Oceans of ink have been spilt over the subject of the Bermuda Triangle, that apparent paranormal grab-bag of missing vessels (hundreds of ships and scores of planes), deviations in the magnetic field, abrupt outpourings of fog, UFO sightings far above the national average-and much, much more. A vast amount of pure speculation has accompanied these reports, the most controversial being that the Bahamas archipelago is comprised of the mountaintops and higher areas of the lost continent of Atlantis, sunk beneath these waters millennia ago.
As a practicing historian, with a doctorate in history and sociology from the German Sports University in Cologne-and therefore with a vigorous training in avoiding speculation-I certainly never expected to have anything to contribute to this controversy, which I tended to entirely dismiss.
Pure happenstance changed all that. I am also a trained scuba diving instructor; and, in 1995, I was sent by my company on a six-month stint to Nassau, Bahamas, with my wife and children. My German customers were the travel companies Inter Airlines and Aeroplane. My task was to develop tourist programs for scuba divers and help customers who were already there.
In the course of my work, I heard persistent reports of persons on boats who had experienced sudden deviations in their compass readings which had put them right off course. My curiosity as a historian got the better of me (and, besides, it would make for an unusual diving experience): I decided to look for magnetic field anomalies in the places where the deviations had been noted, and try to bring back exact figures for those deviations.
Based on the stories I'd heard, I chose more than half-a-dozen points at which to dive: Fish Hotel, Lyford Cay, and White Hole, near Nassau; Lost Blue Hole, about an hour by boat from Nassau; Dogleg Reef, an hour by boat from Marathon, in the Florida Keys; the "Atlantis Wall," near Bimini; and Sunken Train, near Eluthera.
Fellow scuba divers Al Miller, an American, and Joel Green, a Jamaican, accompanied me on these expeditions. Over the course of several weeks, we carried out one to seven dives a week, depending on the time we had available.
Dressed in our scuba gear, and singly or in pairs, we dove at each location several times, usually descending to a depth of no more than a few dozen feet. The dives lasted 60 to 75 minutes; sometimes we made them from cheap inflatables, other times from rented boats.
We found clear evidence of deviations at four locations: Fish Hotel, Lyford Cay, White Hole, near Nassau; and Dogleg Reef, near Marathon, in South Florida.
In the course of our dives, we recorded precise figures for what the compass readings were as compared to what they normally should have been.
Over the next few months, I communicated these figures to a number of physicists around the world. To a one, they told me that such magnetic field anomalies could be caused by briefly-appearing micro-wormholes. They could think of no other explanation for the deviations. Prof. John Wheeler, of Princeton University, in Princeton, NJ, has given the name of "wormhole" to what he believes may be "transit tunnels" between different dimensions of reality. According to Wheeler, these wormholes may be only a giga-fraction of a square inch in size-the number one preceded by 33 zeroes, preceded by a decimal point. Wheeler says these mini-black holes, constantly blinking in and out of the geometry of space, are thought to be bits of "virtual matter;" that is, they can exist for a limited time only. Their counterparts-so-called mini-white holes-are virtual anti-matter. Whenever these two kinds of virtual matter build up to any extent, they immediately destroy themselves. Wheeler can offer no explanation as to why mini-holes appear, disappear, then reappear.
Regarding my magnetic field anomaly readings, here are some typical responses, from some of the scientists-usually quantum physicists-to whom I spoke:
Dr. Werner Muller, physicist, Karlruhe, Germany, in a 1995 phone interview: "According to the figures you provided and the fact that no natural source was found in the bottom of the sea, there are just the quantum physical theories left to explain the phenomenon."
Professor Tsung-Min Gung, physicist, Tokyo, Japan, 1995; phone interviews: "If the theories of inter-dimensional connections are not completely wrong and can develop in the way I am expecting them to, the strong interdependencies with gravitation and the earth's magnetic field may be a way to track them down."
Grazyna Fosar, physicist, Berlin, Germany, in a radio discussion together with myself, in 1997: "From the physicist's point of view, gates to hyperspace can be the only reasonable explanation for these mysterious deviation fields."
These startling results led me to investigate, tentatively at first, then with growing interest, some of the other "Bermuda Triangle" phenomena associated with the Bahamas area. I knew that the theory of compass deviations as being caused by "stargates" went back some way (though, as far as I knew, I was the first to come up with any figures); I was now told that the extremely high incidence of UFO sightings in the Bahamas archipelago had been associated by some researchers with these stargates.
I was further told that many of the sightings took place near the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC), the American naval base on the Bahamas island of Andros, and that some researchers believed AUTEC might be an underwater "Area 51"- a place where secret research was being carried out on UFOs by the American government, and which, from time to time, was even visited by UFOs.
I decided, as a historian, to try to get to the bottom of these extraordinary speculations. The Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC) possesses unique resources, including an underwater range for testing and research on acoustic equipment. It is located 177 miles southeast of West Palm Beach, Florida, at Andros Island and the Tongue of the Ocean, in Bahamas. The Andros Island AUTEC test facility-access to which must be obtained beforehand - covers only one square mile on land, but actually comprises 1,670 square miles of the surrounding Caribbean. This ocean area is a steep-sided deep-water embayment 100 miles long and 20 miles wide, with depths varying from 700 fathoms at the "rim" to 1,100 fathoms (more than a mile) at the northern end. By any reckoning, this is a huge amount of underwater space.
I learned from more than one source that the Andros base has an ultra-top secret caliber of security. Here is an illustration. In 1997, a group of duck-hunters-who, admittedly, had walked right by a PROHIBITED AREA sign less than a mile from the base-suddenly found themselves confronting an unusually thick wall of foliage. At that very moment, they were knocked off their feet and their faces thrust into the ground.
The hapless duck-hunters quickly discovered that the foliage contained sailors in heavy camouflage, and that other sailors, leaping out of the foliage behind them, had hurled them to the ground. Taken to a nearby tent, they were grilled by a colonel for hours, until they were certain they would be thrown into prison. Then, abruptly, the officer released them, declaring, "I believe your story."
In the waters off Andros island, strange craft have been seen from time to time which not only resemble UFOs, but which display the same unbelievable swiftness of motion and execute the same incredibly sharp turns. A Viennese businessman told me that, once, when he was yachting off the coast of Andros, he glimpsed, two miles away (it was a very clear day), in waters over a mile-and-a-half deep, a motionless object he thought was a whale. Coming to within almost half-a-mile of the object-which was now gleaming oddly-the yachter observed that it was some kind of man-made craft of ultramodern design.
Suddenly, the craft took off in a southerly direction at what my informant described as a "lunatic speed." It sped along the surface of the water. Then, abruptly, it disappeared beneath the waves, not to be seen again.
I have been told of conspiracy and suppression theories of a very dark nature which have been burgeoning around the subject of AUTEC as an "underwater Area 51," just as they have been around the subject of the real "Area 51."
Here is an example, passed along to me by an informant whom I interviewed in November, 1998, at NASA headquarters at Cape Kennedy, Florida.
I was told that highly respected and world-class British scuba diver Rob Palmer, who had been 
director of a "blue holes" research center in Bahamas for a number of years, had failed to surface after a dive in the Red Sea, in Israel, in mid-July, 1997, and was presumed dead. Blue holes are small underwater caves, apparently formed from within, which are found predominately in the area of the Bahamas archipelago. I think it possible that blue holes may, perhaps, have been formed by the popping in and out of existence of micro-wormholes.
Rob Palmer, apparently, had entertained a roughly analogous theory. In addition, he believed blue holes might be the transit points for UFOs arriving here from other dimensions-and his investigations were taking him closer and closer to the AUTEC base on Andros Island, where there is a very great proliferation of blue holes. My informant told me there was a rumor that Palmer might have been murdered by officials at AUTEC, probably because he knew too much, and possibly by a post-hypnotic suggestion which caused him to take his own life while he was under the waters of the Red Sea.
As a professional historian, I don't care to indulge in such lurid speculations. But their existence suggests there might well be significant clandestine activity taking place at the Andros island AUTEC facility.
Since so much of the far-fetched material I had investigated had turned out to have some basis in reality, however indirect, I now decided to investigate the story that the area of the Bahamas is the site of the (not completely sunken) continent of Atlantis.
Many have long believed that Bimini is a remnant of Atlantis. The idea was first mooted by trance-medium Edgar Cayce, who claimed that many of the people to whom he gave readings had lived past lives on Atlantis. Using the latest technology, scientists from the British Government's Building Research Establishment have even discovered tiny amounts of coal and gold in apparently man-made stone found on the seabed at Bimini.
As a historian interested in primary rather than secondary sources, I decided to read the single text upon which all of the thousands of books on Atlantis are based: the dialogue called the Critias, by the Greek philosopher Plato.
Moreover, I decided to read the dialogue, not, as so many have, as myth or metaphor, but as historical fact. And I bypassed most of Plato"s detailed account of the splendors of this ancient kingdom, concentrating instead on its dimensions as reported by Plato: What shape did Atlantis have? How long and wide was it?
I learned something intriguing: that if you were to take the present-day Bahamas archipelago and raise the entire land-mass by 300 feet-or, to put it another way, lower the water level surrounding Bahamas by 300 feet (its level during the last Ice Age)-you would end up with a country that closely matched, in shape and size, the ancient Atlantis of Plato: The philosopher wrote in the Critias that the continent was larger than Egypt (as it was then known); that the center of the island, not far from the sea, was formed by a plain surrounded by shallow mountains to a distance of six miles; and that these mountains themselves were located in a large plain, surrounded by high mountains to a distance of 200 miles.
My conclusions regarding the so-called Bimini Wall, thought by many to be a remnant of Atlantis, were not nearly so "New Age." I believe that some of the stones making up the wall appear to be man-made, not because they came from Atlantis, but because they were left there during the American Civil War.
In those days, a great many ships ran the Union blockade to bring trade to Confederate harbors. Pursued by Union ships, these vessels often escaped into the shallow Bahamas waters where the big man-o-wars couldn"t follow.
To navigate over the reefs that filled these waters, they frequently had to jettison weight so as to ride higher in the water. What easier way to do this than by dumping granite stones from the ship"s ballast? That, I think, may account for a good many of the granite stones now found at such places as Bimini.
I pursued my investigations in a number of other areas. I found out, for instance, that Bahamas has its own legends of mysterious little monkey-like creatures that are almost never seen: the "chickcharnies". I discovered there are numerous "ghost stories" associated with Bahamas, and that the shamans of the area are reputed to have almost godlike-powers. I came away with the impression - one that can scarcely be proven scientifically - that there is high degree of psychic, even "interdimensional," energy in the Bahamas archipelago.
My attention, though, keeps returning to the "underwater stargates of the Caribbean," which I discovered with my friends Al Miller and Joel Green. I continue to wonder what might be the next step in researching these "stargates." I have a proposal. It would be interesting to actually try to enter one of these "stargates"-except that they are usually microscopic to an extreme degree, and they tend to fluctuate in and out of existence.
Therefore, I would like to suggest that one or a number of psychics descend to the sites of some of these underwater anomalies, perhaps those near Nassau, which are shallow, and not far from shore-and not far from the Bahamas capitol, which could make an excellent host to a world press tempted to attend this unusual "Underwater Splashdown to the Stargates of the Caribbean." Jeanne Dixon may be too old for such a venture; but there must be many youngish, athletic and gifted psychics who could be persuaded to don scuba diving gear and venture to the bottom of the ocean to see what telepathic feelings and messages they might be able to pick up, filtering ever so briefly through these on-again, off-again, underwater micro-wormholes.
The Weather In the Triangle
It's no accident that many ships, especially before the 1950s, sunk in that area. The reason can be found in the weather patterns that affect that area. A perfect example of the volatile weather in that area came in the form of Hurricane Andrew. This devastating hurricane passed right through the heart of the Bermuda Triangle, and caused incredible amounts of damage in the northernmost Bahamas, and also in south Florida.
Many other devastating hurricanes have passed through this area over the past 30 years, and have caused several ships to sink, even in modern times. Storm systems exiting the United States usually strengthen in the Bermuda Triangle during the fall and winter because the very warm water in that area helps to develop those storms very quickly and sometimes without warning.
The legend of the Bermuda Triangle actually started in the 1500s during the height of trading between Spain and the Americas. The peak trading season was between June and October, which is also during Hurricane Season in the Atlantic Ocean. Many ships, loaded with gold and jewels for Spain, would set out into the Bermuda Triangle, and would either never return, or would arrive in Spain badly mauled by terrible storms, which the people on the ships claimed were attacked by sea monsters. Actually, many of the ships sunk because the captains had no idea how powerful hurricanes could be, or how quickly storms could develop in that area. Today, with weather satellites, advanced radar, reconnaissance planes, and other observation methods, hurricanes and other storms are much more detectable and predictable. Ships can be turned away from them before they get into trouble.
BERMUDA TRIANGLE:
This area extends from Bermuda to the Southern tip of Florida, through the Bahamas past Puerto Rico, and then back to Bermuda. Is best known for over 100 airplane disappearances and over 1000 lives lost since 1945. Critics argue that sea piracy or bad weather is often to blame; however not allot of bodies or debris has been recovered. Some of the more interesting aspects of this area include: great ocean trenches of up to seven miles in depth, violent storms and hurricanes, unpredictable tidal like waves on calm seas generated by underground earthquakes, curious false bottom readings, and glowing streaks of luminescent fish or minerals. One general and common distress message which has been received during loss of ships and planes has been the reported observation of a spinning compass. Ivan Sanderson another serious researcher mapped twelve areas on the earth with abnormal electromagnetic aberrations shown by the map below:
The Bermuda Triangle is supposedly a "gateway to other dimensions"(Carnegie), but it is not. The Bermuda Triangle stretches from San Juan, Puerto Rico, to Bermuda, and then to Miami, Florida. It is 14,000 square miles(36,260 square kilometers). Some say that planes, boats, and people have "disappeared." In fact about 50 people have supposedly "disappeared." Although, most of this can be explained by waterspouts, extreme air turbulence, electromagnetic storms, and powerful ocean currents, there are two major occurrences that started the myth: the major one, Flight 19, and the minor one, Mary Celeste.
A Brief History of the Devil's Triangle Limbo of the Lost. The Twilight Zone. Hoodoo Sea. The Devil's Triangle. The vast three-sided segment of the Atlantic Ocean bordered by Bermuda, Puerto Rico and Fort Lauderdale, Florida, did not receive its most famous nickname until 1964, but reports of bizarre happenings there, or nearby, have been recorded for centuries. In fact, many claim that Christopher Columbus bore witness to the Bermuda Triangle's weirdness.
As the Nina, the Pinta and the Santa Maria sailed through the area in 1492, it is reported that Columbus's compass went haywire and that he and his crew saw weird lights in the sky, but these events have mundane explanations. From the account in Columbus's journal, it is thought that his compass's slight inaccuracy stemmed from nothing more than the discrepancy between true north and magnetic north. As for the lights, Columbus wrote of seeing "a great flame of fire" that crashed into the ocean -- probably a meteor. He saw lights in the sky again on October 11, which, of course, was the day before his famous landing. The lights, brief flashes near the horizon, were spotted in the area where dry land turned out to be.
Supposedly five Navy Avengers and one Martin Mariner flight-bo disappeared without a trace. After that people started to blame the Bermuda Triangle, thinking, "Twenty-seven men lost in the Bermuda Triangle. This cannot be a coincidence. Also, isn't that the place where Mary Celeste was abandoned. This is weird." So, that is mainly how the rumor got started. In fact, the Martin Mariner flight-bo was never lost. It actually blew up 23 minutes after it took off, but still, they sent some more planes out to look for them.
Now here is some more about the myth. Supposedly, all the pilots were experienced. It was a "clear" day when Flight 19 took off. Their route was "160 miles east, 40 miles north, and 120 miles straight." Each plane took three people, but one person did not come. There were five planes. Five times three equals fifteen, minus one equals fourteen men. Twenty-seven minus fourteen equals thirteen. That means that about thirteen men went searching for fourteen men, and never came back, or so we think.
Here are some more facts. Lt. Charles Taylor was the Patrol leader of Flight 19. He was the only experienced pilot on the flight. He was leading the flight, and also had a hangover. So, when his compass went out, he thought he would fly by "Pilotage," and "dead reckoning." Later he thought he saw the Florida Keys, but it was actually an island of the Bahamas. So, then he flew north. It was raining, and after an hour he said to fly east. He had though that they were above the Gulf of Mexico, but they were heading to a very deep part of the Atlantic Ocean. Taylor also refused to switch to an emergency radio channel. By now the rain had turned into a huge storm. The planes could float for two minutes, if you had a perfect landing. You might even be able to get out of the planes, but that is only if the sea is calm. Flight 19 probably sank over the Continental Shelf, which is over thousands of feet deep. It is very hard to find practically anything in that water.
Mary Celeste
Mary Celeste was a boat from the 1870's. It was abandoned, and no one, even to this day, knows why. It is supposed that the captain thought that there was going to be a huge storm, launched the lifeboat, and left. It supposedly was in the Bermuda Triangle, but it really was not anywhere near the Bermuda Triangle. It has been over 100 years, and still no one knows why, they just guess.
Other Disappearances
1609: mate Henry Ravens sailed in a long boat with a volunteer crew of 7 men. never made it to his destination
1812: the ship Patriot and its main passenger Theodosia Burr Alston, wife of the Governor Joseph Alston of South Carolina and daughter of the Former Vice President Aaron Burr.
1814: US Navy vessel the Wasp, commanded by Johnston Blakely.
1918: The USS Cyclops, captained by the eccentric Lieutenant Commander George W. Worley who frequented the bridge of the ship wearing long underwear and a bowler hat, left Barbados on March 4, 1918 to Baltimore. On March 13, when the ship was long overdue, a massive search ensued but no trace of the largest ship in the Navy or the 300 people on board were ever found.
1941: In late November and early December 1941, two the USS Cyclops's sister ships, Proteus and Nereus both vanished on separate runs from the Virgin Islands to the USA.
1945- Flight 19, 5 Navy Torpedo Bombers, 14 crewmen disappeared without a trace. A rescue plane with 13 crewmen was sent out and also disappeared without a trace.
1945: at Cecil Field in Jacksonville, Florida 24 skilled pilots A few hours later 10 planes returned out of the 12.
1947: Army C-45 Superfort vanishes 100 miles off Bermuda.
1948: Four-engined Tudor IV luxury liner lost with 31 lives. On January 30, 1948 the aircraft Star Tiger disappeared without a trace en route to Bermuda with 31 people on board, moments later the pilot radioed to ground crew that they would be shortly arriving on schedule.
1948: DC-3 lost with 32 passengers and crew. On December 28, 1948, a DC-3 carrying 35 people from Puerto Rico also disappeared shortly after the pilot radioed a similar message that it was just 80 kms south of Miami.
1949: Second Tudor IV vanishes. Almost to the year, on January 17, 1949, the Star Tiger's sister, the Star Ariel, was about to switch from radio contact with its departure point in Bermuda to radio contact with its destination Jamaica, when it vanished. The pilot had reported perfect weather.
1949: a DC-3 carrying 30 men and women and 2 babies,
1950: Giant US Air Force Globemaster lost.
1950: American freighter, SS Sandra, 350 ft long, sinks without trace. The vessel and her 28-man crew were never heard from again.
1951- C-124 Globemaster with 53 passengers
1952: British York transport plane lost with 33 aboard.
1954: US Navy Lockheed Constellation vanishes with 42 aboard.
1956: US Navy seaplane, Martin P5M, disappears with crew of ten.
1962: US Air Force KB-50 tanker plane lost. A giant air force tanker took off from Langley Air Force Base in Virginia and never came back.
1963: Marine Sulphur Queen, 425-ft-long American freighter, vanishes with entire crew. No Mayday signals and no wreckage ever found. Two US Air Force giant stratotankers disappear on simple exercise. She routinely radioed her position and was not heard from again. Only one life jacket was found from the disappearance. C-132 Cargomaster also vanishes.
1967: Military YC-122, converted to cargo plane, lost.
1970: French freighter Milton Iatrides disappears.
1972: German freighter Anita, 20,000 tons, lost with crew of 32.
1973: the 33,000 ton German freighter
*An area called the "Devil's Sea" by Japanese and Filipino seamen, located off the East Coast of Japan, also exhibits the same magnetic characteristics. It is also known for its mysterious disappearances.
These were just a few of the disappearances that have been reported over the Bermuda Triangle but even if one were to accept the reasonable explanations purported about mutinies and bad
weather and accidents and poor navigation, other occurrences in the same region are more hard to explain. For instance, a National Airlines 727 passenger flight disappeared from radar screens at Miami International Airport for 10 minutes. On arrival the crew denied that anything odd had happened to them except that they had flown through a light fog for 10 minutes. All the timepieces on the plane were ten minutes slow though they had matched up in a time check with the airport shortly before their disappearance. Several other pilots have related experiences of gaining impossible time after flying through sudden hazes.
Which of course, gives rise to other explanations, and ones that might better explain the Bermuda Triangle mystery, even if they go contrary to the natural laws of physics. That of an aberrant energy field that creates time warps or gaps. Another case that strengthens this theory is of a less fortunate pilot called Carolyn Casico and her passenger. Carolyn, a licensed pilot, took a charter flight to Turk Island in the Bermuda triangle. As she approached the island, ground staff saw her circling aimlessly. The airport manager received no response to radio contact, when he heard her exchange words with her passenger. "I can’t understand it. This should be Grand Turk but there is nothing there. It’s the right place on the map, the shape is right, but this island looks uninhabited - no buildings... roads ...nothing”. After a few more circles, she turned back and flew away. Carolyn and her passenger were never seen or heard from again ......
Also known as the "Devil's Triangle", this unexplained phenomena has provided an ample battlefield for a fierce controversy that has raged since the early 60's.
First reported as an AP dispatch in 1950 by E.V.W. Jones as a side note to the many ships lost in the area, and reiterated two years later in an Fate magazine article, by George X. Sand. Books on UFOs in the late 50's also spoke of the triangle, suggesting that it was alien in nature. The term "Bermuda Triangle" was not coined until 1964, when it was brought to light as "The Deadly Bermuda Triangle", an article in Argosy magazine by Vincent H. Gaddis. Bermuda Triangle fever peaked in 1974, with a number of books (mostly just re-written versions of the older books) getting national press.
Some believe that the Bermuda Triangle Phenomena is caused by the Lost City of Atlantis, sunk thousands of feet below the water's surface. The advanced state of Atlantis at the time of it's submersion, relied on the power of energy crystals. It is possible that these crystals are still at the bottom of the ocean, in a somewhat altered state, sending out rays of energy that either confuses the instrumentation of vehicles, or disintegrates them all together.
Lastly, many believe the Bermuda Triangle to be a man-made energy field using Tesla based technologies. A VLF-Resonance transmitter (a technology many believe to be in use by the North American Air Defense Command, or NORAD) would have an antipode directly in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle. This hypothetical system would be capable of recharging speculated secret electric-powered submarine classes, and would definitely provide enough interference to scramble signals that airplanes and boats rely upon.
The Lost Blue Hole
Perhaps the most unusual dive site in the Bahamas, this natural hole extends about 100' across, drops to about 200', with its perimeter, dotted with isolated coral heads, starting at a depth of 40'. Most shops permit a maximum 80' depth. Along the perimeter divers may see large schools of reef fish, including Chromis, Angelfish, and Sergeant Majors, each circling around each coral head. Also found nearby will be large Groupers, giant Southern Stingray, eels and numerous sharks.
Nearby are these:
The Shark Buoy / Deer Island Buoy - used by the U.S. Navy for submarine exercises, tethered in 6,000 feet of water. Its mass floating on the surface attracts a wide variety of pelagic marine life such as Dolphinfish, jacks, Rainbow Runner, and Silky Sharks. Visibility usually in excess of 150 feet, offering great u/w photography.
The Vulcan Bomber - used in "Thunderball", is now a simple framework draped with a kaleidoscope of colorful gorgonians and sponges.
Tears of Allah - wrecked freighter where James Bond eluded the Tiger Shark in "Never Say Never, Again"; sits in 40 feet of water; good u/w photography site.
Tunnel Wall - network of crevices and tunnels, starts in 30 feet, exits along the vertical precipice at 70 or 80 feet.
Cay Sal Bank
There are few places in the world that can equal the diving you will find in Cay Sal. With pristine water and unparalleled wall diving it's no wonder so many people going there every year. Typically these trips last seven days, although six days trips can be arranged.
Upon clearing Bahamian Customs & Immigration in Bimini we journey south, diving as we go. Stopping at sites like Tuna Alley, Victory Reef, Hogfish City and finishing with Wanyes Shark Hole where it is not unusual to find sleeping reef sharks, or a pod of spotted dolphins
The Captains drive late into the night making way to remote Cay Sal. Anchoring at the Blue Hole, starting at 25 to 30 feet deep this hole cuts back then opens into huge bowl.which extends beyond sight. The Red Hole, another dive site, is small enough to swim around and has an interesting cave off to one side. After a day of blue hole diving you head for Elbow Cay. where lush wall dives await you. You will spend the next few days doing wall dives, exploring deserted islands, enjoying super snorkeling with all the swim throughs and hidden caves. The Fire Demon is one such cave; viewed at the right time of day pillars of fire appear to dance across the cave floor.
But the walls are why you came. Elephant Rock, Eagle, Last Rock & The Chimney, wall dives that are teaming with marine life. This is no accident; because the gulf stream passes so close by there is a constant supply of fresh water circulating. This clean water also produces 150' plus visibility. Beginning at 65' these walls then drop off to ? ? ? Often you will find the wall to be inverted, so lush is the overgrowth. As you drift along the wall be sure to watch for eagle rays, sharks, tuna or even mammals like ocean dolphins off in the distance. Amongst the coral you will find colorful tropical fish, eels, and huge lobster. Take time to explore the many chimneys that start at the top of the reef and open somewhere on the wall.
THE ATLANTIS CONNECTION?
Edgar Cayce, who was know as a healer and psychic, and also as the father of holistic medicine, claimed that he was, in a former life, a citizen of Atlantis. Cayce told of an advanced civilization, with all the inventions of our modern day life including weapons of mass destruction. The most notable weapon being the "death ray". Death rays came in all sizes, but a giant death ray machine, which was the largest of all their weapons is said to be the weapon that destroyed Atlantis. Cayce also predicted that the western ridge of Atlantis would be discovered off the coast of the Bimini islands. In The 1960's a startling discovery was made in that same place. It was that of an ancient roadway built out of large stones which was under the ocean off the coast of Bimini. Could this be an ancient highway of Atlantis?
THE SCOTT STONES
The possible accuracy of Aaron Du Val’s claims about the "Scott Stones" near Bimini certainly appears to fit this criteria quite nicely. If the Edgar Cayce readings are correct, the sinking of the West Coast will rise this area above sea level in due course, making the ruins much easier to explore.
Before Du Val, Charles Berlitz had already given pictorial and radar – based evidence for submerged step pyramids, megalithic walls and walkways, as well as a fantastic – sized tower, which Hermann believes to be the Tower of Ilta that is referred to in the Edgar Cayce readings.
The ruins of temples dated at 12,000 years old have been found near Bimini, Bahamas. Preliminary analysis has revealed that the original structures, although smaller in size than the Great Pyramid of Giza, appear to have been more advanced. Casing stones have been measured which are of the same unique angle as those at the Great Pyramid.
The ruins are megalithic and bear a remarkable resemblance to ancient sites in Egypt. So called "quarry marks" found in the Aswan quarries and also on the Great Pyramid, itself, appear to be identical matches with those found on the Bimini temple stones. Other characteristics closely match features at megalithic sites in Peru, the Yucatan, Ireland and Scandinavia. The stones are already drawing international attention and aggressive research and analysis projects are being set up which hope to commence more involved investigations shortly.
Analysis of these enigmatic ancient temples built near Bimini over 12,000 years ago has only just begun. Although many maps of the heavenly realm adorn various walls of these mysterious Bimini temples, there is an almost complete lack of other markings. Of the limited glyphs that do exist, however, several match those found in the famous Altamira Cave in Spain which contains the well-known bison painting. In addition, there are exact orbital plots of the planets and what seem to have been intricate star shafts, metal-coated walls, and intermingled stones of various colors. (including red, white, and black.)
Preliminary analysis has revealed that the original structures, although smaller in size, appear to have been more advanced than the Great Pyramid of Giza. Casing stones have been measured which are of the same unique angle as those at the Great Pyramid.
Other characteristics either closely match or are identical to features at megalithic sites in Peru, Mexico, the Yucatan, Ireland, and Scandinavia.
It appears that the most important or revered numbers associated with these ruins were the numbers five and nine. These numbers were also of great significance to the ancients of Egypt and Mesoamerica. Evidence indicates that a "checkerboard" calculator system was being used. Examples of this system were found on top of the Great Pyramid and were long used for numerical calculations in Mesoamerica. This same checkerboard pattern shows up on the lintel stones of temples built by Celts of Iberian origin. Also, according to some astronomers, this pattern served as a calendar regulator to measure the sunrise and sunset directions on solstices and equinoxes.
Although many maps of the heavenly realm adorn various walls of these mysterious Bimini temples, there is an almost complete lack of other markings - just as found in the pyramids at Giza. Of the limited glyphs that do exist, however, strangely enough, several match those found in the famous Altamira Cave (known as the Sistine Chapel of pre-history) which contains the well-known bison painting.
The major concern of the mysterious ancient civilization that produced these heavenly maps seems to have been Saturn and Jupiter -- with the oldest records reflecting and emphasis on Saturn.
The stones are already drawing international attention and aggressive research and analysis projects are being set up which hope to commence more involved investigations shortly. The unnamed discoverers have given the temple ruins the title of "The Scott Stones" -- in honor of the Professor who laid down the clues which made the discovery possible.
The exact location of the site is being withheld, for the present, until the proper government officials and museums can be notified.
To begin with, the area in which they were built, geologists tell us, has been underwater for about 12,000 years. There are also instances in which lava has flowed in between some of the temple stones which may give scientists an approximate date when submitted to testing. The antiquity of the stones almost leaps out at you upon first glance. There are hollows which have been left in certain broken stones which have undergone such an extensive amount of crystal growth upon their inner surfaces that they now look like the inside of a geode! In many cases, the cement that once held the huge stones together is now completely crystallized. Even more telling is the fact that, some of the massive granite blocks, themselves, now exhibit significant portions which have metamorphosed over the ages to the point where they are no longer even granite.
But perhaps, the most significant of all is the fact that organic matter has been found within an hermetic seal; along with unrusted, worked iron. The iron began to rust soon after the seal was opened, however; which would indicate that the seal had prevented the entry of oxygen for thousands of years. The organic matter was in pristine condition and should prove to be an interesting target for dating procedures. Other hermetic seals, which have yet to be opened, are known to exist, as well.
EXACTLY how old are the Scott Stones? will this ancient megalithic site be one of the first to yield an accurate account of its true age? Did men work iron before the Iron Age? We may soon know!
On the 23rd of September, 1998, by carefully following guidelines laid out by Professor Scott, the explorers were finally able to vault a formidable barrier, making it possible to begin deciphering an ancient form of writing which apparently goes all the way back to Atlantis, itself! The explorers say they are "thrilled, awed, and humbled" by the information they are recovering. They warn, however, that there may be many who will see this information as quite "shocking or up-setting."
The explorers also say that the unthinking and inconsiderate attitudes of some, to both the revelance and the fragility of these discoveries (not to mention the inevitable complications involved with governmental entanglements) leave them little room to reveal much more at this time and still insure the responsible protection of these sites. It is for this most obvious reason that the exact location of both of these sites MUST, for the time being, remain a secret; pending the institution of proper protection and supervision. Until such time, the explorers who discovered these matching sets of ancient records say they will continue to decode them and leave the rash and irresponsible thrill-seekers to their frantic antics of helpless envy.
As progress continued in translating an ancient form of writing found in Egypt, it was realized, to the surprise (and joy) of the explorers, that at some point in time, a SIMILAR SET OF RECORDS had actually been carried to the area of the Yucatan! A full explanation of how this was determined from actual records in Egypt will have to wait. But the important news, for now, is that by matching the available clues, the explorers were able to locate (on the 23rd of October) a MATCHING SET OF RECORDS IN THE YUCATAN AREA! This latest find is very exciting; and the explorers say that as translations continue, it may be possible to locate other sites with matching records, as well.
Records which have been translated, so far, deal with prophecy, historical events, dimensional shifts in time, and the religion of Atlantis. It is estimated that a full translation of records found, to date, could take years to accomplish. But the fact that the very same information is found in both hemispheres can only be seen as a RESOUNDING VERIFICATION as to the authenticity and intention of these records.
According to the explorers, however, without the actual records which were discovered at the Scott Stones site, these current researchers stand little to no chance of being able to locate the Egyptian set of records which has proven so helpful. Also, they say that without the Egyptian set of records, it will be virtually impossible to locate the matching set of records in the Yucatan area. The explorers explain that these three sets of records, though NOT identical, ARE intricately and indisputably linked; and they DO absolutely corroborate each other!! What's more, the explorers (although independent and having no connections whatsoever with the A.R.E.) are saying that: "It cannot even be debated (probably much to the rancor or chagrin of some) that the actual INFORMATION contained in these records *DOES* POSITIVELY CONFIRM things which Edgar Cayce supposedly saw, including: startling new information concerning a predicted RETURN!"
Pyramid Found Under The Sea
SOURCE: Janet Ann Spencer extracts from "The Planetary Connections", British Edition, distributed by Roger Brown of "Fountain Adelaide", Issue No. 6, Winter 1994/5--
Newsweek reports the discovery of a pyramid under the Bermuda Triangle. "And not, just any pyramid, sonar tracing has mapped the pyramid's outline, and shows it rising to a height of some 780 feet from the otherwise flat ocean floor 1,200 feet below the surface of the Atlantic.
The discovery was made and then confirmed by Captain Don Henry, who discovered the puzzling phenomenon while making sonar tracings of the sea floor in an area of the Atlantic between South Bimini Island and the north end of the Cay Sal Bank. He was staggered when he realized that this undersea pyramid was some three hundred feet higher than the Cheops Pyramid, with a base of a thousand feet square.
Dr. J. Manson Valentine, anthropologist and zoologist at the Miami Museum of Science, is convinced and points out that the area where the pyramid is located was once dry sand. The area has long been suggested as the site of Atlantis.
Christopher Dunn reports - I was intrigued by this report and immediately called DuVal to get more information. Surprised when DuVal answered the phone, I was more surprised when he immediately recognized who I was, having read my articles in Atlantis Rising and on the Internet. He stated emphatically that the quarry marks he had witnessed on the stones were identical to those I had taken in Egypt and published in my article. I asked him if there was evidence of precision machining with small corner radii where a tool was used. He responded that the radius on the stone he had seen was larger than the one I had published. He told me about petal-shaped holes that were drilled through 12 feet of granite. He claimed emphatically that if I came to Florida, I wouldn't be disappointed. He said that if anyone should view this site, I should. Upon further questioning he said that the stones were not a part of a recognizable structure, and wouldn't answer when asked if they were in their original location.
I asked DuVal where the site was located, but he refused to reveal its whereabouts, saying that the site needed to be protected. He also wouldn't tell me what kind of transportation I would take to get to the site. He did say that people have not recognized it for what it truly is. I told him I couldn't make it to his conference on July 25th, because I was moving into a new house. I told him I could probably make it at an earlier date.
After e-mailing the information to Atlantis Rising editor Doug Kenyon, I followed up with a telephone call. We both agreed that if DuVal's analysis of the site could be verified, it might indeed be a remarkable discovery. Doug had already talked to DuVal and, while keeping an open mind, he had his own reservations. He then told me about Richard Wingate, another researcher, and friend of his, who had worked in that area. One premise put forward by Wingate was that the Moselle Shoals (formerly the Moselle Reef) near Bimini are the ruins of a prehistoric structure. Many of the blocks of stone that make up the First Street Jetty and others in Miami were taken from the Moselle Reef and brought over on barges in the 1920s. In support of his premise that these are the stones of Atlantis, Wingate described petal-shaped holes drilled through 12 feet of granite,a feat that he says would require sonic drills (see picture at beginning of this article).
Even though skeptical of DuVal, I was mindful of the experience I had while in Egypt in 1995. I came across and was able to inspect evidence of advanced methods of machining granite. The item I studied on the Giza Plateau had been overlooked for centuries, with thousands of tourists passing it by. Doug and I agreed that it may be worth checking out, and if I was shown an ancient artifact that was identified as being 12,000 years old with the same precision as the stones in Egypt, then we may have indications of a prehistoric advanced culture. We were both exceedingly curious, but suspicious that DuVal's discovery was actually the jetties in Miami.
On July 13 I received the following e-mail from DuVal.
Mr. Dunn, We have decided that it would be good for you to see the Scott Stones right away. We would be most pleased to spend 2 - 3 days in showing them to you, if that would give you enough time to get the pictures and measurements you might need. The best time for us would be anytime between 15 July and 21 July. Please make a short call to us, if this might be suitable for you. Or e-mail us if you would like to set a different date-time.
Thank you for your interest in this matter, Aaron Du Val.
When I called DuVal again, he extended his hospitality and offered accommodation if I would come to Miami. He stated emphatically that I would not be disappointed by what I saw. The following day, Tuesday, July 15th, I booked a flight to Miami for July 18th and called DuVal with my arrival time. He promised to pick me up at the airport.
We then talked further about the site and I told him I was going to write an article for Atlantis Rising on my visit. He said that they would probably reveal the location of the site at the conference, because once the photographs and video were shown, the site might be recognized. I asked if the site was on the mainland. He didn't answer. I asked him if the site was indeed one of the jetties in Miami, and described to him Richard Wingate's research. Again there was silence. He wanted me to promise two things: that I would not reveal the location of the site and that credit for the discovery of the site would go to Professor Scott, who laid the groundwork for their discovery. I assured him that I would not reveal the location of any site he showed me that had not been similarly identified in the past and that credit would most certainly go where it is deserved.
On July 16, 1997, at 10:30 P.M. I received a call from DuVal. He nervously apologized and informed me that he couldn't show me the site as planned. I told him I had already bought the plane ticket and on such short notice I couldn't get a refund. He indicated that he would reimburse me and asked how much it was. He gulped when I told him and said he would send me an e-mail the following day.
Needless to say, I received no e-mail or reimbursement, but I did have an enjoyable weekend in Miami. I spent quite a bit of time clambering over the rocks in the Miami jetties seeking evidence of advanced machining technology. I know there are people who would like to believe that eventually some hard evidence would be found to support Edgar Cayce's prediction that Atlantis would be found in the Bahamas, but I couldn't find it.
Interestingly, on this great Atlantean caper, I did locate much of what Mr. DuVal describes in his several press releases. The concrete curbs taken from the streets and thrown on the jetty were made up of red and white concrete. They also had the large radius that DuVal described. One large piece of concrete had a piece of steel running through a channel. There were many blocks of granite that had intriguing hole patterns drilled into them. I suppose with a little imagination, one could make something of them. I was looking for precision, and couldn't find it. The quarry marks were nothing like the quarry marks found in Egypt.
I stopped in the Miami Museum on the way back from Coral Castle in Homestead, and learned that the Egyptology Society was indeed scheduled to give a presentation on July 25th. I also learned that they are not affiliated with the museum as Mr. DuVal claimed, but meet periodically in their auditorium.
Just as anyone can rent a hall, anyone can publish on the Internet. All you need is a PC, a modem, access to an Internet service and, suddenly, you are an instant author! Is this a bad thing? Not necessarily, as it allows for greater freedom of expression. With this freedom, though, comes responsibility. We are responsible for how we influence others, as well as how we permit ourselves to be influenced. Obviously, after this experience, our major concern should be how other authors influence us.
The Egyptology Society of Miami still has not presented their findings to the public. Their originally scheduled date of July 25, 1997, was, to the disappointment of attendees, rescheduled for August 8, 1997. On September 27, 1997 DuVal apologized for treating me rudely and told me that they are waiting for lab results before revealing anything to the public, expressing, again, a concern for the protection of the site. Given that I specifically gave DuVal the opportunity to deny that the site was the jetties in Miami and he didn't, I can only conclude, by what I have observed, and given the circumstances leading up to my observations, that this may be the case.
If my assumptions are incorrect, Doug Kenyon, I'm sure, will give him some space and the opportunity to identify the correct site so that his claims can be checked and verified.
Let's not forget the story about the boy who cried wolf. Unsubstantiated reports such as these can harm serious researchers who accept the evidence that prove advanced civilizations existed in prehistory. They tend to muddy the water and give strength to the orthodox status quo.
Atlantis Debunked
The island of Bimini in the Bahamas has long been a favorite hotspot in the search for Atlantis. Speculation has centered around a supposed "Bimini Road" (or "Bimini Wall"), a structure often said to have been paved on the ocean floor by Atlanteans, which is actually a natural formation of limestone. There have also been unfounded reports of stone columns and giant pyramids in the island's waters. Now another claim has surfaced of a great discovery at Bimini, and it appears that it will prove just as insubstantial as the Atlantis theories that have come and gone before.
Aaron Du Val, president of the Miami-based Egyptology Society, recently announced that a team of underwater explorers has found the ruins of 12,000-year-old temples off the coast of Bimini. Du Val claimed the structures bear markings and architectural specifications that match well-known megaliths in Egypt, South America and other parts of the world. The noted similarities to Egyptian ruins included distinctive quarry marks on the rocks and the same geometric angles present in the Great Pyramid of Giza. Other markings were said to match the Altamira cave paintings of Spain. To make his claims even more fantastic, Du Val said the Bimini ruins contained "exact orbital plots of the planets and what seem to have been intricate star shafts, metal-coated walls, and intermingled stones of various colors."
In the initial press release, dated July 6, 1997, Du Val made no specific reference to Atlantis. Later, in an interview conducted by a new age organization called New Heaven New Earth, he stopped short of claiming that these ruins were evidence of the legendary sunken city, although he seemed to relish the possibility.
"Atlantis is a pretty touchy subject," Du Val said. "Maybe this will be the trigger to bring more people forth to explore ideas that have been taboo in the past. Megalithic structures are not supposed to be in the Bahamas. These are closer to what you would find at Giza than what you would find in Mexico or Peru, which is very strange. People are saying unbelievable things like it could force the re-interpretation of the course of human history."
Du Val was quick to agree when the interviewer noted how his announcement seemed to fulfill the predictions of alleged prophet Edgar Cayce, one of the top Atlantis advocates of all time.
"This discovery fits right with his predictions," Du Val said. "Now we are not saying it is Atlantis, but it sure is strange how these findings not only match Cayce's predictions but Plato's writings as well, even to the metal-coated walls."
In fact, Cayce actually prophesied -- among other things -- that Atlantis would rise again to the surface in 1968 or 1969. Plato's description of Atlantis was most likely a reference to the Minoan island of Santorini, near Crete, which was devastated by a volcano.
Du Val remained tight-lipped on crucial details of the Bimini ruins, including the exact location of the findings and the names of the explorers who found them. He explained that he needed to work out arrangements with museums and the Bahamian government to protect the site before its location was made public. Du Val planned a press conference for July 25, promising full disclosure and presentation of video tapes and photographs of the ruins. He also stated that he had never claimed the ruins were Atlantis, apparently to combat the "Atlantis fever" word of his announcement had triggered on the Internet.
Du Val's claims garnered a stern rebuke from Dr. Paul Pettennude, an underwater archaeologist with the Maya Underwater Research Center, who is intimately familiar with the waters around Bimini. In a statement issued to New Heaven New Earth, he listed several reasons why nothing like the ruins Du Val describes could possibly exist. Among the points of Pettennude's argument:
-- "Bimini is not the lost world. It is a very, very popular resort destination and thousands of divers visit it every year. Every available reef is dived frequently and nothing else has turned up."
-- Equipment used by the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute of Melbourne, Florida, and the Rosenteil School of Oceanography at the University of Miami "is very sophisticated and there is nothing but known wrecks being found."
-- "In 1986, NASA had the Navy scour everything north of Cuba to north of North Carolina looking for pieces of the exploded Challenger shuttle. Every square foot of bottom down to 6,000 feet was examined and every piece of the wreck larger than a dinner plate was recovered."
-- "The U.S. Navy maintains a system called SOSUS which cost $16 billion to secure the ocean floor from foreign subs. It paints a picture of everything from the bottom up."
-- "The reefs off Bimini from 300 feet up to the surface are less than 14,000 years old. This is the level to which the water rose at the end of the last ice age. There could not be a sunken city because the Bahama Islands are not shrinking but actually growing inches per year. This would have made any ancient city unstable."
-- "Divers could not have found a city below 250 feet without special diving gases. ... There are only a handful of people in the world trained and certified to dive these research blends. I am one of them and the group is a close knit family. No one has any knowledge nor has been asked to find an ancient city."
Pettennude also mentioned the spurious "Bimini Road" and noted that the man who discovered it in 1968, J. Manson Valentine, was one of his professors at the University of Miami. Another red herring that has thrown off Atlantis seekers at Bimini are stone pillars on the ocean floor that resemble shattered marble columns. These artifacts were actually formed by barrels of cement and similar materials that sunk from ships and hardened underwater, leaving stone casts after the wood staves of the barrels rotted away.
The weight of the evidence certainly seems to be stacked against Du Val. As it turned out, he canceled the July 25th, 1997 press conference at the last minute. He indicated that more time was necessary to ensure the safety of the ruins, lest they fall victim to looters and vandals. Du Val rescheduled the press conference for August 8, '97 but it was postponed a second time.
After extensive research, ParaScope has found no further information on this supposed discovery or any subsequent public remarks from Du Val. Obviously, the mass media has made no announcement on the discovery of Atlantis. The only news outlet that seems to be following the story is the web site of New Heaven New Earth, whose news bulletins are available to members only -- at a cost of $100 a year. News concerning the Bimini discovery is to be posted by NHNE "four weeks after our subscribers have received it." At ParaScope, where we believe the news should always be free for everyone, we may have more to report on this story after all the details have surfaced.
Extract from Plato's Timaeus and Critias
This extract from the work of Plato (circa 427 - 347 BC) is the first appearance in classical literature of the Atlantis myth. It is supposed to be part of a story told by Plato's great grandfather (Critias), who heard it from his great-grandfather (Dropides), who heard it from an Athenian traveller (Solon). The narrator is an Egyptian priest talking to Solon. It is supposed to describe a historical war between the ancient Athenians and the legendary Atlantis.
'Our records show how your city checked a great power which arrogantly advanced from its base in the Atlantic Ocean to attack the cities of Europe and Asia. For in those days the Atlantic was navigable. There was an island opposite the strait which you call the Pillars of Hercules (Straits of Gibraltar), an island larger than Libya (Africa) and Asia combined; from it travellers could in those days reach the other islands, and from them the whole opposite continent which surrounds what can truly be called the ocean. For the sea within the strait we were talking about is like a lake with a narrow entrance (the Mediterranean sea); the outer ocean is the real ocean and the land which entirely surrounds it is properly termed continent. On this island of Atlantis had arisen a powerful and remarkable dynasty of kings, who ruled the whole island, and many other islands as well and parts of the continent; in addition it controlled, within the strait, Libya up to the borders of Egypt and Europe as far as Tyrrhenia (Italy). This dynasty, gathering its whole power together, attempted to enslave, at a single stroke, your country and ours and all the territory within the strait. It was then, Solon, that the power and courage and strength of your city became clear for all men to see. Her bravery and military skill were outstanding; she led an alliance of the Greeks, and then when they deserted her and she was forced to fight alone, after running into direst peril, she overcame the invaders and celebrated a victory; she rescued those not yet enslaved from the slavery threatening them, and she generously freed all others living within the Pillars of Hercules. At a later time there were earthquakes and floods of extraordinary violence, and in a single dreadful day and night all your fighting men were swallowed up by the earth, and the island of Atlantis was similarly swallowed up by the sea and vanished; this is why the sea in that area is to this day impassable to navigation, which is hindered by mud just below the surface, the remains of the sunken island'
Translation by Sir Desmond Lee, first published 1965, Penguin Classics.
Although Plato describes Atlantis as an island in the Atlantic Ocean, and some Canarian writers have associated Atlantis with the Canaries, it is now generally believed that the Atlantis myth is a memory of Minoan Crete, a civilisation which was overwhelmed by the volcanic explosion of the Mediterranean island of Santorini in the fifteenth century BC.
The professional biologist who founded the Society for the Investigation of the Unexplained in Columbia, New Jersey, wrote "The Twelve Devil’s Graveyards Around the World" for Saga magazine in 1972. Reprinted in Paradox, by Nicholas R. Nelson, Dorrance & Co., Ardmore, Penn. 1980.
"... with several associates, he set out to 'pattern the mysteries' by taking full advantage of modern communication technology and statistical data analysis. His success was startling. "The Twelve Devil’s Graveyards Around the World," plotted ship and plane disappearances worldwide, focusing attention on 12 areas, equally spaced over the globe, in which magnetic anomalies and other energy aberrations were linked to a full spectrum of strange physical phenomena.
Highest on Sanderson’s statistical priority list was a lozenge-shaped area east of Miami, in the Bahamas, on the western tip of the infamous Bermuda Triangle. This area’s "high profile" of strange events, Sanderson concluded, was mostly due to the enormous flow of air/ sea traffic in the area. Other zones of anomaly, though less familiar, were equally rich in disappearances and space-time shift occurrences. ...
Another area of continuing disappearances and mysterious time-warps is the Devil’s Sea located east of Japan between Iwo Jima and Marcus Island. Here events have become so sinister that the Japanese government has officially designated the area a danger zone. Sanderson theorized that the tremendous hot and cold currents crossing his most active zones might create the electromagnetic gymnastics affecting instruments and vehicles. His theory is now being balanced against several."
THE ATLANTIS MYSTERY
Excerpted from Mysteries of the Lost Lands by Eleanor Van Zandt and Roy Stemman
circa - 1976
The riddle of Atlantis is among the greatest of the world's unsolved mysteries. Where, for a start, was the exact site of this huge island civilization? did it really, as early historians reported, vanish from the earth in a day and a night? Small wonder that since the earliest times scholars, archaeologists, historians, and occultists have kept up an almost ceaseless search for its precise whereabouts. Beginning with the Greek philosopher Plato's first description of the lost land that was apparently "the nearest thing to paradise on Earth," this chapter examines in detail the basic evidence for the existence and cataclysmic destruction of Atlantis.
(Note: Plato was not the first one to know about Atlantis. He was the first to describe it in detail. Pythagoras taught Plato what he knew)
Of all the world's unsolved mysteries, Atlantis is probably the biggest. Said to have been a huge island continent with an extraordinary civilization, situated in the Atlantic Ocean, it is reported to have vanished from the face of the earth in a day and a night. So complete was this devastation that Atlantis sank beneath the sea, taking with it every trace of its existence. Despite this colossal vanishing trick, the lost continent of Atlantis has exerted a mysterious influence over the human race for thousands of years. It is almost as though a primitive memory of the glorious days of Atlantis lingers on in the deepest recesses of the human mind. The passage of time has not diminished interest in the fabled continent, nor have centuries of skepticism by scientists succeeded in banishing Atlantis to obscurity in its watery grave. Thousands of books and articles have been written about the lost continent. It has inspired the authors of novels, short stories, poems, and movies. Its name has been used for ships, restaurants, magazines, and even a region of the planet Mars. Atlantean societies have been formed to theorize and speculate about a great lost land. Atlantis has come to symbolize our dream of a once golden past. It appeals to our nostalgic longing for a better, happier world; it feeds out hunger for knowledge of mankind's true origins; and above all it offers the challenge of a genuinely sensational detective story.
Today the search for evidence of the existence of Atlantis continues with renewed vigor, using 20th century man's most sophisticated tools in the hope of discovering the continent that is said to have disappeared around 11,600 years ago. did Atlantis exist, or is it just a myth? Ours may be the generation that finally solves this tantalizing and ancient enigma.
Atlantis is said to have been the nearest thing to paradise that the earth has seen. Fruits and vegetables grew in abundance in its rich soil. Fragrant flowers and herbs bloomed n the wooded slopes of its many beautiful mountains. All kinds of tame and wild animals roamed its meadows and magnificent forests, and drank from its rivers and lakes. Underground streams of wonderfully sweet water were used to irrigate the soil, to provide hot and cold fountains and baths for all the inhabitants. - There were even baths for the horses. The earth was rich in precious metals, and the Atlanteans were wealthier than any people before or after with gold, silver, brass, tin, and ivory, and their principal royal palace was a marvel of size and beauty. Besides being skilled metallurgists, the Atlanteans were accomplished engineers. A huge and complex system of canals and bridges linked their capital city with the sea and the surrounding countryside, and there were magnificent docks and harbors for the fleets of vessels that carried on a flourishing trade with overseas countries.
Whether they lived in the city or the country, the people of Atlantis had everything they could possibly want for their comfort and happiness. They were a gentle, wise, and loving people, unaffected by their great wealth and prizing virtue above all things. In time, however, their noble nature became debased. No longer satisfied with ruling their own great land of plenty, they set about waging war on others. Their vast armies swept through the Strait of Gibraltar into the Mediterranean region, conquering large areas of North Africa and Europe. The Atlanteans were poised to strike against Athens and Egypt when the Athenian army rose up, drove them back to Gibraltar, and defeated them. Hardly had the Athenians tasted victory when a terrible cataclysm wiped out their entire army ina single day and night, and caused Atlantis to sink forever beneath the waves. Perhaps a few survivors were left to tell what happened. At all events, the story is said to have been passed down through many generations until, more than 9200 years later, it was made known to the world for the first time.
The man who first committed the legend to paper was the Greek philosopher Plato, who in about 355 B.C. wrote about Atlantis in two of his famous dialogues, the Timaeus and the Critias. Although Plato claimed that the story of the lost continent was derived from ancient Egyptian records, no such records have ever come to light, nor has any direct mention of Atlantis been found in any surviving records made before Plato's time. Every book and article on Atlantis that has ever been published has been based on Plato's account; subsequent authors have merely interpreted or added to it.
Plato was a master storyteller who put his philosophical ideas across in the form of apparently real-life events with well-known characters, and his Atlantis story might well have been firmly relegated to the realms of fiction. The very fact that it is still widely relegated as a factual account 2300 years after he wrote it shows the extraordinary power of Plato's story. It has inspired scholars to stake their reputation on the former existence of the lost continent, and explorers to go in search of its remains. Their actions were prompted not by the Greek story alone, bit also by their own discoveries, which seemed to indicate that there must once have been a great landmass that acted as a bridge between our existing continents.
Why, ask the scholars, are there so many remarkable similarities between the ancient cultures of th Old and New Worlds? Why do we find the same plants and animals on continents thousands of miles apart when there is no known way for them to have been transported there? How did the primitive peoples of many lands construct technological marvels, such as Stonehenge in Britain, the huge statues of Easter Island in the Pacific and the strange sacred cities of the Andes? Were they helped by a technically sophisticated race that has since disappeared? Above all, why do the legends of people the world over tell the same story of an overwhelming natural disaster and the arrival or godlike beings who brought with them a new culture from a far? could the catastrophe that sank Atlantis have sent tidal waves throughout the glove, causing terrible havoc and destruction? And were the 'gods' the remnants of the Atlantean race - the few survivors who were not on or near the island continent when it was engulfed?
Even without Plato's account, the quest for answers to these mysteries might have led to the belief by some in a 'missing link' between the continents - a land-bridge populated by a highly evolved people in the distant past. Nevertheless, it is the Greek philosopher's story that lies at the heart of all arguments for or against the existence of such a lost continent.
Plato intended writing a trilogy in which the Atlantis story plays an important part, but he completed only one of the works, Timaeus, and part of the second, Critias. Like Plato's other writings, they take the form of dialogues or playlets in which a group of individuals discuss various political and moral issues. Leading the discussion is Plato's old teacher, the Greek philosopher Socrates. His debating companions are Timaeus, an astronomer from Italy, critias, a poet and historian who was a distant relative of Plato, and Hermocrates, a general from Syracuse. Plato had already used the same cat of real-life characters in his most famous dialogue, The Republic, written some years previously, and he planned his trilogy as a sequel to that debate, in which the four men had talked at some length about ideal government.
Plato set the meeting of the four men in Critia's house in June 421 B.C. Timaeus begins on the day following the debate recorded in The Republic, and the mens tart by recalling their previous conversation. Then Hermocrates mentions "a story derived from ancient tradition" that Critias knows. Pressed for details, Critias recalls how, a century and a half earlier, the great Athenian statesman Solon had visited Egypt (Solan was a real person and he did visit Egypt, although his trip took place around 590 B.C., so 20 years earlier than the date given b Plato.) Critias says that while Solon was in Sais, an Egyptian city having close ties with Athens, a group of priests told him the story of Atlantis - "a tale that, though strange, is certainly true." Solon made notes of the conversation, and intended recording the story for posterity, but he did not do so. Instead he told it to a relative, Dropides, who passed it on to his son, Critias the elder, who eventually told his grandson, another Critias - the man who features in Plato's dialogues.
In Timaeus Critias gives a brief account of what the priests had told Solon. According to ancient Egyptian records there had been a great Athenian empire 9000 years earlier (that is, in about 9600 B.C.) At the same time there had been a mighty empire of Atlantis based on an island or continent west of the Pillars of Hercules (the Strait of Gibraltar) that was larger than North Africa and Asia Minor combined. Beyond it lay a chain of islands that stretched across the ocean to another huge continent.
The Atlanteans ruled over their central island and several others, and over parts of the great continent on the other side of the ocean. Then their armies struck eastward into the Mediterranean region, conquering North Africa as far as Egypt and southern Europe up to the Greek borders. "This vast power, gathered into one, endeavored to subdue at one blow our country and yours," said the Egyptian priests, "and the whole of the region within the strait. . ."Athens, standing alone, defeated the Atlanteans. "But afterward there occurred violent earthquakes and floods; and in a single day and night of destruction all your warlike men in a body sank into the earth, and the island of Atlantis in a like manner disappeared in the depths of the sea. For which reason the sea in those parts is impassable and impenetrable, because there is so much shallow mud in the way, caused by the subsidence of the island."
Socrates is delighted with Critias' story, which as "the very great advantage of being a fact and not a fiction." However, the rest of Timaeus is taken up with a discourse on science, and the the story of Atlantis is continued in Plato's next dialogue, the Critias, where Critias gives a much fuller description of the island continent. He goes back to the island's very beginning when the gods were apportioned parts of the earth, as is usual in ancient histories. Poseidon, Greek god of the sea and also of earthquakes, was given Atlantis,a nd there he fell in loe with a mortal maiden called Cleito. Cleito dwelled on a hill in Atlantis, and to prevent anyone reaching her home, Poseidon encircled the hill with alternate rings of land and water, "two of land and three of water, which he turned as with a lathe." He also laid on abundant supplies of food and water to the hill, "bringing up two springs of water from beneath the earth, one of warm water and the other of cold, and making every variety of food to spring up abundantly from the soil."
Poseidon and Cleito produced 10 children - five pairs of male twins - and Poseidon divided Atlantis and its adjacent islands among these 10 sons to rule as a confederacy of kings. the first born of the eldest twins, Atlas (after whom atlantis was named), was made chief king. The kinds in turn had numerous children, and their descendants ruled for many generations.
Ass the population of Atlantis grew and developed, the people accomplished great feats of engineering and architecture. They accomplished great feats of engineering and architecture. The built palaces and temples, harbors and docks, and reaped the rich harvest of their agricultural and mineral resources. The kings and their descendants built the city of Atlantis around Cleito's hill on the southern coast of the island continent. It was a circular city, about 11 miles in diameter, and Cleito's hill, surrounded by its concentric rings of land and water, formed a citadel about three miles in diameter, situated at the very center of the impressive city.
The kings built bridges to connect the land rings, and tunnels through which ships could pass from one ring of water to the next. The rings of land were surrounded by stone walls plated with precious metals, and another wall ran around the entire city. The outermost ring of water became a great harbor, crowded with shipping.
A huge canal, 300 feet wide and 100 feet deep, linked the great harbor with the sea at the southern end, and joined the city to a vast irrigated plain, sheltered by lofty mountains, which lay beyond the city walls in the north. This rectangular plain, measuring 230 by 340 miles, was divided into 60,000 square lots, assigned to farmers. The mountains beyond housed "many wealthy villages of country folk, and rivers, and lakes, and meadows, supplying food for every animal, wild or tame, and much wood of various sorts, abundant for each and every kind of work." the inhabitants of the mountains and of the rest of the country were "a vast multitude having leaders to whom they were assigned according to their dwellings and villages." These leaders and the farmers on the plane were each required to supply men for the Atlantean army, which included light and heavy infantry, cavalry, and chariots.
Plato and Critias paint a vivid picture of Atlantean engineering and architecture with an attention to detail that bears the hallmark of a very factual account. Critias tells how the stone used for the city's buildings was quarried from beneath the island (Cleito's hill) and from beneath the outer and inner circles of land. "One kind of stone was white, another black, and third red, and as they quarried they at the same time hollowed out docks within, having roofs formed of the native rock. Some of their buildings were simple, but in others they put together different stones, which they intermingled for the sake of ornament, to be a natural source of delight." But it was into their magnificent temples that the Atlanteans poured their greatest artistic and technical skills. In the center of the citadel was a holy artistic and technical skills. In the center of the citadel was a holy temple dedicated to Cleito and Poseidon and this was surrounded by an enclosure of gold. Nearby stood Poseidon's own temple, a superb structure covered in silver, with pinnacles of gold. The roof's interior was covered with ivory, and lavishly decorated with gold, silver, and orichate - probably a fine grade of brass or bronze - which "glowed like fire." Inside the temple was a massive gold statue of Poseidon driving a chariot drawn by six winged horses and surrounded by 100 sea nymphs on dolphins. This was so high that its head touched the temple roof. Gold statues of Atlantis' original 10 kings and their wives stood outside the temple.
Critias tells of the beautiful buildings that were constructed around the warm and cold fountains in the center of the city. Trees were planted between the buildings, and cisterns were designed - some open to the heavens, others roofed over - to be used as baths. "There were the kinds' baths, and the baths of private persons, which were kept apart; and there were separate baths for women, and for horses and cattle , and to each of them they gave as much adornment as was suitable. Of the water that ran off they carried some to the grove of Poseidon, where were growing all manner of trees of wonderful height and beauty, owing to the excellence of the soil, while the remainder was conveyed by aqueducts along the bridges to the the outer circles; and there were many temples built and dedicated to many gods; also gardens and places of exercise, some for men, and others for horses in both of the two islands formed by the zones (rings of water) ; and in the c enter of the larger of the two there was set apart a racecourse of a stadium (about 607 feet) in width, and in length allowed to extend all around the island, for horses to race in.
At alternate intervals of five and six years the 10 kings of Atlantis met in the temple of Poseidon to consult on matters of government and to administer justice. During this meeting a strange ritual was enacted. After offering up prayers to the gods, the kings were required to hunt bulls, which roamed freely within the temple, and to capture one of them for sacrifice, using only staves and nooses. The captured animal was led to a bronze column in the temple, on which the laws of Atlantis were inscribed, and was slain so that its blood ran over the sacred inscription. After further ceremony, the kings partook of a banquet and when darkness fell they wrapped themselves in beautiful dark-blue robes. sitting in a circle they gave their judgements, which were recorded at daybreak on tablets of gold.
In the course of time, the people of Atlantis began to lose the love of wisdom and virtue that they had inherited from Poseidon. As their divine nature was diluted and human nature got the upper hand, they became greedy, corrupt, and domineering. Whereupon, says Plato, "Zeus, the god of gods, who rules by law, and is able to see into such things, perceiving that an honorable race was ina most wretched state, and wanting to punish them that they might be chastened and improve, collected all the gods into his most holy abode, which, being placed into his most holy abode, which, being placed in the center of the universe, sees all things that partake of generation. And when he had called them together he spoke as follows..."
And there, enigmatically, and frustratingly, Plato's story of Atlantis breaks off, never to be completed. Some regard the Critias dialogue as a rough draft that Plato abandoned. Others assume he intended to continue the story in the third part of his trilogy, but he never even started that work. He went on, instead, to write his last dialogue, The Laws.
Controversy has raged over Plato's story ever since he wrote it 2300 years ago. Was his account fact, part-fact, or total fiction? Each explanation has its inherents, and each has been hotly defended over the centuries. Plato's story certainly presents a number of problems. Critics of the Atlantis theory claim that these invalidate the story as a factual account. Supporters maintain that they can be accepted as poetic license, exaggeration, or understandable mistakes that have crept in during the telling and retelling of the story over many centuries before Plato reported it.
The greatest stumbling block is the date that the Greek philosopher gives for the destruction of Atlantis. The Egyptian priests are said to have told Solon that Atlantis was destroyed 9000 years before his visit, in about 9600 B.C., which is far earlier than any known evidence of civilization. Supporters of Atlantis point out that modern discoveries are constantly pushing back the boundaries of human prehistory and we may yet discover that civilization is far older than we think. However, Plato makes it clear that in 9600 B.C., Athens was also the home of a mighty civilization that defeated the Atlanteans. ARchaeologists claim that their knowledge of Greece in the early days of its development is sufficiently complete to rule out the possibility of highly developed people in that country as early as 9600 B.C. Their evidence suggests that either Plato's story is an invention or he has the date wrong.
Assuming that Plato's facts are right but his date wrong, what evidence do we have to support his account of the origin of the Atlantis story? Bearing in mind that the war was principally between Atlantis and Athens, it seems odd that there were no Greek records of the battle, and that the account would have originated in Egypt. However Plato has an explanation for this. The Egyptian priests are said to have told Solon that a series of catastrophes had destroyed the Greek records, whereas their own had been preserved. The problem here is that if the Egyptian disappeared as completely as Atlantis itself.
Supposing that Solon did hear about Atlantis during his Egyptian trip, is it credible that such a detailed story could have been passed down through the generations as Plato asks us to believe? This is not impossible, because the art of accurate oral transmission was highly developed in the ancient world. Moreover, Solon is said to have taken notes of his conversation with the priests, and Critias claims that these were handed down to his relatives. However, here again we encounter a difficulty. For whereas in one place Critias states that he is still in possession of Solon's notes, in another he declares that he lay awake all night ransacking his memory for details of the Atlantis story that his grandfather had told him. Why didn't he simply refresh his memory from Solon's notes? And why didn't he show the notes to his three companions as incontrovertible proof of the truth of his rather unlikely story?
Yet another problem is that Plato dates the meeting of Socrates, Timaeus, Critias, and Hermocrates, during which Atlantis is discussed, as 421 B.C. Plato may have been present during their conversation, but as he was only six years old at the time, he could hardly have taken in much of their discussion, let alone made detailed notes of it. Either his account is based on records made my someone else, or the date is wrong, or this part of his story at least is an invention.
Critics of the Atlantis story believe that it is simply a myth invented to put across the great philosopher's views on war and corruption. Plato used real people in his other dialogues, and put his words into their mouths, too, as a dramatic device to present his ideas. There is no reason say the detractors, to assume that Timaeus and critias are different in this respect. but Plato seems to expect his readers to draw different conclusions. He is at great pains to stress the truth of his account, tracing it back to Solon, a highly respected statesman with a reputation for being 'straight-tongues," and having Critias declare that the Atlantis story, "though strange, is certainly true." And why, if his sole intention was to deliver a philosophical treatise, did Plato fill his account with remarkable detail and then stop abruptly at the very point where we would expect the "message" to be delivered? In spite of the errors and contradictions that have found their way into Plato's account, his story of Atlantis can still be viewed as an exciting recollection of previously unrecorded events.
History provides us with many examples of supposedly mythical places and subsequently being discovered. For example, Homer wrote about the Trojan War and subsequent research has shown that it was based on real historical events. Troy has since been found and dug up. In 1871, the German archaeologist Heinrich Schlieman excavated in Hissarlik and uncovered Troy just where Homer had placed it over 1000 years previously in his epic poems the Iliad and the Odyssey. As the Irish scholar J.V. Luce observes in his book The End of Atlantis; "classical scholars laughed at Schlieman when he set out with Homer in one hand and a spade in the other. but he dug up Troy and thereby demonstrated the inestimable value of folk memory Sir Arthur Evans did much the same thing when he found the labyrinthine home of the Minotaur at Knossos." Indeed, sir Arthur Evans revealed that a highly advanced European civilization had flourished on the island of Crete long before the time of Homer, some 4500 years ago.
This should be justification enough to keep an open mind on Plato's account. The problem is that whereas Troy and Knossos were simply buried. Atlantis could be submerged hundred or even thousands of feet beneath the waves. And the force of the destruction may have destroyed the remains beyond recognition. However, if Plato's account is based on fact, then we know that the Atlanteans traded with their neighbors.. In this case there would be some evidence of their influence and culture in lands that survived the catastrophe. Believers in Atlantis have furnished us with a formidable array of such "proofs". Certainly there are scattered around the glove to lend support to the idea of a highly advanced, Atlantean-type civilization that was responsible.
Although Plato appears to place Atlantis in the Atlantic Ocean and early cartographers did likewise, numerous scholars and other Atlantis enthusiasts have since scoured the globe for more likely sites. Surprisingly, these have not always been in the ocean. The lost kingdom of Atlantis has been "found" at various times in the Pacific Ocean, the North Sea, the Sahara desert, Sweden, southern Spain, Palestine, Cyprus, Crete, the West Indies, and Peru, but to name a few.
THE ATLANTIS MYSTERY DEEPENS
In 1940 the American psychic healer and prophet Edgar Cayce predicted that Atlantis would 'rise again' in 1968 or 19969. So, in 19968, when it seemed that the site of the world's most famous lost land had finally been located in the eastern Mediterranean, news that underwater vast building off the Bahamas shook Atlantist everywhere. The question of Atlantis was reopened. Could this be Poseidia, described by Cayce as the 'western' section of Atlantis? Were Plato and the other Atlantists right after all when they placed their lost civilization way out in the Atlantic Ocean?
In 19968 two commercial pilots flying over the Bahamas spotted what appeared to be several underwater buildings coming to the surface. The pilots made their sightings just off the coast of Bimini and photographed the underwater formations from the air. Their discovery was immediately hailed by some as the fulfillment of a 28 year-old prophecy concerning the reappearance of Atlantis. Indeed one of the pilots had been keeping a lookout for underwater structures while flying his regular assignments because he believed Atlantis was about to reemerge from the Atlantic in this very area.
The man concerned is a member of the Association for Research and Enlightenment, an organization based in Virginia Beach, VA, which is dedicated to the study of the teachings and "psychic readings" of the late Edgar Cayce, the "sleeping prophet" and psychic healer. Between 1923 and 1944 Cayce made numerous references to Atlantis in the course of trance interviews concerning the alleged former lives of the people who consulted him. These interviews were recorded verbatim, and much of the material about Atlantis has been published in a book called Edgar Cayce on Atlantis, by Cayce's son Edgar Cayce. It includes this prediction, made in June 1940: "Poseidia will be among the first portions of Atlantis to rise again. Expect it in ''68 and '69; not so far away!"
According to the Cayce readings, Poseidia was the "western section of Atlantis," and the area off Bimini is the highest point of this sunken land.
So the A.R.E. is naturally delighted about the underwater find in the Bahamas, just where and when the famous prophet said something would appear. Until this and similar discoveries have been thoroughly explored, we have to admit that There may yet have an equally plausible rival for the title of Atlantis, right where most people always considered the long-lost continent to be - in the Atlantic.
In his book 'The Mystery of Atlantis' Charles Berlitz comments that "Other underwater ruins have subsequently been found near other Caribbean islands, including what appears to be an entire city submerged off the coast of Haiti, and still another at the bottom of a lake. What appears to be an underwater road (or perhaps a series of plazas or foundations) was discovered in 1968 off north Bimini beneath several fathoms of water. From these numerous findings, it would appear that par of the continental shelf of the Atlantic and Caribbean was once dry land, sunk or flooded during a period when man was already civilized.
Not everyone accepts these underwater features as being of man-made origin. The so-called "Bimini road" is dismissed by skeptics as nothing more than beach rock that just happens to have produced an unusual effect. Berlitz and Dr. Manson Valentine, the American archaeologist and oceanographer who discovered the "road", do not agree. "It should be pointed out." writes Berlitz, "that beach rock does not form great blocks which fit together in a pattern, that haphazardly splitting rock does not make 90- degree turns, nor does it normally have regularly laid-out passageways running between sections of it. Nor, above all, are 'natural' beach rocks, lying on the ocean floor, likely to be found supported by stone pillars precisely placed beneath them!"
Other sightings made off Bimini, at distances up to 100 miles from the shore, include what appear to be vertical walls, a great arch, and pyramids or bases for pyramids under the sea. 
some 10 miles north of Andros, another island in the Bahamas, pilots have photographed formations on the seabed that look like great circles of standing stones, reminiscent of Stonehenge. Off the coasts of eastern Yucatan and British Honduras seemingly man-made roads stretch far out to sea, and off Venezuela a 100-mile 'wall' runs along the ocean bottom. However, geologists have declared many of these to be natural features, and deem the Venezuelan wall "too big to be considered man-made". According to Berlitz, the Russians have explored an underwater building complex covering over 10 acres of the sea floor north of Cuba, and the French bathyscape Archimede has reported sighting flights of steps carved in the steep continental shelf off northern Puerto Rico.
Do these intriguing finds indicate that Atlantis was, after all, in the Atlantic? it seems we must keep an open mind until they have been investigated more thoroughly. Meanwhile, let us take a fresh look at the Atlantic Ocean to see if the theory of continental drift might still leave room for a missing continent there. When a computer was used to reassemble the continental jigsaw, the fit across the Atlantic was found, with some adjustment, to be fairly satisfactory. but that picture does not take account of a fascinating underwater feature known as the mid-Atlantic Ridge. This mountainous ridge, nearly two miles high and hundreds of miles wide, runs in an S-curve down the Atlantic midway between the Americas and Africa and Europe, following the contours of those continents and marking its course above water with a number of islands, such as the Azores, Ascension Island, and Tristan da Cunha.
As early as 1883 Ignatius Donnelly suggested that the mid-Atlantic Ridge was a remnant of Atlantis. But most modern geologists and oceanographers consider that, far from being the relic of a continent that sank beneath the sea, the ridge was forced upward from the ocean floor, probably by volcanic activity. One theory is that as the continents drifted apart they produce a huge fault line that is a center of earthquake and produce a huge fault line that is a center of earthquake and volcanic action. Some of the earth's molten center has erupted through this crack and built up into a ridge, even rising above the waves in several places. However, there is evidence that this explanation may have to reviewed before too long.
Seabed cores taken from the mid-Atlantic Ridge in 1957 brought up freshwater plants from a depth of two miles. And in one of the deep valleys, known as Romanche, sands have been found that appear to have been formed by weathering when that part of the ridge was above water level. In a 1969 a Duke University research expedition dredged 50 sites along an underwater ridge running from Venezuela to the virgin Islands, and brought up granitic rocks, which are normally found only on continents. Commenting on this discovery, Dr. Bruce Heezen of the Lamont Geological Observatory said: "Up to now, geologists generally believed that light granitic or acid igneous rocks are confined to the continents and that the crust of the earth beneath the sea is composed of heavier, dark-colored basaltic rock. . . Thus, the occurrence of light-colored granitic rocks may support an old theory that a continent formerly existed in the region of the eastern Caribbean and that these rocks may represent the core of a subsided, lost continent.
A recent report on the nature of the Atlantic seabed appears to confirm that there is at least part of a former continent lying beneath the ocean. Under the heading "Concrete Evidence for Atlantis?" the British Journal New Scientist of June 5, 1975 reported, "Although they make no such fanciful claim from their results as to have discovered the mythical mid-Atlantic landmass, an international group of oceanographers has now convincingly confirmed preliminary findings that a sunken block of continent lies in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. The discovery comes from analyzing dredge samples taken along the line of the Vema offset fault, a long east-west fracture zone lying between aFrica and South America close to latitude 11 degrees "N".
The report goes on to state that in 1971 two researchers from the University of Miami recovered some shallow-water limestone fragments from deep water in the area. Minerals in the limestone indicated that they came from a nearby source of granite that was unlikely to occur on the ocean floor. More exhaustive analysis of the dredge samples revealed that the limestones included traces of shallow-water fossils, implying formation in very shallow water indeed, a view confirmed by the ratios of oxygen and carbon isotopes found in the fragments. One piece of limestone was pitted and showed evidence of tidal action.
The researchers believe that the limestone dates from the Mesozoic era (between 70 and 220 million years ago) and forms a cap "on a residual continental block left behind as the Atlantic spread out into an ocean." the New Scientist observes that "the granitic minerals could thus have come from the bordering continents while the ocean was still in it infancy. Vertical movements made by the block appear to have raised it above sea level at some period during it's history.
It would therefore seem that there is a lost continent in the Atlantic, but unfortunately for Atlantists, it evidently disappeared long before man appeared on earth. Most scientist remain convinced that there is no likelihood of finding the Atlantis described by Plato in the area of the mid-Atlantic Ridge. As L. Sprague de Camp comments in his Lost Continents, nearly all of the ridge, except for the small and mountainous Azores region, is under two or three miles of water, "and there is no known way to get a large island down to that depth in anything like the 10,000 years required to fit in with Plato's date for the sinking of Atlantis." He also points to a report published in 1967 by Dr. Maurice Ewing of Columbia University, who announced that "after 13 years of exploring the mid-Atlantic Ridge, he had "found no trace of sunken cities."
Atlantists reply that Dr. Ewing could have been looking in the wrong places, or perhaps too close to the center of the destructive forces that plunged Atlantis into the ocean. Some Atlantists have suggested that the original Atlantic landmass broke up into a least two parts, one of which sank long after the other. Perhaps Plato's Atlantis was a remnant of the continent that oceanographers now appear to have detected in the Atlantic, and perhaps it was not submerged until very much more recent times. The bed of the Atlantic is,after all, an unstable are and one that has given birth to numerous islands, then swallowed them up again. In 1811, for example, volcanic activity in the Azores resulted in the emergence of a new island called Sammrina, which shortly sank back again into the sea. In our own time, the island of Surtsey, 20 miles southwest of Iceland, has slowly risen from the ocean. Surtsey was formed during a continuous underwater eruption between 1963 and 1966.
If Atlantis did exist in the Atlantic above the great fault line that runs between the present continents, it would certainly have been plagued by earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Is it mere coincidence that Plato should have situated his lost continent in an ocean that does apparently contain such a continent, and in an area subject to the very kind of catastrophe he describes? Atlantists think not.
On the other hand, there are some Atlantists who believe that the destruction of Atlantis was brought about not by geological events but by a man-made disaster, such as a nuclear explosion. According to the Cayce readings, the Atlanteans achieved an astonishingly high level of technology before the continent sank, around 10,000 B.C. They invented the laser, aircraft, television, death rays, atomic energy, and cybernetic control of human beings, and it was the misuse of the tremendously powerful natural forces they had developed that caused their destruction.
Cayce is best-known for his apparent ability to diagnose illness even in people whom he had never met. This ability was tested by a group of physicians from Hopkinsville and Bowling Green, Kentucky. They discovered that when Cayce was in a state of trance, it was sufficient to give him the name and address of a patient for him to supply a wealth of information about that person, often drawing attention to medical conditions of which the physicians were then unaware, but that subsequent tests on the patient proved to be correct. This work alone would appear to justify the description of Cayce as America's most talented psychic. And if one aspect of his clairvoyant powers could prove so successful, it seems reasonable to give a fair hearing to other psychic statements he made, however, fantastic.
Cayce's sons, who help run the organization set up to study his work, admit that their life would be far simpler if Edgar Cayce had never mentioned Atlantis. Hugh Lynn Cayce comments; "It would be very easy to present a very tight evidential picture of Edgar Cayce's psychic ability and the helpfulness of his readings if we selected only those which are confirmed and completely validated. This would not be fair in total, overall evaluation of his life's work. My brother and I know that Edgar Cayce did not read Plato's material on Atlantis, or books on Atlantis, and that he, so far as we know, had absolutely no knowledge of this subject. If his unconscious fabricated this material or wove it together from existing legends and stories in print or the minds of persons dealing with the Atlantis theory." Edgar Evans Cayce makes the comment that "unless proof of the existence of Atlantis is one day discovered, Edgar Cayce is in a very unenviable position. On the other hand, if he proves accurate on this score he may become as famous an archaeologist or historian as he was a medical clairvoyant."
If, as his sons and thousands of followers believe, Edgar Cayce's readings were supernormal and not the product of reading the works of others, it is certainly an intriguing case. There are, for example, some fascinating similarities between Cayce's descriptions of Atlantis and those of occultists such as Madame Blavatsky, Rudolf Steiner, and W. Scott-Elliott, including references to the Atlanteans telepathic and other supernormal powers, their advanced technology, their moral disintegration, and the civil strife and misuse of their powers that finally caused their demise. Cayce's readings also mention Lemuria, or Mu. Either Cayce was psychically readings the works of these earlier writers, or he - the they - really were 'tuning in' to the past.
Whatever the result of future investigations around the splendid temples and palaces of Crete, or in the depths of the Thera basin, there will still be people who continue to look for convincing case for the identification of Plato's Atlantis with the Minoan civilization of the Aegean, but their opponents argue that the existence of such a civilization - however striking it similarities with Atlantis - does not preclude the existence of an even great civilization in the Atlantic. The finds in the Bahamas remain to be verified, and the discovery of what appears to be a submerged continent in the Atlantic adds a new dimension to the Atlantis mystery.
Whatever prompted Plato to write about Atlantis, he could never have dreamed that he would start a worldwide quest for the lost continent. Perhaps, as his pupil Aristotle hinted, "he who invented it, also destroyed it." Yet through a fortuitous accident - or a canny understanding of the human spirit - Plato hit upon a story that has struck a responsive chord in people's minds and hearts down the centuries. Whether his story was fact or fiction, a distorted version of real events or a fable that just happened to tie in with reality, it has managed to enchant, baffle, and challenge mankind for over 2000 years.
The persistence of the Atlantis legend is almost as intriguing as the lost continent itself. What is it that keeps the Atlantis debate alive? Is it a longing for reassurance that men and women once knew the secret of happiness, and really did inhabit a Garden of Eden? Is it the thrill of the search - the hope of finding a master key to unlock the secrets of the past? Or is it simply man's thirst for mystery itself - for something grand and inexplicable, larger than himself? Certainly popular interest in the mystical side of Atlantis is always most intense when the life of the spirit is in the greatest disarray - during the latter half of the 19th Century, in the aftermath of Darwin's bombshell, for example, and during our own time.
The day may yet come when the key is found and the mystery of Atlantis is solved once and for all. The solution may be simple or complex. It could be sensational or disappointingly dull. We may already suspect the answer, or it may surprise us. Either way, it would rob the world of one of its most fascinating enigmas. Atlantis has intrigued and inspired people for a very long time. Perhaps, for the time being, we should be glad that the answer has not yet been found, and that Plato's lost continent remains just beyond our grasp.
IS ATLANTIS RISING AGAIN?
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