I just got done listening to Coast to Coast this morning, not an easy task where I live. None of the local stations within a couple hundred mile radius carries the show and I have to switch back and forth between fading signals out of LA and Denver. I tuned in to listen to host Ian Punnet and a gust called David Elkington talk about those lead thingies that hit the news last week.
You know, the "codices" that supposedly were found in a cave somewhere in Jordan and are the biggest finds since the Dead Sea Scrolls. According to MSM: (by the way, the pictures supplied to this Yahoo article by, you guessed it, David Elkington)
"British archaeologists are seeking to authenticate what could be a landmark discovery in the documentation of early Christianity: a trove of 70 lead codices that appear to date from the 1st century CE, which may include key clues to the last days of Jesus' life. As UK Daily Mail reporter Fiona Macrae writes, some researchers are suggesting this could be the most significant find in Christian archeology since the Dead Sea scrolls in 1947."
All right, I thought to myself, archeological finds are always of interest and I'll listen to what this guy has to say about them. But before the show even started I had some doubts about this, mostly because of the timing. Three weeks before Easter and about a month and a half before the Big Billboard Rapture, and coming on the heels of all the worldwide chaos. I sensed some marketing here.
It wasn't long before my bullshit antenna started quivering pretty good. Just like with any successful hoax the origins of these books are enigmas wrapped in a mystery. They seem to be written in some sort of code. (wink wink) Where actually did they come from? Some say a cave, some say they've had them in the family for 100 years, and because of what they're made from everybody has a case of lead poison dementia and are out of control. Who do they belong to? Supposedly some unnamed forces involving governments and swarthy Bedouin tribes are vying for ownership and it's going to take a lot of money to sort it all out.
This story apparently broke in jewish publications based in London and it languished until the Daily Mail carried it last week, somewhat of a middle east/Brit origin. Another red flag can be raised about it all in that these things (some say 20, some say 70) were supposedly found five years ago, or maybe not. It's all this mysterious ambiguity along with lots of unnamed sources and uncredited speculation that starts to stink.
As for David Elkington, I immediately sensed a con man. He supposedly was schooled at the Bath Academy of Art, that closed down in the mid 80s, and of which precious little can be found online, except a bunch of student photos and this at Wikepedia:
"Courses at the School include Graphic Communication, Fine Art, Digital Design, Fashion and Textile Design, Ceramics and MA Design (Interaction Design, Ceramics, Brand Development or Textiles)"
Aside from the obvious connection that can be made from his "studies" and unveiling to the world these dubious antiques, this guy's expertise seems to stem from walking around asia and having some curiosity about ancient sacred sites. He appears to be a self promoter and middle man, a tour guide and lecturer. The first caller to Coast was a woman who brought up the curious timing of this cave paraphernalia, which was exactly what was on my mind. Elkington (whose first name may or may not be David) immediately retreated and gave his litany of conjecture about authenticity all over again, which absolutely smacked of him being on the show to promote and pimp this hoax. Ian Punnet is an Episcopalian deacon and while usually a decent host, enabled this guy all the way through the program, at times gushing about the new revelations to come about early christianity and the life of jesus. At the end of the program they gave each other the requisite God Bless You.
So along with this collection of artifacts comes plenty of gee whiz references to the messiah at the perfect time of the year and at the perfect moment in history. People are coming out of the woodwork to claim these things are validating the bible and the whole jeebus myth, which I completely reject out of hand and will be happy to prove. That to me is the absolute clincher that this is all a psy op hoax, probably cooked up by the usual suspects, and may even be the start of the long rumored Project Bluebeam. These "codices" were made from Cast Lead, remember.
And just one more thing about the lead construction. Proponents claim this unique find, never found anywhere else, is proof that it's not a hoax because con artists would have used papyri to mimic real archeological discoveries. I say the opposite's true. If you're going to pull off one of the biggest scams ever, make it unique and in your face so that you can't compare it to anything else. By all means keep it mysterious. For good measure make half of the books closed and locked, opened a little at a time, which as any astute spectator with her bowl of popcorn can readily see, will keep the credulous rubes on the edges of their seats.
Tonite on Coast to Coast -
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