The Earth is “renewed” every 36 million years. Traces of ancient rituals of necromancy were discovered in Jerusalem. More than 61,000 Europeans died last year due to the heat

The Earth is “renewed” every 36 million years

The burst of life occurs cyclically every 36 million years (+/- 1 million years), according to a major study conducted by an international group of researchers, a team led by geologist Slah Boulila of the Sorbonne University in Paris.

The authors of the study, published in PNAS, say that they have not only identified this pattern, which has been repeated for at least 250 million years, but also understood the mechanisms that give rise to it. It is, they say, about the movement of tectonic plates.

There are cycles in the movement of tectonic plates, which lead not only to changes in the depth of the seas and oceans, but also to fluctuations in their level, which leads to the flooding of large areas or an increase in the aridity of the continent. masses And this happens with the disappearance of entire ecosystems and, subsequently, the appearance of new ones. Along with ecosystems, species that are overadapted to them ceaselessly disappear, leaving ecological gaps where more adapted organisms eventually reproduce and eventually evolve into new species.

The researchers say they came to this conclusion after careful analysis of the fossils, supported by computer models that took into account the movement of tectonic plates. Based on them, we can conclude that with an interval of about 36 million years, there are sharp fluctuations in marine and terrestrial biodiversity, which are the result of the cyclic movement of continental platforms and tectonic plates.

The idea is not necessarily new. But this regularity has never been observed before. In fact, the older hypotheses spoke of cyclicality, leading to major changes every 62 million years. Obviously, there are other factors that cause the extinctions and booms of life, but the discovery of this self-correcting planetary system is undoubtedly one of the most important discoveries in the field in recent decades.

Traces of ancient necromancy rituals were discovered in Jerusalem

Christianity was not a religion that quickly took root among the ancient population, even in Palestine. In fact, this process was slow and rather often merged with pagan practices, which the clergy of the time either tolerated, or tried to adapt to the new religion, or introduced where it was considered strictly necessary.

Evidence for this comes from the outskirts of Jerusalem, where several Israeli archaeologists discovered traces of pagan practices in the cave of Theomim, known since the Roman period as the site of a famous local oracle (nekiomanteion).

Despite the fact that the cave was explored by archaeologists a century ago, in the period 1970-1974, researchers from Israel managed to discover in 2009 several unexplored rooms, which have since been the subject of careful research by specialists.

Interesting, in terms of what we were interested in, was the discovery of more than 120 opaque spots associated with human skulls, weapons and other ritual objects, all dated to the Roman-Byzantine period (II-IV centuries AD). The fact that the lampshades were placed in the recesses of the cave walls or in hard-to-reach places indicated that the lighting of the underground rooms was not their only purpose.

In fact, according to the aforementioned archaeologists, in their study published in the Harvard Theological Review, all the discoveries support the idea of ​​forbidden practices of ancient pagan origin, through which certain individuals tried to communicate with the dead.

Since the Roman period, the practice of necromancy was known to be widespread in the Roman Empire, including Palestine. Human skulls were indispensable elements of such rituals. Another indispensable accessory was a metal weapon, as there was a belief that spirits were afraid of metals. Thus, they were used to ward off unwanted spirits.

Another defining element for necromancers was opacities. And this is because, depending on the shadows they left on the walls, one could read and interpret the signs and wishes of the deceased.

Interestingly, even though necromancy was banned in the Jewish and later Christian religions, it continued to be practiced throughout the centuries, even during periods of religious fervor such as the last years of antiquity.

More than 61,000 Europeans died last year due to the heat

The summer of 2022 was the hottest on record. An unwanted record that, if we look at the values ​​achieved this summer, it looks like it will fall soon. Data from Eurostat, the European Commission’s statistics body, along with data from the Institute for Global Health in Barcelona (ISGlobal) and its Paris-based counterpart, Inserm, show that climate change is already making a big difference. strong influence on people’s lives.

According to data published in the journal Nature, from May 30 to September 4, 2022, at least 61,627 people died due to high temperatures in Europe. Only from July 11 to August 14, the critical period marked by the highest temperature values, 38,881 deaths were recorded. And of these, 11,637 were reported in just one week, between July 18 and 24.

The worst affected country is Italy with 18,010 deaths, followed by Spain (11,324) and Germany (8,173). However, if we talk about statistics and the number of deaths per million inhabitants, then Italy is again in the sad first place with 295 deaths per million people.

Greece is the second worst affected country with 280 deaths per million people, followed by Spain (237) and Portugal (211). According to Eurostat, on average in Europe there are 114 deaths per million inhabitants.

The situation is somewhat unusual, as from the same statistics we learn that France experienced the highest increase in temperature, at 2.43 degrees Celsius compared to average values. Switzerland recorded a rise of up to 2.3 degrees, while Italy (2.28), Hungary (2.13) and Spain (2.11) are at the top of the highest temperature values.

However, the summer of 2003 remains the deadliest summer on record, with more than 70,000 deaths recorded in Europe alone. And the experts’ forecasts are not at all pleasing. It is estimated that by 2030 there will be an average of 68,000 deaths each summer. This number could rise to 94,000 deaths by 2040 amid a gradual rise in global temperatures.

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