Over the past 30 years or so there have been numerous discoveries about the ancient world, many of which cannot be explained by the traditional views of prehistory as interpreted by mainstream archaeologists. It would be impossible to keep abreast of them all, but many have major implications for our greater understanding of the cataclysmic events of antiquity which are remembered in the stories of Atlantis, the Deucalian flood, and the flood of Noah that have been passed down from generation to generation in both oral and written traditions since time immemorial …
Of course, there are so many ancient tales of flooded kingdoms, cataclysmic inundations and sunken lands from more or less every corner of the world, that it is difficult to avoid the basic question of whether or not they all refer to the same cataclysm, or a series of cataclysms that happened over several millennia from around 15,000 BC to around 1,500 BC? Many scientists now believe that there were a series of rapid sea-level changes which marked the abrupt end of the last Ice Age, especially at the time of Plato’s original date of 9,600 BC where he placed the supposed destruction of Atlantis.
The melting ice-sheets, it is believed by ‘uniformitarians’, were sufficient to account for these sea-level rises, but other scientists are looking at the possibility that supermassive quantities of water-ice were rudely delivered to the Earth by a giant comet which passed close to the Earth and the Moon at the end of the Pleistocene era – again at around 11,500 years ago. This “event” was coeval with the world’s major mountain ranges – such as the Alps, the Andes, and the Himalayas – attaining their present elevations, whilst many of the world’s low-lying basin areas collapsed in an abrupt series of crustal deformations caused by the gravitational effects of a celestial body in such close proximity to Earth.
Many of the world’s ‘deluge traditions’ refer to a celestial agency as having been the cause of the global floods, as well as the major rifting of Earth’s crust in numerous locations, and possibly also causing a tilt in the Earth’s rotational axis which brought about the seasons and the frigid polar regions as we now know them. The mass extinctions which marked the end of the Pleistocene and the start of the present Holocene era are also dated to between 10,000 and 12,000 years ago, as are the unconsolidated jumbles of now extinct land animals, marine lifeforms, and Pleistocene flora which comprise the many types of ‘drift deposits’ found jammed with extreme force into caves and rock fissures worldwide.
Many species from widely differing climatic zones and habitats lie side-by-side in bits and pieces evidencing the violent nature of their common demise, and careful analysis of these suggest the cause as being not the Ice Age of the uniformitarians, but the tumultuous swirling waters of mega-tsunami. Either way, the major question which cannot any longer be reasonably avoided by serious prehistorical researchers must be:
“What more evidence of ancient civilisations, and of the sea-faring peoples of world-wide
mythology, remains to be discovered beneath the waves on the
continental shelves all around our planet?”
…
Below are some video reports about the remains of ancient cities that have recently
been discovered underwater on coastal shelves around the world:
“A lost 3,000-year-old castle has been discovered by divers and researchers in Turkey’s Lake Van.
The spectacular ruins are thought to be those of a fortress built by the Uratu civilisation which flourished in the Iron Age between the 9th and 6th centuries BC.
The discovery was made by archaeologists from the Van Yüzüncü Yil University working with a team of divers.
In an interview with Turkey’s newswire service Andalou Agency, underwater videographer and head of the diving team, Tahsin Ceylan explained that other divers and archaeologists familiar with the lake advised the team they were unlikely to find much in the water.
But they eventually found that the remarkable ruins are part of an extensive site, which stretches roughly a kilometre.
Despite being underwater for centuries, the height of the visible sections of the fortress’s remaining walls range between 10 and 13 feet high.”
[This is a good story highlighting yet again the progress marine archaeologists have been making over the past 10 years and more. This discovery in Lake Van shows that there is much more to be discovered in the lakes and shallow coastal seas all around the world. It’s well worth a visit to read the full story and some of the images of the discovery – Ed.]
“Three Roman shipwrecks and an ancient Egyptian votive bark to the god Osiris were discovered earlier this week on the Mediterranean seabed near the Egyptian city of Alexandria, along with a collection of smaller artefacts.
The finds were discovered during underwater excavations carried out by a joint mission from the Ministry of Antiquities’ Underwater Archaeology Department and the European Institute of Underwater Archaeology in Abu Qir Bay and Alexandria’s eastern harbour.
Mostafa Waziri, Secretary-General of the Supreme Council of Antiquities, told Ahram Online that the mission also uncovered a crystal Roman head probably depicting the Roman army commander Marc Antony and gold coins from the reign of Emperor Augustus.”
“An expedition is under way to the Abrolhos Islands to discover more secrets of the Batavia shipwreck, WA’s bloodiest chapter in maritime history.
And the results from forensic tests on the latest skeleton to be excavated from the sands at the shipwreck site show the victim was in good health before he died, University of WA Centre for Forensic Anthropology associate professor Daniel Franklin says.
The Batavia, a Dutch East India Company ship, was wrecked on Morning Reef near Beacon Island – 60km off modern Geraldton – in 1629.
Of about 341 people aboard, most made it to nearby islands but more than 120, including women and children, were brutally killed during a mutiny.”
“A unique bronze helmet discovered in the deep by marine archaeologists off the Sicilian coast, which they have dated to a sea battle of 241 B.C.E. may have been a precursor of the lion-themed helmets used by Rome’s Praetorian Guards, the personal bodyguards of the Roman emperors.
The corps of the Praetorian Guards were established more than two centuries after that battle, by Emperor Augustus.
Praetorian helmets also sported a lion-shaped relief, and were sometimes adorned with real lion skin.
The helmet’s dating is based, among other things, on pottery jars and other debris discovered on the sea floor at the site.”
[A really interesting story from Ha’aretz, and many amazing photos of marine archaeologists underwater and with the finds laid out. Well worth a visit to read the long full story and see the may images – Ed.]
“In 2008, the UPA government told the Supreme Court that there was no historical and scientific evidence to establish the existence of Lord Ram or the other characters of the Hindu epic Ramayana.
An underwater archaeological study of the Ram Setu is likely to take off soon with Indian archaeological exploration experts scheduled to discuss the modalities with their Sri Lankan counterparts on the sidelines of the International Council of Monuments and Sites (ICOMOS) event on October 2-5 in Tanzania.
The setu runs from Pamban Island near Rameshwaram in South India to Mannar Island off the northern coast of Sri Lanka in Indian Ocean.
This will be a first of its kind project as no underwater exploration has so far been done to find out whether Ram Setu or the Adam’s Bridge is a myth or artificial phenomenon.
In March this year, the Indian Council of Historical Research (ICHR) had announced to conduct an underwater exploration study on Ram Setu based on a proposal of Assam University, a central university.”
[This is great news that Ram’s Bridge will at last be properly investigated by competant marine archaeologists. The excuse that the story was merely an ancient ‘myth’ had persisted for many, many decades, and brings to mind the inststance of mainstream archaeology that Homer’s story of the fall of Troy was similarly just an ancient ‘myth’.
But excavations eventually showed that Troy was indeed a real place and this is now accepted as fact. It’s well worth a visit to read the full story at Hindustan Times, and
see the satellite image of the area – Ed.]
“One of the largest maritime archaeological projects ever staged, The Black Sea MAP (Maritime Archaeological Project), has revealed 60 astonishingly well-preserved shipwrecks, helping write the history of nearly 2,500 years of seafaring tradition in the Black Sea.
Managed by EEF Expeditions Limited, with the University of Southampton leading scientific investigations, the project has revealed an extensive collection of wrecks using the latest robotic laser scanning, acoustic and photogrammetric techniques.
The oldest of the ships found date from the Classical period, around the fourth or fifth century BC.
Vessels have also been discovered from the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman periods, spanning two-and-a-half millennia.
Together, they represent an unbroken pattern of trade, warfare and communication that reaches back into prehistory.
Due to the anoxic (oxygen lacking) conditions of the Black Sea below a certain depth, some of the wrecks have survived in incredible condition.”
[As more information about these incredible discoveries emerge into the public domain it seems there are so many wrecks found in that area of the Black Sea it may take decades to investigate them all. It’s really well worth a visit to read the full story at Hertiage Daily, and
The Black Sea MAP website has many, many photos – Ed.]
“One of the largest maritime archaeological projects ever staged, The Black Sea MAP (Maritime Archaeological Project), has revealed 60 astonishingly well-preserved shipwrecks, helping write the history of nearly 2,500 years of seafaring tradition in the Black Sea.
Managed by EEF Expeditions Limited, with the University of Southampton leading scientific investigations, the project has revealed an extensive collection of wrecks using the latest robotic laser scanning, acoustic and photogrammetric techniques.
The oldest of the ships found date from the Classical period, around the fourth or fifth century BC.
Vessels have also been discovered from the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman periods, spanning two-and-a-half millennia.
Together, they represent an unbroken pattern of trade, warfare and communication that reaches back into prehistory.
Due to the anoxic (oxygen lacking) conditions of the Black Sea below a certain depth, some of the wrecks have survived in incredible condition.”
[As more information about these incredible discoveries emerge into the public domain it seems there are so many wrecks found in that area of the Black Sea it may take decades to investigate them all. It’s really well worth a visit to read the full story at Hertiage Daily, and
The Black Sea MAP website has many, many photos – Ed.]
“Scientists who took part in an expedition of marine archaeology, called Black Sea Maritime Archaeological Project, have found ships used in antiquity at the bottom of the Black Sea.
According to participants, nobody has seen or registered those ships before. One of the wrecks was found very recently.
A submarine with dozens of cameras installed will be used to explore the ship, while scientists will look at the find on monitors.
On Bulgarian National Television (BNT), Dr. Dragomir Grbov from the Center for Underwater Archeology in Sozopol said, one of the most important discoveries in underwater archaeology had been made.
Grbov said, there was an antique ship which was very well preserved, almost in its entirety.
It included ‘many elements that are completely unknown to science so far’.”
“Scientists have discovered dozens of perfectly preserved ancient shipwrecks in the Black Sea.
The underwater archaeological team used Remotely Operated Vehicles to find 60 wrecks dating back 2,500 years, and also galleys from the Roman, Byzantine and Ottoman empires.
They had originally set off to investigate historic climate change along the Bulgarian coast but discovered the ships during underwater surveys.
Because the Black Sea contains almost no oxygen, the finds are in excellent condition – even including intact rope on a Roman ship.”
[A really excellent discovery, and well done The Mirror for highlighting it! There are really great photos of the shipwrecks, and it’s well worth a visit to read the full story and see the images – Ed.]
“Chess pawns, combs and a toothbrush are some of the new findings brought to light by the underwater excavation of the wreck of the ship ‘Mentor’ that sank off the island of Kythira in 1802.
The excavation that continues for the fifth year by the Greek Ephorate of Old Antiquities was conducted from July 8 to 27.
Among other findings are pieces of furniture, coins and other personal possessions of the crew.
Also pieces of a pulley, ropes and other metal objects from one of the ship’s masts.
The ship, which was carrying antiquities plundered from the Parthenon by British diplomat Lord Elgin, was bound for England via Malta but sank at the entrance of the port of Avlemona southwest Kythera.”
[Hopefully the marine archaeologists will find more Greek treasures in the plunderer’s shipwreck and return them to Greece. Some really good photos of the underwater discoveries make it well worth a visit – Ed.]
[Great story from Notts TV. It’s not often we hear about marine archaeological discoveries in the Caribbean area, so this is indeed a welcome news story. It’s really worth reading the full story and seeing the underwater image and diagrams, and do make sure you watch the NatGeo programme tonight. We will – Ed.]
“Eight sunken ships have been found around Fourni, a cluster of Greek islands that’s a hotspot for wrecks, a team of underwater archaeologists announced.
The new discoveries mean a total of 53 shipwrecks have now been identified at Fourni in an area of 17 square miles (44 square kilometers).
In ancient times, the archipelago was a popular stop along trade routes in the Aegean Sea.
Under normal conditions, the islands’ harbours were safe.
But researchers think that with so many vessels passing through the area over thousands of years, several were bound to be lost in storms.
Underwater archaeologists started exploring Fourni only in 2015, when a team from the Greek Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities and the RPM Nautical Foundation (a nonprofit archaeological research and education organization) located 22 shipwrecks.
The divers went back to the site in 2016 and found an additional 23 wrecks.”
[Excellent work by the divers. Until the whole area has been surveyed by marine archaeologists we can only speculate what else may be found amongst the artifacts strewn across that part of the sea floor. It’s really worth reading the full story – Ed.]
“The remains of a 1,600-year-old Byzantine basilica have been discovered at the bottom of a lake in northwest Turkey at the site of the Councils of Nicaea.
‘We have found church remains. It is in a basilica plan and has three naves’, Mustafa Zahin, an archaeology professor at Bursa Uluda University, told Hurriyet News.
Plans are now underway to open an underwater museum to allow tourists to view the foundation of the church, which was found lying in 5-7 feet of water in Lake Iznik, in Bursa, Turkey.
The ancient basilica was discovered by aerial photographs taken in 2014 during an inventory of historical and cultural artifacts.”
[Another good discovery by marine archaeologists. Aerial photos are finding important sites that are not easily seen from the ground, and it will be worth following debvelopment. Do read the full story – Ed.]
“IN 1588, over 1000 Spanish sailors died on the coast of Streedagh, Co Sligo.
They were on board three ships belonging to the huge Spanish Armada, on their way under the orders of the King of Spain, Philip II, to invade England.
But they hit stormy weather when they reached Ireland’s west and north coasts, and over 20 were wrecked.
Just 300 survived of the men who were on the three ships. Some of the survivors were killed by English officers.
Fionnbarr Moore is a senior archaeologist on the Underwater Archaeology Unit of the National Monuments Service, which was set up in 2000 and is working on a project to uncover items from the wreckage at the Streedagh site.”
“A centuries-old legend that a vast booty of treasure belonging to the leader of a Chinese peasants uprising was lying at the bottom of a river has now been proven true.
After more than 10,000 items of gold and silver were recovered from the bottom of Minjiang River in Sichuan Province, archeologists confirmed Monday the tale of Zhang Xianzhong and his sunken treasure, dating back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644).
Legend had it that in 1646, peasant leader Zhang Xianzhong was defeated by Ming Dynasty soldiers while attempting to transfer his large haul of treasure southward.
About 1,000 boats loaded with money and assorted valuable were said to have sunk in the skirmish.
But for centuries the story remained little more than a rumor with no reliable evidence.”
[Another great story showing that ancient legends are generally fact-based – if only the archaeologists would have listened. It’s really well worth a visit to read the story in full, and see over 20 pages of hi-res images of the various finds – Ed.]
“The long-lost wreck of a crusader ship and sunken cargos dating to the 13th century C.E. have been found in the bay of the crusader stronghold city Acre, in northern Israel.
Gold coins dating to the destruction of the crusader bastion in 1291 C.E., when the Mamluk Sultan of Egypt stormed it in a struggle to wrest the Holy Land from the crusaders, were also found in the water by the archaeologists, led by Dr. Deborah Cvikel, Dr. Ehud Galili and Prof. Michal Artzy from Haifa University.
Meanwhile, on land in Acre, an excavation led by Haifa University’s Prof. Adrian Boas has found the long-lost headquarters of the Teutonic Order on the eastern side of the city, outside the Ottoman walls.
Beginning with the First Crusade in 1096 C.E. and continuing for two centuries, Christian armies crossed back and forth between Europe and the Middle East, vying against Muslim forces.
[Amazing story! Well done Ha’aretz for publishing this discovery. It’s really well worth a visit to read it in full, and see the many incredible images of the various finds – Ed.]
“More ingots of orichalcum, the ancient metal that was purported to be mined at the mythical island of Atlantis, have emerged from the seas of Sicily.
Underwater archaeologists who have been investigating the remains of a ship that sunk 2,600 years ago off the coast of Gela in southern Sicily recovered 47 lumps of the precious alloy earlier this month, along with a jar and two Corinthian helmets.
The newly found ingots come in addition to the 39 orichalcum lumps that were originally recovered in 2015 from the same shipwreck.
‘The ship dates to the end the sixth century B.C.’, said Sebastiano Tusa, an archaeologist who serves as Sicily’s superintendent of the sea.
‘It was likely caught in a sudden storm and sunk just when it was about to enter the port.'”
“Archaeologists worry that a museum exhibition will encourage exploitation of priceless historical sites.
A museum show of sumptuous treasures from a ninth-century shipwreck is being denounced by researchers, who say that commercial salvage of the artefacts irreversibly damaged the wreck’s scientific value.
On 6 February, the Advisory Council on Underwater Archaeology sent a letter of opposition to the Asia Society, the non-profit group that is mounting the show of Chinese Tang-dynasty porcelains, gold vessels and other objects from the wreck at its New York City museum.
Critics fear that the exhibition, slated to open on 7 March, will encourage exploitation of wrecks by for-profit firms.
Museums that show salvaged treasures don’t intend to promote treasure-hunting, ‘but that’s the effect it has’, says Marco Meniketti, an archaeologist at San José State University in California who leads the advisory council.”
[This is a very important story, and well done Nature for hi-lighting it! It’s well worth reading the full story and following the relevant links – Ed.]
“A ceramic sculpture, which is said to be the biggest one in the history of Turkish underwater history, has been discovered off the coast of the Bozburun neighborhood in the western province of Mugla’s Marmaris district.
The 2,700-year-old sculpture found during examinations in a ship wreckage, which was unearthed last year in November, belonged to a Cypriot goddess.
The works, carried out by Dokuz Eylül University (DEU) Marine Science and Technology Institute, unearthed the sculpture 43 meters under water, and is reported to date back to the archaic period.
The institute’s Aegean Research and Application Center (EBAMER) Deputy Director and the head of the excavations, Associate Professor Harun Özdas, said the excavations were carried out with the permission of the Culture and Tourism Ministry and the support of the Development Ministry.
He said they only found the lower half of the ceramic sculpture along with ceramic plates and amphoras.”
[Another great discovery showing how widespread the Goddess reverence was in not so ancient times. Her different names in the same cultures will likely be shown to follow a simple, but important, seasonal rhythm – Ed.]
“Diver Jerry Wilhelmsson was out looking for a different shipwreck altogether off the south coast of the Åland islands (Finland’s autonomous Swedish-speaking islands between Stockholm and Helsinki) when he came across an incredible discovery.
Sitting in front of him at a shallow depth was an unusually well-preserved 27 metre long shipwreck, complete with anchor, figurehead and hundreds of unopened bottles.
Wilhelmsson and his diving team Baltic Underwater Explorers now have permission to take some of the bottles back up to the surface in the hope that analysis will provide an explanation for where the mysterious wreck came from.
‘It’s quite rare to find a wreck in this condition with cargo intact at a relatively shallow depth’, Magnus Melin of Baltic Underwater Explorers told The Local.”
[Another very interesting underwater find in the Baltic area which has been a marine trade route for many centuries. Well worth a visit read the full story – Ed.]
“A trove of treasures, from ancient Egyptian statues to coins and amphorae with stamped handles, has been found inside the wreck of the Mentor, one of the ships used to transport the Parthenon marbles from Piraeus to England.
Egyptian statues, coins and jewellery among treasures Lord Elgin’s brig Mentor carried when the overladen ship sank off Kythera.
The overburdened frigate sank in 1802 southwest of the island of Kythera.
Even 200 years of depredation by looters failed to find all its secrets, which are now being uncovered by marine archaeologists.
The precious marble slabs themselves were saved from the depths at the time: Lord Elgin lost no time ordering their salvage.
Now marine archaeologists from Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities, headed by Dr. Dimitris Kourkoumelis, have revisited the Mentor and excavated more of the hull, which had been badly damaged by the many salvage operations, and looting, over the years.”
[An amazing story from Ha’retz! The sheer number of artifacts found is astounding. It’s well worth a visit to see the incredible images and read the full story – Ed.]
“Sometime in the 15th century, a ship caught fire off the coast of Koh Kong province and sank about 20 meters to the ocean floor.
Over 500 years later, a group of Vietnamese fishermen cast their nets about 20 km off the coast of Koh Sdech island and hauled in an unlikely catch.
They might have snagged one of thousands of pieces of Thai ceramics that sat alongside Chinese porcelain, ivory and untold other artifacts, evidence of a bustling maritime trade that stretched across Southeast Asia and beyond.
A recently completed inventory of the objects hints at surprising connections between the sea trade and centuries-old jars laden with human bones hidden high on the ridges of the Cardamom Mountains.
By the time the Koh Sdech ship sank, Cambodia already had centuries of experience trading along its coast.
Chinese records document a loosely-affiliated string of states along the Cambodian coast known as Funan that traded along a route connecting China to Southeast Asia and India, according to a paper by Geoff Wade, a researcher on historical Asian relations and a visiting fellow at Australian National University.”
[As if more evidence of extensive maritage trade in southest Asia were needed, here is another report showing just how extensive it was all over the region. Another good story and well worth a visit to see the images and read the full story – Ed.]
July 19, 2016, South China Morning Post, Hong Kong
“Two monumental artefacts were recovered over the weekend by a local diving group, marking a maritime heritage milestone for Hong Kong.
A diving team from the Hong Kong Underwater Heritage Group recovered an anchor stock – the upper part of an anchor – around Basalt Island, and a cannon off the coast of High Island.
The anchor stock is believed to date back to the Song Dynasty, making it over 1,000 years old – Hong Kong’s oldest marine artefact.
‘It’s important for Hong Kong’s [maritime] history because it’s evidence to show that Hong Kong is a location worth investigating’, Dr Libby Chan Lai-pik, senior curator at the Hong Kong Maritime Museum said.
The museum is a sponsor of the Underwater Heritage Group.
‘The anchor is proof that Hong Kong was perhaps quite advanced during the Song Dynasty in terms of water transport and commercial trade.'”
[More discoveries underwater in the Far East! This is another example of just how large maritime trading was in that region and globally well before European interventions tried to dominate it. A good story and well worth a visit to see the images and full story – Ed.]
“A cluster of Greek islands in the Aegean Sea is giving up some of its deep secrets, as archaeologists have now found 45 shipwrecks there in less than a year’s time.
Back in September 2015, a team of Greek and American divers located an astonishing 22 shipwrecks over the course of a 13-day survey around Fourni, which is composed of 13 small islands, some too tiny to show up on maps.
The team went back to the eastern Aegean islands in June to expand the search.
By the time the three-and-a-half-week survey was finished, the researchers bested their first effort: They documented another 23 shipwrecks, bringing the total to 45.”
[This is a great story about new discoveries underwater off the Greek Islands. It’s well worth a visit to read the full story and you can see the many of the recently-released underwater images of the finds here – Ed.]
[Well done The Daily Mail Online for publishing this story. Rhapta, mentioned by Claudius Ptolemy’s account of the visit by Diogenes, will, if found, be one the ,most important underwater discoveries made for many years. It’s well worth a visit to read the full story and see the many amazing coastal and underwater images – Ed.]
“A fortuitous discovery before the Passover holiday by two divers in the ancient port of Caesarea has led to the revelation of a large, spectacular and beautiful ancient marine cargo of a merchant ship that sank there during the Late Roman period, about 1,600 years ago.
As soon as they emerged from the water, divers Ran Feinstein and Ofer Ra’anan of Ra’anana contacted the Israel Antiquities Authority and reported the discovery and the removal of several ancient items from the sea.
A joint dive at the site together with IAA archaeologists revealed that an extensive portion of the seabed had been cleared of sand and the remains of a ship were left uncovered on the sea bottom: iron anchors, remains of wooden anchors and items that were used in the construction and running of the sailing vessel.
Many of the artifacts are made of bronze and are in an extraordinary state of preservation: a bronze lamp depicting the image of the sun-god Sol, a figurine of the moon goddess Luna, a lamp in the image of the head of an African slave, fragments of three life-size bronze-cast statues, objects fashioned in the shape of animals: a whale, and a bronze faucet in the shape of a wild boar with a swan on its head.”
[A really interesting underwater discovery, and full marks to the divers for contacting the antiquities authorities to ensure the site wasn’t looted and get the recovery job done by the experts. Well worth a visit to read the full story and see the many amazing images – Ed.]
“A decade after temple ruins were glimpsed during the 2004 Asian Tsunami, divers have now confirmed the existence of an ancient temple and possibly much more, off the Indian coast.
The ruins are located close to the popular tourist destination and UNESCO World Heritage Site, Mamallapuram, in the southern Indian state of Tamil Nadu.
Just before the devastating 2004 Asian Tsunami hit, the ocean receded several hundred feet, and tourists reported glimpsing large stones and boulders in the distance.
A 10-member team from the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) surveyed the area from March 10 to 18, and have found the ruins of one of six ancient temples that are thought to have been swallowed up by the ocean as sea levels rose.
The team, comprising of divers, geologists and archaeologists found a ten meter wall, a flight of stairs and carved blocks of stone on the ocean bed in twenty seven feet of water.”
[We reported on these discoveries several times since 2001, when similar ancient urban remains were also discovered in the northwest of India submerged in the Gulf of Cambay and beyond. This latest development is well worth a visit to read the full story – Ed.]
“Underwater excavations of the ancient city of Corinth have uncovered monumental piers and evidence that the sunken port of Lechaion functioned as a booming trading hub for over a thousand years.
Ancient sources speak of Corinth as a wealthy trading center with a mixed population of Greeks, Romans, and Jews.
According to the Greek Scriptures, it was in the Corinth synagogue that Paul the Apostle preached and sparked controversy among its members.
Now, recent underwater excavations by a team of Danish and Greek archaeologists have uncovered the infrastructure of a major harbor, and evidence of vibrant maritime activity spanning the 6th century BCE to the 6th century CE.”
[There are some amazing photos of the discoveries underwater, along with maps and diagrams to accompany the story. Well worth a visit to read the full story – Ed.]
March 12, 2016, NASA Earth Observatory, Earth Orbit
“The planet’s oceans are littered with shipwrecks-perhaps as many as three million. Most have gone down close to shore, where hazards like rocks, reefs, other submerged objects, and vessel congestion are abundant.
While there is a romantic association between shipwrecks and buried treasure, there are more practical reasons to know the precise locations of sunken ships.
Now archaeologists and navigators have a new tool for locating shipwrecks. Structures and vessels resting on the seafloor in near-shore waters can create telltale sediment plumes on the sea surface.
Using data from the Landsat 8 satellite, researchers recently detected plumes extending as far as 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) downstream from shallow shipwreck sites.
The study has demonstrated that Landsat and Landsat-like satellites can be used to locate these watery graves.”
[Satellite imagery is proving an unexpected boon to archaeology – both on dry land and underwater. The two satellite photos of the ship wrecks are really interesting and well worth a visit to read the full story – Ed.]
January 19, 2016, South China Morning Post, Hong Kong
“Archaeologists believe they may have found a submerged seaside palace built more than 2,200 years ago by China’s first emperor, Ying Zheng, mainland media reports.
The building, thought to date back to the Qin dynasty (221-207BC), was discovered under the sea off the coast of Suizhong county, in Liaoning province, researchers from Liaoning and Beijing told the Liaoshen Evening News
The largest discovery was a 60-metre wide square, formed of large stones, which could be the foundations of a large platform for religious sacrifices or other important activities, the archaeologists said.
They also found the remains of a stone road running through the palace.”
[Makes you wonder how much more is down there waiting to be discovered. The two underwater photos of the discoveries are awesome and well worth a visit to the site – Ed.]
“The mythical land of Atlantis could be just to the west of Scilly. That’s the theory being put forward in a new book by author Philip Runggaldier.
In “Atlantis and the Biblical Flood: The Evidence at Last?” Philip discusses the evidence that an advanced society living on the dry plain that once stretched from western England to southern Ireland was wiped out by a massive flood during the last ice age.
Philip says as the earth warmed, a giant lake, known as Llyn Llion or ‘the lake of floods’, formed on what is now the Irish Sea.
And when the ice gave way, around 14,700 years ago, it produced a megaflood that swamped coastal Wales, the West Country and southeast Ireland and even reached the northern shores of Scilly.”
“More than 14,000 relics have been retrieved from an ancient cargo ship after it was salvaged from a depth of 30 meters below the surface of the South China Sea, Chinese archaeologists have said.
Most of the relics were porcelain products such as pots, bottles, bowls and plates produced by then famous kilns in places now known as Jiangxi, Fujian and Zhejiang, reported Xinhua news agency.
As of January 5, archaeologists have also excavated hundreds of gold, silver and copper relics and about 17,000 copper coins.
The well-preserved ship dates back to the early Southern Song Dynasty (1127-1279).”
“The great 19th-century battle between catastrophists and uniformitarians seemed to end with the notion of global cataclysms being dismissed as a back door to the supernatural.
But the catastrophist theory has gradually become more and more plausible, so that now, less than a hundred years later, it is widely believed that mass extinctions are linked to meteor strikes.”
“Is it a mere coincidence that pyramids are found across our globe? Did cultures ranging across vast spaces in geography and time, such as the ancient Egyptians; early Buddhists; the Maya, Inca, Toltec, and Aztec civilizations of the Americas; the Celts of the British Isles; and even the Mississippi Indians of pre-Columbian Illinois, simply dream the same dreams and envision the same structures?
“From Graham Hancock, bestselling author of Fingerprints of the Gods, comes a mesmerizing book that takes us on a captivating underwater voyage to find the ruins of a lost civilization that’s been hidden for thousands of years beneath the world’s oceans. While Graham Hancock is no stranger to stirring up heated controversy among scientific experts, his books and television documentaries have intrigued millions of people around the world and influenced many to rethink their views about the origins of human civilization.
Now he returns with an explosive new work of archaeological detection. In Underworld, Hancock continues his remarkable quest underwater, where, according to almost a thousand ancient myths from every part of the globe, the ruins of a lost civilization, obliterated in a universal flood, are to be found.”
Hancock’s chief thesis in “Heaven’s Mirror” is that numerous ancient sites and monuments – the pyramids of Mexico and Egypt, the ruins of Angkor Wat in Cambodia, the monuments of Yonaguni in the Pacific, and the megaliths of Peru and Bolivia – are situated in such a way, geodetically, that they point towards some separate and uniform influence, some lost civilization or “invisible college” of astronomer-priests.
“A book that completetly changes the established and conventional view of prehistory by relocating the Lost Eden – the world’s 1st civilization – to S.E. Asia.
At the end of the Ice Age, SouthEast Asia formed a continent twice the size of India, which included Indochina, Malaysia, Indonesia and Borneo.
The South China Sea, the Gulf of Thailand and the Java sea, which were all dry, formed the connecting parts of the continent.
Geologically, this half sunken continent is the Shunda shelf or Sundaland.
He produces evidence from ethnography, archaeology, oceanography, from creation stories, myths and sagas and from linguistics and DNA analysis, to argue that this founder civilization was destroyed by a catastrophic flood, caused by a rapid rise in the sea level at the end of the last ice age.”
… exclusive
…
October 2002
Morien Institute
illustrated interview with
Professor Masaaki Kimura
of the University of the Ruykyus,
Okinawa, Japan, regarding
the discovery of:
“Jeremy Green’s systematic overview of maritime archaeology offers a step-by-step description of this fast-growing field.
With new information about the use of computers and Global Positioning Systems, the second edition of this handbook shows how to extract as much information as possible from a site, how to record and document the data, and how to act ethically and responsibly with the artifacts.
Treating underwater archaeology as a discipline, the book demonstrates how archaeologists, ‘looters’, academics, and governments interact and how the market for archaeological artifacts creates obstacles and opportunities for these groups.
Well illustrated and comprehensive in its approach to the subject, this book provides an essential foundation for everybody interested in underwater environments, submerged land structures, and conditions created by sea level changes.”
“Some of the most exciting archaeological discoveries aren’t made by Indiana Jones wannabes prowling through the jungle in search of forgotten cities or by Egyptologists looking for lost passageways in the pyramids.
They are found by divers exploring shipwrecks such as the Titanic and the U.S.S. Monitor.
Every now and then they even uncover the remains of human settlements sleeping beneath the waves.
Underwater Archaeology is an inexpensive and colorful book about the people who do this work and what they sometimes bring to the surface–a great introduction to the subject.
It is another fine title in the Discoveries series of books published by Harry N. Abrams.”
“Man: 12,000 Years Under the Sea is the dramatic story of underwater archaeology.
The work looks back at Greek divers’ discovery of ancient statues in the sea, and covers the history of marine archaeology to the present, including the recovery of Ice Age Man’s 12,000-year-old remains from the bottom of Florida springs.
Burgess writes from his experience for an assured exciting read.
In Man: 12,000 Years Under the Sea Robert Burgess gives us a peak at . . . the work done by sponge divers, treasure hunters and underwater archaeologists.
The excitement and hazard of underwater exploration is so clearly described that I was tempted to get a diving suit to join them. This book is more than intriguing, it is a necessity.”
“Do undersea relics near Okinawa offer proof of a sophisticated civilization during the last ice age? Archeologists have long believed that civilization as we define it – intelligent, tool-making, monument building, social humans – began about 5,000 years ago. But submerged beneath the waves near the Japanese island of Yonaguni is evidence that may well overturn that long-held theory.
A small but persuasive number of scholars and scientists have long thought that “advanced” societies may have existed as long as 10,000 years ago. Their theories, however well reasoned and defended, have been hamstrung by a lack of evidence. But recent discoveries of man-made artifacts on the Pacific seafloor may well prove to be the smoking gun that will propel this alternative view of civilization to prominence”.
see the evidence with ‘unique underwater footage’ of the Yonaguni structures in the new DVD of the ‘History Channel’ television programme
