It happened more than once that the inventions of the recent (seemingly) past turned out to be known in antiquity. Classic examples of this are the Antikythera mechanism and the prototype fax machine (created in the 19th century). However, despite all the progressiveness for their time, these inventions do not go beyond our scientific knowledge.
But what about the bas-relief of a cyclist, which is located in the Indian temple of Panchavarnaswami, built 2000 years ago?
Surprisingly, no one has paid attention to such a strange image before. At least this topic has not been actively discussed in the past. Now scientists and sensationalists are trying to answer a simple question, what is depicted on the column? Is it really a cyclist or is it just a fancy?
A modern person who looks at the bas-relief will say that in front of him is a bicycle. But perhaps the device pictured here had a different purpose? You can remember the Sabu disk. If you show it to a common man in the street, he will say that it is a propeller. However, in the days of Ancient Egypt, he could not be one, since there was no aviation. By the way, what exactly was Sabu's disk intended for remains a mystery today.
Perhaps some people think that a bicycle is not too complicated technical device, and it could be ridden thousands of years ago. In this case, it should be remembered that the first bicycles did not bear much resemblance to their today's “descendants”. Their wheels were disproportionately large and uncomfortable to ride. But the main problem was not even that. Before the invention of rubber, wood wheels were used. They were heavy and it was impossible to move quickly on them.
Official scientists say that the reason for the appearance of the bas-relief is the restoration carried out in the temple in 1920. It was then that this image was made on the column … But it remains unclear what was the purpose of this? Did someone just want to joke? In a sacred temple? It is somehow hard to believe that this was allowed by the clergy.
Promotional video:
Supporters of alternative versions suggest that we have an image of a Franciscan monk. It is like him that the person in the bas-relief looks like. But it is worth recalling that the Franciscan order appeared only at the beginning of the XIII century AD. The fact that it existed thousands of years ago is out of the question.
However, there are also many questions about dating. As far as I know, no one officially conducted it. For historians it is already clear that we are talking about a bas-relief created during the restoration. Why the supporters of alternative versions did not carry out dating (and if they did, then why did they not make it public?) Remains unclear.
Today some media outlets write that the temple is 2000 years old. But this does not mean that the number of columns is the same. In general, it could have been erected in a later era. I would like to hope that in the future the situation will become clearer and there will be one less secret.