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Thar Desert Geoglyphs (India; Largest Graphics Ever?)

EnolaGaia

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Newly published research describes a set of massive artificial patterns inscribed in the Thar Desert region. If these are indeed representational geoglyphs they are the largest ones humans are known to have created.
Enigmatic Designs Found in India May Be The Largest Images Ever Made by Human Hands

Hidden in the vast, arid expanses of India's Thar Desert lie mysterious old drawings carved into the land.

These newly discovered designs are of such immense scale, they were likely never able to be glimpsed in their entirety by those who made them, researchers say. ...

Amongst all known geoglyphs of historical relevance – including the famous Nazca Lines of Peru – the Thar Desert formations appear to stand alone, however, representing what may actually be the largest-ever graphical depictions designed by humans. ...

Discovered by a pair of independent researchers from France – Carlo and Yohann Oetheimer – the new geoglyphs were spotted using Google Earth, during a virtual survey of the Thar Desert region (also known as the Great Indian Desert) ...

Amidst this huge, dry landscape, the Oetheimers identified several sites located around the 'Golden City' of Jaisalmer, marked by geometrical lines resembling geoglyphs. ...

In particular, two "remarkable geometrical figures" of exceptional character close to the village of Boha stood out: a giant spiral and a serpent-shaped drawing, each connected by a cluster of sinuous lines.

The lines that make up these figures are stripes etched into the ground, ranging up to 10 centimeters deep (4 in) and spreading 20 to 50 cm wide (8-20 in). While these dimensions up close may be unremarkable, what they end up making up is not. ...

The largest geoglyph identified, the giant asymmetrical spiral (called Boha 1), is made from a single looping line running for 12 kilometers (7.5 miles), over an area 724 meters long by 201 meters wide (790 by 220 yards). ...

Just what this project represents, and who created it, is not yet fully clear, but the researchers suggest the formations are not ancient but rather relatively recent geoglyphs, perhaps at least 150 years old; they may also be contemporary with Hindu memorial stones found in the area. ...

While there's a lot we don't yet know about these mysterious marks and their semantic relationship to each other, the researchers say the strange motifs are remarkable for their unrivaled size in particular, but also their design and implementation, which would have involved knowledge of mathematics and planimetry to achieve.

It will fall to future research to follow these fascinating leads, but the Oetheimers hope that for now the publication of their study will influence Indian authorities to protect the heritage of these mysterious lines, before human activity further disturbs and conceals them. ...
FULL STORY (With Photos & Infographic): https://www.sciencealert.com/enigma...e-the-largest-images-ever-made-by-human-hands
 
Here are the bibliographic details and abstract for the published report.

Carlo Oetheimer, Yohann Oetheimer,
New enigmatic geoglyphs in the Indian Thar Desert: The largest graphic realizations of mankind?,
Archaeological Research in Asia, Volume 27, 2021, 100290,
ISSN 2352-2267
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ara.2021.100290

Abstract: A meticulous survey of the Indian Thar Desert with Google Earth led us to identify eight sites in the Jaisalmer District, with clear geometrical lines that may resemble geoglyphs. The data collected in the field, together with images taken by a drone, revealed the exceptional character of the graphic patterns near the village of Boha. Two remarkable geometrical figures: a giant spiral adjacent to an atypical serpent shaped drawing, are connected with a cluster of sinuous lines. This triad extends over 20.8 ha and totals more than half of the 48 km of lines observed. Three memorial stones positioned at key points, give evidence that planimetric knowledge has been used to create this elaborate design. These artifacts allow us to envisage hypothetical modalities of edification. We collected indicators of antiquity suggesting that these lines may be at least 150 years old and possibly linked to the Hindu memorial stones surrounding them. The lack of visibility from the ground raises the question of their function and meaning. So far, these geoglyphs, the largest discovered worldwide and for the first time in the Indian subcontinent, are also unique as regards their enigmatic signs.

SOURCE: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S2352226721000362?via=ihub
 
Very interesting!

Are the research indigenous or non-indigenous to the culture? And have they asked the locals, either way?
 
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