I remember watching a documentary on castles years ago. It was done in
a style similar to Connections and may have been narrated by James
Burke himself.

What made these castles interesting was that, though they were
separated by thousands of miles, they were perfectly in line with
invisible symbols drawn across the globe. One was even found in Asia –
one of the great Asian castles. Well, not quite a castle, I remember
it was very big but not very enclosed.

There was a mystery as to why these castles were built the way they
were, and it eventually leads to the Grail and a secret society sworn
to protect the Grail. Leonardo Da Vinci and other famous people were
part of this society. The final conclusion was that the grail that
Mary Magdelane smuggled out wasn’t the chalice that caught Christ’s
blood, but Christ’s bloodline itself, and perhaps Leonardo (and all
the others in this list of members of this society) were descendants
of Christ.

My searching has turned up these pages:

http://www.lundyisleofavalon.co.uk/templars/tempic08.htm

http://ramon_k_jusino.tripod.com/leonardo.html

http://www.crystalinks.com/templars6.html

http://www.palmersguide.com/jamesburke/

http://groups.google.com/groups?q=castles+%22james+burke%22&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&safe=off&selm=3ift6b%242pg%40hamlet.umd.edu&rnum=9

What I’m looking for is the name of the series, and a place to buy it.

---

Clarification of Question by marktaw-ga on 01 Dec 2002 03:00 PST

Some extra tidbits from my memory.

The narrator discusses how castles can be built along straight lines,
and one method was to build an inner wall and an outer wall. Thin
windows were cut into each, and a light lit behind the inner one. Only
when you were directly in line with both windows could you see the
light. Of course, this doesn't help when some castles were in England
and others on Europe.

Greetings Marktaw!  The areas of which you speak are some of
fascinating research and theory.  I, too, explore these areas of study
and I have read Holy Blood, Holy Grail twice - a very interesting
theory. I believe the series you are seeking is comprised of a few
different videos by the researcher, Graham Hancock, perhaps put
together for a television series by the station.

There is also a series titled "The Holy Quest: In Search of Biblical
Relics" that covers a wide range of artifacts.  This, too, might have
been part of what you recall.  I have four of the videos of that
series.  One of the titles "Castle of the Holy Grail" covers the
theories to which you refer.  It was offered as a product of Newbridge
Communications Inc.  On the box are the telephone numbers 800-275-5126
and 609-275-1400.  The copyright on my copy is 1996.  That series has
been on TLC and/or the Discovery channel in the past few years as have
various Graham Hancock presentations.

However, you may have viewed a Graham Hancock series "Quest for Lost
Civilization" coupled with his "Monuments to Life", both of which are
also separate video(s).  Many times a television station will combine
various series but all the topics you mention have been covered at
some point by Hancock.

I searched "Graham Hancock" for you at Amazon.com and located:

Quest for the Lost Civilization - 3 video set
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/1569382603/qid=1038794065/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/104-6116329-3930365

Monuments to Life video
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/B000009RIB/qid=1038794065/sr=2-3/ref=sr_2_3/104-6116329-3930365

Imprints from the Ancients
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/6304969139/qid=1038794065/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_2/104-6116329-3930365

Barnes and Noble offered the one from him in my Holy Quest series,
"The Quest for the Lost Ark of the Covenant" at
http://video.barnesandnoble.com/search/product.asp?WRK=4544661&userid=51LTF04NHC

Five tapes from the series are also grouped together on a Barnes and
Noble site page at http://video.barnesandnoble.com/search/results.asp?quickSearchType=TTL&quickSearchText=Holy+Quest&FRM=0&userid=51LTF04NHC
and the "Castle of the Holy Grail" is offered there.

Graham Hancock has a website at http://www.grahamhancock.com/ where he
explores many other interesting theories.  His bio is located on the
site at http://www.grahamhancock.com/biog.htm.  More on him from
another site is offered at http://www.world-mysteries.com/pex_4.htm

Also, unrelated to the above series is a video regarding England and
ley lines of ancient monuments there.  The video may be purchased
through the website http://www.kaliworks.com/dragonq.html where there
is a synopsis of the video and a link to order.

There is also a documentary titled "Henry Lincoln and the Mystery of
Rennes-le-Château" which is available for purchase at the web site
http://www.tour-magdala.com/  From that site:

"Lincoln was intrigued by the story but was also amazed to discover
unmentioned cryptic clues hidden in the reproductions of the
parchments in 'le Trésor Maudit'. These clues unearthed many new and
fascinating lines of inquiry, including links to the workings of the
Knights Templar. His researches eventually led to the production of a
BBC TV documentary in 1972 called 'The Lost Treasure of Jerusalem?'.
This was followed two years later by a second film, 'The Priest, the
Painter and the Devil' and in 1979 by a third, 'The Shadow of the
Templars'.
In 1982 and 1986 Henry co-wrote two international best-sellers, 'The
Holy Blood and the Holy Grail' and 'The Messianic Legacy' (with
Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh). The books sparked off a world-wide
storm of controversy with their hypothesis that Saunière might have
stumbled across an explosive secret: that Jesus had married and
fathered a bloodline which is known to have survived to this day."


If you need any clarification on the links I have provided or anything
else, please request a clarification and I will be happy to conduct
additional research.


SEARCH PHRASES:

castle aisa ley lines templars
graham hancock
"graham hancock" ley lines
"graham hancock" castles
newbridge communications incorporated
newbridge communications inc
amazon
barnes and noble
castles ley lines video
documentary ley lines castles
"holy blood holy grail" documentary

---

Clarification of Answer by journalist-ga on 01 Dec 2002 18:25 PST

The other video available at
http://www.tour-magdala.com/webshop/erol.html is "The Secret":

"The Secret - Made in 1992 and subsequently broadcast on the Discovery
Channel in a cut version as "The Secrets of the Templars", this is the
original, uncut, 4 episode programme.This programme was made for a
television audience and as such is a broad introduction to the whole
mystery of Rennes-le-Château. Its start and finish point though, is
the the Danish island of Bornholm where Erling Haagensen (who is the
producer/director of this film) independently discovered a geometric
pattern of Templar churches similar to the Rennes-le-Château geometry.
Henry weaves this and all the diverse elements of the
Rennes-le-Château story into a thought-provoking and entertaining 100
minutes of television."

---

Request for Answer Clarification by marktaw-ga on 01 Dec 2002 21:46 PST

Thank you, this has all been extremely helpful. I'm not sure if any of
these is the one I saw, but all should be interesting viewing. My
money is on "The Secret" to start with.

I'd like to be able to pick your brain some more, and maybe together
we can narrow down the search, you can contact me at
marktaw@hotmail.com.

Thanks again, a 5* answer for sure.

---

Clarification of Answer by journalist-ga on 01 Dec 2002 21:59 PST

Thank you very much for your rating, comments and your added
generosity!  I would enjoy continuing a dialogue with you and my
suggestion is that we do it in the Comments section below. 
Researchers are not permitted by our terms of service agreement to
contact customers independent of this service.  Please see below for
my next comment and I'm delighted you are pleased with my research!

A very thorough answer with many more leads that I was able to turn up
in my Google searches. Having someone with overlapping, but not
identical experiences to be able to ask questions of is an invaluable
resource. Google Answers and "journalist-ga" are helping me find
something I thought I'd never be able to find.

Marktaw:

I found that "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" presented very interesting
theories regarding what the 'true' grail might be.  If you've not yet
read it, please consider rushing right out and buying a copy!  lol  It
presents well-documented suppositions and, though it does drag in some
spots, it is well-written. It goes into great detail concerning the
probable bloodline of Jesus as being the real "vessel that contained
the blood of Christ" as opposed to the grail being a mere cup.

The book "Bloodline of the Holy Grail" is another you might want to
read.  I have not read it yet but a portion of it is referenced at
http://www.nexusmagazine.com/holygrail.html but another I have read
and enjoyed was "The Woman with the Alabaster Jar" by Margaret
Starbird.  Starbird read "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" and, because she was
a devout Christian, the book profoundly disturbed her.  She decided to
conduct her own study of the evidence to refute the authors but
instead she found compelling evidence that what they suggested might
be the truth.  Her book is written in an easy style and is actually a
good introduction to the theory.

In the foreword of her book, Rev. Terrance Sweeney, Ph.D., writes
"Truth is not defined by political power, nor by religious
conviction...truth is not determined by human desire, nor by human
decree.  Truth is the harmonization of the human mind and heart with
what is.  It seems necessary to say these things because all too often
power, common opinion and tradition are taken-for-granted synonyms for
the truth."

Starbird cites in her preface what she terms "the denial of the
feminine" in Christianity and likens it to "a theological San Andreas
fault."  She was given a copy "Holy Blood, Holy Grail" by a friend and
she found it heretical but she states that the central theme of the
book, that Jesus was married and fostered children, haunted her.  So,
she began her own research and, in doing so, came to believe that it
was true.

Also, I highly recommend Hancock's books.  He writes very well and
draws the reader into his theories with easy understanding.  I have
read "The Sign and the Seal" and found it quite enlightening.

I would like to visit Rennes-le-Château someday as well as Stonehenge
and other mystical sites of interest in Great Britain and the world. 
My state recently approved a lottery so who knows?  lol

The entire Knights Templar area and offshoots are also one of interest
to me.  My father is a Mason of the Scottish Rite and while he has
never and will never share anything about the rituals involved in the
brotherhood, he continues to encourage me to learn as much about it as
I can.  I have a 1921 copy of "Morals and Dogma" by Albert Pike, a
book that is fairly easily obtained through Ebay and the text of that
book is quite interesting, too, though I have only read sporadically
in it.  The preface states "The following work has been prepared by
authority of the Supreme Council of the Thirty-third Degree, for the
Southern Jurisdiction of the United States, by the Grand Commander,
and is now published by its direction.  It contains the Lectures of
the Ancient and Accepted Scottish Rite."  You can read a bit about
Pike at http://www.masonicinfo.com/pikesphilosophy.htm

I'm curious: How did you become interested in the grail?  Was it from
the documentary you saw?

I've always been interested in the Grail. Probably my earliest
interest was created by years of Catholic school and Arthurian legend.
The documentary certainly did spark an interest, especially how, at
the very end they suggested that the grail may have been Jesus'
bloodline, rather than at the beginning, and that all this fascinating
architecture and secrecy could've been to protect that secret. It
certainly was the first time I had heard this theory.

There is something so intriguing about old Christian relics & secret
societies. I admit, though, that they lose some of their mystique when
brought into the real world, such as with Skull & Bones and The New
American Century. These things lack the subtelty and mystique of the
Templars and Knights of the Rosy Cross.

I read most of the Illustrated Bloodline of the Holy Grail, but put it
down once I learned about the author's earlier work that tries to
prove that Adam & Eve were aliens or some such. I also read Born in
Blood by John J. Robinson, but take it with a grain of salt.

I think you might like Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco. I found it
difficult to read as he has lots and lots of sidetracking into, well,
typically Umberto Eco type stuff, so I listened to the highly
enjoyable book on tape version (read by Tim Curry). The main
characters run a publishing house that specializes in books about
hermetics, mysticism, occult, things templar, etc. He pokes a little
fun at people who take these things overly seriously, but a book like
this could only be written by someone who loves them to begin with.

I've seen some books about the Dead Sea Scrolls and how they document
the life of Jesus. Do you know anything about them?

I'm not up on the Dead Sea Scrolls although I do have a few unread
books about them.  Also, there is a Gnostic text titled "The Gospel
According to Thomas" [sometimes St. Thomas] that purports to be the
words of Jesus.  That is, in fact, how it is written - a collection of
everything he allegedly said, like a long narrative.  One of my
favorite exerpts from it that is not present in the Christian bible is
"The kingdom of God is inside you and all around you, not in buildings
of wood and stone; break a piece of wood and you will find me, lift a
stone and I am there."

Your mention of the "Adam and Eve were aliens" mirrors what Zecharia
Sitchin theorizes - it's not that Adam and Eve were necessarily aliens
in his theory but that they were a genetically engineered species from
"alien" and sub-human DNA mix, a species engineered to "serve the
Gods."  His books are fascinating reading and, if you wish to read any
of his works, begin with "Divine Encounters" and you'll know if you
want to proceed from there.

I believe it's best to keep an open mind about everything including
what I consider to be "conventional wisdom."  When I was a young girl,
my mom told me that year the atom was split, she was in school and,
although scientific history was made, she and her fellow students were
told by her teacher that on tests the correct answer to a question
about it was "the atom can not be split."  They were instructed to
observe what was in their textbooks even though it was incorrect.

True. I don't discount the idea that mankind is a genetically
engineered species... shades of Hitchiker's Guide, huh., but that
doesn't hold the same kind of fascination for me that other things
do... But you're right, I dismissed Lawrence Gardner because I
disagreed with the premise of a book I didn't read.

The Bible, to me, has no more proof than any other book on history, so
why not a book about the human race being genetically engineered? In a
few thousand years there will be no more proof of the events of this
century than we have of the first Christian century. I mean, what
proof do you have that the atom has been split?

I'll refrain from asking questions like that in the future...

Imagine what archeologists would think of us if the only thing they
found was a Barnes & Noble?

That's a very good quote. Very Protestant. I wonder how the Catholic
Church would've interpreted it had it been written by Matthew, Mark,
Luke, or John.

I really think you might enjoy Foucoult's Pendulum. What can be bad
about a book who's main character is named Casaubon (
http://homepage.ntlworld.com/anthony.campbell1/essays/skeptic/casaubon.html
), and whose chapters are named after the Sefirot? Not to mention, an
author whose work could inspire a book like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0472086219

Foucoult's Pendulum has been suggested to me before and now again - I
will bump it to the top of my reading list and I'll let you know my
opinion of the work (though, from the description you gave, I will
probably enjoy it immensely).

Regarding "The kingdom of God is inside you and all around you, not in
buildings
of wood and stone; break a piece of wood and you will find me, lift a
stone and I am there," it seems more Zen Buddhist than Christian to me
- the all-encompassing One.  In fact, much of the meaning of the
parables of Jesus seem to me to be quite Zen.  In my area, there are
many rabid Christians and I always refer to Jesus by his Hebrew name,
Yeshua, as opposed to the Greek, Jesus, when discussing his life. 
You'd be surprised at how many educated people first accuse me of
"paganism" until I explain that Yeshua was most likely what his
disciples called him since that was his given name.  Humankind has
messed so much with religious control that many scriptural facts
remain ignored and/or buried.

Another book you might enjoy having as a reference book is titled "The
Other Bible"
( http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0062500309/qid=1042656002/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/002-9235100-2479216
).  It contains many Christian scriptures that were not included by
man in the Christian bible (some of those tossed aside by the Nicene
Council).  Also, "The Lost Books of the Bible"  (
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0517277956/qid=1042656002/sr=2-2/ref=sr_2_2/002-9235100-2479216
) is a good reference source to have.

A similar look at "man created to serve God" is present in the book
"The Gods of Eden" and I found it fascinating reading.  See
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0380718073/qid=1042656158/sr=2-1/ref=sr_2_1/002-9235100-2479216
- part of the synopsis reads "Human history is a seemingly endless
succession of bloody conflicts and devastating turmoil. Yet,
inexplicably, in the light of astonshing intellectual and
technological advancement, Man's progress has been halted in one
crucial area: he still indulges the primitive beast within and makes
war upon his neighbors."  I don't agree with all of Bramley's theories
yet he presents them in a compelling way.

I'll let you know about Foucoult's Pendulum as soon as I'm done.  In
the meantime, please share with me other books and ideas - I love to
learn.  :)

If you want to go as close to the Old Testament source as possible
without learning to read Hebrew, locate a copy of a Hebrew/English
Interlinear Old Testament.  It is the Old Testament in the original
Hebrew with the English translation of each word underneath the Hebrew
words (and it normally reads right to left so it's a s-l-o-w read - I
use mine as a reference book).  Then, in the margins of the pages is a
King James version (or whatever version you choose, there are a few). 
This way, one may see the exact words and phrases directly translated
and then compare in the margin how the popular text is worded.  There
are many differences.  Also, read a translation of the Torah.

The Old Testament Interlinears cost around $75 to $100 but you can
sometimes find one used (the New Testament Interlinears are Greek to
English).  I purchased my OT one years ago when I came across the word
"Nephilim" in a New International version of the Christian Old
Testament.  Having never heard nor seen the word before, I began
researching it and that research led me to purchase the Interlinear
book for reference.  In it, I saw that Hebrew word, Nephilim, was the
actual word used for what most Christian bibles refer to as the
offsping of the sons of God that saw the daughters of men and found
them beautiful and beget children with them.  In my religious
upbringing, the word Nephilim was unknown to me.  That tiny
discrepancy set me off on a study of theology and religion that
continues to this day.  Another interesting item I uncovered in my
research is an enlightenment of the story of Jacob's ladder. 
Apparently, the word translated from the Hebrew to "ladder" actually
means "ramp."  That puts an unusual twist on the meaning of the
Jacob's ladder.

Also, peruse "The Legends of the Jews" compiled by Louis Ginzberg. 
It's available online at http://philologos.org/__eb-lotj/  Talk about
fascinating stuff.  He even includes the story of Lilith, Adam's first
wife ( from http://philologos.org/__eb-lotj/vol1/two.htm#7 ):

"The Divine resolution to bestow a companion on Adam met the wishes of
man, who had been overcome by a feeling of isolation when the animals
came to him in pairs to be named.[39] To banish his loneliness, Lilith
was first given to Adam as wife. Like him she had been created out of
the dust of the ground. But she remained with him only a short time,
because she insisted upon enjoying full equality with her husband. She
derived her rights from their identical origin. With the help of the
Ineffable Name, which she pronounced, Lilith flew away from Adam, and
vanished in the air. Adam complained before God that the wife He had
given him had deserted him, and God sent forth three angels to capture
her. They found her in the Red Sea, and they sought to make her go
back with the threat that, unless she went, she would lose a hundred
of her demon children daily by death. But Lilith preferred this
punishment to living with Adam. She takes her revenge by injuring
babes--baby boys during the first night of their life, while baby
girls are exposed to her wicked designs until they are twenty. days
old The only way to ward off the evil is to attach an amulet bearing
the names of her three angel captors to the children, for such had
been the agreement between them.[40]

"The woman destined to become the true companion of man was taken from
Adam's body, for "only when like is joined unto like the union is
indissoluble."[41] The creation of woman from man was possible because
Adam originally had two faces, which were separated at the birth of
Eve.[42]"

"The Legends of the Jews" is a compilation of Jewish legends from many
sources.  Here's the preface link -
http://philologos.org/__eb-lotj/vol1/preface.htm

The Old Testament reads very much like a science fiction novel if one
can lay aside his or her past religious instruction.  I am getting
ready to move to another state so all my books are packed at present
but when I get relocated in March, I'll post a list here of the
reference titles I have found to be enlightening.

I purchased a copy of Foucault's Pendulum and it is proving to be a
very intirguing book.  Thanks for the tip.  I agree it is sidetracked
with a lot of backstory and difficult to grasp at first, and I am
thoroughly enjoying the chase. lol

I'm glad you're enjoying Foucault's Pendulum. It took me a couple of
reads to fully appreciate the arc of the story. So much happens (and
it's all very interesting), that it's only upon re-reading it that you
appreciate how things that happened earlier set up the things that
happen later.

I've joined the secret illuminated society known to the outside world
only as as "Netflix" (what a great business model!) and I'm going to
be renting this documentary:
http://www.netflix.com/MovieDisplay?movieid=60022435 It's buried
somewhere in my 80 or so film waiting list. Too bad Netflix doesn't
have more documentaries about the grail!