The world around us is constantly changing. But we are perplexed by the idea that a geographical object that existed on the map just yesterday can suddenly disappear. Meanwhile, this is not at all uncommon. And most often islands appear from oblivion and disappear back...

More recently, the islet of Bermeya was located in the Gulf of Mexico, 200 kilometers from the northwestern coast of the Yucatan Peninsula and 150 kilometers from Scorpio Atoll. Its exact geographical coordinates are: 22 degrees 33 minutes north latitude and 91 degrees 22 minutes west longitude. In any case, it was here that the islet of Bermea was depicted by cartographers starting from the 16th century.

Portuguese sailors map

Portuguese sailors were the first to discover this islet with an area of ​​80 square kilometers. On the Portuguese map of 1535, which is stored in the State Archives of Florence, Bermea is already there. It also appears in Alonso de Santa Cruz’s report to the Madrid court in 1539, entitled “Yucatan and the adjacent islands.” There is a description of the island of Bermea in the book of the Seville navigator Alonso de Chavez “Mirror of Navigation” dated 1540.

There is also the island of Bermeya on the map of Sebastian Cabot, printed in 1544 in Antwerp. It depicts the island of Bermea along with the islands of Trianglo, Arena, Negrillo, Arrecife, and Alacrane. Throughout the 17th and most of the 18th centuries, the image of Bermea did not undergo any changes. Quite in accordance with ancient maps, Mexican cartographers placed Bermea at the indicated address in the 20th century.

However, in 1997, an incident occurred. The Spanish research vessel found no traces of the island. Moreover, Bermeya took up the issue of the disappearance of the island National University Mexico. In 2009, another research vessel was sent to the island. Alas! Scientists were unable to find either the island itself or even traces of it.

Other missing

Bermea, of course, is not the only island that suddenly disappeared. A similar story happened with Sandy Island in the Coral Sea, located between New Caledonia and Australia. True, Sandy Island, which was an elongated sandy spit, was not on all maps. It was depicted on almost all ancient maps, and it was believed that the famous Captain James Cook was the first to notice and describe it in 1774.

Another 100 years later, the island was spotted from an English whaling ship. In 1908, with exact geographical coordinates, it was included in the report of the British Admiralty. Since the island was small and uninhabited, few people could be interested in it, but its outlines regularly wandered from map to map until Australian marine geologists and oceanographers went to Sandy Island in 2012. And they were unpleasantly surprised that the islands were not found. Instead of an island, under the ship lay the depths of the sea 1400 meters deep!

After this, the researchers wondered: could the island have disappeared without a trace or had it simply never existed? The fact that it did not exist a couple of decades ago became clear quite quickly. In 1979, French hydrographers removed Sandy Island from their maps, and in 1985, Australian scientists did the same.

So the island remained only on digital maps, which traditionally correlated with “paper” ones. The island itself has disappeared. Or it could have existed only in the imagination of those who observed it.

And off the coast of Japan, near Hiroshima, there was the island of Hoboro. Let's say, small, but quite noticeable: 120 meters in length and almost 22 meters in height. Fishermen landed on the island and tourists photographed it. In photographs from half a century ago, you can see two rocky peaks, one of which is covered with vegetation. However, about eight years ago, only a pitiful rock remained from the island - almost all of it went under water.

If nothing is known about the reason for Sandy's disappearance, then the reason for the disappearance of Hoboro Island is completely clear: it was... eaten. And this was done by tiny sea crustaceans, isopods, which lay their eggs in cracks in rocks and, year after year, tirelessly destroy the stone from which the islands are made. Hoboro Island melted and melted until it was just a small pile of rocks.

Sea crustaceans are not the only inhabitants of the underwater world that “snack” on the islands. Many coral islets have become victims of another oceanic inhabitant - the crown of thorns starfish. Especially many coral reefs and islets died off the coast of Australia, where these starfish firmly established themselves.

But it happens that no one eats the islands, but they float up on their own and then sink again. This happened to one island in the Mediterranean Sea. Less than a month after a powerful earthquake off the coast of Sicily, in July 1831, off the Western Cape, “out of smoke and flame,” a tiny piece of land appeared, which began to grow by leaps and bounds.

In mid-August, it already rose 65 meters above sea level and had a circumference of more than 3 kilometers. An international hunt immediately began for the newborn land. The first to land on the island was a British captain and planted the flag of his country there. In honor of his admiral, the British named the land Graham Island.

Next, a Sicilian professor landed and named the island in honor of the King of the Two Sicilies Ferdinandea. They were followed by a Frenchman, who planted the French flag there and gave the island the name Julia - in honor of July. Soon half a dozen more names were added to the three. Disputes began about who rightfully owned this land.

But the disputes were in vain: by the end of that year, Graham (aka Ferdinandea, Julia, Hodem, Corrao, Nerita, Shakha) went under the water! The peak, which was so pleasing to the eye, turned into a sharp, treacherous reef.

And today, due to the gradual rise in sea level, the fate of this volcanic island is being repeated by previously quite stable and even once inhabited ones - for example, five of the Solomon Islands: Rapita, Kale, Reana, Zolles, Ka-katina, and six more are in line for disappearance.

Maybe one of these stories happened to Bermea?

"Eaten" Bermea

Bermea could have gone missing just like Sandy. Early eyewitnesses described Bermea as a flaming and red island, meaning it could well have been of volcanic origin. And islands of this type are easily born and die easily. But usually their death does not drag on for centuries...

Bermeya could have been eaten. However, research ships did not find the slightest trace of the island at the bottom. No rock remains, no destroyed stones, nothing at all. Only the seabed.

Bermeya neither dissolved nor disappeared. Researchers quite seriously say that it never existed at all. The same thing, as you already understood, is said about Sandy Island. However, are there any reasons to think so? Yes, I have. Even at the end of the 18th century, such a thought came to the cartographers of New Spain, who depicted nothing more north of the Arena island.

Researcher Ciriaco Ceballos, conducting cartographic research, found neither Bermea nor Ne Grillo. He explained the mistakes of previous cartographers simply: the waters in the bay are stormy and because of the many reefs, sailing, especially on boats of the 16th century, was very dangerous.

It is not surprising that the sailors tried to stay in deep waters and were in no hurry to explore the islands. And it’s so easy to make mistakes in readings and observations. But after Mexico declared independence, this point of view was swept aside and forgotten. Maps were used to map the bay, where Bermea was depicted. And the presence or absence of the island has never been verified by anyone.

However, in addition to the obvious explanations, there are also completely conspiracy theories.

Its essence is that Bermea is one of the support points along which the maritime border between Mexico and the United States is built. According to this version, it is, of course, more profitable for the Americans if no Bermea exists, because then the oil and gas fields in the Gulf of Mexico will go not to Mexico, but to the United States.

And supposedly the Americans resolved the issue with the island, which should not exist, very simply: they blew it up. And they did this not just yesterday, but back in the 70s of the last century, when photographs from space began to show a continuous expanse of water in place of Bermeya...

This could happen again, scientists say.

After Hurricane Valaka in the Pacific Ocean, scientists noticed the disappearance of an island called Vostochny, whose diameter was approximately a kilometer by 120 meters. According to researchers, the disappearance of one of the Hawaiian islands is explained not only by the natural disaster itself, but also by an increase in sea levels due to global warming.

As experts note, despite the small size of the island itself, it was part of the largest atoll of the Northwestern Islands of the Hawaiian archipelago and its existence was important for local ecosystems. The disappearance of this island, among other things, puts monk seals under even greater threat - biological species, already recognized as being on the verge of extinction. Although experts believe that native animals will be able to survive the disappearance of one island, a repetition of such events could lead to their extinction. At the same time, climatologists do not exclude such a scenario.

As scientists note, the hurricane only accelerated the inevitable - the island would almost certainly have gone under water in the coming decades due to rising sea levels. As for the hurricane itself, experts suggest that due to global warming, such natural disasters may become more powerful.

This is not the only recent case where islands go under water. In September 2017, scientists from Australia announced the disappearance of eight Pacific islands. Moreover, such an event was not preceded by a natural disaster, but only by a rather “systematic” destruction of the islands by sea currents. A year ago, experts also saw events of this kind as a manifestation of global warming.

Although scientists have different assessments of the extent to which climate change can be attributed to natural natural processes, almost all of them agree that human activity plays an important role in this. Perhaps even more eloquently than the islands that disappeared from the face of the Earth, it speaks of the influence of man on the planet for a long time considered an “untouched” island, on which during the next study

Sunken and disappeared lands

First city of the world

In central Turkey, on the Anatolian highlands, there are two ancient mounds that hide the ruins of Catalhöyük. For scientists, this is the city from which our civilization begins. This is a Neolithic settlement, the time of the first small settlements and the beginning of land cultivation. The discoverer, the Englishman James Mellart, enthusiastically wrote: “The Neolithic civilization found in Çatalhöyük shines like a supernova among the rather dim galaxy of contemporary rural cultures... Its most lasting influence was not in the Middle East, but in Europe, for it was this new continent that the Neolithic cultures Anatolia was introduced to the first beginnings of agriculture and animal husbandry and the cult of the mother goddess, the basis of our civilization.”

Goddess from Catalhöyük

Until now, scientists cannot explain where this large settlement came from and in what places the inhabitants could borrow technical skills, high agricultural culture, religion with its beautiful temples, which are complex architectural structures, as well as the ability to conduct urban trade. During excavations of the mound, arrowheads, hundreds of knives, daggers, and spears made of flint or obsidian were discovered. All these products are distinguished by a high level of processing and amazing craft technology, which was many centuries ahead of neighboring peoples. Also found here were superbly polished obsidian mirrors and beads of fine workmanship. jewelry, clothes made of high quality fabric and even carpets.

Residents of the city did not use pottery, but only wooden and wicker ones, the method of creating which, however, was also many years ahead of similar craft skills in other places of the then planet.

Many secrets of the townspeople's craftsmanship have still not been solved: how, for example, were the obsidian mirrors polished? It was done so well that there is not even the smallest scratch on their surface. And it is impossible to insert even a needle into a hole in obsidian beads. It is not clear how to make such a miniature hole in stone without a drill made of very high-quality steel.

Local residents worshiped a female goddess, united in three persons: a young girl, a pregnant woman and a wise old woman. So far only a small part of the city has been excavated, but more than forty altars or sanctuaries used for the practice of this cult have already been discovered.

Interestingly, no human settlements or any other signs of their presence were found near the city. One gets the feeling that the city’s residents simply came from somewhere with ready-made, centuries-old technologies and simply began to live here.

But where could they come from? Famous communities of the time, such as those in Jericho or Jarmo on the Kurdistan plateau, did not have nearly the same craftsmanship, engineering and economic skills.

However, before drawing conclusions, a little history.

The Flood as a page of history

During the global glaciation, approximately 80 thousand years ago, a thick layer of ice covered the entire north of the planet, extending far into the present territories of Russia, England and Europe, Canada and the USA. Once the ice ended, hundreds of kilometers of Arctic tundra began.

The harsh climate has not become such a strong obstacle for people living, for example, in South Asia or Southern Europe, but throughout the world the overall annual temperature has noticeably decreased, and the amount of precipitation and cloudiness has increased. Climate change itself pushed people to create an urban culture: it became cool to gather in the forest. And settled life pushed towards agriculture, domestication of animals and specialization of labor. Such cultures could have developed in fertile lowlands with a temperate climate, along river banks or in delta areas. During the 60-odd thousand years of the last ice age, people had time to create cities and developed societies.

But the trouble is that such places are located very low above sea level, and at the peak of the last ice age (ca. 24-14 thousand years BC), too much water was concentrated in the ice caps, and the sea level dropped more than 120 meters. And by the end of the Ice Age (approximately 7 thousand years BC), the sea began to return.

For example, in the Mediterranean region, vast irrigated plains with a temperate climate connected Malta with Sicily, not to mention the fact that almost all the coastal islands were connected by isthmuses, but were not yet a single land. There was also a vast fertile plain, crossed by numerous rivers, in the upper half of the Adriatic Sea.

It is clear that all these places were inhabited, and the return of the sea remained in the memory of mankind as a global catastrophe. The melting of the ice ended around 7000 BC. e.

Scientists find it difficult to say how the global flood began: whether it was a series of continuous rains or the sea, day after day, inexorably advancing on people’s homes for thousands of years. But it is clear that in any case, people moved to higher places to escape the water, and many first ended up on the islands, but then these islands were flooded.

The ancient Greeks believed that after a worldwide flood, survivors rebuilt civilization in Thessaly. The Greek prototype of Noah, who built the ark, was called Deucalion. He was warned of the coming disaster by his demigod father. Having built an ark, he and his wife escaped the flood, and when the water subsided, they landed on the top of Mount Parnassus. Then Deucalion and his wife ruled in Thessaly, and their son Hellenus was revered as the ancestor of all Greeks.

Here's how the Bible talks about it (note, by the way, the abundance of details):

Chapter 7 “... 11 In the six hundredth year of Noah’s life, in the second month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on that day all the fountains of the great deep burst forth, and the windows of heaven were opened;

12 And the rain fell on the earth for forty days and forty nights.

13 On that very day Noah entered into the ark, and Shem, Ham, and Japheth, the sons of Noah, and Noah’s wife, and his sons’ three wives with them.

Noah's Ark

14 These, and every beast (of the earth) after their kind, and every livestock after its kind, and every creeping thing that creepeth on the earth after its kind, and everything that flies after its kind, every bird, every winged thing,

15 And they went in to Noah into the ark, two by two (male and female) of all flesh in which is the spirit of life;

16 And those who entered (to Noah in the ark), male and female of all flesh, entered as (the Lord) God commanded him. And the Lord (God) shut the (ark) behind him.

17 And the flood continued on the earth for forty days (and forty nights), and the water increased, and lifted up the ark, and it was lifted up above the earth;

18 And the waters increased and increased greatly on the earth, and the ark floated on the surface of the waters.

19 And the waters on the earth increased exceedingly, so that all the high mountains that were under the whole heaven were covered;

20 The waters rose above them fifteen cubits, and (all the high) mountains were covered.

21 And all flesh that moved on the earth, and birds, and cattle, and wild beasts, and every creeping thing that creepeth on the earth, and all men, perished;

22 Everything that had the breath of the spirit of life in its nostrils on the dry land died.

23 Every creature that was on the surface of the earth was destroyed; from man to cattle, and creeping things, and birds of the air - everything was destroyed from the earth, only Noah remained and what was with him in the ark.

24 And the waters arose on the earth a hundred and fifty days.”

Chapter 8 “ 1 And God remembered Noah, and all the beasts, and all the cattle, (and all the birds, and all the creeping things) that were with him in the ark; and God brought a wind upon the earth, and the waters stood still.

2 And the fountains of the deep and the windows of heaven were closed, and the rain from heaven ceased.

3 But the water gradually returned from the earth, and the water began to subside at the end of the hundred and fifty days.

4 And the ark rested in the seventh month, on the seventeenth day of the month, on the mountains of Ararat.

5 The water continued to decrease until the tenth month; on the first day of the tenth month the tops of the mountains appeared.

6 After forty days Noah opened the window of the ark that he had made

7 And he sent out a raven (to see if the water had subsided from the earth), which flew out and flew back and forth until the earth was dried up from the water.

8 Then he sent out a dove from behind him to see if the water had disappeared from the face of the earth,

9 But the dove found no rest for its feet and returned to him in the ark, for the water was still on the surface of all the earth; and he stretched out his hand, and took him, and took him into the ark.

10 And he delayed another seven days, and again he sent the dove out of the ark.

11 The dove returned to him in the evening, and, behold, a fresh olive leaf was in his mouth, and Noah knew that the water had fallen from the earth.

12 He delayed another seven days and (again) sent out a dove; and he never returned to him.

13 In the six hundred and first year (of Noah’s life), on the first (day) of the first month, the water on the earth dried up; and Noah opened the roof of the ark and looked, and behold, the surface of the earth was dry.

14 And in the second month, on the twenty-seventh day of the month, the earth was dry.

15 And God said to Noah:

16 Come out of the ark, you and your wife, and your sons, and your sons' wives with you;

17 Bring out with you all the living creatures that are with you, of all flesh, birds, and cattle, and every creeping thing that moves on the earth: let them scatter throughout the earth, and let them be fruitful and multiply on the earth.

18 And Noah went out, and his sons, and his wife, and his sons' wives with him;

19 Every beast, and every creeping thing, and every bird, everything that moves on the earth, according to their kinds, came out of the ark.”

A contemporary geologist writes: “I have long since come to the conclusion that in order to understand the story contained in the 7th and 8th chapters of the book of Genesis, it is necessary to assume that it was taken by the author from some contemporary diary or notes eyewitness The dates of the rise and fall of the water, the mention of measurements of the depth of water over mountain peaks when it reached its maximum level and some other details, as well as the whole tone of the story, in my opinion, give rise to just such an assumption; such an assumption at the same time eliminates all the difficulties of interpretation that one has to constantly feel.”

The Greek philosopher Tertullian, confirming the reality of the flood, referred to the sea shells that were found in abundance in the mountains, confirming that even such high places were once buried by the sea.

The Greek philosopher Plato believed that this story symbolized real events and that civilization in Greece flourished even before the flood. But the sea buried all the miners and those who knew how to work with metal, and humanity was thrown back into the past.

Plato believed that of the entire population, only the shepherds on the hills were saved, who later began raising livestock.

Modern archeology has come to approximately the same conclusions, and an analysis of the Greenland ice, carried out in 1989, showed that around 8700 BC. e. The last cold stage of the Ice Age ended quite suddenly. Major climate changes occurred in 20 years, and the main increase in temperature by seven degrees Celsius occurred in just 50.

But this seems to be not the limit. The 1993 study even allocated 3–4 years to the last period. This is very similar to the truth. People, I think, have gotten used to the fact that sea levels are rising. No matter how long human memory is, the time frame here is too long. People knew: the sea ALWAYS comes. And it is unlikely that this could frighten them much or take them by surprise. It’s another matter if the last stage occurred over several years. This means that the water could cover tens of kilometers per day, washing away everything in its path.

Many accounts of the flood claim that the disaster began on one day. The ancient Mexican text Codex Chimalpopoca says: “The sky approached the earth, and in one day everything perished. Even the mountains disappeared under water... They say that the rocks that we see now covered the entire earth, and “tetzontli” (porous stone lava, one of the main building materials Mexico. – Auto.) boiled and seethed with great noise and mountains of red color rose..."

“The Popol Vuh,” a written tradition of the priests of the Quiché Indians, whose descendants now live in Guatemala, fully agrees with him: “A great flood was made... The face of the Earth darkened, and black rain began to fall; rain during the day and downpour at night... People fled in despair... They tried to climb onto the roofs of houses that collapsed and threw them to the ground. They tried to climb to the tops of the trees, but the trees threw them off, people sought salvation in caves and grottoes, and they buried people. Thus was completed the death of (the clan, race) of people doomed to destruction.”

On the clay tablets of Sumer it is written: “In the morning there was a downpour, and at night I saw the rain of grain with my own eyes. I looked at the face of the weather - it was scary to look at the weather... The first day the south wind raged, quickly swooping in, filling the mountains, as if overtaking people with a war. One does not see the other.”

In 1962, the American publicist Alexander Marshek, in the light of world space successes, received an order to write a book about the development of civilization and scientific and technological progress. He interviewed hundreds of experts and was surprised to realize that none of these people had a clear idea of ​​why and how these cultural heights had been achieved.

What surprised him most of all was that all cultural achievements appeared “suddenly”: agriculture - about 10 thousand years ago, at the same time civilization flourished in Mesopotamia and science among the Greeks. Marshek wrote: “They were to take place at the end of many thousands of years of preliminary preparation. The question was how many thousands of years had to pass before that.”

As you know, beginners are lucky, and Marshek came up with the brilliant idea that a person’s whole life is connected with the sense of time, with its cyclicality. And if for a hunter the cycle is one day, then for a peasant engaged in agriculture it is already a year, a season. Settlement requires monitoring the calendar.

Marshek turned to experts, wanting to find out when the first calendars appeared. But, surprisingly, no one could answer this question. It was not until 1963, when the book was almost completed, that Marshek discovered a publication about a small prehistoric bone tool found at Ishango in Zaire, near Lake Edward. The handle of this weapon was decorated with notches very similar to a calendar. The find was dated to 6500 BC. e. In the publication, in fact, the notches were explained in some completely different way, and Marshek was not satisfied with this explanation. He soon realized and was able to prove that the notches were a record of lunar cycles over several months.

The publicist began to look through all publications about finds of prehistoric stones and bones with any scratches, notches or drawings. And I realized that there are a lot of similar objects that fit the definition of a calendar, but before that scientists found it difficult to explain the mysterious patterns. Judging by the dating of these finds, the necessary components of a civilized culture were present, and therefore in use, by 35,000 BC. e.

The presence of a calendar means settled farming, from this follows the existence of trade and further the existence of communities - villages or cities, which lead to the specialization of professions. And the world is actually already on the threshold of writing and laws. That is, more than 23 thousand years remained before the flood (glaciers began to melt in 12,000 BC). This is very good timing for the development of both crafts and society. It is easy to explain the lack of evidence of high material culture: all its artifacts remained at the bottom of the sea, in areas flooded by the flood.

Atlantis in Plato's description

The mysterious ancient Egyptian city of Sais has been mentioned in written sources since 3000 BC. e., and scientists find it difficult to name the exact time of its foundation. The city had a very modest fate, until in the 7th century BC. e. did not become the capital of the 26th dynasty of pharaohs for a short time.

Sais was full of temples, and one was especially revered. It was in it, on huge stone columns, that hieroglyphs were carved that told the story of Atlantis.

The priests explained: “Nine thousand years ago... there was still an island that lay in front of that strait, which in your language is called the Pillars of Hercules. This island was larger in size than Libya and Asia combined... On this island, called Atlantis, arose a kingdom of amazing size and power, whose power extended over the entire island, many other islands and part of the mainland, and beyond that on this side Through the strait they captured Libya all the way to Egypt and Europe all the way to Tyrrhenia (presumably, the capital of Tyrrhenia was located in the area of ​​​​the modern city of Grenoble, southeast France).”

That is, in terms of its size, Atlantis, according to the deciphered hieroglyphs, resembled present-day Spain.

The most detailed description Plato left Atlantis in two of his dialogues: “Timaeus” (briefly) and “Critias” (where it is narrated in more detail).

Our compatriot writer Valery Bryusov said: “If we assume that Plato’s description is a fiction, we will have to recognize Plato as a superhuman genius who was able to predict the development of science for thousands of years to come... Needless to say, with all our respect for the genius of the great Greek philosopher, such insight “It seems impossible to us, and we consider another explanation simpler and more plausible: Plato had at his disposal (Egyptian) materials dating back to ancient times.”

Plato's friend Critias in the Timaeus recounts a story about the war between Athens and Atlantis, allegedly heard from the words of the grandfather of Critias the Elder, who, in turn, retold him the story of Solon, heard from the priests in Egypt. The general meaning of the story is this: 9 thousand years ago, Athens was the most glorious, powerful and virtuous state. Their main rival was the aforementioned Atlantis, and all its forces were thrown into the enslavement of Athens. The Athenians stood up to defend their freedom and managed to repel the invasion, crushed the Atlanteans and freed the peoples they had enslaved. A huge natural disaster soon followed, as a result of which the entire army of the Athenians died in one day, and Atlantis sank to the bottom of the sea.

The dialogue “Critias” with the same participants serves as a direct continuation of “Timaeus” and is entirely devoted to the story of Critias about ancient Athens and Atlantis.

According to Plato, the center of Atlantis was a hill located 50 stadia (8–9 kilometers) from the sea. For protection, Poseidon surrounded it with three water and two land rings, and the Atlanteans threw bridges over these rings and dug canals, so that ships could sail along them to the city itself, or, more precisely, to the central island, which had 5 stages (somewhat less than a kilometer) in diameter

Perhaps Atlantis looked like this

On the island there were temples lined with silver and gold, surrounded by golden statues and sparkling in the sun so that it hurt the eyes, there was a luxurious royal palace, there were shipyards filled with ships, etc., etc. “The island on which there was a palace... as well as earthen rings and a bridge the width of a pletra (30 m) the kings circled stone walls and towers and gates were placed everywhere on the bridges at the passages to the sea. They mined white, black and red stone in the depths of the middle island and in the depths of the outer and inner earthen rings, and in the quarries, where there were recesses on both sides, covered with the same stone, they arranged anchorages for ships. If they made some of their buildings simple, then in others, for fun, they skillfully combined stones of different colors, giving them a natural charm; They also covered the entire circumference of the walls around the outer earthen ring with copper, applying the metal in molten form, the wall of the inner shaft was covered with tin casting, and the wall of the acropolis itself with orichalcum, which gave off a fiery shine.”

In a luxurious temple dedicated to Poseidon, bulls were sacrificed. The temple was surrounded by a sacred grove in which wild bulls grazed freely. According to established tradition, every five or six years the king and his relatives, appanage rulers, gathered here to renew their agreement with Poseidon. First they had to catch the bull, and it was forbidden to use iron weapons, and they took with them wooden sticks and rope loops. The captured bull was then led to a metal column that stood inside the temple and on which were imprinted the most ancient legends and laws of the country. Before her, a bull was sacrificed, its blood flowed down the inscriptions, and the rulers swore that they would remain faithful to their law, and in order to seal the agreement, everyone drank from the cup in which this blood was mixed with wine. At the end of the ceremony, the rulers held a council and made decisions.

According to legend, as long as the divine nature remained in the Atlanteans, they disdained wealth, putting virtue above it. But when the divine nature degenerated, mixing with the human, they became mired in luxury, greed and pride. Zeus, outraged by this, planned to destroy the Atlanteans and convened a meeting of the gods...

At this point the dialogue - at least the text that has reached us - ends.

Scientists have suggested that Atlantis could be here

Other ancient Greeks also repeatedly mention Atlantis: Herodotus, Diodorus Siculus and Pliny the Elder.

In the 5th century, the Neoplatonist Proclus, in his comments to the Timaeus, talks about Plato's follower Crantor, who around 260 BC. e. specially visited Egypt in order to learn about Atlantis and allegedly saw columns with inscriptions telling the history of this state in the temple of the goddess Neith in Sais. Moreover, he writes: “That an island of this character and size once existed is evident from the accounts of certain writers who have explored the environs of the Outer Sea. For, according to them, in that sea in their time there were seven islands dedicated to Persephone, and also three other islands of enormous size, one of which was dedicated to Pluto, the other to Ammon, and then to Poseidon, the dimensions of which were a thousand stadia (180 km) ; and their inhabitants,” he adds, “preserved the traditions coming from their ancestors, oh immeasurably bigger island Atlantis, which really existed there and which for many generations ruled all the islands and was likewise dedicated to Poseidon. Now Marcellus has described this in Aethiopica.” Marcellus is not mentioned in other sources, and, apparently, his “Ethiopica” is simply a novel.

Actually, there are three problems with this whole story. Firstly, in Plato’s dialogues there are a lot of different philosophical myths. He, unlike Aristotle and especially historians, never set as his goal the message to the reader of any real facts, he was interested only in ideas illustrated by philosophical myths.

But if the story is true, then, firstly, the question arises why it was not widely known or depicted on other monuments Ancient Egypt. However, for the sake of fairness, it is worth noting that most of the Egyptian monuments were lost, and many were “secret”, and the priests hid them from the uninitiated.

Secondly, it turns out that around 9565 BC. e. there was a culture that used metal tools and processed stones in construction and agriculture. This is characteristic of the Bronze Age, which dates back to approximately 3200 BC. e.

Thirdly, if a huge island was destroyed by the Atlantic Ocean within a day and a half, then a global catastrophe must occur. But no more mentions of her have been found.

If you think about it, essentially, with the exception of production metal utensils, there is nothing unusual about such a high level of culture on the island. Only a little later, a complex trading culture existed at Çatalhöyük in Anatolia. Stone city walls and towers were in Jericho possibly as early as 7000 BC. e. And metal processing began, according to historians, only 2 thousand years later.

So there is nothing particularly fantastic about the existence of such a culture in 9000 BC. e. No. Many researchers believe that Atlantis, as described by Plato, is a late Bronze Age civilization. Without delving into dates, let's try to find out whether there were any major cultural centers of the Bronze Age that disappeared?

Yes, it turns out they were.

Mysteries of the pyramids

Interest in Atlantis suddenly revived in the early 90s of the last century. And, as in Plato's time, the conversation began with Egypt. A number of respected Egyptologists - John Anthony West, Robert Bowal, Adrian Gilbert, Graham Hancock and Colin Wilson - have acknowledged the existence of the missing island. Rebels against official science explained that Atlantis was the center of a gigantic maritime empire, where mysterious religious rites were performed and where science made great progress.

Like some explorers before them, they believed that the island was located in Lesser Antarctica. At that time, Antarctica had a climate similar to that of modern Canada and had virtually no glaciers. But when the position of the poles changed, the Atlantean civilization was destroyed, and the signs of their culture were hidden under a layer of ice and snow. This happened 16 thousand years BC. During the later stages of the catastrophe, around the fourteenth millennium BC, the surviving Atlanteans spread throughout the world.

One of the groups, which included high-ranking initiated priests who knew the secrets of technology, religion and science of the Atlanteans and called themselves “followers of Horus,” settled in Egypt and created a cult center on the Giza plateau. The one with the Sphinx and the pyramids.

The “Followers of Horus,” fearing new cataclysms, in order to preserve their teaching for all time, introduced a long-term construction plan. They invented a method of incorporating secret knowledge into the geometry of buildings, which were supposed to be huge and massive in order to survive any troubles that nature could bring. And if the initiates had perished, then later generations would have been able, by deciphering the keys embedded in the geometry of the plan of these structures, to understand their entire school.

Through the efforts of the initiates, the Sphinx was erected and the basic plan of Giza was developed. There are two versions of further events: either they themselves built the structures on the plateau, or they passed on the records of the project to subsequent generations. Eight thousand years later, in 2500 BC. BC, the pyramids were built according to this ancient plan.

Giza and its secrets were protected by the “followers of Horus”, priest-astronomers, whose secret power was so great that even after 8 thousand years the pharaohs did not dare to disobey them and change the plan of the cult complex in Giza.

Hancock and Boval wrote: “We believe that the facts indicate a continuous transmission of the highest scientific and engineering knowledge throughout this vast period of time, and therefore a continuous presence in Egypt, from the Paleolithic period to the dynastic period, of a group of highly developed and enlightened people, - about these obscure ahu the texts say that they had knowledge of divine origin.”

This is what the pyramids look like from space

Official Egyptology considers the Great Pyramid of Giza to be a tomb built by the 4th Dynasty pharaoh Cheops around 2500 BC. BC, and that the second major pyramid and Sphinx were built a little later by Pharaoh Khafre. The latter's son Mikerin, the next ruler, erected a third and smaller pyramid.

Each of the three pyramids (more precisely, at their eastern walls) had mortuary temples, from which there were causeways leading to a valley temple located at the edge of the plateau, next to the Nile. Here the deceased pharaoh was placed in a boat and sent down the river on his final journey. At the eastern edge of the plateau are the Sphinx and its associated temple. There are also six small pyramids on the plateau, which appear to be the tombs of nobles. There are also a number of ship trenches that contained dismantled wooden boats, one of which was recovered in 1954. Since it bore traces of use, then, apparently, it could be the same boat on which the remains of Cheops made their way along the Nile.

New elements are still being discovered in the Giza complex. More recently, during excavation work for sewerage for the nearby suburbs of Cairo, the valley temple of Cheops was discovered. The version of the origin of this complex, glorifying death, has long been strengthened, and only the attribution of the age of the Sphinx cast doubt on its reliability. If we assume that any part of this complex dates back to the predynastic period - that is, it appeared before approximately 3100 BC. e. the Egyptian monarchy was born, then Egyptologists would have to admit the existence of some much more ancient, but technically more advanced culture than the Egyptian one.

The Sphinx, unlike the pyramids, was not built, but carved out of an entire sandstone rock. Most of the stone base on which the Sphinx is located, and perhaps all of it, was covered in ancient times with facing stones. It was believed that veneer was added to the rough-hewn body of the Sphinx when it was first built to give it its final shape. But in 1979–1980, during a thorough examination of the Sphinx, the American Mark Leiner of the University of Chicago noted: “We did not notice anywhere any marks of work on the internal body - neither in the form of tool marks, nor in the form of rough surfaces that would remained, apparently, as a result of a crude extraction process." In addition, he concluded that the severe erosion that is visible on the body of the Sphinx was already there at the time of its facing. Therefore he attributed the facing to 1500 BC. e., giving erosion a thousand years to work.

Sphinx and pyramid

In 1992, Zahi Hawass, director of the Giza complex, reported that analysis of the right hind leg of the Sphinx proved that the earliest level of masonry around the body dates from Ancient kingdom, that is, the period from 2700 to 2160 BC. e. The pyramids were built right in the middle of this period. That is, it turns out that deep erosion took only 340 years, and this is hardly possible.

Around 1400 BC e. Pharaoh Thutmosis IV ordered that all sand be removed from the Sphinx, and to commemorate this, a stone with an inscription was placed between the Sphinx's paws. It still exists, only most of the text has already been erased. The stone was discovered in 1818, and then, having decided that the name of Cheops was mentioned in the 13th line of this text, which was very poorly preserved, scientists, based on this, deciphered the inscription. Today, a number of Egyptologists have doubts that this text was perceived correctly. Some believe that Cheops is mentioned there not as a builder, but as the person who restored the Sphinx.

Doubts appeared a little over a hundred years ago. The director of the British Museum, Sir Budge, one of the leading authorities on Egyptology, wrote in 1904 that the Sphinx “existed in the time of (Cheops) ... and was very likely very ancient even at that early period.”

A year later, Chicago Egyptologist Professor J. H. Brested noted that around the syllable, taken as part of the name of Cheops, there were no traces of a cartouche (an oblong frame), which was sure to highlight the royal name. All royal names in dynastic Egypt were written, without exception, in this oblong frame. And without a cartouche, this syllable does not mean an abbreviation of the name of the pharaoh, but only, according to one version, the word “rises.”

However, supporters of the traditional version did not want to give up (they still haven’t given up) and put forward their counterarguments. In the valley temple next to the Sphinx, statues of Cheops were discovered, and one of them depicted him as the Sphinx. It was also argued that the face of the Sphinx is similar to the face of Cheops on these statues. However, this was a very weak argument. In the face of the Sphinx, even with the erosion that has occurred, Negroid features are visible that are not observed in Cheops.

However, it was very easy to resolve this dispute. Forensic experts invited in 1992, who used a computer to compare the face of the Sphinx with signed statues of Cheops, came to the conclusion that they could not depict the same person.

Professor Selim Hassan, who has carried out excavations on the Giza plateau for many years and is a recognized expert on the Sphinx, admits that “according to the general opinion of the ancients, the Sphinx is older than the pyramids.” He points out that "with the exception of a damaged line on the granite stele of Thutmosis IV, which proves nothing, there is not a single ancient inscription that would connect the Sphinx with Cheops."

The version of the ancient origin of the Sphinx is also proven by traces of erosion. In 1978, John Anthony West noted that these tracks run from top to bottom, indicating heavy rainfall rather than sandstorms. And since there have not been such heavy rainfalls in Egypt since the end of the last great ice age (that is, 12 thousand years), a new dating of the age of the Sphinx suggests itself.

In 1991, a group of American specialists conducted a study of the erosion of the Sphinx. The main expert was Professor Robert Schoch from Boston University, a geologist specializing in the weathering of soft rocks.

Egyptologists believe that at the time construction began, only part of the rock from which the Sphinx was carved protruded above the sand, and its head was made first. Then, in softer rock, a pit was cut out, and then the rest of the sculpture was cut down. The Sphinx was repeatedly covered with sand throughout its existence, and only its head remained on the surface of the earth, and then it was cleared again.

R. Schoch noted that although the Sphinx and the internal walls of the artificial pit were cut out of the same rock and at the same time, like several neighboring tombs, the level of erosion at the Sphinx and the tombs is very different.

If on the Sphinx and in the artificial pit these traces are very deep and ancient, then the tombs are perfectly preserved. The erosion of the Sphinx, according to the professor, is “a classic, textbook example of what happens to a limestone formation when it is exposed to rain over thousands of years... It was clearly the rain that caused these erosional marks... It exposed weak spots in the rock and eroded them down to these potholes - for me, as a geologist, this is clear evidence that the erosion pattern was the result of rainfall.”

Schoch concludes: “The current evidence, taken as a whole, suggests that the Great Sphinx of Giza is significantly older than its traditional dating of approximately 2500 BC.” e. Moreover, my current calculations, based on the data at hand, indicate that the origins of the giant sculpture can be traced back to at least 7000–5000 BC. e., and perhaps even to earlier times."

Schoch gave his talk at the 1992 annual meeting of the Geological Society of America in San Diego. His conclusions did not raise any objections among geologists. But Egyptologists were very indignant. Schoch commented: “I am told again and again that the peoples of Egypt... had neither technology nor social organization, necessary to carve the core of the Sphinx's torso in pre-dynastic times... As I understand it, this is not my problem as a geologist... in fact it is the task of Egyptologists... to find out who carved it. If my data conflict with their theory about the development of civilization, then maybe it’s time for them to re-evaluate this theory?”

Very little is actually known about the predynastic period of Egypt. But the fragmentary data that has reached us is very interesting.

The largest center of pre-dynastic Egypt was located opposite Giza, on the other side of the Nile - in Maadi. Excavations here have revealed three characteristic features of the city: trade played a very important role here, many foreigners lived here, and this is the earliest place in Egypt where metal was processed. Conclusions can also be drawn about the social organization in Maadi: public storage facilities for goods have been found here. Also in the city, judging by several finds, there was already stone construction. So the inhabitants of Maadi could well have carved the Sphinx out of the rock. Official Egyptology denies this, citing the fact that no remains of the Maadi culture have been found in Giza. But that's not true.

In 1907, four clay vessels were found at the foot of the Great Pyramid, which were attributed to the 4th Dynasty. At that time, nothing was known about Maadi: it was discovered only in the 1930s.

Archaeologist Vodil Mortensen, having studied the vessels in the 1980s, attributed them as belonging to the Maadi culture. Since the whole pots were not thrown away, it is worth considering that they were brought to Giza for some purpose, most likely for burial. It turns out that the inhabitants of Maadi were using Giza many years before Cheops appeared there.

The mystery of the constellation Orion

It has long been known that the walls of the pyramids are oriented exactly to the cardinal points, and with very high accuracy– the deviation is less than 0.06 percent. This was achieved without the use of a compass - the ancient builders relied only on the stars. In the arrangement of all the buildings of the Giza complex one can see an analogy of a star map. But with very strange anomalies...

The three pyramids have an entrance from the north, and the tunnels and galleries inside them go in a southerly direction. But, however, in relation to each other, the pyramids are not located on the north-south parallel, or, as one might assume by analogy, west-east, but form a bizarre line with a turn, running from south to west. The central points of the first two pyramids are very accurately correlated with each other, but the third pyramid, the smallest, disrupts the construction: it is shifted to the east.

Robert Boval, an experienced civil engineer, tried to understand why the otherwise precise Egyptians had upset the harmony here. At first he examined the plateau from an engineering point of view, but realized that the relief could not prevent the pyramids from being placed level. Then he decided to study the so-called “pyramid texts” carved on their inner walls. Although they belong to later times and are located in the tombs of the pharaohs of the late 5th and early 6th dynasties, they convey, without a doubt, very early material.

Pyramid Texts

From them, Boval learned that it was believed that after death the pharaoh went to the stars and became the god Osiris. And the celestial form of Osiris was a constellation called Sahu, now known as Orion.

In addition, Boval noticed that the so-called “air shafts” leading from the tombs of the pharaoh and his wife in the Great Pyramid were correlated with certain stars. The shaft of the king's tomb corresponded to the lower star from Orion's belt.

After a short study, it turned out that, relative to the Milky Way, the stars included in Orion's belt form a line running from south to west, identical to the line of location of the three pyramids of Giza in relation to the Nile.

Then, after analyzing the location of the “air shafts,” Boval determined that around 2450 BC. BC, when the Great Pyramid was approximately built, the southern shaft leading from the tomb of the pharaoh pointed to the lower star in Orion's belt, and the southern shaft in the queen's tomb pointed to Sirius.

Sirius was identified with Isis, and Orion with Osiris. Osiris and Isis in Egyptian mythology were husband and wife who gave birth to a son, Horus, the first demigod king who ruled Egypt long before the time of the pharaohs. The Sphinx directed its gaze to the point in the east where the sun rises during the spring equinox.

Further, through astronomical calculations, Boval put forward an assumption about the date when, at the moment of the spring equinox, Sirius and Orion were in the places where the mines point. It turned out that this could have been in 10,500 BC. e., that is, precisely at the time when, according to ancient Egyptian texts, Osiris gave Egypt a king.

But, in principle, there are many complaints about this version, and it can hardly be called final.

The pyramids continue to hold the mystery of the origins of humanity. As another touch, or rather a mystery, we can add that the English Stonehenge, a giant stone structure, the dating of which also has problems, is oriented, like the pyramids, towards Orion. How to relate this to the pyramids is up to you.

We will return to the disappeared islands.

Lost Islands: Thera

In the summer around 1628 BC. e. The Greek island of Thera was blown up.

The middle of the island virtually disappeared from a powerful explosion of the volcano, throwing up kilometer-long columns of dust into the sky, and the resulting deep crater was quickly filled by the sea. The remaining parts of the island were quickly covered with a thick layer of volcanic ash...

Today, this site is home to five small Greek islands, collectively known as Santorini, and the largest of them is the island of Thira, a popular tourist destination where people from all over the world come to see the sheer cliffs leading into the sea and the ruins of classical Greece - the remains temples, houses, public buildings and theatre. For many years, all this was hidden under layers of volcanic ash, but over the years, erosion revealed traces of walls and ceramics, and small excavations carried out in this place revealed a beautiful picture.

Scientists were slow to draw parallels between Plato's description of Atlantis and this lush Bronze Age Cretan culture. In addition, a parallel was initially drawn between Atlantis and the suddenly disappeared culture of Crete, which, according to some scientists, could have been the haven of a mysterious civilization. But the Greek archaeologist, Professor Spyridon Marinatos, who began excavations on Thera, strongly defended his version. He argued that Plato's history of Atlantis described the Minoan culture of the Bronze Age of Crete and its sudden death as a result of the volcanic explosion of Thera. He suggested that the combined destructive effects of volcanic ash resulting from the tsunami explosion and, probably, the earthquake bled Crete so much that it rapidly weakened and soon disappeared from the face of the earth.

But this conclusion was a mistake. Firstly, the Greeks were well aware of Crete and its history, and Plato even visited the island with the aim of creating a community there. And secondly, and this is much more important and actually closes the topic, the ashes of Thera were discovered not on the ruins of the old culture of Crete, but in the layer underneath them. The eruption occurred 250 years before the disappearance of the Minoan culture.

Where is Tantalis?

In the story of the destruction of Atlantis, Plato laments the devastation in Greece caused by severe soil erosion. He also describes those distant times when the land was still fertile, covered with forests and fields where large herds grazed. He also gives a detailed description of the ancient Athenian acropolis, describes the buildings and points out that they were all destroyed long before his days. Among other things, there is a remark that the inhabitants were supplied with water by one large spring, which was destroyed by an earthquake long before the birth of the narrator.

Already today, archeology has fully confirmed Plato’s description. Apparently, he used some early sources that have not reached us. Many people have a version that Plato could have used some of the same sources when describing Atlantis.

Scholar and author Peter James attempted to study the figure of Atlas, described as the first king of Atlantis. Greek myths say that Atlas was exiled to the west and condemned to forever support the firmament. And Plato, naming the location of Atlantis, points to the west. James wondered: where was Atlas expelled from? Such an orientation could also clarify the location of Atlantis. But finding out this turned out to be not so easy.

Greek poet Pindar, who lived in the 5th century BC. e., wrote that Atlas was expelled from the lands that his ancestors had owned for many years. After a long study of legends, James discovered that the lands of his ancestors were in Anatolia. Moreover, local Hittite mythology featured a character who, like Atlas, supported the firmament. Often this character was depicted with the head of a bull and with hooves instead of arms and legs. And among the later Lydians, who settled on the western lands of the Hittites, the firmament was supported by King Tantalus, who also accumulated untold wealth.

James also discovered that there were legends about Lydia that showed clear parallels with the story of Atlantis. For example, the Roman writer Pliny, who lived in the 1st century AD. e., says that the city, which sank as a result of the earthquake, was the ancient royal capital of Lydia and was called Tantalis. The parallels, as they say, are obvious.

Therefore, James in 1994 went to the area of ​​​​the modern Turkish city of Izmir. There, near the northern slopes of Mount Sipylus, old maps indicated the presence of a lake or swamp. And right in front of this place, on the mountain slope, an image of the goddess Cybele was carved.

But still, Atlantis was unlikely to be in the Mediterranean Sea. A number of facts allow us to make the assumption that both Plato and the Egyptians knew about the existence of America, which means that the Atlantic Ocean was well studied by them. Plato says that Atlantis was further than the Pillars of Hercules, that is, further than the passage into the Mediterranean Sea, and from it (the islands, that is, Atlantis), it was easy for travelers of that time to move to other islands, and from the islands to the opposite continent, which covered the sea, and truly worthy of the name Atlantic.

There can only be one continent in the indicated direction - America. The Egyptians were known to be good sailors. They traded, in particular, even with southern England, and Herodotus reports that they sailed around Africa, a much longer journey than to America. So you should still forget about Anatolia as the location of Atlantis. Another thing is that the inhabitants of the island could well have returned after the disaster to the homeland of their king’s ancestors. And to form a city there, which with its sudden appearance posed so many mysteries to modern historians.

The next version about the position of the mysterious island is also very interesting. The 1513 map by Admiral Piri Reis, as well as the 1531 map by Orestius Finneus, depict Antarctica without ice, carefully indicating all the mountains and other terrain. Modern man became convinced that these data were correct only in 1959, when Antarctica was surveyed using special equipment. Most likely, these medieval maps go back to the works of an unknown but highly developed ancient people, with a highly developed maritime culture.

Plato describes Atlantis this way. Therefore, the emergence of a new version that the island was located in the so-called Lesser Antarctica is quite justified.

Geologists divide Antarctica into Greater Antarctica and Lesser Antarctica. Lesser, or Western, Antarctica is the territory east of the Ross Sea and west of the Weddell Sea. Eastern, or Greater, Antarctica is the rest of the continent. Until the last crustal movement, in 9600 BC, Antarctica Minor was located outside the Arctic Circle. Researchers point out that this geographical location actually places it in the center of the World Ocean, split by the American and African continents. Perhaps this is what Plato writes about as “the sea in the proper sense of the word,” which lies on the other side of a narrow strait called the Pillars of Hercules. Plato writes that, in comparison, the Mediterranean Sea is just “a gulf with a narrow passage into it.” If you think about it, in order to see the Mediterranean Sea like this, you need to look at it from the other side, knowing about the true size of the World Ocean.

In the days of Plato, the Mediterranean Sea was the very center of the known world, and this phrase from the lips of a philosopher and scientist is very unusual. Could it not have been borrowed by Plato from certain documents of great navigators unknown to us, those for whom the Mediterranean Sea was really just a bay?

If the inhabitants of Atlantis settled around the world after the catastrophe, bringing their knowledge to other peoples, then Plato could well have become a reader or even the owner of some artifacts.

Another version of the location of the disappeared island is the Atlantic Ocean. If the northern tip of the island was level with the Strait of Gibraltar, as the philosopher said, then Atlantis was located precisely on the line of seamounts, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, which stretches from Iceland to the South Atlantic and the peaks of which at times form the islands of the Azores, Ascension and Tristan. yes-Cunha...

Atlantis might not have fallen under water; on the contrary, it might have been covered with water when the level of the world's oceans rose. Moreover, the time of the global flood is not so different from the date of the death of Atlantis indicated by Plato.

Today we have detailed maps of the bottom of the World Ocean and can take a closer look at them. The Azores have always been the most popular candidate for the role of Atlantis. If sea levels were reduced to what they were during the Ice Age, the central islands of Pico and Faial would join together and most of the others would double in size. Up to a dozen new islands would appear, not very large, but forming an entire archipelago.

On the Piri Reis map of 1513, the Azores are indicated, and with the correct coordinates, but instead of the nine small ones that exist today, it shows seventeen islands, and quite large ones, some almost ten times the size of the largest island of San Miguel today.

It's worth wondering if this image is true to the Ice Age. And since only the Atlanteans could have compiled such a map, it is unlikely that the Azores and Atlantis are one and the same.

There are several more shallows or banks that, perhaps, with a strong decrease in the water level, could lay claim to the title of Atlantis, if we take into account certain geological changes, but still, even under these conditions, we cannot find a large enough island that fits Plato’s description .

It seems that we cannot yet say even approximately where Atlantis was located. But we are sure of one thing: its inhabitants settled throughout the entire earth, bringing to other peoples not only their culture and skills, but also the legend of the Flood.

Mythical island of Lemuria

Atlantis is by far the most famous of the sunken lands. But there are stories about other disappeared lands.

The second most popular, perhaps, is Lemuria - a mythical island (or continent) in the Indian Ocean with a highly developed civilization. Mention of it is found in the mythology of different peoples.

In 1926, Bengal Lancers Colonel James Churchward stated that an Indian monk showed him ancient tablets that mentioned the continent of Mu (Lemuria), located between the northern tip of Hawaii and the southern side of Easter Island, which had a length of about 6000 km. But, according to Churchward, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes and high waves destroyed Lemuria about 12 thousand years ago. From the large continent, only small islands remained, and the surviving Lemurians settled throughout the world, and from them all nations descended.

Lemuria is widely mentioned in Indian mythology. According to Dravidian myths, Lemuria was located south of Hindustan. There was a poetry academy on the island, with which the emergence of Tamil poetry is associated.

According to the ancient Hindus, Lemuria existed for 4400 years and died during the Great Flood. The Indians believed that the surviving Lemurians settled in nearby lands, including India, passing on their religious and technical knowledge to the indigenous population.

Some researchers believe that what remained from Lemuria were Madagascar, Ceylon and smaller islands of the Indian Ocean. Others also include the western islands of Indonesia among the remnants of the continent.

In Madagascar, indeed, Lemuria is constantly mentioned in ancient legends, occupying absolutely special place in local mythology. The folklore of the indigenous inhabitants of the Malgash island tells a very detailed history of Lemuria, and also mentions a catastrophe, the destruction after which is very reminiscent of the consequences of the Great Flood.

By the way, despite its proximity to Africa, most of the plants and animals living in Madagascar are endemics(that is, they do not grow anywhere else), and their number is so great that it is quite possible to consider the island part of some vanished continent. In addition, the Malagasy themselves are of non-African origin.

But, unlike the popular Atlantis, practically no expeditions were sent to study the disappeared Lemuria. A few studies have not yet found any convincing evidence of the existence of a large island or continent with an advanced civilization in the area. Some supporters of the existence of Lemuria hastened to transfer it to the Pacific Ocean, but it already had its own disappeared land - the Pacifida.

Easter, the rest of the Pacific continent?

Pacifida (or Pacifida, also the Continent of Mu) is a hypothetical sunken continent in the Pacific Ocean. It is not explicitly mentioned in ancient myths, but legends contain certain hints about its possible existence.

There are several versions that after the disaster, small areas remained in the ocean from the Pacific. The most popular version is that Easter Island is a remnant of the Pacifida.

This is truly one of the most mysterious islands on the planet. Its isolation, mysterious ancient civilization, moai (huge stone sculptures), connections with both Polynesia and South America constantly give rise to new and new versions of its origin.

Legends say that earlier many more people lived on the island and the island itself was much larger, but gradually a significant part of it went under water. Calculations by modern scientists show that to make the moai, a significantly larger number of people were needed than the island (within its current limits) can support. According to another version, Polynesia was the Pacific. It is believed that the Polynesians settled on the islands from the west, although their legends mention ancestors coming from the east. This was noted by Thor Heyerdahl. The Polynesians have little in common with the Indians, and therefore many researchers admit the possibility of the existence of an “intermediate” land.

Oceania is home to a large number of volcanic islands. These volcanoes are still very active today, so it is quite possible to assume that the small islands are the remnants of a once large continent.

There have been practically no searches for Pacifida on the seabed, and therefore we should not expect any scientific information confirming or refuting its existence in the near future. However, no continental sediments were found in samples of ocean soil at the site of the supposed location of the Pacifida, which, of course, is a serious argument in favor of its mythical nature. However, the number of bottom samples was not enough to conduct a serious study, so it is too early to put an end to the question of the existence of the mysterious island.

The Vanished Northern Lands

In addition to legends and traditions about the disappeared lands in the current warm latitudes, there were legends about lands that were supposedly located in the north. The most famous of them was Hyperborea, one of the main contenders that it was here that earthly civilization arose.

The country “beyond the north wind” – Hyperborea

The ancient Greeks were the first to talk about Hyperborea. They described it as the habitat of the blessed Hyperborean people. The name literally means “beyond (the north wind) Boreas”, “beyond the north”.

Greek myths said that the Hyperboreans grew from the blood of the ancient titans. From time to time, Apollo himself went to the country of the Hyperboreans in a chariot drawn by swans in order to return to Delphi at the appropriate time of the summer heat. All the inhabitants there, as well as their divine patron, are artistically gifted. The life of the Hyperboreans is accompanied by songs, dances, music and feasts, and even death comes to them as deliverance from the satiety of life, and they, having experienced all the pleasures, throw themselves into the sea.

The ancient Roman scientist Pliny the Elder wrote in his “Natural History”: “Behind these (Rhipaean) mountains, on the other side of Aquilon, a happy people (if you can believe it), which are called Hyperboreans, reach very advanced years and are glorified by wonderful legends. They believe that there are loops of the world and the extreme limits of the circulation of the luminaries. The sun shines there for six months, and this is only one day when the sun does not hide (as the ignorant would think) from the spring equinox to the autumn one, the luminaries there rise only once a year at the summer solstice, and set only at the winter solstice. This country is entirely sunny, has a favorable climate and is devoid of any harmful wind. The homes for these residents are groves and forests; the cult of the Gods is carried out by individuals and the whole society; Discord and all sorts of diseases are unknown there. Death comes there only from satiety with life... One cannot doubt the existence of this people.”

Many books were devoted to Hyperborea, but mostly of either a parascientific or occult nature. The authors located this land either in Greenland, or near the Ural Mountains, or in Karelia, or on the Taimyr Peninsula. A number of researchers suggest that Hyperborea was located on a now sunken island (or mainland) in the Arctic Ocean.

Many scientists consider the myth of the Hyperboreans to be devoid of a specific historical basis and classify it as characteristic of the most different cultures utopian ideas about outlying peoples. However, the Russian Academy of Sciences annually funds expeditions to one of the supposed sites of the existence of the Hyperborean civilization - near Seydozero on the Kola Peninsula.

In addition to the name Hyperborea, the disappeared northern country is also called not only Arctida, but also Hyperborea. Some researchers separate the concepts, explaining that Arctida is a continent or an island, and Hyperborea is only the name of the country. The term “Arctida” itself was proposed in the 19th century by the German zoogeographer I. Eger, who so called the “northern polar land”, which supposedly connected the New World with Eurasia.

Later, the existence of Arctida was defended by the classic of Soviet Arctic oceanography Ya. Lands existed in the Late Quaternary not only within the shelf, but, apparently, also in the Arctic basin; It is possible that along the strike of the largest underwater ridges there were small islands stretching out in a ridge, which together formed Arctida.” In his opinion, the New Siberian Islands and Wrangel Island represent the remnants of this ancient land. He also believed that the Spitsbergen archipelago, the islands of Franz Josef Land and Severnaya Zemlya, the Canadian Arctic archipelago were much larger in area, and the modern underwater ridges of Gakkel, Lomonosov and Mendeleev were powerful mountain systems.

There is no consensus in science about the time of the flooding of Arctida, as well as about its existence. Some scientists believe that it ceased to exist 100 thousand years ago, and according to others, from 18 to 16 thousand years ago.

Academician A.F. Treshnikov believed that parts of the Lomonosov Ridge could have come to the surface 8 thousand years ago, and Gakkel argued that the land surrounding the New Siberian Islands and Wrangel Island went under water only 5 thousand years ago.

The prominent Soviet hydrobiologist E.F. Guryanova put forward the version that the Lomonosov Ridge protruded above the surface of the water even later, since the barrier in the area of ​​the East Siberian Sea, the New Siberian Islands and Wrangel Island, that is, in the area of ​​the Lomonosov Ridge, existed for quite a long time and disappeared quite recently , in any case, in the post-Littorine time (that is, not earlier than 2.5 thousand years ago).

A number of specialists connected the legends of the population of the Arctic tundra about the existence of a “warm land” in the north, as well as the famous Sannikov Land and the lesser-known Andreev Land, with Arctida.

Searches for Sannikov Land

Sannikov Land is an island in the Arctic Ocean, which was allegedly seen by some travelers north of the New Siberian Islands. It was first reported in 1811 by the fur trader Yakov Sannikov, who hunted arctic fox on the northern shores of the New Siberian Islands. This experienced polar traveler, who had previously discovered the islands of Stolbovoy and Faddeevsky, claimed that there was a vast land to the north of Kotelny Island, and there “high stone mountains” rose above the sea.

Then there were several more similar evidences, besides, watching migratory birds flying towards the pole, many concluded that there was a warm land in the Arctic - after all, the birds there needed to eat something. Much later it became known that the birds, bypassing the pole, fly to America. But in the 19th century they did not know this, and the expedition of Baron Eduard Vasilyevich Toll, convinced of the existence of Arctida, the northern polar continent, the coast of which, in his opinion, was observed by Yakov Sannikov, set out in search of Sannikov Land.

On August 13, 1886, Toll recorded in his diary: “The horizon is completely clear. In the direction to the northeast, the contours of four mesas were clearly visible, which connected with the low-lying land in the east. Thus, Sannikov’s message was completely confirmed. We have the right, therefore, to draw a dotted line in the appropriate place on the map and write on it: “Sannikov Land.”

In 1893, Toll again saw a strip of mountains on the horizon - and again he could not reach it. The myth collapsed only in Soviet times. In 1937, the icebreaker Sadko, while drifting, passed near the supposed island on three sides, but found nothing. At the request of Academician V. A. Obruchev, a supporter of the idea of ​​land in the Arctic and the author of the fantastic story “Sannikov’s Land,” Arctic aviation aircraft were sent to this area. It was then that it finally became clear that Sannikov Land did not exist.

A number of researchers believe that the Sannikov Land, which many travelers saw, was permafrost, on top of which a layer of soil was deposited by winds. But the ice melted and the “earth” disappeared. This, by the way, is not the only case of such an error: the islands of Mercury, Diomede, Vasilyevsky and Semenovsky also disappeared.

But let's return to Kola Peninsula, the most recognized prototype by science or, according to another version, even the part of Hyperborea that remained on the surface of the ocean.

Mysterious walls

The surroundings of Seydozero are full of very strange structures that boggle the imagination (it’s not for nothing that the Russian Academy of Sciences annually funds expeditions to this area).

Giant hewn slabs of regular geometric shape with cuts clearly of man-made origin, they form something similar to a system of defensive structures. Around the lake there are quite large stone cubes with a side of about three meters, large drilled stones are found around, and the surfaces of the rocks amaze the imagination with the art of ancient paintings. In one place, at an altitude of 70 meters, on a rock there is a figure, or rather, the shadow of a man, with his arms outstretched wide. Researchers also find strange metal objects around the lake, shaped like nesting dolls.

Near Mount Ninchurt, researchers discovered poorly preserved but very powerful stonework; there are also several destroyed foundations and structures of clearly artificial origin.

The Finns were the first to explore this place. Back in 1887, a Finnish scientific expedition tried to find traces of an ancient flooded city here. In 1922, Alexander Barchenko, a legendary scientist and mystic who worked for the OGPU and tried to study both the lost lands and human superpowers, went to Seydozer. His expedition managed to discover a strange hole going underground, and even took pictures against its background. But the researchers did not dare to find out the secret of the hole and go down. They said that they were overcome with intense fear, such, as one participant put it, “as if you were being skinned alive!”

Barchenko personally reported to Dzerzhinsky about the secret results of the expedition. But in the 1930s, Barchenko was repressed, and all his materials, which had never been published anywhere before, disappeared in the Lubyanka archives.

Expeditions to the shores of Seydozero resumed in the nineties, after scientists compared Greek legends about Hyperborea with the myths of the inhabitants of the tundra. Surprisingly, many small details coincided almost completely. It is clear that none of the scientists believed in the legends literally, but there had to be some real explanation for such a coincidence.

Local residents believe that there are people roaming the Seydozero area snow people. Many saw them personally, and indirectly the presence of a relict hominid is confirmed by several very strange murders of hunters, when the bodies were literally torn to pieces, but it was impossible to “attribute” this to wild animals due to the nature of the damage on the corpses.

Several strange tunnels were discovered at the bottom of the lake. And in the very middle, at a depth of less than a meter below the surface of the water, there are stone slabs, under which instruments record the void.

Near neighboring Kanozero, numerous petroglyphs (prehistoric signs and drawings carved on the surface of rocks) were discovered - images of some kind of wheels, numerous suns, animals, hunting scenes, etc. The drawings were carved on the rocks and, apparently, were once painted in different colors. There are about three hundred of them in total. One of the rock paintings practically repeats the ancient Greek map of Hyperborea. Scientists claim that these inscriptions are about three to five thousand years old. Many researchers believe that ancient artists did not live here, but came here specifically, for some purpose, to leave drawings.

Dozens of archaeological sites have been discovered and excavated here, dating from the Mesolithic and Neolithic to the Early Metal and Middle Ages. But, in essence, the myth about the northern land, from which a highly educated nation settled throughout the planet, remains a myth. No one has yet found evidence that could be taken seriously.

Residents of the central Pacific islands are seeing rising water levels.
Residents of the central Pacific islands do not need explanations from scientists to appreciate the possible effects of global warming.
Residents of the islands of Micronesia (a collection of islands in the western Pacific Ocean), stretching from the Philippines in the west to Hawaii in the east, do not need graphs and diagrams to understand that the world's sea levels have reached their critical level.
The fact is that with a full moon, the height of the ocean tide increased by several feet compared to previous years.
Life on many of the Pacific Islands is directly dependent on tourism; tourists are attracted by boats for scuba diving, snorkeling or simply sport fishing. But even the underwater landscape is threatened by climate change, and changes in the ocean itself affect coral reefs region.
The sandy beach near the village of Laura, located on the Majuro Atoll, is shaded by Casuarina pine trees, the height of a three-story house, mangrove trees and almond trees. The beauty and seclusion of the beach is known throughout the Marshall Islands. Bougainvillea and hibiscus grow here next to delicate orchids and plumerias. The beach opens onto the lagoon, and the lagoon in turn meets the Pacific Ocean with gentle ripples of turquoise waters. People like to come with their family for a picnic to swim and play volleyball.
Today the beach has become noticeably narrower. Some of the giant trees are already half in the water, their curved roots resembling the fingers of a hand extended to stop death. Beautiful Laura loses her sands and trees, giving them to the ocean.
The 7,897 feet wide paved drain is adjacent to the road leading from the Amata Kabua International Airport from the capital Majuro to Laura. The road was built by creating an embankment across several small islands. The width of the embankment is sufficient to accommodate a two-lane road and an asphalt drain. On one side of the embankment lies the ocean, and on the other is the lagoon. Drainage systems on both sides of the drain collect and store fresh rainwater. The drainage is located only 6 feet above sea level and is an important source drinking water, the functioning of which is essential for local residents.
Wave barriers were built on the sides of the road leading to the airport, and now the construction of similar walls continues towards Laura.
“Sometimes the ocean waves crash over the walls, which has never happened before,” says Carmen Bigler, president of Women Together of the Marshall Islands and the first woman to serve as a member of the Micronesian Congress.
“We don't know what to do with the rising water levels. But we don't want to leave our homes,” says Bigler.
Residents want to stay here, some working hard to save their land. Charles Dominic, managing director of Anil Development, does not want the ocean to wash away his home and his business, and he has fenced off his property with abandoned cars and decommissioned tanks.
Wilfred Kendall, Minister of Education and former ambassador USA and his wife Rosemary collect rock fragments and attach them with cement to the sea wall that runs next to their home. “Importing heavy, strong ironwood is too expensive,” says Kendall.
To the east of the Marshall Islands lies the state of Chuuk, once called Truk, one of the four states that make up the Micronesian Federation. Chuuk features a collection of flat coral reefs and volcanic formations nestled in a lagoon that is second in size only to the Kwajalein Atoll Lagoon in the Marshall Islands.
Chuuk became famous for its role in World War II, when the United States sank 41 Japanese warships in the lagoon in 1944 during Operation Hailstone. Nowadays, shipwrecks are of interest to divers from all over the world.
In addition to the 18 densely populated islands located in the lagoon, there are also flat coral islets with beaches and palm groves.
Risko Walter, a college teacher living on one of the high islands, says: “I woke up in my bed because water began to flood me. It was really scary."
In Chuuk, in the region of the outer western islands, the ocean flooded Pulap Atoll. Director of Marine Resources Romio Oseina and leader of one of the public organizations Rufin Mickey says that salty ocean waters have led to the death of the taro plant, which is the main source of food for the inhabitants of the islands.
Similar stories occurred with the Mortlox Islands and other islands in eastern Chuuk. Residents of the Northern Marianna Islands, Palau and Guam are also noticing changes. Residents certain areas The central Pacific region finds itself in a much tougher situation: almost 10,000 people from Tuvalu are negotiating immigration to New Zealand.
The Kiribati Islands have lost two islands to the ocean and face the possibility that 100,000 people will soon have to find a new home somewhere where the sand and trees are not slowly sinking underwater.

Siberia, the North, and the Arctic constantly present us with mysteries of not only, so to speak, local significance, but also global, one might even say planetary, scale. These, without a doubt, include the problem of “disappearing islands,” which are most often recorded in the waters of the Siberian coast of the Arctic Ocean.

In another way, they are also called ED-islands (from the English existence doubted - “existence is doubtful”). A similar phenomenon is well known to Russian readers from the adventure novel “Sannikov Land” by the outstanding geologist and geographer Vladimir Afanasyevich Obruchev (1863-1956).

In itself, such a “land” is not an artistic fantasy - it was seen twice in 1811 by the Russian pioneer and industrialist (mammoth ivory hunter) Yakov Sannikov, who reached the northern tip of the New Siberian Islands and discovered mountainous land further to the north.

Sannikov himself walked across the ice to the land clearly visible to him in the light of the polar sun for about 30 miles, until his path was blocked by a huge ice hole. Subsequently, they searched for Sannikov Land for more than a hundred years, until it was decided that it did not exist at all.

No less indicative is the discovery of Catherine's sergeant Stepan Andreev. In 1763, he set out on dog sleds from the Nizhnekolymsky fort along the ice of the East Siberian Sea to the Bear Islands. He did not travel at random, for he had interesting information received from the native population: somewhere north of the mouth of the Kolyma there is “a large land on which there is quite a lot of standing forest (!)” - this is what his “travel sheet” said verbatim.

Wow information, if you just think about it: the memory of continental aborigines preserved information about an island land in the middle of the Arctic Ocean, covered with tall forest! There are six small Bear Islands in total; from the northernmost he saw the land stretching far ahead of him, which was later named after the brave sergeant.

The following year an attempt was made to reach this land. A thoroughly equipped expedition of seekers of “new lands” arrived on the most mysterious of all the bear islands - Four-Pillar Island, where four natural stone menhirs-kekurs towered.

Four-Pillar Island

Having traveled almost the entire island on a sled, Stepan Andreev suddenly came across a chain of fresh human (or humanoid) footprints. The situation vividly resembles the famous episode from “Robinson Crusoe” - only, unlike Robinson, Andreev saw mysterious footprints not on the coastal sand, but on the snow. The squad froze in place. Everyone felt a feeling of inexplicable fear. And so everyone, without saying a word, turned back and left the island almost in panic.

Just think: several brave, armed people who more than once looked danger into the eyes; They had been preparing for this expedition for a whole year, they knew what they were doing, they reached the northern point they had reached for many days and weeks, and suddenly, abandoning everything, forgetting about the main goal of the journey, they immediately turned the sleds and returned headlong. Maybe, after all, they saw something that they had only guessed about before.

There are a dime a dozen such discovered and soon lost lands and islands in the Arctic. The lands of Makarov, Bradley, Gilles, Harris, Kenan, Tak-Puk, Mukhanov (Polyarnikov), President, Peasant Woman, etc. - all of them were discovered, observed under the dazzling polar sun, recorded in ship documents from precise definition coordinates, were plotted on maps, but later disappeared, God knows how...

Thus, back in the early 18th century, the vast Gilles Land was discovered and mapped north of Spitsbergen, but heavy ice made it impossible to get close to it and land on shore. In 1899, Admiral Stepan Osipovich Makarov (1848-1904), testing the powerful icebreaker Ermak, tried to reach the mysterious land that was clearly visible on the horizon. However, the ice turned out to be so thick that even an ultra-modern (for that time) ship could not overcome it.

Makarov failed to return to the Land of Gilles again: the Russo-Japanese War began, and the famous naval commander died. At the same time, the “land” he had almost reached “died”: since then no one has seen it again - neither from a ship, nor from an airplane, nor from a satellite.

But the absence of something today does not mean that it could not have happened yesterday. In addition, there are too many facts recorded in different times and in various sources, they talk about the presence in the Arctic of wandering and periodically disappearing phenomena of a planetary scale.

Some of them can be explained using the concept of “ice islands,” but not all. It is believed that large areas coastal ice, on which both alluvial soil and boulders accumulate, can break away from the main mass of the continental or island solder and drift freely in the ocean, gradually melting and disappearing.

Indeed, starting from 1823, the islands of Vasilievsky and Semenovsky were listed on maps of Siberia in the Laptev Sea. They were composed of fossil ice, overlain by later marine sediments. After about a hundred years, both islands melted and turned into underwater shallows - banks. But here the count goes back many tens, if not hundreds, of years, although it is not known exactly how long the disappeared islands existed before they were put on the map.

And we are interested in ED islands, which appear and disappear within a fairly short period of time. Moreover, all this is officially recorded, and in some cases, filmed.

In March 1941, during an air polar expedition on the “flying boat” “USSR N-169” under the leadership of the famous pilot Ivan Ivanovich Cherevichny (1909-1971), a large ice island with an elongated oval contour and clearly prominent river beds. The coordinates of the island were accurately recorded, and it was even given a name in honor of one of the expedition members, but no one subsequently saw this island.

Unknown land photographed from Cherevichny's plane. All that's left of her is this photo.

Five years later, in 1946, an even larger island (30 kilometers long and 25 kilometers wide) was discovered and photographed simultaneously by Soviet and American pilots. Shortly thereafter, he disappeared forever.

In 1952, during an aerial search for a suitable ice floe for landing a polar expedition in the Canadian sector of the Arctic, two 2-kilometer islands stretched along the meridian and made of basalt rocks about 5 meters high were discovered and photographed.

The coordinates of the previously unknown islands were absolutely precisely established - 88°35" north latitude and 95°00" west longitude, approximately 150 kilometers from the pole. However, these “newborns” soon disappeared. Only some time later, the locators of the American submarine Nautilus indirectly confirmed the presence of some unknown obstacle in this water area.

Finally, one of the relatively recent evidence, which was sparingly reported in the foreign press. In October 1988, satellite photographs from space showed an island measuring 12 kilometers long and 1.5 kilometers wide.

Almost immediately, military aircraft were sent to the area, but they did not find any island at the point indicated on the map.

From the book by V.N. Demina "Mysteries of the Urals and Siberia"