If this had happened over any large city, it would have been mostly flattened—and there would have been no survivors.
The object in question was almost certainly not large. If one of, say, a mile in diameter collided with the earth (there are plenty of those whirling around in the asteroid belt), it could be good-bye for all of us.
Another strong suspect for a worldwide disaster is a significant, sudden movement of the earth’s crust. It has been argued that Antarctica once occupied latitudes much farther north, in a more temperate climate zone— and that it was Atlantis. Its swift movement south, together with simultaneous shifting of the earth’s crust elsewhere, gave rise to the disaster story.67
I briefly dealt with the Atlantis part of this theory in Chapter Three, excluding Antarctica as a possibility based on Plato’s clues. That does not, however, preclude an event such as described here having happened in Antarctica or elsewhere. The effects would have been truly worldwide, and few would have survived such a trauma.
In another more recent epic book, published in 2002 and titled Underworld … Flooded Kingdoms of the Ice Age,68 Graham Hancock details the tremendous forces at work during the melting of the great glaciers. He pulls together the work of many scientists and academics to demonstrate that the thaw was not at a slow, more or less uniform rate—as has generally been believed—but that three massively accelerated events took place around fifteen thousand, eleven or twelve thousand, and seven or eight thousand years ago. Each resulted in the flooding and rapid submergence of huge coastal areas all around the globe. One cause for these events was the catastrophic breaking of ice dams that had been holding back immense reserves of melted water built up during the thaw. The breaking of these dams released massive floods cascading and descending over the ice, sweeping in front of it other substantial lakes and, eventually, assuming gigantic proportions by the time it was ejected into the sea.
Another cause was immense sheets of ice that had been destabilized, also plunging into the sea. At one stage, this happened to a sheet a third of the size of Canada. Another significant factor was that the incredible weight of the ice caps was enough to force the earth’s crust beneath them into huge, basinlike depressions. Conversely, the weight of less water in the oceans (the water being locked up in glaciers) decreased the pressure on the seabed, causing it to rise. The opposite happened when the glaciers melted: the fall in the level of the seabed from the beginning of the melt to its end has been estimated to have been around fifty meters.
Geologists have long suggested that these gigantic swings in pressure on the earth’s crust, particularly in the area of serious fault lines like the one in front of southwest Iberia, could also trigger monumental seismic upheavals.
It is clear from the various sources marshaled so well by Graham Hancock that “a devastating global flood occurred around 11,600 years ago … and was accompanied by enormous earthquakes.”
This again supports Plato in that he had his basic facts correct, as that is exactly the date he gave for the destruction of Atlantis. It also highlights the pointlessness of perpetuating the suggestion that Santorini, with its Minoan civilization, inspired the Atlantis legend.
Perhaps it was a combination of events that actually overwhelmed Atlantis. The sudden accelerated melting of the ice caps around 11,600 years ago, apart from causing huge tsunamis and the subsequent drowning of the immediate, sodden coastal areas by rising sea levels, also triggered the dramatic seismic event and tsunami that the seabed research indicated happened around the same time in front of southwest Iberia. The result was a substantial lowering of the land combined with a rapid rise in the sea levels, resulting in its being swallowed by the sea.
Some researchers have postulated that Atlantis did not sink in just one episode, but that remnants lingered and were destroyed in subsequent disasters. The frequency of the seismic events recorded by the geological research off southwest Iberia certainly makes this a possibility, but I know of no direct evidence to support this hypothesis—apart from the fact that there are what would appear to be three distinct levels of the seabed in front of the current coastline.
Subsequent to the major Atlantis disaster of around 9600 B.C., further quakes could each have resulted in more subsidence of the seabed. This would explain the many chronicled claims (detailed in Chapter Eight) that around 2,000 to 2,500 years ago, the sea immediately outside the Straits of Gibraltar and off the southwest coast was still not navigable in parts because of the low depths and mud. The ancient accounts of these difficulties, mostly written more than nine thousand years after Atlantis sank, and the fact that sea trade continued from the Mediterranean with southwest Iberia during the last millennium B.C., indicate that the blockage was not necessarily universal. Only some areas had more recently sunk prior to the accounts; others probably remained as islands or sandbanks.
Each event stirred up the mud anew and submerged other areas. More recent quakes could have caused the seabed to have dropped sufficiently to improve the clearance to current levels.
Unless some ancient records are discovered, we will never know precisely what happened. We do, however, now understand that the extraordinary destructive power embedded in the fault running in front of southwest Iberia is more than capable of causing the type of disaster detailed by Plato. If it could have happened anywhere in the world, it was here.
There is a general misconception of how the Richter scale used to express the strength of earthquakes actually works: 2.0 on the scale represents ten times 1.0, not just twice, which is what many people think. Then 3.0 is ten times 2.0, and so on, so an earthquake of 7.0 is 100 times the strength of 5.0. Most quakes that cause widespread damage are in the region of 6.5 to 7.0. The Algarve’s 1755 quake has been estimated to have been at least 8.9 or 9.0. That means it was at least a hundred times as strong as the one that devastated Haiti in 2010. Frightening, isn’t it?
But what exactly sank—and what was left? Did all of that great plain, the one Plato was so keen on, sink? If you accept the hypothesis of this book, certainly a major part of it is now underwater, but enough remains to give a flavor of what it would have been like. You can visit it, stroll through the citrus groves, and admire the orderly rows of the vineyards and, in the spring, discover the best show of wild orchids in Europe.
The current Algarve coastline, west from Faro, still echoes Plato’s description of Atlantis being “lofty and precipitous.” Beautiful, high, honey-colored sandstone cliffs, mostly backing golden beaches, make this one of the most stunning and memorable stretches of coast in the world. These cliffs have been sculpted and weathered into fascinating shapes by wind, rain, and sea. An undulating plain runs behind the entire coast, punctuated by pretty villages and ports, where rivers flow—or used to—out to sea. In places it is relatively narrow, only a few kilometers wide, but elsewhere it’s as much as fifteen kilometers north to south.
This plain continues on the Spanish side of the border, over the Guadiana River, and broadens considerably toward the eastern end. The area close to the border makes good use of the fertile soil, cornering a considerable share of the European strawberry market. Plastic tunnels shimmer in the sun like huge lakes, for kilometer after kilometer.
Over time, large parts closer to the coast past Huelva have become wetlands: the famous Dõna Ana National Park. At some stage it has been invaded by the sea, almost certainly as the result of one or another of the huge quakes, and was a lagoon in Roman times. Northeast of this area, the gently undulating, fertile plain continues for around 70 kilometers to Seville and beyond.
When combined, the plains of the Algarve, southwest Andalucía, and the vast submerged area out to sea present a significant size. The total area is not as big as that described by Plato, but it is certainly large enough to have been noted as part of the history of Atlantis. Plato said it was rectangular, but on the other hand that translation has been questioned. It has been suggested that the original Plato script only indicated that it had four corner
s, which were not necessarily ninety-degree angles. Image 30 on the next page shows the existing area combined with the sunken area, and illustrates how they formed a wedge, narrower in the northeast but broadening out considerably as it reached the coast and out to sea. The measurements could have been around 300 by 200 kilometers. Plato cites a larger area, about 555 by 370 kilometers, but the proportions are similar.
At this point, it is worth noting again that Plato only writes in round figures, albeit in stadia, the ancient Greek measurement—always, for example, “100” or “500”—never precise lower numbers like “86” or “468.” It would have been true to his nature to have exaggerated by rounding everything up. There is also still some disagreement about the length of one stadium. I have taken the generally accepted figure of 185 meters, but it has been suggested that it could have been less than that. Another theory is that the priest gave his information in the Egyptian unit of length, the khet, of only 52.4 meters. Solon could have noted that figure and later forgotten to convert his numbers into stadia. This, however, hardly sounds plausible for someone of Solon’s intellect.
(IMAGE 30) The probable Atlantis original homeland before flooding and submergence.
Masses of unusual, small, pyramid/conical-shaped mountains exist inland, immediately behind the existing Algarve coastal plain, particularly around Silves. The early morning and evening lights produce pronounced shadows that, eerily, make many of those mountains that have been terraced resemble earth-covered “step” pyramids.
As the mountains roll farther inland, they initially get larger. They are densely crammed together but punctuated by some fertile valleys, rivers, and lakes. In the west they are dominated by two sizeable mountains, with the town of Monchique between them. The tallest, Foia, is partnered by the slightly smaller Picota. They are unique in the whole mountain range in that they are formed of a type of granite: all the others are schist. Foia is almost three thousand feet high, just short of the height of the celebrated Mount Snowdon in Wales. It is possible to drive all the way to the top and gaze down at the awesome view over the foothills and the narrow coastal strip, imagining what Atlantis was once like, with the plain rolling out uninterrupted for mile after mile, where now there is sparkling sea. (SEE IMAGE 13 IN THE PHOTO INSERT.)
Imagine also the towns and ports dotting it, together with the roads and canals that linked them all up. The seabed charts show many areas marked as rocks, and perhaps some of these could have been the remains of Atlantean settlements. Apart from a few recent wrecks, nothing has been explored. The whole area is fairly flat and shallow, sloping gradually from the beaches to around 100 to 120 meters before the first submerged sea cliffs—all easily investigated using modern techniques. I know the approximate position of at least one unexplored, submerged settlement. Just think what archaeological riches await.
The existing mountains continue north for about 40 kilometers, providing the shelter that contributes immensely to the Algarve’s sublime climate. As Plato indicates, the mountains are not as grand as they once were—but, significantly and crucially, they survived the sinking. (SEE IMAGES 12A, 12B, 12C, AND 12D IN THE PHOTO INSERT.) The same chain continues across into Spain, angling slightly northward, all the way past Seville to Granada. Other mountains drop south to the coast at Gibraltar and to the east of Jerez. They are famous for the incredibly pretty “White Villages” that pepper them.
With the destruction of Atlantis, it is of little surprise that any survivors could see no future there and took off in all directions, some of them to surviving parts of the empire. But what, exactly, was that empire?
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The Empire
He was up at dawn; the captain had promised they would sight the island around that time. From his stance in the prow of the boat, he could just make out something smudged on the horizon, but the sun had not yet revealed itself. Suddenly, as he swept away his long red hair swirling over his eyes, the first rays burst over the edge of the ocean; he gasped. The island was there, all right, with buildings barely discernible around the bay. Hanging above the settlement was a long, horizontal pillow of cloud. Emerging skyward from the cloud was the great volcano, its snow-capped peak glowing salmon pink in the dawn sunlight. He had heard stories about this vision, but the reality was still breathtaking. His excitement and anticipation rose; he had been looking forward to this next year for so long. All had been arranged when his nine uncles from the four corners of the Kingdom had visited his father in the citadel last year for their periodic conference. He had just turned eighteen, and it was time to start familiarizing him with the great empire.
This is an imaginary account of a young Atlantean prince starting out on a tour of the empire he would one day rule. The island is now known as Tenerife, the volcano Mount Teide. Many tourists from Europe will be familiar with it as a popular holiday haunt, particularly in the winter when the climate is warmer and more reliable than in the Mediterranean. Like the other islands in the Canaries group, however, at the time the prince went calling, it would have differed considerably from how it is today.
There is no doubt that Atlantis had an empire, with a healthy mercantile trade (clues 11, 35, and 39). Plato said that on leaving the Mediterranean, you immediately came across Atlantis, then …
“From there you could pass westward to other islands, and from those to the vast opposite continent that bordered the Atlantic Ocean.”
“Atlantis had a great and wonderful empire which had ruled over several other islands in the Ocean and parts of that great continent.”
It should be noted that he said “several” islands, not “many.” There are numerous islands in the Atlantic, particularly off the eastern seaboard of Central America, and he seems to indicate that Atlantis may have annexed only the important, or larger, ones. On the other hand, 11,600 years ago, many of these groups of islands would have been joined together, forming much larger, but fewer, islands.
According to Plato, it was the main Atlantis homeland that disappeared under the sea, not the rest of the empire. I reasoned that it was worth trying to identify the islands on which they ruled, then search for any remains or hints of earlier civilizations that may have existed there.
The Canary, Azores, and Caribbean islands all fit Plato’s description. Even today they are much used as ports of call for taking on fresh water and supplies, as well as carrying out repairs and minimizing the number of continuous days at sea. In the past, with slower boats—employing sail or manpower—and poor storage facilities, they were crucial for Atlantic crossings. Christopher Columbus on his first epic voyage of discovery, for instance, stopped in to the island of Gomera in the Canaries to take on fresh water. Some ports in the Azores Islands are regarded with great affection by transatlantic sailors because of their historic role. Calling there is almost a pilgrimage. (SEE IMAGE 31, NEXT PAGE.)
It has been suggested at various times that each of these island groups might be the remains of Atlantis. Some of the evidence is certainly intriguing and links with Atlantis, as will be revealed, but not one of them fits the clues for the Atlantis capital and homeland. They do not support many of Plato’s pointers, particularly those regarding position and the potential for huge wealth from metal mining.
(IMAGE 31) The current islands in the eastern part of the Atlantic.
So let’s imagine that, like the fictional prince, we are setting out from an Algarve port on an Atlantean boat, following a well-charted route, hopping from island to island and eventually stepping ashore in America.
As they were for Columbus, the Canary Islands would have been the first port of call—unless there were other, closer islands that have since sunk. In fact, that is certainly a possibility, as the now submerged Gorringe Bank, mentioned in the previous chapter, could certainly have once been above water. It is a substantial size and has two volcanoes. It cozies right up against that notorious fault line which then runs in front of the Algarve and would have been subject to the full force of seism
ic upheavals, such as that in 1755.
One of the peaks of the Gorringe Bank is only about thirty meters below the surface, and the bank itself is now thought to be slowly rising; but that doesn’t necessarily preclude it from once having sunk. At its current depth, at least a part of it would have been well above the surface before the great glacier melt, in which case it would certainly have been part of the Atlantean Empire. Its sinking could not have been the cause of the mud blockage that Plato refers to, as it was too far away from the Straits of Gibraltar.
There are seven islands in the Canary group, all formed from upwelling magma from a depth of three thousand feet. Apart from their popularity as holiday venues due to the particularly equable climate, they are most famous for the inhabitants who occupied them when they were rediscovered by the Spanish. Called Guanches, they astonished the Spaniards with their fair or red waist-length hair, blue or gray eyes, and the men’s height—generally six feet or more.
I called it the rediscovery of the islands, since they were undoubtedly already known to the Phoenicians, Carthaginians, Greeks, and Romans. It is claimed that the Guanches strongly resembled Cro-Magnon man, like the remains, from 8000 B.C., found at Muges in Portugal.69 This is the race that has frequently been associated with Atlantis. Equally important for this book’s hypothesis, it is thought that the Guanches shared a common origin with the Berbers from the Atlas Mountains of northwest Africa.
This ancient race from the Canaries has long been regarded as a fascinating enigma, with practices and customs that, incredibly, linked them to other ancient civilizations, such as those in Egypt and South America. They embalmed their nobility, for example. A few of the resulting mummies are still in existence in museums today, notably with well-preserved red hair and incisions made by the embalmers almost identical to the Egyptian ones. Interestingly, a three thousand-year-old Egyptian mummy in London’s British Museum has red hair.
Atlantis and the Silver City Page 16