THE BUILDER JANUARY 1915

ANCIENT EVIDENCES

BY G. W. BAIRD, P.G.M., DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

It was the good fortune of the writer to see the great obelisk
called Cleopatra's needle, as it stood at Alexandria and also to
witness the "opening of a house" in Pompeii. The two Monoliths
known as Cleopatra's needles had been brought to Alexandria in the
time of the Caesars. They were originally in front of the
University at Heliopolis, that great school where Moses, the law
giver, was once a student. How long they were in Heliopolis no one
knows, nor it is known when they were carved or erected.

One of these magnificent monuments was given to England, and the
other to the United States. The latter was brought to this country
by Brother Lieutenant Commander H. H. Gorringe, U. S. N., the
entire expense of which was borne by the late Mr. William H.
Vanderbilt, of New York.

When Gorringe lifted the monument, for the purpose of shipping it,
he was surprised to find, under its base, so many symbols which
seemed clearly Masonic. The Grand Lodge of Masons in Egypt, among
whom there was a number of Egyptologists and Archaeologists, sent
a committee of its best men, at the request of Gorringe, to examine
these emblems and give an opinion. They were unanimous in the
opinion that the emblems were Masonic, and gave the following
definitions.  Gorringe had a drawing made, not only to show the
emblems and their relative positions, but for use in replacing them
when the shaft should be erected at New York.


A. A polished cube, of syenite.
B. Polished square, of syenite.
C. Rough and irregular block of syenite.
D. Hard lime stone with trowel cemented to its surface.
E. Soft lime stone, very white and entirely from spots.
F. Axis stone, with figures.
G. A marked stone.
H. Corner stone, found under east angle of lower steps.

The block C was believed to be the rough ashler; A the perfect
ashler; the square B is very distinct, and has been so identified
with Masonry, in all ages, that its presence added great weight.

The Committee thought the stone, with figures, resembling snakes,
was emblematic of Wisdom. They thought the "axis stone" represented
the trestle-board and the marked stone bore the mark of a Mark
Master. The two implements, the trowel and the lead plummet, are
emblematic of Freemasonry; the white stone is the symbol of purity,
as we have always understood it.

A French Archaeologist, in New York, was the only person to
question the opinion of the Egyptologists, but as he was not a
Mason, Gorringe thought he was not competent to be a judge.


The Obelisk was brought to New York and erected in Central Park,
where it now stands. The corner stone was laid with Masonic
ceremonies on the 2d of October, 1880, and the emblems were
replaced exactly as they had been found at Alexandria.

In the National Museum, at Naples, there is an equally remarkable
evidence, which was discovered in the ruins of Pompeii, in 1896.
The writer is indebted to the late Brother S. G. Hilborn, then a
member of Congress from California, for a picture of this "find"
which is here reproduced in a photograph.

It is a mosaic table top, or altar top, which was situated in the
center of a rectangular room, exactly as Masonic Altars have ever
been erected in lodge rooms. The workmanship is excellent, and the
coloring, when the discovery was made, was bright and fresh, but
has probably faded some, as all the Pompeii colors have done. Mural
paintings, so many of which have been found in those ruins, have
all suffered the same fate.

This beautiful mosaic, which is believed to be the top of the
altar, shows a large square, above deaths head, with a plumb line
from the angle of the square to the middle point of the crown of
the head. From each arm of the square there is suspended a robe;
one was scarlet, the other purple, which are distinctive colors
used in the Royal Arch degree. Below the chin of the head is a
butterfly, beautifully colored, and under the butterfly is a
circle, that Masonic emblem of Diety, without beginning or end.

In addition to this there were found, in the same room, several
articles inherent in Blue and in Royal Arch Masonry, a little urn,
which is believed to be the pot of manna, a setting maul, a trowel,
a spade, a small chest, thought to be an imitation of the ark of
the covenant, and small staff, thought to be phallus. These
evidences, potent as they are, are confirmed by the inscription
over the door of the house, which is DIOGENE SEN, which means
Diogenes the Mason.

The writer gives these facts as to the Pompeii find, as he received
them from Brother Hilborn. We have not been in Pompeii since 1878,
when with General Grant, but the existence of the altar top may be
verified by a visit to the museum at Naples.

The evidence, to an enthusiast, is convincing; to the writer they
seem every bit as good, maybe better, than the evidence which Rome
has accepted and propagated as to the Apostolic succession.

NOTE --(See Vibert's "Freemasonry before the existence of Grand
Lodges" for a different viewpoint regarding the Pompeii Mosaic.)

