The Babylonian Journey
...to Stonehenge.
An arduous Journey...
According to records uncovered at the British Museum in March 2024, the Victorian archaeologist Sir Humphrey Davidson, FRGS (1806-1882) had discovered a number of relics from the Babylonian expedition.
It appears it took them 238 days to reach Britain, primarily on horseback.
The expeditionary team comprised almost 86 members, but by the time they crossed the Channel, only 42 remained. After a number of skirmishes with the ancient British tribes, only 26 actually made it to Stonehenge,
They brought with them a metal disc which they had created back in Babylon, mapping the trajectory of the asteroid they first saw. It would be a crucial instrument at Stonehenge for their predictions.
According to Davidson, Nabu-Bel-Shum was the chief astronomer of the Babylonian expedition, and he made it to Stonehenge along with his main advisor and boatman, Nergal-Edir.
They were the first to arrive at the site, having had to split with the rest of the group during a skirmish at a fortification near what is now Andover.
The journey took its toll on the expedition, not least because of the cold weather of the British shores; something they we not accustomed to or, it appears, entirely prepared for.
The group's official scribe was called Urhamsi, and he recorded: "...the local warriors were ferocious, and protective of their cold and miserable land - let them keep it when we are done!"
But at Stonehenge itself, the reception was quite different; many of the local tribespeople were themselves immigrants from Anatolia, modern-day Turkey. This made communication a little easier, and the Babylonians were able to progress with their observations and calculations.
Using the stones of the Henge and outer markers that existed then, they lined up their predicted drawings with the remains of the asteroid, which was still visible to them in the night sky, and from which they had taken bearings throughout their journey..
This proved to them that the asteroid was on a giant elliptical journey though the Heavens, and would therefore one day return. They predicted this would be in 2,000 years... effectively our current year zero.
Whilst at Stonehenge, their fame grew and gifts were brought from far afield. They added gold, brought by the Bell-Beaker people in Cornwall, to the other metals of the Sky Disc, which they collected throughout their journey.
The Nebra Sky Disc
Adorned with gold from Cornwall
However, they still had to make it back to Babylon and report their findings.
And it was on this return journey that the expedition was attacked, and the disc was lost. This was at a place called Nebra, in what is now Saxony Anhalt in current day Germany.
Of the 86 original members of the group, only 6 made it back to Babylon to create the Brotherhood of Overseers.
