What a rip-snorter of a thread! I've sat back and read with joy and wonder (They both enjoyed it too but Joy's gone home now and Wonder's wandered off or something like that)

So. I must say that I appreciate what Baza said at the start, but I would phrase it somewhat differently.

I cannot supply an answer to the original question, because I personally consider nothing sacred'. As Baza says *everything* has the potential to be sacred to *someone* *somewhere*, but don't expect me to join in.

I can stand back, look at a scene, look at a panorama, and go "WOW! Someone might consider this sacred and I think I can see why! but I'll just enjoy it for what I perceive it to be - bloody lovely"

I'm not going to start revering it. I might cherish it (or is that the same thing in denial? dunno).

I will never try and second guess the 'religious' beliefs of a people of whom we have no idea about. We have some big clues, but it's how we interpret them that shapes our ideas about their lives.

Here's a stupid thought. Ever wondered why so few people are intered in some tombs? Massive structures with just 3 or 4 burials/cremations in them? Perhaps they are the gates to HELL! And that significant hill on the horizon is actually the gateway to hell and the 'tomb' has been placed *there* so that the lost souls of those intered within go stright there!