WORK
TABLE FOR APRIL 2008
Dear
Brother,
This
month's regular meeting will be held on Thursday 24 April 2008
The work table and timings for the evening are:
-
|
7.30 pm
|
Members convene informally in the 7 th Degree |
7.45 pm |
Comparitie traditionally opened
|
| 8.15 pm |
Movie of the History of Angkor Wat
|
|
10.00 pm
|
Comparitie traditionally closed |
DRESS: smart casual - 'masonic daylight dress' preferred.
Visiting brethren are always most welcome.
Brethren are kindly asked to make a special effort
to be present. However, should you be unable to
attend, an apology would be appreciated.
For April 2008
Report of the meeting held on Thursday 27 March 2008
The Brethren arrived well in time to enjoy the refreshments in the Seventh degree in fraternal harmony.
At 8.00 pm the Presiding Master, Bro Bert Siersema, welcomed the Brethren and six visitors. (Three came from Canberra) All the Brethren were invited to clothe themselves masonicly and enter the Lodge room in traditional style, for the 1st Degree ceremony ritual.
Bro Alex Slater acted as candidate who, afterwards, was presented with a special Certificate, and his father Bro. David Slater acted as Bro. of Talent for the night.
It had been quite a while since we performed this so beautiful and meaningful ritual and it was enjoyable to have another good look at it. The ritual really deserves it!
The demonstration was carried out in traditional style and was much appreciated by the Brethren assembled. Our visitors also expressed their appreciation of this beautiful and meaningful ritual, so different from the one worked under the UGLV.
The Brethren returned to the forecourt, a very brief informal business meeting followed with some nice finger food prepared by Bro David Yole, this was followed with excellent fellowship.
The Presiding Master thanked the Brethren for their participation and at 10.30 pm they left for their homes contented.
Brethren, due to difficulties with the board of management of the Ararat Masonic centre for the performers of the Lodge of Mourning for Bro. Ron Mason, we have now cancelled this for Saturday 10th May, and will perform this ceremony on the Kring’s meeting night on 22nd May in the Collingwood Temple.
The April meeting will be a Comparitie and we will show a DVD on the History of ANGKOR- WAT, The largest religious monument in the world. For hundreds of years, the lost city of Angkor Wat was itself a legend. Cambodian peasants living on the edge of the thick jungle around the Tonle Sap Lake reported findings of “Temples built by Gods or by giants”.
In 1860, Henri Mahout’s discovered the Temples and opened up this “lost city to the world”.
A stream of explorers, historians and archaeologists came to Angkor, and these scholars could not believe that Angkor had been built by the Cambodia people. The Sanskrit inscriptions where slowly deciphered and the history of Angkor pieced together, what we will see in the movie.
On our trip in January with the Erasmus Lodge, Bro. Sandy & Fred with their wives visited this beautiful and gigantic Temple complex in Cambodia
. 
The Cup of Hope The Cup of Hope, which Bro. Sandy Kahn brought to Australia with the good wishes from Erasmus Lodge no 297 N.C. in Bangkok has travelled all ready to the installation of Bro. Bert Siersema in Ararat and is now held by Lodge EOS no 880 in Lilydale.
This Cup of Hope was originated in 1972 in the Copestone Lodge no 147 in New Jersey . It travelled to many Lodges around the world to bring the message and Symbols on its journey via the Chain of Brotherhood, and one day will return to its mother Lodge.
SOLOMON'S TEMPLE
The Bronze Castings of Jachin and Boaz Pillars
Part three
The Castings. Their Size.
L et us now look at these castings and see what we can make of them. How much bronze is in the pillar? How much did it weigh?
We are told that the height is 8.1M and the circumference is 5.4M. The thickness of the pillar we are told is a hands breadth. My hands breadth is 97mm. However the Jerusalem Bible says that a hands breadth or palm is 72mm so I will use this value in my calculations. All calculations rounded to the nearest whole number.
T he pillar's circumference is, c=5.4M Therefore the outside diameter will be o/s, d = c / p = 5.4/3.1416
We will call the outside diameter, D1=1.72M And the inside diameter D2. Therefore the outside radius R1 =1.72/2 = .86M
T he inside diameter will be equal to the outside diameter minus the wall thickness of 72mm multiplied by two. (.144m ) The outside radius Rl and inside radius R2 will be one half of the appropriate diameters. I will use the measurement of the radius to calculate the volume.
D2 = D1 - . 72x2 = 1 . 72-( . 072x2) = 1.576m
Inside radius r2= 1.576/2 = .788m
Volume of pillar VP = v I of outside dimensions less v2 of core
vI = p r 2 h, therefore v1 = 3.1416 x .86 x .86 x 8.1 = 19M 3 volume of outer cylinder
v2= p r 2 h,therefore v2= 3.1416x . 788x . 788x8 . 1 = 16M 3 volume of inner cylinder
VP=v1-v2 =19–16= 3M 3 this is the volume of bronze in the pillar.
T he weight of Bronze can vary dependent on the percentage of copper and other metals used in the alloying process. The variant will be a percentage plus or minus around 9 tons per cubic meter. We will therefore assume a weight of 9 tons per m 3 . It follows then that the weight of one pillar without the capital will be. 3 x 9 = 27 tons. (approx.)
I f the pillar had been cast in sections, say 10 sections, each 81 cm long, then each would have weighed 2 . 7 tonnes, this is far more believable than one casting. The technology for melting and handling large amounts of molten metal and successfully casting same was just not available at this time in history. Even at 2.7 tonnes credibility is stretched.
M y investigations and discussions with a Professor of Archeometallurgy brought the response of total disbelief that "the people of the Bronze age were able to cast bronze weighing tons".
Tylecote in his work The Coming of the Age of Iron discussing the size of castings, says in reference to the Chou dynasty (770 BCE) A bronze caldron found at Anyang in 1946: it weighted 1400kg and was about/ 1M across. Of course these may have been t/he product of good organization rather than large capacity smelting and melting.
E arlier I made mention of the Sea sometimes referred to as the Molten Sea or Brazen Sea . The size of which was 4.5m in diameter and 2.25m deep and a hands breadth in thickness. These measurements suggest that it is one half of a sphere.
W e can therefore calculate both the volume of bronze and the capacity of the bowl. 1 Kings 7, 26 . Tells us that it held two thousand baths. Chronicles tells us however, that the sea held 3000 baths. These inconsistencies I leave for each of you to consider. The measurements for liquids used in the Bible are the words seah, cor and bath. A cor is equal to 450 litres and a bath is one tenth of a Cor or 45 litres. However we have variations from this measurement as well.
The Peoples New Testament States The Bath, the tenth of the chomer, ( cor) or seven gallons and four pints and a half Using US gallons that's.28 litres, using imperial gallons that's 34 litres. One can assume that US gallons were used in this version.
T o calculate the volume of bronze that makes up the Sea therefore, we must find the volume of two spheres then subtract the inner from the outer, then divide by two as we want the volume of the bowl which we will assume is one half of a sphere, that is, the Sea. Whilst this may appear simplistic, as there could be variations in size due to ornamentation etc. for the purpose of this exercise the variations would be small and would not affect the ideas presented.
T he volume of the outside sphere is vI , and the inside sphere is v2 . However we need to find the volume of our basin, which is one half a sphere. T o do this we divide the volume of the sphere by 2
vI = 4x3.1416x2.25x2.25x2.25 = 48 m 3 = 24m 3
3 2
Again we are told that the Sea is a hands breadth in thickness so we must reduce the diameter .by two times 72mm that is 144mm. But our calculation uses the radius so we will reduce it by 72mm.
v2 = 4x3.1416x2.178x2.178x2.178 = 44m 3 =22m 3
3 2 This is the capacity of the bowl.
T he volume of the metal in the Sea therefore is: vI -v2 or 24 -22 = 2m 3
A s we have seen, the weight of bronze is 9 tons per m 3 , therefore its weight would be:-2 x 9 = 18 tons
T he capacity of the Sea is calculated as follows. One cubic meter is equal to 1000 litres of water. The Sea's capacity would be, therefore 22m 3 times 1000 or 22000 litres.
W e have read in Kings that the Sea held 2000 baths. If the calculations are correct, then a bath would be equal to 11litres.
T his big basin, used by the priests for ritual washing before sacrifices, symbolized the Source of life, stood on the backs of twelve bronze oxen. The rim must have been four metres off the ground!
How the Egyptians cast bronze.
Bronze Making
N ow we must try to answer the following questions. Where did these people get the ore? How did they smelt it? How did these people melt all this metal? Where did they do it? How did they make the moulds? How did they get the molten metal to the moulds? How did they get the finished product to the site? How did they erect the pillars and the sea?
One way of melting.
T o find answers to these questions we must look at what Archaeology tells us about early metal workings. Humans have used metals for only the last 12000 years, a much shorter time than the period which stone was used for tools, weapons and ornaments. The McGraw Hill " Encyclopaedia of Science and Technology tells us, The earliest datable finds of human-altered metal are small copper objects from sites in the Near East, including a pendant from Shanidar in Iraq dated around 9500 BC. Copper was used at this time in the Middle East and prehistoric Europe for jewellery and in ritual religious ceremony.
T he first coins were made and used in Asia Minor in the early part of 7000 BCE. Smelting was discovered in the middle of 5000 BCE. At this time, trade in metals was taking place so metals not found naturally in one place were traded with those peoples who had them. Copper was available from the mines in the Arabah. Tin was traded with the British who mined it at Cornwall . Other metals as well as tin were alloyed, arsenic, antimony and lead each used for particular purposes. Knowledge of smelting led to the mixing of metals and the discovery that this alloying made a better metal than either of those mixed. Primitive bronze has been excavated and dated as far back as 3000 BCE.
As copper melts at a temperature of 1083°C, high heat was needed and a means of forcing air, to make the fire hotter, had to be invented. The furnace was developed.
.Days to remember
Bro, Fred Vandenberg & Bro. Rob Hamilton will perform an adapted
version of the Winter St John Oration, in the following lodges, 18 April in the Dandenong Lodge no 635 in Keysborough,26 July in the Plenty Valley Lodge no 703 in Darebin, 27 August in the Zetland Lodge in Kyneton. This is with the drawing of the Tableau
in sand, and the Master's drawing on the board. Afterwards they will give an explanation
on Dutch Freemasonry.
|
![[bar.gof]](uplex_li.gif){kind=small}
