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In my Calendar Novel Series, I explore the intriguing theories of ancient giants and builders of a lost race or races. I've always been fascinated by old civilizations' architecture. My curiosity was only exacerbated when my sweetheart gave me the gift to travel the world for 15 years with him seeing these places myself. Here is me goofing off in front of the Parthenon on top of the Acropolis in Athens, Greece. We had just listened to a long lecture about warriors, more bloodshed
death, division and endless conquest. So I was trying to lighten things up a bit as we know humor is often the best antidote for much disease.
One of the things I learned in my wanderings, is that the scale of places can be so large that it is easy not to see what is right in front of you. So on this day, there were several thousand little humans wandering around in front of this massive temple dedicated to Athena. You can see how small we all look. It made us wonder how the ancients got these monolithic stones up on top of this hill, otherwise known as the Acropolis. When we drove around Athens in our
tour bus, I could catch glimpses of this craggy, massive hill through scraggly trees. However, no one in Athens talked about this amazing drone shot of the Parthenon atop the Acropolis picture here! The Acropolis definitely looks manmade and NOT a natural hill outcropping from the sky. It was definitely made in super-giant scale. Especially when you compare it to my 5'11" self standing in front of the temple that now looks like a tiny decoration on top of a birthday cake. Whatever was going on here in our ancient past? Mysterious!
I want to give credit to @perelin who posted this into my TravelTheWorld group I founded on Gab. You can join that group here... if you like photo travels and stories. https://gab.com/groups/5778
If you search on the hashtags #mudtheory, #ancientbuilders #ancientgiants #tartary #losttartaria #starforts across many others' vlogs and blogs you will see many other intriguing photographs, etchings and maps. For example, here is a quick google search that shows a variety of star forts located around the globe.
Intriguing are they not?
Upon my return from our travels and then our subsequent subjection to a global lockdown for one year and counting, I had time to intake and mull on these varying proposed theories and synthesize them with my own experiences. As an author, I've now been incorporating these mysteries and theories into my books as I find them fascinating. As we know, people can digest more difficult topics and new theories in a story format much more easily.
My March Novel, the third in my Calendar series, is scheduled for publication in December 2021. The theme of ancient giants was introduced in The February Novel. If you read them in order, you would get to know Janice, the main character in The January Novel as her soul travels across time, place and the spaces in between. Here is a link to my books pictured here.
My March Novel features Columbia, South Carolina as one of its main locations, both in the past and in the 2000 decade. Featured below is a photograph of the State House. So as part of my writing process, I decided to test some of others' theories brought forward in vlogger videos linked to these hashtag searches. The preface is that there is historical data discrepancies and question marks around many iconic older buildings that can be difficult to logically answer. Like they were built by an older race, and were only recovered by Colonists who were looking to uncover them. Fascinating right? At minimum it is a great premise to expound from as a novelist! So here is a drill down on the state house.
Here is a link to a 30 second reel I made "taking a walk" around the state house- sorry but the Insta-controllers deleted someone's beautiful original audio on this link which made it more fun to listen to previously! Regardless, I'm not deleting it I like to preserve their overreaches of authority.
One Posit of the #mudfloodtheory is that the number of Greek Revival massive building that popped up all over America during the mid 1800's were the result of uncovering ancient buildings from an ancient giant civilization.
Here is the breakdown on Niernsee, the architect who is attributed with most of the work on the SC State House.
Quotes about Niernsee's architectural firm are drawn from The AIA of Baltimore (see link above)
James T. Wollon Jr's many conversations over many years with the late Randolph W. Chalfant
NIERNSEE & NEILSON, ARCHITECTS OF BALTIMORE: Two Careers on the Edge of the Future by Randolph W. Chalfant and Charles Belfoure, published by the Baltimore Architecture Foundation, 2006.
John Rudolph Niernsee's Timeline:
May 29, 1814: John Rudolph Niernsee is born in Vienna, Austria
Name Discrepancy: He was apparently born to Baron Johnann von Niernstina, click through to public Ancestry tree here.
September, 1814-June 1815: Congress of Vienna occurs, where Austria is awarded to Germany in the breakup of Napoleon's Holy Roman Empire.
1816: James Crawford Neilson is born 1816, future partner of JRN dies1900
1832-36 (est): educated in engineering and architecture at the University of Prague, Czech Republic.
1836: Age 22, immigrated to America .
Technically it was Johann Rudolph Niernstina who immigrated from Germany to America, the oldest namesake son of an Austrian Baron.
1839: Age 25, becomes a member of the engineering staff of the B&O Railroad
his chief engineer is Benjamin H. Latrobe, son of the nationally-famous architect who planned Washington DC
Meets Neilson his future partner at B&O
1842: Age 28: marries Emily Bradenbaugh of Baltimore.
1848-1856: Niernsee (Age 34) & Neilson (Age 32) opened N&N, their architectural partnership practice in Baltimore, "8 excellent years of partnership"
"first thoroughly professional architectural office in Baltimore having professionally-educated partners with specific responsibilities, apprentices and draftsmen. It combined the best constructional knowledge with thoughtful design and a respect for the clients’ concerns with prompt, complete service."
1854: Age 40 founding member of the "national" AIA -American Institute of Architects
Many of their landmark structures date from this period including
Only names Chapel of Green Mount Cemetery. Is this architecture?
But they were railroad engineers by experience, so how did they make these amazing beautiful buildings that are not replicated today?
1854: Age 40: "called to Columbia, South Carolina to investigate defects in a new State House begun by others a few years earlier"! When? By Who?
1854-1864: "With tact and vigorous politicking, Niernsee won the State House commission there and remained in Columbia for about ten years which included the Civil War years when he served in the Confederate Army." According to Baltimore'a AIA website.
(Why? He was Austrian)
Nov 6, 1855: but granted Naturalized Citizenship in Baltimore, MD Court (click on image to view link)
November 1860: Abraham Lincoln Elected President
April 12, 1861-April 9, 1865 is the Civil War according to Wikipedia. JRN is age 47-51.
1854-1861 is the 7 year time period of JRN's estimated work according to our source of architectural interviews
Civil War started 1861. Therefore JRN won the design, began the work. worked on it and did not finish it over this seven year period.
4 of these years overlap with the Civil War where he served as a Major in the Confederate Army
Question: Where was the rock quarried from and how did it get cut & installed? By whom?
If he was finishing work, that was already done, why did it take so long?
If the state's own signs are correct then why did the architect say, there was work already begun? Look at the historical society pictured here, there was no original stone building, a small wooden building.
1865-1877: Reconstruction Period according to Wikipedia. "Work on the unfinished State House was deferred in the Reconstruction Period." So this means he didn't finish it, as he was now back in Baltimore according to SC sign.
1865: According to Baltimore AIA's website he actually returned to Baltimore in 1865 to continue his successful partnership in Baltimore, after his 10 year departure, which included a stint in the Civil War apparently as Major.
Sherman marched on Atlanta February 17-18, 1865.
1865: According to SC's tourist history, the Major in the Confederate Army left and returned to Baltimore, was this after Sherman's destruction of Columbia?
Why would he leave his military post in 1865? Was it after Sherman's destruction?
Why was this Austrian/German a major in the Confederate Army?
According to SC link above (and screenshot below) there were 6 cannon holes from Sherman during Civil War in the Western granite walls. https://www.knowitall.org/photo/bronze-stars-sc-state-house during Sherman's 2/1865 March to the Sea?
When you look at the holes they are de minimis in scale to the building.
The above instagram-reel shows a brief close up of one of the bronze stars- and the scale of my hand next to it.
Here is a link to another mini-reel I made of the Southern facing porch of the state capitol building.
December 1870: Neilson joined the AIA later and both became charter members of the newly formed Baltimore Chapter of the AIA upon its organization.
1874: Niernsee & Neilson partnership continues in Baltimore, MD
1877-1889: Niernsee formed a partnership with his son Frank. Niernsee and Dr. John Shaw Billings collaborated on the new Johns Hopkins Hospital under the coordination of Cabot & Chandler of Boston.
In 1885, he returned to Columbia, SC to complete the Statehouse, but died (Age 71) soon after his arrival.
He is buried there and his family returned to Baltimore. Here is a picture of his grave at St. Peter's Basilica. I have it in one of my reels too when I visited it.
His former partner, and later his son, supervised the continuation of the State House.
Many other architects owe their training to Niernsee & Neilson including R. Snowden Andrews, Eben Faxon, August Forsberg, Bruce Price, E. Francis Baldwin, and T. Buckler Ghequier.
Together and separately, John R. Niernsee and J. Crawford Neilson advanced the architectural profession in its formative years by their dedication, competence and professionalism. With over 165 projects documented by the late Randolph W. Chalfant and the Baltimore Architecture Foundation, from Maryland, Washington, DC and Virginia to the Carolinas and Georgia, their names are synonymous with excellence of design, originality and advancement in both design and technology throughout the second half of the 19th century.
Population totals in Columbia SC per decade- includes free and slave, men, women and children.
YEAR Total Population
1830 3,310
1840 4,340
1850 6,060
1860 8,052 1865 Sherman attacks Columbia at end of Civil War
1870 9,298
Overall you can read between the dates and facts and wonder if they really were uncovering an ancient building and taking credit for building it. Interesting is it not?
Questions:
What was the need for such big structures based on population:
The State House? 1850
First City Hall? 1814
Sherman burned the operating little wooden state house next to the stone walls that he shot cannon at, but did not destroy-
Manpower to build the structure? Skilled Labor to build?
Who designed and built it? Where were the stones quarried
How were stones transported? Roads were dirt until 1900 (need to footnote websource)
More work required in this post and research.
But it is fun right? Who doesn't love a mystery or a good conspiracy? Any research or sources you want to share, please sign and leave your comments.
My next geographical post will focus on Philadelphia, Pennsylvania as I begin to posit it as an important location inside of The March Novel. In my digital travels, I found this author's great post that discusses a lot of my own research, but he extends it into important details about the Fairmount section of the City and its hidden history of a Fire-Mound. So I'm saving a link to his interesting summary here for those of you that are also historically curious.
In my Novel series I include a Recommended Reading List which names a number of books that influenced and shaped my Ancient Giant Builder Races plotlines.