Examples
of artefacts:
images & their
location on maps
Global map to illustrate distances and Goth/Viking trade routes between Europe and India
Global orientation map
Detailed map of Viking trade routes with a selection of artefacts during 1,700 years
Why were these exceptional objects made in Europe
since the 6th century BC?
Phaistos Disk side A
Phaistos Disk side B
Why did so many objects have abstract eyes?
Magliano disk Italy 6-5th century BC
Why the abstract eyes and “radiating light”
on the Magliano disk?
Did the designers of the objects in Europe illustrate the light that radiated from the Buddha’s body after his enlightenment,
seen by thousands of eyewitnesses and recorded in Pali texts?
Bamiyan Buddha projection as light
Bamiyan valley projection
A Buddha’s body radiating light
Image Saddhammacāri
Bodhi tree: Buddha
radiating light
Image Setti Wessels
White horse of Uffington
Britain 6th century BC
Did people in Europe know about the Buddha?
The White horse of 110 metres cut into white chalk was carbon dated by a team from Oxford University to a date between 1380 and 550 BC, a match with the Buddha’s enlightenment, 588 BC. The theme of the white horse as an-iconic symbol for the ascetic life with the Buddha as teacher was repeated on Celtic coins and eventually used in the Maeshowe tomb that may also date to the 6th century BC. Meditators “followed in the footsteps of the Buddha”, who left his palace as Buddha-to-be on his white horse Kanthaka. The pursuit of “Victory over the cycle of rebirth” is symbolised by the snake-like body of the horse and V-cut behind his ears, the V-shaped tongue of the horse simulates that of a snake and the squared head with an eye symbolises “the effort to see the truth of existence”. No evidence of trade or agriculture was found in the hill-fort at the top, simple Roman artefacts and Celtic coins of the local tribe suggest that people may have used to site for meditation during many centuries.
Dragon hill
Horse serpentine head
Celts: coded serpentine horse coins
Celtic serpentine horse coins were especially minted as votive offerings to celebrate 500 years after the Buddha (50 BC), the Parisii coins are especially noteworthy. Horse coins were again minted 1,500 years after the Buddha in the 10th century by Old Norse Vikings until the 12th century.