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Rosslyn Chapel

Introduction
The Mystery
The History of the Chapel
The Carvings
Templars & Masons
The St Clair Family
Beneath the Chapel
The Thule Society
Earth Energy of Rosslyn
Related Locations
Rosslyn Chapel Today
Further Information
The Rosslyn Chapel Cubes Quest
Temple/Balantrodoch

Sizing up the cubes

Originally there were 215 cubes on the ceiling, but regrettably, two were broken off and are now lost.  Perhaps this happened during the 1950s, when the entire interior of the chapel was washed with 'protective' liquid cement, or even further back, when Oliver Cromwell and his men used the Chapel as stables while attacking Rosslyn Castle.  In any case, we are left with 213 of the mysterious cubes to puzzle over.  The remaining cubes each bear one of six distinctly different designs (Cube Images A - F).  However, there are also slight variations upon these - see illustrations G - M (there are currently no images available for Cubes L and M). 

Some of the cubes are very precisely carved, while others are less professionally sculpted, perhaps because more than one stone mason was involved, and each man started crudely then became steadily more proficient. It could be that some of the stone was simply poorer quality to begin with, or maybe the apparent roughness of some of the cubes was deliberate and part of the original design.  We do not know.

We have recorded the position of the cubes on the ceiling arches and the number of times each design appears (see Table 1 below).  On every cube, there are only four faces with images upon them.  On all cubes, the smaller 'ends' are identical, and the longer 'faces' are symmetrical. 

Table 1 ~ The types of cubes and the number of times they appear on the ceiling.

However, some of the cubes have carvings on what would be a fifth face but the stone that connects the cube to the arch is in the way.

Being the most prominent feature of the ceiling in this area of the Chapel, the cubes tend to attract the most attention.  However, whereas the arches with the cubes cross diagonally, here there are images of what appear to be flower/plant stems and leaves crossing at right angles.  At the centre point where all the carvings meet there is a large pendant on each of the four arches.  In a detailed report of Rosslyn Chapel from 1774 (Roskelynsis), these pendants were described as the 'Key-Stone' of the double arches.  There are differing images on each of the four pendants.  The same 1774 report simply states that there are carvings of foliage, but there is no mention of the cubes.

Where the arches holding the cubes are connected to a pillar, there is a human-like figure - described in the 1774 report as a 'cherub' - each playing a musical instrument.  The names/functions of some of these instruments can be guessed at, such as whether they are guitars or lutes.  Others - such as the bagpipes - are much more instantly recognisable.

There are various markings throughout the building that are generally described as 'masons marks'. These were usually made by medieval masons to act as a signature or other positional identifier during the course of construction.  However, some of these masons' marks are located very close to, and even under, some of the cubes in the stonework.  These marks are located all around the Chapel

But what are the current theories regarding the cubes?

CURRENT THEORIES

The cubes as a musical arrangement

This theory is based upon the fact that at each point where an arch meets a pillar there is a 'cherub' playing a musical instrument.  There are 13 'cherubs', each playing an instrument of some description, only some of which are immediately familiar. Listed below is how they appear on the pillars from North to South:

1.  Guitar or Lute
2.  Trumpet
3.  Bagpipes
4.  Book (Hymn Book?)
5.  Guitar or Lute
6.  Violin
7.  Unknown (Whistle and Tambour/Pipe and Tabor?)
8.  Drum or Bongos
9.  Trumpet
10.  Book (Hymn Book?)
11.  Unknown (Whistle and Tambour/Pipe and Tabor?)
12.  Unknown (Zimbala or Portable Organ?)
13.  Guitar or Lute

Could it be that the cherubs are showing us how to play a specific tune?  Could the carvings on the cubes be some form of very early musical notation?

The way that music is written down has been known to vary slightly over the centuries.  The Encyclopaedia Britannica (1929 edition) states that, “Before the 12th Century there is no trace of a measured notation”.

The previous method used for musical notation - or 'neumes' - consisted of a series of hooks, dashes, curves, dots and strokes, and was very difficult to understand. Perhaps not surprisingly, by the end of the 14th century it had died out completely.

If we are really looking at a musical arrangement, it would surely be a sacred melody.  The Encyclopaedia Britannica also says: 'A variety of experiments resulted in the assignment of the four lined staff to sacred music and of the five lined staff to secular music'.  There are four double arches at Rosslyn Chapel holding the cubes ~ could this be representative of a sacred musical staff?  Or could the images on the cubes be some other form of musical representation?

Why music?

Why carve the cubes with musical notes?  For what purpose?  A great deal of research has been carried out recently on the acoustic qualities of various ancient sacred sites across the globe (e.g .the Great Pyramid of Giza and Newgrange in Ireland).  It has been proposed that participants would chant at these sites in order to bring about an altered state of consciousness in their being. (Originally, someone experiencing this shift of consciousness was said to be 'in a state of grace', but as time passed the concept was diluted so that now people simply say 'grace' instead of actually experiencing it).

Rhythmic chanting relaxes the brain - specifically affecting the pineal gland, or 'third eye', so that it functions at lower frequencies, secreting serotonin and melatonin; naturally occurring chemicals in the brain. 

It has been argued that these low frequencies are similar to those radiating from within the Earth, measured as fluctuations in the planet's magnetic field - also experienced when the mind is relaxed to a state of meditative emptiness (See In the Name of the Gods by David Elkington, 2001).  The specific frequencies are known as the alpha waves (between 7-13Hz).  The aim of this chanting/stimulation was to re-bind the initiate to God/theDivine and facilitate bio/psychic integration.  The word 'religion' means to 'bind', or 're-bind'.  The initiates taking part in these ceremonies would then truly be at One with their God, in whatever form that may take.

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