Mysterious Nazca Drawings ?? One ofthe most mysterious archaeological spectacles in the world is the immensecomplex of geo- metrical symbols, giant ground-drawings of birds and animals,and hundreds of long, ruler-straight lines , some right across mountains, which stretch over l,200 square miles of the Peruvian tablelands, atNazca. ?? Nazcawas first revealed to modern eyes in 1926 when three explorers looked dow??n onthe desert from a hillside at dusk and briefly saw a Nazca line highlighted bythe rays of the sun. But it was not until the Peruvian airforce took aerialphotographs in the 1940s that the full magnificence of the pano- rama wasapparent. Hundreds of what looked like landing strips for aircraft wererevealed. There were eighteen bird-like drawings, up t0 400 feet long;four-sided figures with two lines parallel; and long needle-like triangleswhich ran for miles. Among the many abstract patterns were a giant spider, a monkey,a shark all drawn on the ground on a huge scale. ?? Thescale is monumental, but from the ground almost invisible and totallyincomprehensible. The amaz- ing fact about Nazca, created more than l,500 yearsago, is tha??t it can only be appreciated if seen from the air. Many, therefore,regarded it as a prehistoric landing ground for visitors from outer space, butJim Wood- man, an American explorer, who was long fascinated by the mystery ofNazca, had a different opinion. He be- lieved that Nazca only made sense if thepeople who had designed and made these vast drawings on the ground couldactually see them, and that led him to the theory that the ancient Peruvianshad somehow learned to fly, as only from above could they really see the extentof their handiwork. With this theory in mind, he researched into ancientPeruvian legends about flight and came to the conclusion that the only feasibleanswer was a hot- air balloon. ?? To provehis theory, Woodman would have to make such a thing using the same fabrics andfibers that would have?? been available to the men of Nazca at the time. Hestarted by gathering information from ancient paintings, legends, books andarchaeological sites. After many attempts, Woodman built a balloon-typeairship. It took him into the air, letting him have the sensation he had neverhad from viewing the same ground that he had seen many times. His flight was amodern demonstration of an ancient possibility.?? ?? One of the "most mysterious archaeologicalspectacles in the world" is??