A UFO research organization in Israel has sent out a report regarding a wall painting in a 14th century church in Romania that may depict a UFO.
It is similar to objects seen in paintings and coins ranging from the 4th century to the 17th century. One UFO investigator feels that the objects in the images may have an explanation that is more down to earth.
Gilli Schechter and Hannan Sabat of the Israeli Extraterrestrials and UFOs Research Organization (EURA), say they received a picture of the painting from Catalina Borta.
Borta took the picture while visiting the Biserica Manastirii, or Church of the Dominican Monastery, in the town of Sighisoara. Sighisoara is believed to the birthplace of Vlad the Impaler, the inspiration for the legend of Dracula.
The wall painting depicts a disc-shaped object over a building that is emitting smoke. It also has a caption in German that reads “Israel, hoffe auf den HERRN,” which translated means “Israel, put your hope in the Lord.” EURA explains that this is a quote from Psalms song of ascents, c.130 v.7.
The painting appears to be very old, but it is hard to tell how old. According the Monastery’s website, it was originally built in the 14th century, but was destroyed and rebuilt in the 17th century.
The EURA report also notes that they are unsure who painted it and when. However, they point out that the caption in the painting probably dates it to after 1523, when the bible was translated into German.
EURA also notes that the painting is not often referenced in UFO research regarding depictions of UFOs in art. However, the image does look similar to other paintings and coins which are commonly believed by UFO researchers to depict aerial anomalies.
One such image is from the Prodigiorum Liber, which was an account of mysterious occurrence in early Rome written by Julius Obsequens. The image in question is supposed to depict a round object that was seen at sunset with a “large beam of fire” to the right. This sighting is supposed to have taken place in 98 B.C.
There are also French coins from the 17th century with a similar round object. Some researchers believe these to be depictions of Ezekiel’s wheel. However, Marc Dantonio, Chief Photo/Video Analyst for the Mutual UFO Network (MUFON), has another explanation. He says the shield-shaped object in these images is just that, a military shield.
Dantonio came to this conclusion by researching France in the late 1600s. He found the shields of that period did appear just like the images depicted in the coins.
Furthermore, there was a civil war in France in 1680, in which the territorial aristocracy was replaced by the absolute monarch of Louis XIV. He believes the shields were placed on the coins to illustrate King Louis’ strength.
He points out that on another coin, arrows can be seen raining down onto the shield as in an archer’s attack. He also notes that in some cases a line can be seen coming from the center of the shield, which is often mistaken for a ray of light coming from the craft.
However, Dantonio explains this is actually a piece of metal that is attached to the shield to deflect arrows.
Although, Dantonio says the object is a shield, he admits that it is still a mystery as to why they are in the sky or coming out of the clouds. He writes:
“One story is that this particular coin is showing Jupiter’s Shield falling to Earth to aid Numa Pompilius, the second Roman king. The shield it said led them to victory during desperate times. But even so, it is still interesting that the shield was bestowed from on high.
“Was there some otherworldly influence rooted in their culture that prompted putting the shield in the sky? Protection or technology from above perhaps? That’s still a mystery.”
By Alejandro Rojas, Open Minds;
