ARCHEOLOGICAL LOG - 3 December 09

ARCHEOLOGICAL LOG

Date: December 09

Project Site: Phaedran

Archeologist: Shai Khalifa

Unfortunately, I've had several months where it hasn't been possible for me to undertake a more extensive survey of the Phaedran region. This mainly was due to my involvement with establishing the new museum constructed to house the project collection and records.

It has been decided to locate the museum on Tropicana and is open now to the public, even while the exhibits are being added.

In the past week however, I've managed to get back to my campsite. Although I would like to explore more of the tomb and 'forum' areas, I decided to take a look at a region at the far eastern edge of Phaedran. There are a number of rocky outcrops here, and a small beach, so taking the boat over was a pleasant short trip. While standing on the beach, I noticed an oddity sticking out of the water - easily missed as what is visible is only a small piece of what appears to be worked stone. What drew my attention however, is that it's pure white, which definitely makes it something out of the ordinary.

I swam out over the reef and took a closer look. The object seemed to be embedded into the reef, but looked like it was part of a larger structure. I then decided that a dive in the area might prove interesting. Oh my, just how interesting it would be never occurred to me.

I began the dive from the beach on the western side of the beach going quite deep, around a coral outcrop. This outcrop gave way to an underwater 'valley' filled with a kelp forest and home to more of the colourful fish found around the 'forum'.

On following the valley further in, I came across some columns - different in structure from any I'd seen before. None standing, only fallen and broken. When I thought I'd reached the end of the valley, I came across a hole in the wall behind the kelp, and I entered a tunnel. Inside this were wall sections and more broken columns and the tunnel led me to a large cave which must be what's below the reef I'd swum over earlier.

What I saw there completely surprised me.

Recently, the Elves who reside on the Valinor regions came across an obelisk on the sea bed offshore. Once this had been cleaned up, they found an inscription on the base plate. The item had been given to their people by the Council of Phaedran as a symbol of unity. I then received photos of this find and the Lady Freyja Bailey of Valinor donated a scaled replica of it to the museum where it is now on display along with a picture of the obelisk, cleaned and now erected in a place of honour in the Square on Valinor. To one side of that picture is a very similar structure to those I found myself looking at in the underwater cave - an arch.

In fact, they appeared to be triple arches, however some had fallen. They also do not appear to be a complete building, but sections of one that are embedded into the rock or fallen around the area.

I ran out of time to explore very far into the cave, but there appears to be more further in. I'm now going to focus my exploration on this cave, as it looks to be an area which clearly shows there is a more current connection between the survivors of the fall, and the residents of other regions on Grid.

This is something I've now alerted the sociological team about and they are liaising with Valinor to find out more of the history of the obelisk. They have also promised to send me more pictures to confirm my theory. I just wish I had the time to visit the Elves myself - maybe soon though.

In the meantime, I'm going to continue here as the story of these people develops further. I hope we find more of the Chronicle or Journal entries. I'm always on the lookout for possible hiding places. The more information we get, the more we can piece the story of Phaedran and Zanith together.

Right now, I'm sitting here on my beach by the campfire waiting for my evening meal to cook. It's so beautifully peaceful with the sounds of the waves as my background music, in the evening light as the sun has dipped below the horizon, and looking over toward where I've found yet another piece of the puzzle - a puzzle that is both fascinating and frustrating. But exciting and very intriguing.