Ancient UFOs

by Ronald D. Story

There is no question that strange aerial objects have been described in roughly similar terms for thousands of years. Unknown lights and shapes seen in the sky, strange beings making contact with humans - these mysteries are part of man’s oldest art and literature. And although we should view early reports with caution, it would be unreasonable to ignore them.

References are found all over the world, in ancient legends and written histories, of strange happenings in the sky. “Fiery globes” fluttering about the night sky, “circular shields” during the day – that is how the ancient Greeks and Romans described what they saw. The Egyptians of 3500 years ago left accounts of “circles of fire” and “flaming chariots” that sailed across the heavens. The American Indians had their legends of “flying canoes” and “great silvery airships” in the days of the covered wagon. Such accounts have been handed down through the ages by nearly all people of the world: from ancient Egypt, India, Tibet, Japan, China, Scandinavia, Ireland, England, France, Italy, Polynesia and the Americas.

The following examples are quoted by the British author Harold T. Wilkins, in his book Flying Saucers on the Attack (1954), from reportedly ancient sources:

216 BC: Things like ships were seen in the sky, over Italy…. At Arpi (180 Roman miles, east of Rome, in Apulia), a round shield was seen in the sky.

214 BC: The forms of ships seen in the sky at Rome.

213 BC: At Hadria (Gulf of Venice), the strange spectacle of men with white clothing was seen in the sky. They seemed to stand around an alter, were robed in white.

170 BC: At Lanupim (on the Appian Way, 16 miles from Rome), a remarkable spectacle of a fleet of ships was seen in the air.

In November 1969, there appeared an intriguing article entitled “Palaeolithic UFO shapes,” by the French UFOlogist Aimie Michel in the British Flying Saucer Review (Vol. 15, No.6). Michel had found that our Magdalenian ancestors fashioned works of art that are striking indications that they too had seen UFOs. On the walls of the famous les Eyzies, Laseaux, and Altamira caves in France and Spain are found renderings of objects that clearly resemble modern descriptions (and photographs) of disk-shaped UFOs. Just what the Magdalenian artists were attempting to portray – 15,000 to 30,000 years ago – may never be known. But, without a definitive explanation, the UFO interpretation must at least be considered as a possibility.

Many more examples of ancient UFO interpretations can be found in the books of Desmond Leslie, Morris K. Jessup, W. Raymond Drake, et al.