Time travel is one of those concepts that put science fiction directly in the running for most fascinating and attractive ideas. What if such a thing extends beyond this form of fiction, and ancient worldwide cultures in their own time already knew about some form of time travel? Strange stories, symbols, and structures can be found all over the world, from ancient Egypt to India, south to South America, and on to Mesopotamia.
In this article, a look will be taken at how old civilizations might have left us with hints of time travel in myths, technology, and enigmatic knowledge that even contemporary science finds difficult to explain.
What Is Time Travel?
Before we go into history, let us learn what time travel is. Time travel is the movement forward or backward in time, just like we move in space. Science teaches us that we are all moving through time, second by second. But can we accelerate it or reverse it?
Most scientists tell us that time travel could be achieved under some circumstances, particularly with concepts from Einstein’s theory of relativity. However, for the ancient civilization, time travel may not have required machinery. Their myths imply that they knew other ways of perceiving time differently, perhaps through spiritual experiences or esoteric knowledge.
1. Egypt: Stargates and the Afterlife
Ancient Egypt is shrouded in mystery. The Giza pyramids are exactly aligned with the stars in Orion’s Belt. But why were the Egyptians so interested in the stars and the next world?
In their books, such as the Book of the Dead, they speak of traveling through the underworld — a realm outside of time. The pharaoh was to become a star and live eternally. Others think the pyramids were more than simply tombs, but “stargates” — doors to other worlds or planes of existence.
Could this be that they knew time as something one could journey through upon death? Were the pyramids constructed using lost knowledge of the past?
2. India: The Time Bending Sages
India’s old epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, contain descriptions that read very much like time travel.
The familiar story is that of King Kakudmi. He summons the god Brahma in heaven, and after he comes back to the earth, thousands of years have passed. It is much like the time dilation we study with modern physics — when time moves more slowly for one who travels far away or at high velocity.
Indian ancient writings also speak of “vimanas,” aerial vehicles purportedly moving at phenomenal speeds. Were they legends, or might they have been actual machines that warp space and time?
3. Maya and Aztecs: Cycles of Time
Mayan and Aztec civilizations in Central America possessed calendars much more sophisticated than most current ones. They used a “Long Count” calendar to measure time over thousands of years.
The Mayans thought that time was not a linear line, but a cycle. Things would recur in cycles. They even forecast important events with incredible accuracy. Some scientists believe that their information might have been received from beings that could see through time.
Did they know how to travel through time by knowing its patterns?
4. Mesopotamia: The Watchers and Time Lords
The Sumerians of ancient Mesopotamia wrote of individuals referred to as the Anunnaki. They were powerful individuals who came down from the heavens and imparted knowledge on planet Earth. They are described in some accounts as having lived thousands of years and having had advanced technology.
In one story in the Epic of Gilgamesh, the hero asks for immortality and meets a man who survived a devastating flood. The man has a similar fate to Gilgamesh with time and death.
Were they just myths, or did the Sumerians encounter beings able to travel through time?
5. Stone Circles and Portals
Ancient cultures across Europe and the rest of the world built stone circles, such as Stonehenge in England. They are sun and star-oriented. But for what actual purpose?
Some believe these sites were used for spiritual ceremonies. Some believe they were used as time-keeping instruments. A few even believe they were portals — locations where the fabric of space and time was thin.
Might the ancients have employed these sites in order to access the past or future?
6. The Aboriginal Dreamtime
In Australia, the Aboriginals have “Dreamtime” myths — a special era outside ordinary time. In Dreamtime, the ancestors created the world and are still alive, watching and guiding.
For them, Dreamtime is not past. It is always occurring, and anyone can enter it employing dreams, music, and sacred ceremonies. It is a concept that is quite alien to contemporary thinking, but could contain some clues as to how time might be lived in other ways.
Read more: The Mystery of Time Travel in the Human Mind
7. Modern Science Catching Up
Interestingly, modern science is starting to explore ideas that ancient cultures already seemed to understand. For example:
Time Dilation: Time moves more slowly for people traveling close to the speed of light. This matches stories like King Kakudmi’s.
Wormholes: Some scientists believe wormholes could be portals through time.
Quantum Physics: In this field, time is not always fixed. Particles can affect each other instantly, even across time.
Final Reflections: Ancient Knowledge or Lost Science in the Ages?
Globally, ancient civilizations have similarities among them — time as a circle, visiting other worlds, and believing there is life elsewhere. Through pyramids, myths, or holy books, they were talking about things similar to theories in modern-day science.
Did they understand something we are only now starting to comprehend?
Perhaps the question isn’t whether time travel is possible, but how the ancient world conceived of time differently, and what we can learn from their experiences today.
