Alaise

Xavier Guichard was born in Pesmes, Haute-Saône, in 1870. In 1936 he published “Alesia Eleusis. Enquête sur les origines de la civilisation européenne” [Investigation of the origins of European Civilization].

His enquiry started in 1911, when it occurred to him that the toponym Alesia or Eleusis seemed to have a specific position within placenames. Europe had only approximately 400 such names, though many were variations: Alaise, Allerey, Salins, Calais, Elise, Luze, Luxiol, Luxeuil, etc.
When he plotted these places on maps, he discovered that there was a radiating pattern, with Alaise, near Besançon, at the centre. Guichard noted there were 24 lines, with some lines orientated towards solar phenomena, specifically the equinoxes and the solstices. This suggested the creation of this network was a carefully constructed design, which would have involved great mastership of astronomy and planning.
Jules Etienne Joseph Quicherat (1814-1882) previously believed that Alaise was Caesar’s Alesia, the place where Vercingtorix capitulated. He never accepted the notion, then growing in acceptance and now accepted, that Alise Sainte-Reine was the correct location. His excavations in Alaise did uncover many Roman remains, which are currently in the museum of Besancon. It suggests that at least in Roman times, Alaise was an existing place. However, Guichard believed that the network was much older.
Guichard believed that the system was not only prehistoric, but actually dated from the last Ice Age. He based this conclusion on the observation that the place name ceased to occur in locations (latitudes) where it was known that ice covered the land during the last Ice Age.

Guichard noted that each “Alesia”-town had two properties: a proximity to a hill or a river, and the presence of a man-made or natural spring, sometimes of salt water. Guichard felt that the word stemmed from the Proto-Indo-European root Alès, meaning ‘a meeting place to which people travelled’. Guichard argued that this might map a prehistoric network of travel routes, perhaps aimed at transporting salt to the various communities/towns in Western Europe. Some have therefore nicknamed these lines the “salt lines”.

One of the best known towns in the grid is Eleusis, north of Athens, and the site of an important mystery cult. The Eleusinian Mysteries, held annually in honour of Demeter and Persephone, were the most sacred and revered of all the rituals of ancient Greece. Large crowds of worshippers would gather to make the holy pilgrimage between the two cities and participate in the ceremonies, generally regarded as the high point of the Greek religious calendar.

Demeter was considered to be the bringer of immortality to Mankind. When she realized the role of the other Olympians in her misfortune, she abandoned her divine form and decided to live amongst Mankind, in the form of an old woman. Eventually, she reached Eleusis and sat down by an old well (the Maiden Well, which would later figure prominently in her Mysteries). The story is similar to the Egyptian legend of the betrayal of Osiris by his brother Seth, and his subsequent promotion as the god that offered immortality to Mankind.

The story not only details why Demeter switched alliance, from gods to Mankind, but also how she taught Mankind the secrets of immortality. Sitting next to the well, she was accosted by the daughters of Celeus, a local chieftain, who befriended her and introduced her to their mother, Metaneira. Metaneira was impressed by the old woman's dignified bearing that she offered her the position of nurse for her infant son. Demeter accepted and the child thrived marvellously well under her care. What the mortals did not know was that Demeter was secretly teaching the infant a series of mystical practices. Every night while the palace was asleep, she would anoint his limbs with ambrosia and then place him into the fire. The child might have become ageless and deathless had the procedure continued; but one night Metaneira spied on Demeter, and when the boy was placed into the flames, she screamed in horror. At this, the indignant goddess broke off the treatment, revealed herself in her full divine majesty, and demanded that a temple be built in her honour. There, she would teach the people her rites.
The legend shows that Eleusis was an important cult of initiation and we need to ask the question whether similar initiation temples were constructed in the other “Alesia”-places, specifically as the presence of a well was noted by Guichard as a defining characteristic of each site. However, it is equally clear that Eleusis’ history as a sacred site is only identified as dating back to Mycenean times, i.e. much more recent than the ca. 12,000 years Guichard wanted to assign to the network.

Guichard’s book was published in 1936, but most copies were lost during the bombings of the Second World War – which also ended the life of Guichard himself. Very few copies are known to exist, though Guichard and his findings are widely reported – though often new sources repeat the same information accessible to their sources. This has resulted in the introduction of certain error, and an impossibility to do much beyond noting Guichard’s theory, without detailed discussion.

Guichard was not a professional archaeologist. He was actually the Director of the Police in Paris, and an acquaintance of the writer George Simenon’s. The latter worked him into his novels and made him Maigret’s first chief. Guichard was Vice-President of the Prehistoric Society of France and a friend of Paul Le Cour (1871-1954), the founder of Atlantis magazine, which reported on many esoteric subjects in the first half of the 20th century. As the book was a limited edition from its initial publication, more people have heard about the book than have actually seen or read the book. It thus was able to reach a cult status, which has largely remained in the 80 years since its publication.