Book: Lost Histories: Missing Cities, Treasures, Artefacts and People

Product Description

"The Ark of the Covenant" and the "Holy Grail" are the most famous lost artefacts in history, but everything from armies and cities, to plays and poems, have been swallowed up by the sands and seas of history, leaving behind only legends to tantalise and inspire archaeologists and treaure hunters alike. Is there any evidence of El Dorado and Sodom and Gommorah? Have we really lost plays by Shakespeare and dialogue from Aristotle? Will divers ever find the Golden Hide or Columbus' fleet? And where are the resting places of a host of bodies, from Ghengis Khan to George Mallory?

About the Author

Joel Levy is a writer on science, psychology, history and the paranormal, and the author of several books, including: - Really Useful - the history and science of everyday things. - Secret History - hidden forces that shaped the past - Boost Your Brain Power - a guide to testing and improving your mental abilities, from memory and problem solving to creativity and emotional intelligence. - How 'Perfect' is Your Partner? - co-author of a comprehensive guide to testing whether you and your partner are compatible. - KISS Guide to the Unexplained - a beginner's guide to historical secrets and mysteries, the paranormal and supernatural. - Fabulous Creatures - about creatures of myth and folklore. - The Universe in Your Pocket - a pocket compendium of essential facts. - Technocreatures - a guide to the exciting new science of biomorphic and biomimetic robots - robots modelled on animals.

REVIEW

The Vanishings, 13 Oct 2007

By	William Holmes "semloh2287" (Portland, OR USA)

Joel Levy's "Lost Histories" is an interesting survey of a whole range of ancient and historical mysteries. The mysteries involve people or treasures or cities that went missing, but Levy is pretty skeptical in his approach. If you buy the book expecting that the mysteries will be solved by appeals to supernatural or extraterrestrial forces, you'll be disappointed. On the other hand, if you are looking for a book that nicely recaps the mysteries and summarizes modern thinking about them (as I was), you'll really enjoy "Lost Histories".

Levy covers many topics in fairly short chapters--some of the stories will be familiar to those who enjoy tales of historical mysteries, but others (like the lost army of Cambyses, the lost Persian Fleet, the fate of King John's crown jewels and the tragic loss of the White Ship) seem fresh, at least to me. The book is divided into several sections, each of which includes several chapters. The section on "Lost Places" discusses Atlantis, The Temple of Solomon, The Library at Alexandria, Camelot and El Dorado; the section on "Lost Artefacts, Works and Relics" covers the Ark of the Covenant, the lost dialogues of Artistole, the Holy Grail (whatever it was), and Shakepeare's "lost" plays; "Lost Treasures" deals with the Dead Sea scrolls, King John's jewels, treasures of the Knights Templar, Montezuma's treasure, the buried pirate treasure of Captain Kidd, and the Oak Island Money Pit; "Lost People" explores the lost Persian army of Cambyses (swallowed up by the Egyptian desert), the location of Boudicca's grave, The Lost Colony of Roanoke, and, of course, the disappearance of Amelia Earhart; finally, the section on "Lost Wrecks" seeks the location of the Persian invasion fleets lost during the wars with Greece, the White Ship, Spanish treasure galleons and Lord Franklin's ill fated expedition to find the Northwest Passage.

I found Levy's book to be quite readable, although the number of topics covered means that he doesn't get into any of them in great detail. Each chapter comes with a list of references, which will help the reader who wants to dive more deeply into the topics that Levy surveys.

All in all, this is a fun, entertaining little book, and one of the better expositions of historical mysteries that I've encountered. Based on my experience with this volume, I ordered up Levy's "Secret History" and "The Doomsday Book" and look forward to some more enjoyable reading.

Buy at AMAZON

Gef the Talking Mongoose

Your Fabulous Singing Mongoose - Cobras beware, who a mongoose dare.

WHEN IS A GHOST not a ghost? When it is a talking mongoose! In 1931 the Irving family started hearing strange sounds coming from the attic and walls of their farm in Dalby on the Isle of Man. James Irving, his wife Margaret and their daughter Voirrey were sure a large animal was scampering around the house out of sight. The noises it made were so loud, plates fall and hanging pictures moved. Over time, it began making bizarre hissing and crying sounds. James Irving decided to make animal noises at it, and, to his astonishment, the creature started doing these impressions back at him.

He decided to teach the beast a few words, and within weeks the creature could speak perfectly. It said its name was Gef, and it was a mongoose born on 7th June 1852 in Delhi, India. Gef refused to appear in front of the Irvings, and was known to be quite rude. When the Irvings threatened to leave him, he calmed down. The family and the mongoose grew close, and he even let them stroke him through a hole in the wall.

Eventually, the story of Gef spread, although when reporters came from the mainland, many were unimpressed with the phenomenon. They believed it was actually Voirrey who was creating the voice. In 1937 the Irvings sold the farm and were believed to have taken Gef with them. However, in 1947, the new owner claimed to have shot a strange, mongoose-like animal outside the house.

The idea of a mongoose in the Isle of Man is not quite as bizarre as it first appears. In 1912 a local farmer did import a group of the animals to kill rabbits on his land. However, most present-day researchers believe if Gef was anything, then he was probably a poltergeist. But there is one last interesting fact; in India they have a strange old legend. They say that over time, and with the right teacher, the mongoose can learn to speak.

The Great Flood

 JESUS CHRIST himself referred to ‘The Flood’ but it is not only Christians who believe in the story. Jews believe in accounts of the disaster described in the Holy Torah whilst Muslims have references in the Koran. The first historical record of the disaster appeared in eighteenth century BC Babylonian writings, whilst the ancient Epic of Gilgamesh is also concerned with a great flood. ‘Flood’ traditions and references exist in 300 different cultures around the world; Ancient Greeks, Romans and Native Americans all have fables of a terrible flood that left only a few survivors. There are suggestions that the Noah flood may have been the same event that destroyed Atlantis. Although tradition and mythology has often represented strong circumstantial evidence, recent provable scientific knowledge has been crucial in helping to support the ‘Great Flood’ theory.

The scientific approach began in the 1990s when two geologists from Columbia University, William Ryan and Walter Pitman, pieced together clues that they believed suggested a great ancient flood actually did occur. Ryan and Pitman formulated a theory which proposed that the European ice sheets melted about 7,500 years ago as the world rapidly grew warmer following the last Ice Age. The excess water caused the Mediterranean to overflow into the Black Sea which Ryan and Pitman believe was initially a shallow, land-locked fresh water lake with river-fed fertile plains surrounding it. They suggest that it was a heavily populated area which was completely drowned by the rising sea levels.

Ryan and Pitman suggest that as the ice melted, the Black Sea rose by as much as six inches per day, with water rushing in at 200 times the rate of Niagara Falls. Within a year, 60,000 square miles of land was lost under water, and the fresh water basin became a salt-water extension of the ocean. The farmers and settlers who had relied on the natural environment of the area were forced away, not only by rising water levels, but also by the loss of their fresh water resources. Ryan and Pitman believe the ancient lake shoreline now lies around 5,000 feet below the present water level. Sediment core samples take from the centre of the Black Sea have provided fascinating evidence. Plant roots and mud cracks in these samples suggest a dry riverbed covered in a layer of mud, which indicates a great flood.

As a continuation of Ryan and Pitman’s work, the underwater explorer Robert Ballard decided to study the area in 1999. Ballard was the man who discovered remains of the Titanic and, using highly technological equipment, he and his team found a previous coastline 550 feet deep and 20 miles out into the Black Sea. They took samples which included freshwater and saltwater molluscs from the ancient seabed. Apart from the well-preserved geographical and oceanographic features of the underwater area which pointed to a coastline flooding gradually, the freshwater molluscs species were carbon dated at an age older than the saltwater molluscs. Scientists also discovered that the fresh water molluscs all seemed to die at the same time, suggesting an immediate change in environment for them. The youngest freshwater shells were found to be 7,460 years old, whereas the oldest saltwater creatures dated from 6,820 years ago. This suggests the flood happened somewhere between those two dates, confirming Ryan and Pitman’s original theory.

Ballard returned to the area in September 2000, and discovered some even more fascinating revelations. They found ancient tools and rubbish sites, and crucially, what may be a prehistoric dwelling. The wooden beamed man-made structure contained ceramic vessels and stone tools and was found 300 feet down. The team referred to it as ‘Noah’s House’, although radiocarbon dating has proved it was too young to be from Noah’s time. However, it did provide real evidence that the area was inhabited before the ‘Great Flood’ and would have produced witnesses to the catastrophic event. The condition of the house also showed that the flood had happened at such a speed that surface waves had not had time to batter the building before consuming it.

These theories and discoveries offer many fascinating avenues for further study. Anthropologists are interested to see how population movements are caused by terrible disasters and how ancient races have passed on their great tales using only word of mouth. Geologists and oceanographers are fascinated by immense sea-level changes and flood lands, particularly with the looming threat of global warming. For scholars, historians and the religious alike, the confirmation of an amazing Biblical story is a welcome change in an age of legend destroying scientific discovery.

The Mongolian Deathworm

Artist’s impression of a Mongol Deathworm, based on eyewitness reports.

Under the burning sand dunes of the Gobi desert there lurks a creature that is so feared by the Mongolian people they are scared even to speak its name. When they do, they call it the ‘Allghoi khorkhoi’, which means ‘the intestine worm’, because this fat, red, deadly snakelike monster looks similar to a cow’s innards. This giant worm, measuring up to four feet long, can kill people instantly. How it does it, no one knows. Some believe it spits a lethal toxin, others say it emits a massive electrical charge. However it kills, it does so quickly and can do it from a distance. We in the West have come to call this monster the ‘Mongolian Deathworm’.

Mongolian Nomads believe the giant worm covers its prey with an acidic substance that turns everything a corroded yellow colour. Legend says that as the creature begins to attack it raises half its body out of the sand and starts to inflate until it explodes, releasing the lethal poison all over the unfortunate victim. The poison is so venomous that the prey dies instantly.

Because Mongolia had been under Soviet control until 1990, very little was known about the Deathworm in the West. In recent years, investigators have been able to look for evidence of the creature’s existence. Ivan Mackerle, one of the leading Loch Ness Monster detectives, studied the region and interviewed many Mongolian people about the worm. Due to the sheer volume of sightings and strange deaths, he came to the conclusion that the Deathworm was more than just legend. Nobody is entirely sure what the worm actually is. Experts are certain it is not a real worm because the Gobi desert is too hot an area for annelids to survive. Some have suggested it might be a skink, but they have little legs and scaly skin whereas witness accounts specify the worm is limb-less and smooth bodied. The most probable explanation is that it is a type of venomous snake. Although the native Mongolian people are convinced of the Deathworm’s nature, it will take more years of research to satisfy the rest of the world’s scientific community.

Rendlesham Forest

Many areas on the east coast of Britain contain top-secret military installations. One island called Orford Ness, just off the coast of Suffolk, was the site of many still unrevealed chemical, biological, nuclear and radiological weapons experiments during the 1940s, 50s and 60s – and as a matter of interest has an imposing lighthouse. Some of the other bases near the coast have been leased to the US Air Force; the twin installations at RAF Bentwaters and RAF Woodbridge were two oval complexes and formed a vital part of NATO’s defence against Communist threats. It was reported that at the height of the Cold War these cojoined airbases housed the most nuclear weapons outside the Soviet Union. This important and serious tactical presence meant the bases were fiercely guarded and were hidden in a thick ring of woodland known as Rendlesham Forest. In December 1980, two strange events, which were witnessed by some of the forces stationed at the bases, occurred in this forest and would go down in history as one of the most fascinating UFO cases ever recorded.


The unique aspect about the Rendlesham forest incident is that within three years of it happening, the public had proof of official, military documents detailing the events that were witnessed. The witnesses were not simple country folk, lunatics or publicity seekers, they were trained, professional US Air Force personnel. Indeed, the most famous name connected with the incident, Lieutenant Colonel Charles Halt, was the Deputy Base Commander in charge of Bentwaters and Woodbridge’s security. Not only did Halt write and submit the official report, he was also a first-hand witness at the second of the two strange happenings.

His memo, sent to the British Ministry of Defence, was released by the US authorities under the American Freedom of Information Act in 1983, after rumours about a period of bizarre incidents at the site begun to circulate among UFO enthusiasts. The subsequent publication of sensational stories about Rendlesham appeared in tabloid newspapers, and the continued silence by British authorities meant many believed something odd did occur. So what did happen around the Rendlesham Forest in December 1980?

Halt’s memo recorded that the first incident happened in the early hours of 27th December 1980. He wrote that two perimeter security patrolmen saw a strange light outside the back gate of RAF Woodbridge, which they thought may have been a crashed aircraft. They called their commanders for permission to investigate, and three patrolmen went to search the nearby land on foot. These three military guards reported viewing a bizarre glowing subject in the forest which appeared to be made of a metallic substance. It was triangular in shape, two to three metres wide and about two metres high. It was said to light the whole forest with a bright white beam. It had a red light as its peak, blue lights along its base, and seemed to hover or stand on legs. As the Air Force personnel approached it, the object weaved through the trees and disappeared, causing the nearby farm animals to go into a frenzy An hour later, the strange object was briefly seen again.

The next day, Halt wrote that more servicemen from the base ventured into the forest to see if they could see any markings or tracks. They found three, 1-inch-deep and 7- inch-wide depressions in the area where the object was seen. On 29th December, base personnel tested for radiation levels and found higher-than-normal readings in the centre of the formation of depressions, and on a nearby tree.

During the night of the 29th, and the morning of the 30th, another ‘red sun-like’ light was viewed moving and pulsing in the forest. Halt personally saw the oddities and his memo reported that it ‘appeared to throw off glowing particles and then broke into five separate white objects and then disappeared.’ Three strange star-like objects were seen darting rapidly about the night sky exuding red, green and blue light. They remained visible for two to three hours, and ‘beamed down a stream of light from time to time’.

Over time, many of the Air Force witnesses have come forward and offered their own accounts of what happened those nights. Halt himself took an audio, micro-cassette recording of his commentary as events happened on the second occasion. However, his official report was not written until 13th January 1981 and there now seems to be confusion with dates. Local police records show that they were called by the US Air Force about the first incident on the morning of 26th December 1980. On the other hand, some reports state that a nearby radar station at RAF Watton recorded an unusual ‘uncorrelated target’ that disappeared near Rendlesham Forest at around 2am on 27th December. Other researchers have revealed that Halt actually called RAF Watton in relation to the second sighting at 3:25am on 28th December. Seemingly, there is a fundamental disagreement between Halt’s dates of occurrences during the mornings of the 27th and 29th, and other agencies involved which state they happened early on the 26th and 28th.

Many investigators believe the events themselves were nothing more than the result of misunderstandings and visual illusions. The initial cause of the supposed UFO sighting may have been an exceptionally bright meteor that appeared over southern England just before 3am on 26th December. It has been suggested that the subsequent triangular, metallic object was in fact a tractor, seen from a distance with its night lights switched on. Many investigators believe the bizarre beam of white light see illuminating the forest was actually caused by the Orford Ness lighthouse. Similarly, there are benign explanations for the resulting depressions – they may have been indentation caused by old rabbit burrows. The radiation levels recorded, although higher than naturally expected, are said by some experts to be negligible.

It is undoubted that many of the US servicemen viewing these bizarre occurrences must have been extremely excited, and may have become confused and irrational. Certainly the police who visited the scene recorded no sighting of UFOs. However, the personnel were also trained airmen, and the bases at Bentwaters and Woodbridge had been occupied by US forces for many years, so they had grown accustomed to the area. The fact that these installations were the base for seriously powerful weapons meant that the staff there could not be prone to flights of fancy. Similarly, Woodbridge was the home of 67th Aeroplane Rescue and Recovery Squadron – a unit specialising in the retrieval of returning satellites and spacecraft. This highly advanced and technological group answers directly to the Pentagon in Washington, and one would hope they would have been able to identify the differences between any known aerial or space vehicle, and a tractor.

In recent years, the British Government silence – which led many to believe in a UFO cover-up at Rendlesham – has receded. In fact, the complete file of documents relating to the incidents has been released. The official explanation that the Ministry of Defence had nothing to say on the matter because there ‘was no reason to consider that the alleged sightings had any defence significance’, has been proven honest. The newly publicised documents show the MOD did investigate the sightings but could find little cause for concern.

Their analysis does not entirely coincide with the views of Georgina Bruni who wrote the seminal book on the Rendlesham UFO mystery, You Can’t Tell the People. Bruni interviewed all available witnesses and was even given a personal tour around the US installations. She also managed to catch a quick unexpected word with the ultimate Chief of British forces at the time, the Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Her words to Bruni were both interesting and mysterious:

‘You must have the facts, and you can’t tell the people.’

Maya - Vase of the Seven Gods

Vase of the Seven Gods, Late Classic Period. This vase illustrates God L (right) presiding over six deities at the creation of the present universe.

The creation episode involving the three cosmic stones is illustrated on the elaborately painted Vase of the Seven Gods. On this vessel, six Underworld gods are shown seated in cross-legged poses. One of the six gods is shown with a defleshed face. The six gods face God L, who occupies a large throne. Covered by a jaguar pelt, the throne of God L can be identified as the Jaguar Throne Stone named in the creation text of Stela C at Quiriguá. God L smokes a cigar and wears the screech owl headdress that is his typical attribute. Although each of the seven gods depicted on the pot wears a distinctive headdress, every god wears the same costume elements on his torso.

Three bundles, a reference to God L’s role as the patron deity of merchants, are included in this scene. Of the three bundles, two are placed in front of God L and are marked with hieroglyphs signifying the phrase Nine-Star- Over-Earth. The third bundle, placed on the Jaguar Throne Stone behind God L is marked with hieroglyphs signifying the word “burden,” a possible reference to the Maya concept that the powers of supernaturals and of rulers alike entailed burdensome responsibilities as well as privileges. The extended hieroglyphic text painted in a vertical format on the vessel body reaffirms the creation theme of the imagery. In addition to recording the creation date 4 Ahaw 8 Kumk’u, the text also utilizes the verb tz’akah, meaning “to bring into existence” and “to put in order.” The verb can be interpreted as a reference to the ordering of the universe. The text also mentions blackness, a quality that is reiterated in the black background of the visual image. Much more than an aesthetic decision on the part of the vessel painter, the background is blackened to represent a sky that has not yet been lifted and an earth that has not yet been lighted.

Saint-Médard

When the Deacon of Paris, François de Paris, died in May 1727, great swathes of mourners attended his funeral. The congregation was sorrowful, for François was only 37, and was said to have holy healing powers. The emotional crowd followed his coffin as it was placed behind the high altar in the small church of Saint- Médard. One by one, the congregation slowly trundled past the body, paying their respects and laying tokens of affection. One crippled boy shuffled up to the coffin with the help of his father. As they looked onto the clergyman’s peaceful face, the boy was suddenly hit by a powerful physical reaction. Members of the crowd struggled to control his squirming body as it was hit by a series of savage convulsions. They pulled him away from the altar and the convulsions stopped. The boy opened his eyes, stood up, and with a look of complete joyous realisation, began dancing and singing around the church, his malformed right leg now taking the weight as easily as his left.

This event was the beginning of an extensive range of miracles that happened over a five-year period and originated at the churchyard of Saint-Médard. What is most remarkable about this series of unexplained incidents is the complete integrity and intelligence of those that witnessed the events. Although many of the Deacon’s followers were poor, unhealthy and perhaps easily fooled, others who observed these bizarre happenings were lawyers, scientists and respected public figures. The most detailed and believable witness accounts came from a magistrate, Louis-Basile Carré de Montgéron. Montgéron had a lawyer friend by the name of Louis Adrien de Paige who had long described the Saint-Médard events, but Montgéron was convinced his friend was being fooled. Despite not particularly wishing to go to the churchyard, Montgéron relented and agreed to visit.

The two men arrived at Saint-Médard on the morning of 7th September 1731. What Montgéron saw immediately shocked him; women writhing on the floor; men beating other women with wooden and metal bars; there was even one woman whose nipples were being twisted in a metal clamp. All the time, the women did not seem to feel pain, in fact they pleaded for more punishment. Paige explained that this treatment cured the women of their deformities and diseases. Things quickly became more disturbing for Montgéron when he saw a teenage girl sitting at a table eating from a plate. As Montgéron approached, he could see that the girl was eating human faeces and drinking human urine. The girl had previously suffered from a psychological problem that caused her to constantly wash her hands. Not only was she cured of this neurosis, but the most amazing part of the episode occurred as she appeared to begin vomiting. Out of her mouth poured pure cow’s milk.

As Montgéron stumbled around the churchyard, he came upon a group of women who were cleaning infected cuts and boils by licking the poisons from them. Montgéron watched as a young child, suffering form the most appallingly diseased leg had her bandages removed. Even the woman who was to perform the cleansing needed to pray for strength. But after a moment she began, removing and swallowing the festering tissue, leaving a perfectly clean leg. During this first visit Montgéron saw enough miracles to leave him emotionally exhausted. He continued to revisit the churchyard many times, collecting enough evidence for an incredible book. That year, he was thrown into prison for handing a copy of the tome to a disgusted King Louis XV. But Montgéron would not be silenced, and published three further books demonstrating an honest, serious examination of the miracles in the churchyard of Saint- Médard.

The French authorities grew concerned that these miracles would undermine their power and the king tried to close the churchyard. At the time, the writer Voltaire quipped: ‘God is forbidden by order of the King to perform any more miracles in the cemetery of Saint-Médard’. When soldiers were sent to seize the church land they failed totally. The stories of Saint-Médard spread and persisted for years, and the Scottish philosopher, David Hume wrote that there was never ‘so great a number of miracles ascribed to one person’, as those attributed to François de Paris. It is a truly enduring mystery.

Earth Lights

Earth lights dance above a Norwegian fjord. These are probably similar to the Northern Lights in origin.

Throughout history, people have noted strange lighting phenomena emanating from remote areas of natural land. ‘Will-o’-the-wisps’ are well known occurrences featuring small flames that spark from marsh and woodland. Ball lightning is a curious form of meteorological phenomenon where air pressure causes an electrical charge in the form of a ball. But the most fascinating natural lights are even more bizarre. People across the world have reported seeing strange orbs of light that seem to ignore the standard laws of physics – explanations for their appearance are anything but definite. Present theories range from alien spacecraft to pan-dimensional energy. All we do know is that they seem to appear from the ground, and so they have been termed Earth Lights.

These odd glowing visions have been witnessed radiating all manner of colours, from bright white, to blue, red or even black. They can be as small as a tennis ball, or as large as a car, and although they are normally spherical, witnesses have seen Earth Lights of many designs. Accounts of glowing tadpole shapes are particularly common. People who have managed to view them close-up report odd internal reactions, and bizarre crackling noises. The lights move in erratic directions, and can split into formations of multiple floating orbs. They seem to have a strong connection to geological and geographical features, and linger around lakes, mountains and rocky ridges.

One of the most impressive series of sightings happened in Hessdalen, Norway, in the early 1980s. People living in the area began to see strange lights emerging from the valley in November 1981. The glowing designs ranged from bullet shapes to triangles, and were commonly white and yellow in colour. The level of reports reached such a pitch that two airforce officers were sent by the Norwegian government to examine the occurrences. By the start of 1984, Swedish and Norwegian UFO enthusiasts had begun Project Hessdalen, a month long scientific study of the valley. This yielded some readings of Earth Light properties and also managed to capture examples of the Earth Light phenomenon on film.

Although the 1960s saw the creation of theories that connected these unexplained light displays with earthquakes and fault lines, in-depth study of the subject had always been overshadowed by alien and UFO interest. However, unlike UFOs, the verifiable scientific relationship between these lights and the earth has allowed the phenomenon to be quietly, but seriously, studied. The leading name in this field is Paul Devereux, the man who actually coined the term ‘Earth Lights’. Devereux has travelled the world studying versions of the phenomenon, separating fake or mistaken incidents from genuine Earth Lights. His conclusion is that they are an honest and real phenomenon.

Devereux, along with much of the interested scientific community, believes the lights may be connected with the strains and conflicting energy found in the Earth’s crust. Just as heavy pressure in the atmosphere causes storms and lightning, so too pressure under the surface causes equally impressive reactions. As the tectonic plates rise and fall, it is suggested that energy is released through particular areas of weakness such as fault lines, or areas of high mineral or rock density. It has been discovered that many historical accounts of strange lights appeared on recently discovered fault lines, or just before earthquakes developed.

Different theories suggest the lights could be alien landing craft; some alien abduction victims have reported seeing similar glowing features. Other people believe they have amazing paranormal qualities, and link our world with another dimension. Some witnesses claim to have heard ghostly voices and seen apparitions after an Earth Light display. In both these cases the effect of magnetic variation on brain patterns has been cited as having an influence. Many experts believe the extreme magnetic upheaval caused by conflicting tectonic forces needed in Earth Light creation may cause the brain to suffer hallucinations.

The effect on witnesses, although not dangerous, can be striking. One of the most common areas for Earth Light incidents in Britain is the Longendale Valley in the Peak District. Sean Wood is a local resident who has seen the lights over thirty times in sixteen years. As a catalogue of his sightings he now produces paintings of the local landscapes. In all his pictures, in the corner of a field or the side of a valley, there lurks the image of a small glowing orb. For him, the phenomenon of Earth Lights is an unexplainable, but acceptable, natural occurrence.

Earth Energy

Some people believe the earth has a natural source of energy that manifests itself as a magnetic field or electrical current. This unseen power is thought to have the ability to affect human bodily conditions and create biochemical reactions when people are near a prime spot of Earth Energy. Particularly potent areas are known as vortices, and many enthusiasts are of the opinion that these points help provide Man with rejuvenating or beneficial energy. As a sign of proof, they point to the idea that ancient races were more in tune with natural powers, and built important structures on sites emanating large amounts of energy. They claim Stonehenge, the Great Pyramid at Giza and Nazca are all points of strong natural forces.

As the idea of quantifiable, geophysical Earth power or natural energy has developed, the subject of ley-lines has very much caught the public’s imagination. Although leys have significance based on historical and archaeological fact, the theory of Earth Energy was popularised by New Age philosophies. Many enthusiasts have examined the subject with a scientific approach, despite it originating alongside many of the ‘hippy’ theories of the 1960s and 70s. Certainly, many people do connect Earth Energy with ley-lines and mystical qualities, but there is also some scientific substance to the idea.

Actual hard evidence is scarce, despite enthusiasts’ opinions. Dowsers suggest they can pick up strong sources of energy at many sacred sites, but that is a fact only as believable as dowsing itself. Earth Energy researchers often suggest that power centres are all areas heavily charged with negative ions, and there is an unusual state of electrical, magnetic or electromagnetic flux. They term the whole phenomenon ‘geophysical anomalies’, and whilst it seems superficially impressive, the technological community is less convinced. Although many scientists are happy to entertain the possibility of untapped natural energy sources, they do not agree that many of these qualities attributed to Earth Energy have yet been proven.

The Piri Reis Map

The Piri Reis map, showing the coastline of Antarctica under the ice.

In 1929 a group of historians at the Topkapi Palace in Istanbul, Turkey, found something rather fascinating. Imprinted on an old Gazelle skin dated 1513 they uncovered a segment of an amazing map. The chart seemed to depict part of the Atlantic Ocean and included the Americas and Antarctica in perfect detail. The mysterious thing was it had been drawn up only a few years after Columbus’ discovery, and three centuries before Antarctica was even known about. Over the years since the find, debate has raged about how the cartographer had assimilated his knowledge. Did an advanced ancient race, or aliens, create his source charts, or have the map’s features been adapted to fit wishful-thinking theories?

The map came to be named after its creator – Piri Reis. The word ‘Reis’ actually means ‘Admiral’, and it was discovered that Muhiddin Piri had originally worked as a privateer for the Turkish Ottoman empire, before accepting a role in the imperial navy. On his travels, he had collected all manner of charts, sketches, drawings and diagrams of coastlines and lands in the known world. In 1513, using an exhaustive list of source charts and data, he drew his first world map, which is what we now recognise as the Piri Reis Map. He is known to have compiled another, quite different, global study in 1528 and continued to enjoy a distinguished military career until 1554, aged almost 90, when he was beheaded by the Ottoman Sultan.

The segment of the map that still exists is only a portion of the original, and shows the Atlantic Ocean from the west coast of Africa, to the east coast of South America, to the north coast of Antarctica in the south. Piri also included details about his sources on the map, claiming some of the reference charts he used were from the fourth century or even before. The map is not drawn with the straight lines of longitude and latitude found on today’s maps. It was designed using a series of circles with lines radiating out from them. These types of charts were called ‘portolan’ maps and were used to explain sailing routes, guiding ships from port to port, rather than giving sailors a definite position in the world. Ancient charts of this type were widespread, and Columbus is said to have used one when he set off to find the Americas.

Many Piri Reis Map enthusiasts believe the level of geographical detail and mathematical knowledge needed to create the map was far beyond the reach of navigators from the sixteenth or earlier centuries. Indeed, experts at the United States Air Force in the 1960s found the map so accurate they used it to replace false information on their own charts. Some people believe the map could only have been achieved with the help of aerial surveys, and suggest alien creatures mapped the planet thousands of years ago, leaving their results behind to be copied by Mankind.

The map’s seemingly accurate depiction of the geography of Antarctica is its most fascinating aspect. Antarctica was discovered in 1818, and the actual land of the continent was only mapped in 1949 by a combined British and Scandinavian project that had to use modern equipment to see the land underneath the mile-deep icecap. The theory put forward to compensate for this is that an ancient race using advanced, but now lost, technology was able to accurately record details of the continent before it was covered with ice.

Most experts suggest Antarctica was ice-free no later than 6,000 years ago, although others believe ice has covered the continent for – at least – hundreds of thousands of years. Similarly, many cartography experts claim the accuracy of the portolan system of map drawing is more in the eye of the beholder, and many maps of this time included imaginary continents in the south Atlantic. But there are still some unexplainably accurate details on the map. The Falkland Islands are placed at the correct latitude, despite not being discovered until 1592, and the unknown Andes mountain range was included on the map of America. Similarly, Greenland was shown as three separate islands, a fact only discovered this century.

So the debate continues. Did Piri Reis just strike lucky with cartographic guesswork? Or did the Turkish admiral have access to charts and maps created by an advanced race, living on the planet thousands of years ago?

New Ancient Fungus Finding Suggests World's Forests Were Wiped Out In Global Catastrophe

New Ancient Fungus Finding Suggests World's Forests Were Wiped Out In Global Catastrophe

ScienceDaily (2009-10-02) -- Tiny organisms that covered the planet more than 250 million years ago appear to be a species of ancient fungus that thrived in dead wood, according to new research. Scientists believe that the organisms were able to thrive during this period because the world's forests had been wiped out. This would explain how the organisms, which are known as Reduviasporonites, were able to proliferate across the planet. ... > read full article

Princeton paleomagnetists put controversy to rest

The well-exposed layering of basalt flows in formations near Lake Superior is aiding scientific understanding of the geomagnetic field in ancient times. Nicholas Swanson-Hysell, a Princeton graduate student, examines the details of the top of a lava flow. (Photo: Catherine Rose)

Princeton University scientists have shown that, in ancient times, the Earth's magnetic field was structured like the two-pole model of today, suggesting that the methods geoscientists use to reconstruct the geography of early land masses on the globe are accurate. The findings may lead to a better understanding of historical continental movement, which relates to changes in climate.

By taking a closer look at the 1.1 billion-year-old volcanic rocks on the north shore of Lake Superior, the researchers have found that Earth's ancient magnetic field was a geocentric axial dipole -- essentially a large bar magnet centered in the core and aligned with the Earth's spin axis.

Some earlier studies of these rocks had led other teams to conclude that the magnetic field of the ancient Earth had a far more complex structure -- some proposing the influence of four or even eight poles -- implying that present models of the supercontinents that relied on paleomagnetic data and an axial dipole assumption were wrong.

The report, which will appear in the October issue of Nature Geoscience, says that previous efforts to interpret the ancient geomagnetic field in rocks from North America were confused by the rapid migration of the continent toward the equator in the distant past.

The researchers "neatly lay to rest the long-standing controversy over the nature of Earth's magnetic field 1.1 billion years ago," writes geoscientist Joseph Meert of the University of Florida in an essay that accompanies the report.

"In this paper, we show that Earth's magnetic field has been more stable in the past than originally believed," said Adam Maloof, an assistant professor of geosciences at Princeton and one of the paper's authors.

The Earth's magnetic field wraps around the globe, shielding life from harmful cosmic rays. It is emanated by the Earth's iron core and is shaped by a multitude of factors, including the spinning of the Earth and circulatory motion influenced by the Earth's rotation and temperature differences between the inner core's outer layers and the lower mantle.

The researchers obtained magnetic measurements from a thick stack of lava flows in the Lake Superior region. The lavas erupted when geologic forces attempted to tear apart central North America forming the Keweenawan Rift. The researchers used the tiny magnetic minerals within the volcanic rocks to record the orientation of the geomagnetic field at the time the rocks erupted onto the Earth's surface. By knowing how those grains pointed to the magnetic field of that time, the scientists could deduce the latitude where they were located when the lava flows erupted and cooled. The grains pointed to where "paleo-north" was for each rock.

Studying layers of the basaltic lava flows, they used the information to track how the Earth's magnetic poles have "flipped" over the eons, with the North Magnetic Pole becoming the South Magnetic Pole and vice versa. The team studied three of these reversals that occurred over a few million years.

The scientists plan to use the data to better understand how continents moved in the distant past, massing to form supercontinents. "We needed to be able to have a working model of how the geomagnetic field behaved in the past if we are going to talk about where plates have moved, how fast they've moved and how ancient supercontinents were configured," said Nicholas Swanson-Hysell, a graduate student at Princeton and the first author on the paper.

Knowing the proper location of continents is key to understanding the climate of any era, Maloof said, because the shape and location of continents affect ocean currents, global average temperatures and wind patterns. And by understanding in detail what Earth's climate was like in ancient times, he noted, scientists can better comprehend the climate of today and make more accurate projections for the future.

According to scientific reconstructions, a supercontinent known as Rodinia existed between 1 billion and 800 million years ago. The extreme cooling of the global climate about 700 million years ago and the rapid evolution of primitive life during subsequent periods are often thought to have been triggered by the breaking up of Rodinia.

Rodinia predated a more recently created supercontinent called Pangaea, which came together about 300 million years ago. Scientists have pieced Rodinia together by comparing rocks with similar geological features that are now widely dispersed.

Knowing that they have confirmed the structure of the Earth's magnetic field at that time gives Maloof and Swanson-Hysell the confidence to learn more about the supercontinent and that epoch.

"For the past 30 years, scientists have feared that the geometry of Earth's field was complex and varied," Maloof said. "Such a complex field made it very hard for people to reconstruct the ancient geography of the planet because they could not rely on a predictable field. We show that these fears were unfounded -- at least for 1.1 billion years ago -- and that the evidence for a complex ancient field was an artifact of the way rocks had been sampled."

Other researchers on the paper included: Benjamin Weiss of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; and David Evans of Yale University.

The research was funded by the National Science Foundation, Sigma Xi, Agouron Institute and Princeton University.

World's oldest map: Spanish cave has landscape from 14,000 years ago

Archaeologists have discovered what they believe is man's earliest map, dating from almost 14,000 years ago.

By Fiona Govan in Madrid

Archaeologists have discovered what they believe is man's earliest map, dating from almost 14,000 years ago Photo: EPA

A stone tablet found in a cave in Abauntz in the Navarra region of northern Spain is believed to contain the earliest known representation of a landscape.

Engravings on the stone, which measures less than seven inches by five inches, and is less than an inch thick, appear to depict mountains, meandering rivers and areas of good foraging and hunting.

"We can say with certainty that it is a sketch, a map of the surrounding area," said Pilar Utrilla, who led the research team.

A team from the University of Zaragoza spent 15 years deciphering the etched lines and squiggles after unearthing the artefact during excavation of the cave in 1993.

"Whoever made it sought to capture in stone the flow of the watercourses, the mountains outside the cave and the animals found in the area."

"The landscape depicted corresponds exactly to the surrounding geography," she said. "Complete with herds of ibex marked on one of the mountains visible from the cave itself."

The research, which is published in the latest edition of the Journal of Human Evolution, furthers understanding of early modern human capacities of spatial awareness, planning and organised hunting.

"We can't be sure what was intended in the making of the tablet but it was clearly important to those who populated the cave 13,660 years ago," said Ms Utrilla. "Maybe it was to record areas rich in mushrooms, birds' eggs, or flint used for making tools."

The researchers believe it may also have been used as a storytelling device or to plan a hunting expedition.

"Nothing like this has been discovered elsewhere in western Europe," she said.