A multidisciplinary study of a geoglyph located atop a hill in Kanda in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia (FYROM), has unravelled a series of incredible features of the ancient structure, including the artificial construction of the hill an astronomical alignment with the constellation of Cassiopeia, which may point to a connection with Macedonian royalty.

The research was carried out by the SB Research Group (SBRG), an international and

interdisciplinary team of researchers (from Italy, Croatia, Serbia, Finland and United Kingdom) that combines astronomy, philosophy, mythology, mathematics and physics in the study of ancient sites and temples in Europe.

The SBRG combined multiple methods, including infra-/ultrasound research, AMT measurements, binary algorithm synthesis from audio waves, data sonification, and dowsing, to study the ancient geoglyph and hill, which is located in the vicinity of the town of Sveti Nikole in Kanda. The hill is an egg-shaped mound, perfectly oriented North-South, measuring approximately 85 meters (280ft) by 45 meters (148ft). On top of the hill is a geoglyph of a giant symbol sitting within an oval ditch.

“The whole structure, with its shape and symbolism, resembles a cosmic egg – the source of primordial creation,” reports the research team in a paper titled ‘ Archaeoacoustic analysis of the ancient site of Kanda (Macedonia) ’.

Aerial photograph of the hill and geoglyph in Kanda. Credit: SBRG

Artificial Hill

An aerial analysis using an infrared camera revealed a different composition of the soil in the hill compared to the surrounding soil.

“This difference is particularly evident when comparing the uncultivated field to the left on South side of the Geoglyph,” the researchers write. “In this area, the same vegetation covers the soil, yet two different colours are visible due to the different composition of the soil refracted by the sun light in different ways.”

The researchers maintain that this supports the hypothesis that the hill is man-made and was built as a ritual mound, either by reshaping an existing hill or constructing it from scratch on the flat field.

They report: “since the soil does not match the surrounding area, it would certainly appear that this mound has been carefully constructed with a specific purpose in mind. What exactly that purpose is remains to be investigated in future.”

The research team were able to determine that the soil composition of the hill is different to the surrounding soil, pointing to an artificial construction. Credit: SBRG

Underground chamber and water source

The SBRG carried out an electromagnetic spectrum analysis at the site of the Geoglyph, which indicated a high probability of there being an underground water stream. This result was also supported by infrasound and audio-magnetotelluric (AMT) recordings. The water appears to be located at the centre of the hill and geoglyph, or at some point along its major axis.

In addition, further electromagnetic spectrum values obtained through audio-magnetotelluric recordings also point to the possibility of an underground chamber (or several smaller cavities).

“Our measurements do not allow high-precision results,” the researchers write, “but further and detailed analysis of the measured values could provide a better indication of the shape of that object”.

Geoglyph symbology

On top of the artificial mound, is a geoglyph of a symbol enclosed within an oval ditch. According to the researchers, the geoglyph carries a deep symbolic meaning and may reflect a connection to Macedonian royalty. They write:

In the Macedonian transcription of the demotic script the Geoglyph symbol represents the god Se, the all-seeing and all sustaining deity of Macedonia. Se was the firstborn son of the Great Mother and the Supreme God of ancient Macedonians who created the whole Universe. Thus, Se was also called The First. The Supreme Creator and the Great Mother have also created Macedonia and they incarnate in the personages of the king and queen of Macedonia. This theology is completely in line with the Dionysian mystery schools to which belonged Olympia, the mother of Alexander the Great, which is mentioned by Plutarch in his text ‘Life of Alexander’.

The mysterious symbol found on top of the artificial hill in Kanda. Credit: SBRG

Astronomical alignment

The research team found that the geoglyph is aligned to the constellation of Cassiopeia, which is named after queen Cassiopeia in Greek mythology, who boasted about her unrivalled beauty.

“Symbol in question is aligned to the constellation of Cassiopeia which in mythology is known as the Queen of Heaven, the Great Mother and the mother of Andromeda who becomes the wife of the savior Perseus,” the researchers write. “The importance of Perseus in Macedonian mythology cannot be overestimated. This name appears in the royal dynasty: the last Macedonian king was Perseus. There are numerous coins from the Macedonian royal mint with the depictions of mythical Perseus who seems to have been the “higher self”

of Macedonian kings.”

Intriguingly, the constellation of Cassiopeia lies directly to the north and stands vertically above the geoglyph in the skies zenith at sunrise on 21/22 July (the birth date of Alexander the Great). Cassiopeia makes a full circle around Polaris (the Pole Star) every day and its vertical alignment with Polaris coincides with the sunrise on the day believed to be the birthday of Alexander the Great.

The pattern made by Cassiopeia and Polaris, the Pole Star, resembles the geoglyph atop the mound. Credit: SBRG

“It is at this very sunrise that we have a picture that exactly responds to our Geoglyph by which a perfect harmony of Sky and Earth is being formed,” report the researchers. “The similarity is breathtaking.”

The fact that the constellation of Cassiopeia with Polaris mirrors the geoglyph on the ritual mound, at sunrise on the date that Alexander the Great was born, has led the research team to suggest that the mound could be a tomb of someone from his dynasty.

Celestial-earthly mirror: As above so below. Geoglyph shaped like cosmic egg reflecting the celestial picture. The moment and symbolism coincides with the birthday of Alexander the Great. Credit: SBRG

Vicinity to site of Macedonian royals

The geoglyph mound is located close to an archaeological site known as Bylazora, a Paeonian city from the period of early classic antiquity. It was initially believed that Bylazora, which was first excavated in 2008, was merely a citadel of the Paeonians, which historians connect to Illyrians, Thracians, Greeks, Macedonians or even Pelasgians. However, according to SBRG, the last archaeological findings at Bylazora suggested the site was connected to the Macedonian kings. The site includes elaborate temples and buildings and is believed to be a formal town of the Macedonian royals.

Aerial photograph of Bylazora. Credit: SBRG

The fascinating findings at the geoglyph of Kanda shed new light on this mysterious construction. And while the discoveries raise more questions than answers, the researchers believe that, taken together, the findings suggest that the mound may be the burial place of a very important person from Macedonian history. Only time will tell.

Featured image: Ritual mound and geoglyph at Kanda, Republic of Macedonian. Credit: SBRG

By April Holloway