Damanhur

November 23, 2007 2:20 PM

The Temples of Damanhur. Behold the Eighth Wonder of the World (according to the Italian government). [Via Boing Boing.]

Here's more information on the Federation of Damanhur.

posted by homunculus (22 comments total)

I am in absolute stupefied awe. Those temples are just.. words actually fail me. It's the same kind of beauty one sees in St Peter's Basilica, or Hagia Sophia, or any of the world's truly great places of worship. (I would include in that statement some of the spectacular libraries from that recent post).
posted by dirtynumbangelboy at 2:31 PM on November 23, 2007

That's amazing, and the fact that it was done illegally makes it even cooler.
posted by Pope Guilty at 2:41 PM on November 23, 2007

it's tacky.
posted by empath at 3:04 PM on November 23, 2007

That is pretty fucking awesome. These days it seems all the religious kooks produce holy books so it's wonderful to see some doing it old school and returning to the language of architecture.
posted by nixerman at 3:06 PM on November 23, 2007

Blimey, that's some astonishing vision. I'm kind of wishing no-one knew still so that once the cult was long gone it just remained, lost beneath an encroaching alpine jungle.

Clark Ashton-Smith would have loved it.
posted by freya_lamb at 3:10 PM on November 23, 2007

Yeah. These are cool in a "I can't believe he did that, wow!" kind of way but I've been to St. Peter's Basilica and this, sir, is no St. Peter's Basilica. Better than I can imagine doing myself? Yeah. But a lot of it is pretty cheesy in a New Age and Crystals kind of wat.
posted by Justinian at 3:11 PM on November 23, 2007 [1 favorite]

i mean, awesome that they built it, but they're still a ridiculous cult, and the paintings are still ugly.
posted by empath at 3:11 PM on November 23, 2007

This just makes me wonder what other unbelievable shit is hiding in obscure corners of the earth never to be discovered.
posted by PercussivePaul at 3:15 PM on November 23, 2007

Goddamn, that's really something. Talk about dreaming in technicolor. It's kinda cargo cultish (I'm betting not a one of them knows what the Egyptian symbols mean), kinda outsider artish, and kinda like those visionary weirdos who obstinately cover their houses, cars and gardens in bottlecaps.
posted by fleetmouse at 3:17 PM on November 23, 2007

This just makes me wonder what other unbelievable shit is hiding in obscure corners of the earth never to be discovered.

Also in Italy, a secret chamber was found a few days ago beneath Emperor Agustus' palace. While it has not been explored past a probe (photos and a short video from the Italian Gov't) fed through a small drill-hole, authorities believe the chamber to be the long-lost Lupercal temple, where the wolf-fed foundlings/founders of Rome Romulus and Remus were honored by Romans.
posted by carsonb at 3:44 PM on November 23, 2007

Er, Emperor Augustus. ...And there went my next post. Oh well.
posted by carsonb at 3:46 PM on November 23, 2007

I just wish they would forsake Flash and all its works, the vain pomp and glory of the world.
posted by AwkwardPause at 4:53 PM on November 23, 2007 [1 favorite]

Jenny Agustus was hot.
posted by Henry C. Mabuse at 5:17 PM on November 23, 2007

And there went my next post. Oh well.

Why? It's a fascinating discovery and worth posting, IMO.

amberglow made a surprising discovery in Rome too.
posted by homunculus at 5:42 PM on November 23, 2007

Let's raise a glass to all the paranormal eccentrics of the world! They provide the color in an otherwise sometimes grey landscape.
posted by Devils Rancher at 5:48 PM on November 23, 2007 [1 favorite]

I think we have just found the bridge across the thin chasm that separates "paranormal eccentric" from "mole man with predilection for new age arts and crafts projects"
posted by Astro Zombie at 5:55 PM on November 23, 2007 [1 favorite]

"You mean you want to build a temple in solid 'Rock Me, Amadeus'"!?
posted by benzo8 at 8:19 PM on November 23, 2007

They should rent that place out for parties. Or human sacrifices. Whatever pays better.
posted by faster than a speeding bulette at 8:51 PM on November 23, 2007

He will come in one of the pre-chosen forms. During the rectification of the Vuldrini, the traveler came as a large and moving Torg! Then, during the third reconciliation of the last of the McKetrick supplicants, they chose a new form for him: that of a giant Slor! Many Shuvs and Zuuls knew what it was to be roasted in the depths of the Slor that day, I can tell you!
posted by TheWhiteSkull at 9:46 PM on November 23, 2007 [1 favorite]

Very cool, thanks.
posted by stinkycheese at 8:24 AM on November 24, 2007

Tacky, corny, schmaltzy. I had a teacher who had a good take on these words. Corny or tacky means "something that's emotionally effective even on unsophisticated people." A cliché is "a technique that's been used many times before with good results."

In other cultures and other times, these concepts aren't negative. Creativity in art is far less important in most times and places than craft, sophistication less important than emotional effectiveness.

(I saw this story a couple of days ago and sent it out to my private mailing list, mostly of New York artists, and got more positive responses than almost any other posting, so a lot of trained people like the temple too...)
posted by lupus_yonderboy at 9:25 AM on November 24, 2007

Ancient Roman road map unveiled
posted by homunculus at 11:52 AM on November 27, 2007