Sacred Lines and Menhirs

Alfred Watkins (1855-1935), from the English city of Hereford, was studying a handful of maps for the shortest way to several megalithic sites which he wanted to photograph. Suddenly, he noticed something interesting. The places he was looking for were aligned exactly on a particular line along which he could ride by horse using only a compass. Curiously, the straight line also ran through several Christian churches and chapels. Watkins grasped the significance of this discovery right away. The Christian edifices stood on ground that was formerly pagan. An enthusiastic Alfred Watkins called these lines "Leys" and that name now refers to the vast network of lines that cover hundreds of thousands of kilometres of Europe. They are Ley-lines.

"Mysteries of the World" will make the puzzling Ley-lines understandable. In the pavilion, the visitor will be able to follow a mock Ley-line. It will be a colored straight line on the floor where every couple of metres a star will shine, lighting the way from Calais, Mont Alix, Mont Alet, lAllet, Anxon, Aisey, Alaise, lAllex, Vercelli, Alzano, Calese, Cales. This Ley-line runs straight through France and Italy.

The line will lead to a room containing a huge, transparent map of Europe, displaying a digital network of lines. One red line between the 48th and 49th parallel due south of Strassbourg will trace a route, from East to West, through such places as Saint-Odile, Balmont, Vaudigny, Dorémy, Vaudeville, Joinville, Fontainebleu, Domblain, Louze, La Belle Etoile, Pierrefite, Chartres, La Loupe, Quessant. (There are dozens of other examples throughout Germany). A thicker line, the so-called Star Path, runs over the Pyrenees directly along a latitude of 42 degrees and 46 minutes. This time the display will highlight the names and, through translations, show how they are all connected with the term "stars" (Les Eteilles, Estillon, Lizarre, Lazarraga, Liciella, Aster, Santiago de Compostela).

A Ley-line between Denmark and Delphi in Greece will show how all places of worship in ancient Greece were in locations that had a connection with the Ratio of the Golden Section. Pictures of these places will be projected. With the help of computers, the visitors will have a chance to discover new Ley-lines on the map of Europe and move them around in different combinations. The geometric curiosities behind the long lines of menhirs in the Brittany region of France will be explained. Individual granite menhirs in their original size will be displayed as will models of menhir lines.