measuring 32 feet 10 Inches in height were, according to a report recently discovered by workmen near the little village of Nanacamilpa, State of Vera Cruz.The natives, who still cling to many of the traditions of their Indian ancestors, declared the giant was related to the gods of their forefathers.”
Some amazing discoveries have been made in other countries as well. A 35-centimetre long mummified finger has been found in Egypt; A 23 foot skeleton was found in 1456 AD beside the river in Valence, France; a 19 foot 6 inch human skeleton was found in 1577 AD in the Canton of Lucerne; a 25 foot 6 inch skeleton was found in 1613 AD near the castle of Chaumont in France; a little over 100 years ago an entire fossilized giant was supposedly found in Ireland. In an article from Strand magazine in December, 1895, the author speaks of a fossilised giant discovered during mining operations in County Antrim, Ireland, which measured 12 feet 2 inches and which took half a dozen men and a powerful crane to move it. In Georgia, skeletons of giants were found at a cave near Gora Kazbek in the 1920s and, in 2000, a 13 foot human skeleton was found by two archaeologists near the village of Udabno. A 15-foot human skeleton was found in southeast Turkey in late 1950’s in the Euphrates valley during road construction. Many tombs containing giants were uncovered there, which pertains to the picture of the man next to a giant human femur.
However, much of the evidence is dismissed today because the whole subject has been undermined by numerous hoaxes and photoshopped images depicting giant skulls or huge skeletons. Nevertheless, the fact that there are numerous ‘jokers’ out there who have made fun of the idea of a previous race of giants does not necessitate that the real findings are false.
As geologist Priyadarshi said: “We live in a highly advanced, technical world, but there are nevertheless a great many mysteries all around us. Ancient places and mysterious beings, sunken worlds and cultures, landscapes imbued with symbolism, unexplained apparitions, and unbelievable finds from ancient times—all of these remain mysteries for humankind, despite intense investigations.”
Unfortunately, most of the discoveries mentioned above have gone on virtually unreported and unheard of because they do not fit in with the accepted evolutionary account that the human species descended from pygmy-sized early hominids in Africa millions of years ago.
However, while many try to dispute archaeological findings, such as discoveries of footprints or giant skeletons through explanations such as natural formations or rare mutations which caused a few individuals to grow to enormous sizes, it is harder to dispute when taken in conjunction with the words of ancient texts:
“We also saw the giants there, Anakim, which come of the giants, and we were like grasshoppers in our own eyes and in their eyes.” (Numbers 13:33)
“There were giants. Much larger and shaped differently than normal people. Terrible to see. Anyone who has not seen it with his or her own eyes cannot believe they were so big.” (Flavius Josephus, 79 AD)
“There were giants in the earth in those days; and also after that, when the sons of God came in unto the daughters of men, and they bare children to them, the same became mighty men which were of old, men of renown” (Genesis 6:4)
Almost everyone knows the famous biblical stories of Noah and the ark and Jonah and the whale, but how many have heard of the ‘Gods’ who reproduced with humans and produced giants? There certainly seems to have been a conscious effort to sweep much of the evidence for a giant race of hominids under the carpet, and it’s no wonder. Such an occurrence does not fit in neatly with either the evolutionary narrative or the biblical account of creation.