Publications The Sahara geoglyphs 16.12.2018. Part 7. Atypical Symbols. The Sahara geoglyphsPart 7. Atypical Symbols.With the discovery of new geoglyphs, of already familiar shapes, occasionally unusual symbols have begun to appear, not similar to the main mass of geoglyphs or to each other. However, they also have geometric shapes that leave no doubt about the artificiality of their origin. Atypical geoglyphs are found in different places of the Sahara Desert, and have obvious patterns in their location.
Let's start with SC symbols, which look like a stapler clip (Symbol Clip), with a small dash in the middle. About two hundred such symbols have been found so far. They are located in the central part of the Sahara in three large groups that stretch from southwest to northeast. Sometimes, SC symbols are found near typical ones. As a rule, SC geoglyphs are located singly, more rarely in pairs, but sometimes there are also small groups of several characters. Some more typical examples are shown below.
A group of symbols SC 22. A group of symbols SC 92, SC 93, SC 94. Two groups of symbols SC 90 and SC 91. Next, consider another type of unusual geoglyphs designated by the abbreviation NS. These symbols resemble the previous type, but the bracket here has a more semicircular shape. Sometimes the bracket is practically closed, and a small oval is obtained. Often, such geoglyphs are arranged in pairs. The following image shows object NS 46.
Of course, there is some probability that these geoglyphs are the result of recent human activity, but the whole group is located in a completely deserted area, where there is only sand and sparse vegetation on small hills, next to which the symbols NS are usually found.
There are more than 50 NS type geoglyphs found at the moment. All of them are small, about 10 meters, and are located in a compact group, on an area of approximately 14x8 km. The coordinates of NS 42 symbol located in the center of the group are 16 ° 22'36.66 "N 5 ° 0'26.44" E. The space image below shows the general location of a group of NS geoglyphs. It should be noted that the objects are found on a part with good resolution (a reddish tint). Therefore, it can be assumed that there are similar symbols in the surrounding area. Below another typical example is given.
In shape, the NS type symbols look like two more atypical symbols - AS 39 and AS 94. But they are much larger in size and are located 400 km from the main group. We will return to them when considering the mutual arrangement of objects.
Next, we consider explicitly artificial objects whose outlines are close to simple geometric shapes. Basically, such objects are found in the western group of geoglyphs, not far from the Richat Structure, but they are also found in the central part of the Sahara.
Let's start with the oval-shaped symbols. About ten of them have been discovered so far. In some cases, from the outside, one or more elements in the form of a rectangle or small circles adjoin the oval. Often, such geoglyphs have a designated point inside. The first image below shows the SR 4290 oval, which was one of the first to be found. Its diameter is close to 50 meters, inside there is a clearly marked point. The object is located in the central part of the Sahara in a completely lifeless place, where for tens of kilometers there is not even a trace of passing cars. The oval shaped geoglyph SR 4290.
There is a designated center and another element, on the outer side of the circle. We will return to this oval.
The first image below shows another object, which, perhaps, is not an artificial formation, but sometimes, there are typical symbols inside some of them. There are a lot of such objects, they occupy vast territories, merging and transforming one into another.
The second image, showing two more formations, speaks in favor of the idea that these geoglyphs can be artificial objects. Here we also see broken lines, but there are clearly artificial small circles in the corners and inside the figures. You will see the same kind of circles in the future, on others, this time surely artificial objects. Among geoglyphs of unusual shape there are several objects in the form of a triangle. The image below shows one of the most significant - AS 35. The size of the large sides of this triangle is about 100 m.
In the second picture, next to the triangle - АS 36, a little to the north-west, there is a symbol of the “sputnik” type - S 12770, the center of which is indicated by a purple point. The size of the sides of the second triangle, which is close to equilateral, are about 50 m.
Next, we turn to the symbols of rectangular and rhombic shapes. There are also few such geoglyphs. There are just about a dozen large objects found at the moment.
The image below shows a rectangular object - R 1057, one of the first to be found. It is obviously artificial, and looks like remnants of a building or a fenced territory. Therefore, at first this object was marked as a possible geoglyph, and as such, of course, it will remain until field research. But there are many facts speaking in favor of the idea that it is still a geoglyph. First, the object is located in a completely deserted place. Around, for tens of kilometers, there are no settlements or roads. Secondly, the image is clearly flat, in appearance very similar to geoglyphs in the Nazca desert. The relief lines continue inside the rectangle, which measures approximately 45 by 52 meters. In the center there is a designated point. In 420 meters west of the rectangle, there is geoglyph S1069, of the “sputnik” type. In fact, this object is located in a group of SK symbols, the nearest of which are at a distance of about a kilometer. In addition, there are explicit regularities associated with the orientation and location of this object relative to other geoglyphs and key points of the SAMS. After the discovery of the western group of geoglyphs, objects of rectangular shape similar to remnants of some buildings began to occur more often there. Below there are two such objects located 4 kilometers apart. These geoglyphs are located in the southwestern part of the ring of the famous Rishat structure, 6 kilometers from its center. This area has been studied superficially so far, so maybe there are more similar objects to be found there. And it has exactly the same small circles that we have seen above among shapeless geoglyphs. The AS 15 geoglyph of a rectangular shape consists of small circles and also has characteristic circles in the corners that have practically lost their connection with the corners.
90 km west of the Richat Structure, among a large group of typical geoglyphs, there are two more geometric symbols shown in the image below. It is a square with a rectangle inside and a triangle. Both figures have characteristic small circles in the corners and marked centers. In 50 km to the north, also among the typical symbols, there is another group of rectangular geoglyphs, among which there are also triangles. The group consists of ten symbols, located in an area of 1.5x1.5 km, and several broken lines hundreds of meters long. The images below show some of the most interesting objects. They resemble remnants of ancient structures, but most likely they are geoglyphs, since next to them there are lines symmetrically diverging at the right angles, and other geoglyphs. Group of geoglyphs AS 60, AS 61, AS 62.
Geoglyph AS 48, resembling remnants of an ancient construction. At a distance of more than 1,200 km northeast of the above symbols, in the northern part of the western group of similar geoglyphs, there are several more square symbols that are shown in the three images below.
Geoglyph AS 37, with an H-shape symbol in the center. Another square geoglyph AS 41, which is almost not visible, but very similar to the previous one. In the northern part of the western group of geoglyphs, there is another very interesting group of unique symbols, consisting of individual objects in the form of crosses, measuring approximately 30x30 m.
There is a total of six groups, each consisting of 6 crosses, lined up at close angles. So, it makes 6 x 6 = 36 individual objects. In their turn, all 6 groups can be divided into 2 subgroups of 3 lines located 2 kilometers from each other. These symbols are designated AS 17 to AS 22. The image below shows the general location of objects on the ground, which is completely deserted for many tens of kilometers in the area. The size of all the lines is approximately the same and is about 285 m. All the geoglyphs are compactly located at an area measuring approximately 2.5 x 4.8 km. At the moment, these objects are unique, as nothing like this has ever been found. In the image below, two lines of crosses are shown more closely. These geoglyphs are so large that they can be seen even with poor resolution of satellite image. We will return to these lines, but for now we will consider another type of artificial objects, which consist of small cavities in the ground, arranged in a certain order. The cavities are strewn with light sand, and become points, clearly visible even from space.
Sometimes, rows of points form lines intersecting the relief, just like on the Nazca Plateau. Therefore, in fact, they were included in the list of possible geoglyphs. Below some typical examples are shown. In conclusion, we consider two more unique geoglyphs, which are actually two pentagrams in circles. Near the circles, on the east side semicircles are laid out of individual points.
The image below shows the general location of geoglyphs, which are 100 meters apart. It is noteworthy that the direction from the southern symbol to the northern one has an azimuth of exactly 10° and corresponds to the angle of the 9-gon oriented to the cardinal points.
Within a radius of less than 700 meters from this pair of objects there are a few more geoglyphs. One SC type symbol, two SR circles in the west, which also have semicircles of points and two typical UFOs in the east. Gallery of atypical symbols. SC Geoglyphs Geoglyphs NS Geoglyphs AS 1 Geoglyphs AS 2 At this point, we finish with atypical symbols, and proceed to consider the regularities that were found in the mutual arrangement of individual geoglyphs relative to each other and key points of the SAMS. |