I used to think that the diagram on the seal represented the solar system but as much as I'd love to think that true the truth seems to be that is
does not. Read the excerpts from an article below and click
here for
full discussion (you'll need to scroll down a bit to read the article the following extracts come from).
And considering ancient Astrology only ever took into consideration a certain number of planets (up until Saturn but not uranus, Neptune or Pluto) it
speaks to reason that the ancients did not know about any other planets other than Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. There is nothing in any
ancient literture that I've been able to find suggesting otherwise and believe me I've searched. This does not mean the rest of the Annunaki tale is
untrue - I'm a firm believer they were relating real stories about actual goings on - but that cylinder seal does NOT appear to have anything to do
with the planets.
EXCERPTS:
2) The alleged “sun” symbol on the seal is not the sun. We know this because it does not conform to the consistent depiction of the sun in
hundreds of other cylinder seals and examples of Sumero-Mesopotamian artwork. I will describe the typical depiction (determined with certainty because
it appears with texts about the sun god [Shamash Akkadian, known as Utu in Sumerian]) and provide image examples. Sources are provided for readers to
check for themselves. The “sun” symbol is actually a star (which in Mesopotamian art could have six or, more commonly, eight points). Lest the
modern reader retort that “well, the sun is a star,” I offer several images where the star symbol and the sun symbol (which again, is not that in
VA243) are side-by-side and distinct from one another. The Sumerians and Mesopotamians distinguished the sun from stars by using different symbols –
and associating each symbol with the sun god and other gods, respectively. There is simply no ancient Sumero-Akkadian evidence to support Sitchin’s
identification.
3) If the “sun” is not the sun, then what are the dots? The dots are also stars, as is best illustrated by the Sumerian-Mesopotamian depiction of
the Pleaides (seven dots together with reasonable astronomical accuracy since they are visible to the naked eye).b The Pleaides are actually one of
the most frequently depicted astronomical features in Sumero-Mesopotamian art. As Sitchin points out (and this is corroborated by actual scholars in
the field - it’s common knowledge), stars were associated with or considered to be heavenly beings – gods. In Sumero-Mesopotamian artwork, a star
represents either a god or an astronomical body. The same can be said of the sun – it can either reference the literal sun or the sun god. There are
three possibilities as to what VA243 is depicting:
(A) It is singling out a deity or special star and associating it with other stars in some sort of zodiacal representation. I don’t consider this
likely because there are other far clearer representations of zodiacal constellations. Unless there are clear zodiacal connotations, a star was
symbolic of a deity, which brings us to the second option.
(B) More probable is the idea that the central star stands for a deity that has some association with fertility (as in crops) since the inscription
describes an offering made by a worshipper (who is named) to a seated god who is associated in the seal with fertile harvest. Since there are two
other figures in the seal in addition to the seated god, and one is the offerer, the remaining figure is likely a deity also associated with the
offering. In favor of this possibility are the “implements” shown on the seal with respect to these two figures facing the seated god and the
figure’s headdress. Also in its favor is the fact that there are literally hundreds of such “offering seals,” and many have a star in upper
proximity to the figures’ heads, signifying the figure is a deity (see the example).(C) Since the star is surrounded by eleven other stars (dots),
the artistic depiction could stand for the lead god of the Mesopotamian divine council and its other eleven (upper tier) members. Recall that (as
Sitchin again points out) the Mesopotamian council had 12 members. I have noted before that the 12 member council isn’t always consistent in
Mesopotamian religion (at times eight gods are considered the council), but 12 is the more prevalent number. This thesis is attractive, but I can’t
say there is much to commend it over option B. The reader might be thinking at this point, “Well, isn’t the sun god the leader of the pantheon –
so if this symbology points to the divine council the center symbol could still be the sun?” This would be an erroneous line of thought since in
Sumero-Mesopotamian religion the sun god is NOT the high god; the high god is Anu (later, Marduk), not Shamash.
These options are admittedly subjective, but one thing is certain – the “sun” symbol does not conform to the abundantly frequent symbol for the
sun in Sumero-Mesopotamian art. We are not dealing with a depiction of the solar system. Astronomer Tom van Flandern pointed this out years ago
anyway, since the sizes of the “planets” around the alleged sun do not conform to the correct sizes of the planets and there distances from the
pseudo-sun are not depicted in such a way as to depict elliptical (or at least varying) orbits. The link to van Flandern’s critique is on my
website.