Mainstream Archeology
Contemporary archeologists suggest that Plato’s account of Atlantis’s demise is an allegorical retelling of catastrophic natural disasters known in his time.
In 1967, off the island of Santorini, Greek archeologists found the lost city of Akrotiri, buried 4,500 years earlier in volcanic ash. In 2001, archeologists unearthed the ancient city of Helike, which had been destroyed by a massive tsunami spawned by an earthquake, just 20 years before Plato wrote his chronicle of Atlantis.
Could either of these sites be the original inspiration for Atlantis? That’s what serious archeologists are seeking to determine.
From scifi.com: “Quest for Atlantis: Startling New Theories.”
Nazis
Under the guidance of Heinrich Himmler, Nazi party archeologists undertook ambitious expeditions to find the lost continent. According to Heather Pringle, author of The Master Plan, “Atlantis was the mythical homeland of the Aryan race.”
Equally bizarre is the Nazis’ hypothesis of Atlantis’s destruction, summarized in Welteislehre, or “World Ice Theory.” They asserted that six moons once surrounded Earth. Five crashed into the oceans, triggering ice ages, the last of which coincided with Plato’s date for the destruction of Atlantis.
Because of these and other implausible hypotheses, and their connection to the Nazis’ racial-purity experiments in concentration camps, the Nazis’ search for Atlantis cast a shadow over future archeological efforts for decades after World War II.
From scifi.com: “Quest for Atlantis: Startling New Theories.”
Antarctica
Some seekers of Atlantis have set their sights on Antarctica, chief among them Argentine explorer Alex Chionetti. According to Chionetti, Antarctica was once located closer to the equator. Approximately 10,000 years ago, he insists, Earth’s axis tilted, sending the continent of Atlantis drifting toward its present location at the South Pole.
Chionetti presents such evidence as the 500-year-old Piri-Reis map, which depicts what Chionetti believes to be the coastline of Atlantis. He also points to a 1976 Norwegian expedition to Antarctica, which allegedly found “mysterious structures” that he thinks are remnants of the Atlantean empire.
From scifi.com: “Quest for Atlantis: Startling New Theories.”
Cyprus
In 2004, American explorer Robert Sarmast used side-scan sonar to discover an underwater formation 50 miles off the coast of Cyprus. The site sits atop a small mountain nearly a mile below the surface. Sarmast believes this site matches point by point with Plato’s description of Atlantis.
Sarmast believes that the capital of Atlantis once sat atop a mountain, surrounded by shallow lakes in what was once a dry Mediterranean basin. Long ago, the Mediterranean sea level was lower because it was separated from the Atlantic ocean by a seawall in the Strait of Gibraltar. Powerful earthquakes breached the seawall, Sarmast claims, sending a tsunami-like wave streaming across the basin, flattening everything in its path — including Atlantis.
Having successfully mapped the site, Sarmast is mounting an expedition to launch a deep-sea submersible to take live pictures of it and remove a piece of what he believes is Atlantis.
From scifi.com: “Quest for Atlantis: Startling New Theories.”
Bimini
The idea that Atlantis would be found somewhere in the mid-Atlantic emerged during the late 19th century. American author and politician Ignatius Donnelly postulated that the lost civilization had been near the Azores. He based his theory on Plato’s description of the continent as lying outside the Pillars of Hercules, which are commonly thought to be the Straits of Gibraltar.
In 1968, pilots flying over North Bimini Island spotted an astonishing geological formation of beach rock that was laid out in straight lines. This area, which came to be known as The Bimini Road, was thought by many Atlantis-seekers to be evidence of the lost continent.
From scifi.com: “Quest for Atlantis: Startling New Theories.”
Alternative Historians
Some “alternative historians” believe that the Atlanteans were descendants of aliens who came to inhabit Earth after their native planet was destroyed.
Proponents of this hypothesis include Michael Tsarion and Zecharia Sitchin, who believe that a worldwide nuclear war wiped out most traces of this ancient civilization, sending its capital city of Atlantis far beneath the sea approximately 11,000 years ago.
“They interfered with the indigenous population of this planet,” Tsarion says. “And, when I say ‘interfere,’ I mean genetically, biologically.”
From scifi.com: “Quest for Atlantis: Startling New Theories.”
Lamanai, Belize: Indian Church
I didn’t know about Lamanai until recently watching an episode of “Cities of the Underworld” that talked about how it is the only Mayan ruin to retain its ancient name. This caught my attention because of its similarity to a group of people mentioned in the Book of Mormon called the “Lamanites.” The episode can be watched on Hulu. The segment on Lamanai starts at the 20-minute mark (second dot). http://www.hulu.com/watch/72069/cities-of-the-underworld-maya-underground
“Though the locale is generally known in Belize as Indian Church, a name apparently coined in the early 19th century, Lamanai is in fact one of the very few Maya sites for which the ancient name is recorded. It appears on a church list of 1582, and the site was visited and very sketchily described by Fathers Bartolome de Fuensalida and Juan de Orbita in 1618.” Pendergast http://mayaruins.com/lamanai/b1_055.html
“And behold, the city of Laman, and the city of Josh, and the city of Gad, and the city of Kishkumen, have I caused to be burned with fire, and the inhabitants thereof, because of their wickedness in casting out the prophets, and stoning those whom I did send to declare unto them concerning their wickedness and their abominations.” 3rd Nephi 9:10 http://scriptures.lds.org/en/3_ne/9
“That portion of the monument found in situ, which included the feet of the personage depicted, bore evidence of fire damage on the front and sides, manifest in blackening and crazing of the stone and the loss of some areas of carving from spalling. The plaster floor was also calcined in the immediate vicinity of the stela base, and the lower portion of the room wall behind the monument was blackened. Clearly, a fire of considerable intensity was responsible for the breakup of the monument. It also was probably responsible for the destruction of those portions of the carving that remain missing.” Pendergast http://www.mesoweb.com/bearc/cmr/20_text.html
Emesh and Enten aka Cain and Abel
I thought you might find interest in this Sumerian tale of two brothers, Emesh (Cain) and Enten (Abel) being farmer of the gods. Rather than this story ending with Cain murdering Abel in jealousy, they reconciled.
Enten caused the ewe to give birth to the lamb, the goat to give birth to the kid,
Cow and calf he caused to multiply, much fat and milk he caused to be produced,
In the plain, the heart of the wild goat, the sheep, and the donkey he made to rejoice,
The birds of the heaven, in the wide earth he had them set up their nests.
The fish of the sea, in the swampland he had them lay their eggs,
In the palm-grove and vineyard he made to abound honey and wine,
The trees, wherever planted, he caused to bear fruit,
The furrows . . .,
Grain and crops he caused to multiply,
Like Ashnan (the grain goddess), the kindly maid, he caused strength to appear.
Emesh brought into existence the trees and the fields, he made wide the stables and sheepfolds,
In the farms he multiplied the produce,
The . . . he caused to cover the earth,
The abundant harvest he caused to be brought into the houses, he caused the granaries to be heaped high.
Emesh apparently felt like his work was more important than Enten’s, and that he should be given the title of “farmer of the gods” and became irreverent, which is why his (Emesh-Cain’s) offering to the gods was rejected.
(Enlil is the air-god who “caused the good day to come forth,” developed the notion that the earth should bring forth seed, and be prosperous; he fashioned the prototype agricultural implements, the pickax and plow. Enki is the water god (Jesus) who organized the earth and decreed the fates of Sumer, Ur and Meluhha. Ashnan is the grain goddess, and Laha is the cattle-god, sent from heaven to earth to make abundant its cattle and grain.)
Enlil answers Emesh and Enten:
“The life-producing water of all the lands, Enten is its ’knower,’
As farmer of the gods he has produced everything,
Emesh, my son, how dost thou compare thyself with Eaten, thy brother?”
The exalted word of Enlil whose meaning is profound,
The decision taken, is unalterable, who dares transgress it!
Emesh bent the knees before Enten,
Into his house he brought . . ., the wine of the grape and the date,
Emesh presents Enten with gold, silver, and lapis lazuli,
In brotherhood and friendship, happily, they pour out libations,
Together to act wisely and well they determined.
In the struggle between Emesh and Enten,
Enten, the steadfast farmer of the gods, having proved greater than Emesh,
. . . O father Enlil, praise!
Who Were the Maya?
From http://www.mondovista.com/ancientturks.html
“In his book, Remedy the Frauds in Hinduism, historian Kuttikhat Purushothoma Chon mentioned the Siberian origin of the Mayans. “Maya architects are mentioned in our epic Mahabharata. Maya people are in Siam and East Asia. There is a place called Mayyavad in Kerala. The Uttar Pradesh people have the meaning of Mayya as mother in phrases like ‘Ganga ki Mayya.’ There is a vast area in Russian East Siberia as well as a river by name Maya.” (p. 28.)
The Cologne Sanskrit Lexicon defines the Maya as mathematicians (measurers), astronomers, military strategists, magicians, wise-men, and builders. Our Mesoamerican Mayans definitely fit this description.
The Olmecs or Olman were the first civilization in Meso-America. Although there are abundant physical and linguistic artifacts of their existence, only the Nahuatl-speaking tribes and the Mayans knew something about the Olmecs or Olman as a people. For certain, we know that they were Turks because Olmak and Olman are the Turkish names for Adam. Perhaps they called themselves thusly because they were the first inhabitants of Mexico.
[Right: Artist’s idea of what the ancient Olmec city of La Venta looked like.] The Olmecs supposedly entered Western Mexico in boats, crossing the then navigable Isthmus of Tehuantepec. They first settled on the east coast of Veracruz by the river Papaloapan. The Nahuatl-speaking people couldn’t pronounce “B.” Papaloapan was probably Babalu-apan (Babylonian Crossing).
The Olmecs’ Zikhari (Temple Mounts) were similar to those of the Sumerian Zigurrats and with virtually the same name: Zicualli and Zacualli. Because the Nahuatl tribes couldn’t say “L,” it was probably a dialectical version of Zigurrat: Zicuari.
People are surprised to see stone images of elephants in Mayan country, such as the following one in Copan. It may be a reminder of the elephants in India.
[Right: Stone etching of a Hindu mahout, complete with turban, riding on the head of an elephant.] Some authorities, who do not agree with me that the Mayans came from abroad, think Southern Mexico once had elephants. The truth is that they worshiped a long-nosed god (Chac) or elephant, just as the Hindu Tamils worshiped the elephant-headed Ganesha in India.
The Ant People of Orion
Something to investigate sometime…
“The Hopi word for ant is anu. In the same language naki means friend, prayer feathers, food offerings, or sand–a nexus of concepts pertaining to this insect that sometimes flies. A combination of the two words (anu-naki, or “ant friend”) may be related to Sitchin’s Anunnaki. The Babylonian sky god was also named Anu. One Sumerian cylinder seal from around 2250 B.C. shows the pantheon of primary deities wearing peaked hats. The Hopi sky god Sotuknang, closely associated with the earth god Masau’u, also wears a pointed headdress. Like their Middle Eastern counterparts, these American Indian divinities were present at the creation of the universe and continued to be instrumental in the culture’s development.
Anu (or Danu) was also the appellation of the Celtic mother goddess and patroness of the dead. In addition, Anu was another name for the Egyptian city of Heliopolis, where the benben stone of meteoric iron was kept. Furthermore, the Egyptian word anu meant not only products, revenues, or something brought in but also gifts, tributes, and offerings. This refers to both the ants’ ability to store provisions and the reverence given to the Ant People. In any case, their influence is global.”
The Wandering Mind 