Atlantis?
I recently came across a book called When The Sky Fell by Rand and Rose Flem-Ath, subtitled In Search Of Atlantis. I had hoped this would be a summary of the historical theories that had been proposed over the years, starting with Plato's description of Atlantis, written around 360BCE. I was soon disappointed because it turns out that the authors were proposing their own unique theory, that Antarctica is the lost continent of Atlantis.
Sensing another loony theory I turned to the internet to find out more about the authors and especially their references, the most prominent of whom was C H Hapgood. Charles Hapgood proposed in 1958 a new theory called earth crust displacement which suggested that under the influence of some mighty external force, the earth's crust (tectonic plates) could move rapidly as a single unit, thereby changing the positions of land masses relative to the earths poles. To cut a long story short, Antarctica wasn't always where it is today, and in fact was once lying at a more sub-tropical latitude where it masqueraded as Atlantis.
According to Hapgoods Wikipedia entry, the earth crust displacement theory was, not surprisingly, never taken seriously by mainstream geologists. This did not deter the Flem-Aths from using Hapgoods theory as a basis for their own theory of Atlantis. Rand Flem-Aths Wikipedia entry is a mere two lines long, always a telling indication that he has little of value to contribute to global knowledge. Nevertheless, I was intrigued to see just how deep a hole the Flem-Aths would dig themselves into.
In addition to the earth crust displacement theory, the Flem-Aths set great store by the various mythologies handed down by Native American Indians, as well as other mythologies from parts of the world as far away as Siberia. These mythologies invariably speak of a tumultuous world calamity of volcanoes and earthquakes followed by tidal waves and massive flooding. This flooding supposedly completely engulfed Atlantis but not before a few hardy souls escaped in boats and ended up mostly at the top of mountains in various parts of the world. Here they set about rebuilding their lives (and the lives of those who they came into contact with), using the extensive knowledge and expertise that they had brought from Atlantis. All this had taken place around 9600BCE, roughly at the end of the last interglacial (ice age).
In summary, the Atlanteans were a superior race who had advanced knowledge of the physical sciences and who, after the flood, passed this knowledge on to existing races (such as the Egyptians, Incas at Machu Picchu, and others). They were also credited with mapping the entire globe.
The Flem-Aths, to their credit, put together a thought-provoking narrative and on the surface one would be hard pressed to refute their thesis; a classic case of you can't prove nor disprove it. Certainly, the mythologies do exist, but what does that prove? Indeed, the original story of Atlantis by Plato (via the Egyptians) may also be based on yet another myth.
As an aside, looking at other flood theories of Atlantis, it has been suggested that Atlantis was eventually fully submerged. Of course, it depends what you mean by submerged: did it literally sink into the earths crust or was it simply covered by water? Sinking into the earths crust seems unlikely unless there was a cataclysmic earthquake or similar upheaval that only affected Atlantis.
However, to be covered by water is just as unlikely: even if the polar ice caps melted (and such an event could take many years) the sea level would only rise by about 120m (see Fig. 1), hardly enough to cover a reasonably sized island. Then again, if Atlantis was flat without any significant hills or mountains, perhaps it could have been inundated but would still have remained fairly close to the surface.
This also casts some doubt on the Noahs Ark flood myth since a sea level rise of 120m would not get you anywhere near a mountain top. Interestingly, roughly 11 000 years ago sea levels did indeed begin rapidly rising to the levels at which they are today.
A telling aspect of the Flem-Aths theory is that they ignore evolution completely. They say that the Atlanteans were a thriving and sophisticated civilisation well before the floods that were supposed to have obliterated Atlantis at the start of the current interglacial period, which began about 11 600 years ago. But at the same time as the Atlanteans were building their civilization, hundreds of thousands of other Homo Sapiens were living all over the rest of the world. How then was it possible that a minority of Homo Sapiens living on Atlantis were able to get such a head start? What did they possess that set them apart from the rest of humanity?
Given that every square meter of the globe has been mapped, the question is: why hasn't Atlantis been found yet? I believe that this is what the Flem-Aths have taken advantage of, that Antarctica is Atlantis and thus has been found. All that remains is for the ice to melt and Atlantis will be exposed.
Do people like the Flem-Aths believe their own stories or are they just looking for a fast buck, knowing that the world is full of naive, ignorant and gullible people? As I mentioned above, they can't prove their theory but neither can we rigorously disprove it. Still, it seems highly unlikely to me.
January 2019