Atlantis is a lost world, a bone of contention for the scientific community. Atlantis Lost Atlantis and the mystery of its existence

Briefly about the article: A country that, thousands of years ago, could have conquered all of Europe. Huge marble palaces, multi-deck ships, tall, strong people, unprecedented weapons, the mysterious magic of priests, nobility and ambition - all this could have become the reality of our history, if not...

Lost civilization

Atlantis - reality or dream?

Everything that is hidden now will someday be revealed by time.

Quintus Horace Flaccus, “Epistle”, 6:20

A country that, thousands of years ago, could have conquered all of Europe. Huge marble palaces, multi-deck ships, tall, strong people, unprecedented weapons, the mysterious magic of priests, nobility and ambition - all this could have become the reality of our history, if not...

Thousands of books and articles have been written about the ancient country of Atlantis, buried by the ocean depths. What was Atlantis? An ancient and powerful human civilization? Or maybe a refuge for aliens from distant worlds? Why did Atlantis perish? Was she the victim of a natural disaster or a devastating war using mysterious weapons?

Other ancient authors also wrote about Atlantis and its inhabitants. True, almost all of them lived after Plato, which means they most likely relied on the data he provided.

The exception is the “father of history” Herodotus (485-425 BC), who mentioned the Atlanteans who lived in North Africa. However, this tribe received its name from the Atlas Mountains.

A surge of interest in the problem of Atlantis occurred at the end of the 19th century. In 1882, the American Ignatius Donnelly published the book “Atlantis - the Antediluvian World,” where he argued that this legendary land is the ancestral home of all humanity. To prove the theory, he used data from archeology, biology and mythology, compared legends, languages ​​and customs of peoples on both sides Atlantic Ocean. Donelly's work marked the beginning of the modern view of the Atlantean problem and became a source of inspiration for other authors. The result is more than 5,000 titles of scientific, popular science and fiction books.

Broken phone

As we see, atlantology is based on a shaky foundation.

You are especially convinced of this when you soberly analyze Plato’s texts. The philosopher learned about Atlantis from hearsay, and the whole story resembles a children's game of “broken telephone.”

So what does Plato say? His great-grandfather Critias, as a 10-year-old boy, heard about Atlantis from his then 90-year-old grandfather, also Critias. And he, in turn, learned the tragic story of the Atlanteans from a distant relative, the great Athenian sage Solon (640 - 558 BC). Solon received the “baton” from the Egyptian priests from the temple of the goddess Neit in the city of Sais (not preserved to this day), who from time immemorial allegedly kept historical records in the form of hieroglyphs on temple columns. It turns out to be quite a long chain of intermediaries...

If we assume that Plato did not invent anything, there is still plenty of room for error. Critias the Younger claimed that the story of Atlantis shocked him, so he remembered it in detail. However, there are direct contradictions in the dialogue. For example, in one place Critias says that: “... the story was indelibly imprinted on my memory,” and in another - that: “... after such a long time, I did not remember enough the contents of the story.” Then it turns out that he had some notes.

Memorable notes from grandfather or Solon? And Critias’s grandfather, in his 90s, could well have mixed up a lot of things, not to mention the fact that many details of the legend about the sunken land may be the fruit of senile boasting.

“And I’ll tell you, grandson, a great-a-wonderful fairy tale!”

Plato describes the land of the ancestors of the Hellenes as follows: “It stretches from the mainland far into the sea... and is immersed on all sides in a deep vessel of the abyss.” But the ancient Greeks did not know about the presence of depths of more than a few tens of meters! Atlantologists believe that Plato’s words about the “deep vessel of the abyss” are evidence of knowledge preserved from the time of the Atlanteans. However, Plato could have used this phrase as a poetic comparison. Or, based on the presence of the steep shores of Attica, independently conclude that if the rocks drop sharply into the sea, it must be very deep there.

On the other hand, the war of the ancient Hellenes with Atlantis is very reminiscent of the wars of the Greeks with the Persians. The thought involuntarily creeps in that the philosopher projected the events of real history onto the distant past. The description of Atlantis in terms of relief and natural data resembles the island of Crete. The Temple of Poseidon, the main cult building of the Atlanteans, is very similar to the sanctuary of Aphrodite in Cyprus. The sculpture of the god of the seas on a chariot drawn by six winged horses is reminiscent of the very real statue of Poseidon by Scopas (4th century BC). Random coincidences or fraud?

Where is this street, where is this house?

Atlantologists also argue about the location of the legendary land, although from Plato’s dialogues it would seem to be extremely clear that the island was located precisely in the Atlantic.

Plato says that to the west of the Pillars of Hercules (the ancient name of the Strait of Gibraltar) lay a huge island, larger than Libya and Asia combined, from which one could easily cross over other islands to the “opposite continent” (America?).

Therefore, many atlantologists believe that traces of Atlantis should be looked for somewhere at the bottom of the ocean of the same name. Possibly near existing islands, which may have been the high mountain peaks of a sunken land.

At the same time, atlantologists stubbornly ignore the simplest fact - if an asteroid capable of flooding a hefty island crashed onto Earth, it would cause such an increase in atmospheric temperature that almost all life on the planet would be destroyed.

Myths of the peoples of the world

The “father” of Atlantology, Donnelly, and his followers consider mythology, or more precisely, several legends that coincide among many peoples, to be the key evidence for the existence of Atlantis.

Firstly, these are legends about the flood, which are found among almost all of humanity. The gods, tired of human dirty tricks, flood the entire earth with water, adding a number of other weighty means of re-educating sinners - in the form of fiery rain, for example.

Secondly, legends about aliens from distant lands (not to be confused with aliens!). An unknown man arrives from somewhere far away, speaking an incomprehensible language and teaching the natives various useful things.

Thirdly, legends about cosmic cataclysms. Something huge falls from the sky - a stone, the Moon, the Sun, a Dragon. It doesn't bring anything good to people. The people left out of business are scattering in all directions...

Atlantis in the Mediterranean?

In addition to the Atlantic Ocean, the sunken island is also placed in other parts of the world.

The Mediterranean Sea is especially loved.

Upon closer examination, this theory does not look crazy at all. Plato wrote that after Atlantis sank, “the sea in those places became... unnavigable and inaccessible due to shallowing caused by the huge amount of silt that the settled island left behind.” It is unlikely that in the Atlantic Ocean, with its considerable depths, muddy shallows would serve as a serious obstacle to shipping. But in the Mediterranean there are plenty of such places.

And the nature of Atlantis can easily be correlated with almost any Mediterranean island. The god of the seas, Poseidon, fell in love with a simple girl, Cleito, who bore him 5 pairs of twins, who laid the foundation for the Atlantean people. The Atlantean state was similar to Ursula Le Guin's Earthsea - an archipelago of several islands, the length of the main one was 1110 km, width - 400 km.

The climate is presumably tropical, as there were elephants on the island. On the southern side of Atlantis was its capital - the city of Poseidonis with a diameter of about 7 km. In the center of the city there was a lake, in the middle of which lay an island with a diameter of 965 meters, riddled with canals, with palace complex

The Atlantean army consisted of 660 thousand people and 10 thousand war chariots. Fleet - 1200 combat triremes with a crew of 240 thousand people.

Are the Atlanteans the ancestors of the Russians?

Some scientists go their own way, placing the legendary land in the most exotic places. In 1638, the English scientist and politician Francis Bacon, in his book Nova Atlantis, placed Atlantis in Brazil, where, as is known, there are many wild monkeys. In 1675, the Swede Rudbeck argued that Atlantis was located in Sweden, and its capital was Uppsala.

Recently, due to the lack of virgin places, they have turned to our endless expanses - the Azov, Black and Caspian Seas have also been honored to receive the completely lost Atlantis into their arms.

There is also a charming theory that the Atlanteans are the ancestors of the ancient Russians, and the legendary land of Plato... the sunken city of Kitezh! True, after the stories that Adam and Eve were from somewhere in the Moscow region, the Russian-Atlantic version no longer looks sensational enough.

R. Silverberg in “Letters from Atlantis” shows the events of a thousand years ago through the eyes of a modern man, whose mind has moved into the body of an Atlantean prince (an obvious remake of Hamilton’s “Star Kings”).

A time traveler can also become a witness to the events of the past (“Dancer from Atlantis” by P. Anderson, “Atlantis Endgame” by A. Norton and S. Smith).

Many books tell about the adventures of outcasts who survived the disaster. Some have preserved the remains of civilization under water (“Atlantis under water” by R. Kadu, “The Abyss of Marakot” by A. Conan Doyle, “The End of Atlantis” by K. Bulychev). Others ran away. To America (“The Temple. A Manuscript Found on the Coast of Yucatan” by H. P. Lovecraft), to Africa (“Tarzan and the Treasure of Opar” by E. R. Barrows); to Spain (“This distant Tartessus” by E. Voiskunsky and I. Lukodyanov); even to Britain ("Stones of Power" by D. Gemmell). For some Atlanteans, the shock from the death of their homeland turned out to be so strong that other planets seemed to them to be the best refuge (A. Tolstoy, “Aelita”; A. Shcherbakov, “Chalice of Storms”).

In V. Panov’s recent novel “The Pulpit of Wanderers,” the ancient Atlantean artifact, the Throne of Poseidon, turns out to be the catalyst for powerful forces.

Even Batman ("The Black Egg of Atlantis" by N. Barrett) joins the battle for the Atlantean legacy when the Penguin Man tries to take possession of an ancient object that gives dark power.

Why did Atlantis perish?

There is also no agreement on the reasons for the death of the island. In addition to the basic, albeit completely unrealistic version of the fall of a giant meteorite, the hypothesis of a powerful earthquake is very popular. In history, there are known cases of sudden subsidence of the earth by several meters as a result of such a natural disaster. For example, the death of the pirate capital of Port Royal in Jamaica in 1692, when the city sank 15 meters into the sea. Large earthquakes, especially those with their epicenter on the seabed, can cause a tsunami.

Typical example

The bestsellers of the terribly popular ophthalmologist Ernst Muldashev among some Russians also contain amazing discoveries. It turns out that the Atlanteans had extrasensory perception, and 75,000 years ago they built the Egyptian pyramids with the help of psychokinetic energy. A number of great personalities - Krishna, Buddha, Christ - were also Atlanteans. And somewhere in the depths of Tibet, in caves, the surviving Atlanteans are still sleeping in a special type of suspended animation - samadhi.

Is Atlantis a myth?

Despite all the numerous disagreements, the only thing that cements the discordant ranks of atlantologists is the idea that Atlantis really existed.

However, there are many who declare: Atlantis is a myth!

Their main arguments are as follows. Firstly, apart from Plato’s dialogues, there are no other reliable references to Atlantis. Secondly, the island had to be too large, and it would not be easy to fit it somewhere in terms of geography. Thirdly, modern geological and oceanographic studies do not confirm the sinking of large parts of land to the ocean floor. Fourthly, 10 thousand years ago there was no developed human civilization. But for any of these arguments, if desired (and many have it!), no less logical counter-arguments can be easily found.

The most impartial scientists still admit that Plato’s dialogues contain a rational grain and they describe real natural disasters that befell the Mediterranean - the same Crete.

The only thing that can draw a line under many years of discussions, indisputably proving the veracity of the legend, is the discovery of the remains of Atlantis on the sea or ocean floor. But is this possible?

Remnants of former luxury

Scientists from many countries constantly explore the seas and oceans, making valuable archaeological discoveries from time to time. True, nothing has yet been found that would prove the existence of a sunken continent or a huge island. Considering the constant improvement of the technical equipment of such expeditions, epoch-making discoveries may not be far off. Another question is what can scientists find at the bottom? The main building materials of antiquity were marble, granite, basalt and sandstones. For thousands of years sea ​​water

In salty sea water, metals undergo accelerated corrosion.

Iron oxidizes after 200 years in the sea, copper and copper alloys disappear after 400 years. True, if copper products are large (bells, cannons, anchors), a layer of carbonates forms on their surface, which can protect the object. But high-grade gold can lie in water for a very long time. Wooden objects die within a couple of centuries, and high-quality ceramics lie at the bottom for thousands of years. At the same time, many items, if they quickly become overgrown with corals, can also be stored

long time

- however, it is difficult to detect them in this case. In general, some of the Atlantean heritage can theoretically survive to this day.
Perhaps a miracle will still happen, and humanity will take a fresh look at its history? They also once made fun of Schliemann, but he, despite everything, discovered the legendary Troy...
South America turns out to be the birthplace of many cultures and even civilizations that go back centuries.
Later discoveries clearly proved that the builders of La Venta, the inhabitants of Tres Zapotes, and the creators of the “Bird Man” figurine were the bearers of the very first, most ancient high culture of America. Thus, the “jaguar Indians,” as I would gladly call them (since we do not know and probably will never know what they called themselves), were the predecessors and even teachers of those who proudly considered themselves the first and only ones in the world , that is, the brilliant Mayans.
After all, it was they, the “jaguar Indians,” who were the first in America to observe the stars, create a calendar, arrange dots and lines in different combinations until the Mayan numeral system arose from them. "Jaguar Indians", in all likelihood, also invented the first, oldest Indian writing. Likewise, the original date for Mayan history is 0.0.0.0.0. (or 4 Ahab 8 Kumhu), corresponding to 3113 BC, obviously dates back to the Laventan or even pre-Laventan period in the history of America. Actually, the Mayans first appeared on the stage of Indian history only in the 3rd century AD. And the “jaguar Indians” are no less than a thousand years earlier. They were discovered and introduced to the world by M. Stirling."
In his youth, Donnelly studied law and was interested in poetry. As a Republican congressman, he, unlike many members of the American Congress, often visited the Library of Congress, doing science seriously. Donnelly's reputation as the father of modern Atlantology was strengthened.
With the light hand of Donnelly, it has become a tradition in Atlantological literature to consider the lost continent as a common cultural center for the Old and New Worlds, the “cauldron” of all the high civilizations of antiquity. One of the first authors of the book “Atlantis - the antediluvian world” drew attention to the similarity of the architecture of the Indians and Egyptians (mainly the pyramids built in the Nile Valley, Peru, and Mexico), the commonality of some customs, scientific knowledge, calendars and etc. These arguments are still given by zealous atlantologists. Donnelly was also the first (but not the last!) to hypothesize that it was from Atlantis that the cult of the Sun God emerged and embraced almost the entire world.
In Donnelly's book the reader can find the following:
1. Once existed in the Atlantic Ocean, opposite the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea, big Island, which was a remnant of the Atlantic continent known to the ancient world as Atlantis.
2. Plato’s description of this island is truthful and is not, as has long been assumed, a fiction.
3. Atlantis was the area where civilization first emerged.
4. Over time it became crowded; immigrants from Atlantis also populated the shores Gulf of Mexico, Mississippi rivers, Amazon, Pacific coast South America, Mediterranean, western shores of Europe and Africa, coast of the Baltic, Black and Caspian seas.
5. It was an antediluvian world - Eden in the language of mythology. The Garden of the Hesperides, the Champs Elysees, the gardens of Alcinous, Mount Olympus, Asgard among the Vikings - nothing more than a memory of a large country, of Atlantis, where humanity once lived for centuries in peace and happiness.
6. Gods and goddesses Ancient Greece, Phoenicia, India and Scandinavia were simply the kings, queens and heroes of Atlantis, and the actions attributed to them are a distorted memory of historical events. For example, the god Zeus was one of the kings of Atlantis.
7. The mythology of Egypt and Peru represents the original religion of Atlantis, which consisted of the worship of the Sun.
8. The most ancient colony of Atlantis was probably Egypt, whose civilization was a reflection of the civilization of the island of Atlantis.
9. The Bronze Age came to Europe from Atlantis. The Atlanteans were the first to use iron.
10. The Phoenician alphabet, the ancestor of all European alphabets, is derived from the Atlantic alphabet, which was perhaps the basis of the Mayan alphabet in Central America.
11. Atlantis was the initial place of settlement of the Aryan Indo-European family, as well as Semitic and some other peoples.
12. Atlantis perished in a terrible disaster. The island and almost its entire population were flooded by ocean waters.
13. Those few who miraculously survived told the peoples living in the west and east about the terrible catastrophe - let us remember the legends about the flood among the peoples of the Old and New Worlds.
14. Proof of the stated hypothesis will allow us to solve many problems that occupy humanity, confirm the correctness of ancient books, expand the field of human history, and explain the noticeable similarities between ancient civilizations on opposite shores of the Atlantic Ocean. There will be an opportunity to find the “progenitors” of our civilization, our fundamental knowledge; those who lived, loved and worked long before the Aryans appeared in India or the Phoenicians settled in Syria will become known.
15. The fact that the history of Atlantis for thousands of years was taken as a fairy tale does not prove anything. There is unbelief here, born of ignorance, as well as skepticism inherent in the intellect. Our distant ancestors are not always better informed about the past than we are.
For a thousand years it was believed that the destroyed cities of Herculaneum and Pompeii were a fairy tale - they were called " fabulous cities"For a thousand years the educated world did not believe Herodotus, who spoke about the wonders of civilization on the Nile and Chaldea.
16. There was a time when it was doubtful that Pharaoh Necho sent an expedition around Africa. After all, travelers reported that after part of the journey the sun was in their north. It is now absolutely clear that Egyptian navigators actually crossed the equator and discovered the cape 2100 years before Vasco do Gama Good Hope.
A literal translation of one of the lines of the first song of the Odyssey tells us that “Atlas... holds up the great pillars that separate the earth and the sky.” This line reflects reality, according to atlantologists. Herodotus also described the northwestern tip of Africa, and to this day Mountain chain called there the High Atlas. But the name Atlas has been attached to this massif since the time of Polybius (204-122 BC), somewhere there Hercules found the gardens of the Hesperides.
If we agree with the opinion of Strabo, local residents Previously, the highest mountain of the Atlas was called Diris (or Daran). Most likely, the name of the ocean was transferred to the mountain range in Africa. The name of the ocean and the island came from the mountain that towered above the island and obviously produced a quantitative spectacle. One of the mountains on the island of Pico in the Azores archipelago has a height of 2351 meters. Before the entire Atlantic massif sank to the ocean floor, the peak of this mountain peak reached a height of 5300 meters, which exceeds all European peaks.
...Such a mountain giant, visible above the green island and expanse of water, went into the clouds and, as it were, was constantly in the heavenly abode and identified with God. And there are still many active volcanoes in the Azores. And in those days, the clouds covering the top of the Atlas - the island of Atlantis - resembled fairy-tale castles. Three elements were mixed - water, sky and earth. They were united together, and therefore the imagery of Homer in the words about the great Atlas, who knows the depths of the dark sea and himself holds the large pillars separating the earth and the sky, is understandable. The fire-breathing mountain, rising from the coastal surf to the very sky, gave its name to the island and the ocean, says atlantologist O. Muk.
In Aztec languages, atl means “water,” and “anti” means “high mountain.” If we compare these names, we can hypothetically conclude that Atlantis is a “mountain of water” or “a mountain among the water.” If we remember that one of the last dying islands, on which the famous city described by Plato was located, Poseidonis, then it becomes clear that the mountain and the entire island country bear a mythological name in honor of the firstborn of the god of the seas, Poseidon.
King Atlas, the Titan-celestial ruler, became the hero of the myth, and, apparently, Mount Atlas was the prototype of the pyramids and all sorts of religious buildings both east and west of Atlantis. Even the “pyramid belt” can be traced - from China with its multi-story pagodas to the pyramids of Egypt, the Tower of Babel and the temples of eastern India. Their lesser-known “copies” are located in Libya, megalithic buildings have been found in Europe. The pyramids of the Mayans, Toltecs, Aztecs, Incas and other ancient American peoples complete this ring of monuments. All of them are a symbol of a great, multi-stage mountain with a sky-high peak, a temple, the home of the gods and a place of sacrifices and subsequent burials and worship.
And on both sides of the ocean separating the Old and New Worlds, all the kings, pharaohs, kings were buried under mounds and pyramids. Symbols in the form of obelisks and menhirs are an expression of a now forgotten religion.
The top of the great Azores volcano was constantly smoking and illuminated with internal fire, and the voice of God thundered from its depths. Religious buildings Following these natural manifestations of the deity, they had golden domes, roofs, pointed crowns and helmets. Atlas - the top of the island of Atlantis - was like a beacon, visible to sailors from afar when they sailed to the divine island thousands of years ago. The smoke smoking over the peak became the prototype of cult rituals.
This cult was most clearly reflected in the religious rites of the Aztecs, who had an altar at the top of the pyramid where sacrifices were made to the gods. In Phenicia and Carthage" fire mountain“turned into the “fiery” god Moloch, to whom the first-born were sacrificed. The Old Testament reports that lard and meat were burned on the altar. Christian altars also accepted symbolic sacrifices, and the censer symbolized a godly cloud. Ancient Hellas, Egypt and Rome sacrificed on the altars gods bloody and symbolic sacrifices.
The tree of life is an unusual symbol: it arose in very ancient times, when the Cro-Magnons inhabited the virgin forests of Europe. The tree of life, the tree of the world among pre-German Europeans - a tree reaching to the sky that holds stars in its branches. Maybe the “heavenly mountain” of Atlantis is a prototype of this tree?
The winged serpent - the deity Quetzalcoatl of the Mayans and Aztecs, Cucumac in Guatemala, Kukulcan in the Yucatan - embodies the idea of ​​\u200b\u200ban omnipotent and regenerating deity, and, according to legend, he appeared from an island east of America.
This god was the god of fire first and foremost. Thunder was his terrible weapon, and at first it was not identified with lightning, but rather with a stone falling from the sky, causing fires and destruction. Such stones could be meteorites and stones ejected by active volcanoes. From time to time, volcanic eruptions apparently killed many people. Therefore, on the legendary island a terrible form of the cult of mass murder arose, which among the Aztecs in the west claimed thousands of lives in annual sacrifices. In Carthage, Rome, Hellas, Israel, Nineveh and Babylon, and before Buddhism also in India, human lives were sacrificed to the gods.
Atlantis had a meridional length of 1100 kilometers; it blocked the path of the Gulf Stream to the north. North coast its mountainous, with ten peaks. The largest Atlas mountain was over 5000 meters high. In the south, a vast fertile plain with an area of ​​about 20,000 square kilometers was washed by a warm current and was therefore ideal place for the growth of subtropical and tropical plants. The climate was subtropical in the north average annual temperature+ 10° - and tropical in the south - average annual temperature + 25°. High mountains in the north of the island they protected it from the penetration of cold winds.
The entire Atlantis mountain range was a zone of active volcanoes. And, like other zones, the dense cover of the plain had excellent soil, rich in mineral salts, similar to loess soils, famous for their high yields and not requiring any fertilizers. Human-cultivated plants such as coconut palms and banana bushes grew in Atlantis. Bananas grew well in Atlantis, and a tree suitable “for drinking, eating and anointing,” that is, the coconut palm, also thrived in the humid and hot climate of the southern part of the island. Apparently, the beauty and richness of the flora and fauna of this island paradise made it possible for many peoples on both sides of the Atlantic to remember paradise islands bliss.
Muk believes that those depicted in the caves of Spain and Western France long-legged and muscular hunters correspond more likely to Atlantean hunters than to Cro-Magnons themselves. He admits that man of the Cro-Magnon type also appeared from the west, from the ocean. Cro-Magnons and Atlanteans differed sharply from ancient European people - Neanderthals.
O. Muk, referring to the research of anthropologists, notes that a certain type of Proto-American was discovered on the American continent - with signs of a Cro-Magnon and an Indian at the same time. The age of a human skeleton of this type using radiocarbon and fluorescence analysis was determined to be approximately 12 thousand years. These proto-Americans found in America close the hypothetical circle of races that inhabited the continents of the Old and New Worlds, which were within reach of the Atlanteans. For the Indians - cheerful, active, strong people - red skin color was and remains a characteristic racial feature. Note that the color red still remains a symbolic sign of power and religious worship, especially during sacrificial rites. Perhaps this preserves the memory of the ancient red-skinned rulers of Atlantis? Were the “first people” red-skins, as O. Muk believes? There is no answer to this question yet.
Old legends about giants and dwarfs are substantiated in the hypothesis of the Atlanteans and Atlantis. Not only Neanderthals (who lived 50-100 thousand years ago and earlier), but also all ancient races were short in stature. The only exceptions were the Cro-Magnons and related Aurignacian people. Unusually high growth was, as it were, an indicator of the degeneration of civilization, O. Muk believes, and dwarf growth is a sign of its initial phase. This seemingly paradox is reflected in mythical tales.
At the end of their existence, the Atlanteans, considering themselves the sons of the god Poseidon, began to threaten the power of the gods of Olympus. But the Vulcans and Cyclops, with whom they are identified, lost their greatness, became cannibals and wasted their divine power through incest with the "daughters of the earth." That is why the gods decided to punish them and sent down fire and the water element on them.
* * *
Of particular interest are the problems of linguistic relics of Atlantis. Is it possible that various remnants of a late Paleolithic language that was once worldwide survive in modern idioms? Of course, etymologists will answer in the negative. But perhaps they can be found among those languages ​​that do not fall within the usual language patterns?
Among European languages, this is Basque. One of the largest authorities in the field of comparative linguistics, F. Fink, believes that the Basque language can be classified as ancient Iberian; it belongs to the same group with the extinct languages ​​of the Nosserians, Chaldeans, Hittites, Isorgians, Lycians, Cappadocians and Etruscans.
Among the Basques, no one betrays their family; everyone speaks their own language, the most ancient language in the world, as the Basques themselves believe. In the book “Boches in France” by E. Salomon, it is reported that in 1930, in the town of Saint-Jean-de-Luz, the author met the Basque king of smugglers. “The Basques,” said this man, “are the last remnants of the best, freest and proudest of the worlds, which once disappeared into the abyss along with the island of Atlantis. It stretched from the Pyrenees to the Moroccan mountains.”
It is curious that one can trace the “language ring” by analogy with the “ring of the pyramids” - similar linguistic features among various modern peoples of America, Europe and Asia. O. Muk thinks so. However, it is difficult to agree with many of his hypotheses, and some of them cannot be verified even using the methods of modern Atlantology.
* * *
A. Wegener, the author of the theory of continental drift, did not allow the seemingly unreasonable disappearance of a huge piece of land in the ocean, especially since, according to his data, the continents of America, Africa and Europe are easily reconstructed into a single continent of Pangea, which divided only in the early Tertiary period.
The assumption that the Old and New Worlds once diverged and an ocean formed between them has now been confirmed. This happened much before the disaster. The seam between the continents ran right along the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, where the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is currently located. Similarities coastlines west coast Africa and eastern South America confirms Wegener’s theory, but between Africa (its northern and northwestern parts) and Europe, on the one hand, and Canada, on the other, there is a seemingly “unfilled” space - to the northeast of the Gulf of Mexico . This circumstance does not refute Wegener’s theory, but can serve, according to O. Muk, as confirmation of the existence of an island in this place and its subsequent descent into the ocean.
What exactly is the Atlantic underwater ridge, a sunken mountain range or a place where continental plates break?
Now this question can be answered with complete certainty. Yes, the continents are diverging, moving away from each other, the ocean floor seems to be moving apart. The Mid-Atlantic Ridge is a jagged, protruding suture on the floor of the Atlantic. It is here that magma erupts, from which the material of the oceanic crust is ultimately formed. Coming from the depths, the straightened substance hardens at the bottom, forming a semblance of giant icicles sticking up - their ridge is the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. This figurative and necessarily simplified representation, consistent with the theory of mobilism, allows us to bring scientific data into conformity with the assumption of the existence of Atlantis. In fact, if islands are formed in the area of ​​active volcanoes of an underwater ridge in our time, then this process also occurred in the past. The Azores archipelago serves as a unique geological monument.
* * *
Many encyclopedic minds in Europe turned to the riddle proposed by Plato. L. Seidler writes: “It can be assumed that Columbus believed in the existence of the remnants of the sunken Atlantis... For many years, before he was able to obtain the consent of the Spanish king to prepare a campaign “to India,” Columbus studied ancient literature, where he could not help but come across to mentions of Atlantis and the mythical islands." Later, in the first half of the 17th century, the famous English philosopher and politician Francis Bacon wrote the book “New Atlantis” - a talented scientific and technological utopia, where in a somewhat allegorical form he indicated the coordinates of a mysterious land... in the region of Brazil. Another half century later, Atlantis-Brazil appeared on a map compiled by the French geographer Sanson. Sanson even pointed out on South American territory... the boundaries of the kingdoms that belonged to the sons of Poseidon!
In his work “Teachers of Teachers,” the famous poet Valery Bryusov defends the idea of ​​​​the complete reliability of Plato’s “Dialogues,” that is, the hypothesis about Atlantis. According to Bryusov, such a country really existed. “If we assume,” he wrote, that Plato’s description is fiction, it will be necessary to recognize Plato as a superhuman genius, who was able to predict the development of science for thousands of years to come, to foresee that someday historians would discover the world of Aegean and establish its relations with Egypt, that Columbus will discover America, and archaeologists will restore the civilization of the ancient Mayans, etc. Needless to say, with all our respect for the genius of the great Greek philosopher, such insight in him seems impossible to us and that we consider another explanation simpler and more plausible: in Plato had at his disposal (Egyptian) materials dating back to ancient times."
Bryusov came to the conclusion that Plato could only obtain most of the information contained in the Dialogues from people who knew about the existence of Atlantis: “Plato, like all Greeks, knew nothing about the Aegean kingdoms that preceded Hellenic."
“The ancient philosopher writes that Atlantis was located beyond the Strait of Gibraltar and from it it was possible, sailing further west, to get to another continent. But the ancient Greeks knew nothing about America!” Having thus established that on the very first pages of his dialogues Plato makes two discoveries - in history and in geography, Bryusov is convinced that in smaller details the ancient author is surprisingly close to the truth.
The opinions of modern scientists on the question of the reality of Atlantis often differ sharply. The numerous camp of defenders of the Platonic hypothesis is opposed by an equally numerous camp of anti-Atlantologists armed with serious arguments.
Among Soviet scientists, supporters of the existence of Atlantis were such wonderful thinkers as N. Roerich and academician V. Obruchev. About the sunken land - the ancestral home ancient cultures says in the works of N. Zhirov.
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Some of the knowledge of ancient peoples is surprising, too unexpected for its time, and most importantly, having no roots, as if brought from outside. This applies to astronomy and mechanics, metallurgy and medicine, agricultural technology and stone architecture. The mathematical “code” supposedly embedded in the proportions of the Great World has long attracted the attention of scientists. Egyptian pyramid. (By the way, hypotheses of recent years have cast doubt on the considered irrefutable fact that the 147-meter-high pyramid was built under the pharaoh Khufu, or Cheops. There is reason to believe that the grandiose structure is older!) Even during the Napoleonic wars in Egypt, it was discovered that the pyramid was oriented exactly along the Earth's polar axis. The pyramid could have been used as an observatory, a calendar, or a giant sundial. Egyptologist scientist P. Tomkins wrote: “The one who built the pyramid of Khufu knew how to make excellent maps of the starry sky and, with the help of the stars, correctly calculate longitude, build maps of the planet and, therefore, move freely around the Earth - across its continents and oceans. There is a certain connection between the original knowledge of those who ordered the construction Great Pyramid, and those who created ancient maps of the seas, more accurate and detailed than those that have survived to this day."
Many researchers associate the maps that Tomkins writes about with Atlantis. One of them was found in 1929 in Turkey, more about it later.
Some atlantologists, relying on myths and folk epics, frescoes and rock paintings, claim that the inhabitants of the disappeared continent knew television and aviation, electric light, X-rays, antibiotics and even nuclear energy, which, alas, manifested itself in the form of destructive explosions. Nicholas Roerich wrote about Atlantis:
Airships were flying.
Liquid fire was pouring. sparkled
The spark of life and death.
Ascended by the power of spirit
stone blocks. Forged
wonderful blade. Take care
writing wise secrets,
and again everything is clear. Everything is new.
The fairy tale-legend became life...
Of course, not all Atlantologists are so romantic. Most believe that Bronze Age culture flourished in the disappeared country. Certain phrases of Plato also seem to indicate the development of metallurgy. Bryusov also became interested in the description of the Atlanteans’ favorite metal - orichalcum. He suggested that Plato meant aluminum. Modern scientists believe that orichalcum was most likely a certain type of bronze or brass. Many researchers associate the onset of the Bronze Age throughout the Earth with the influence of Atlantis. Indeed, a remarkable alloy appears almost simultaneously in the Mediterranean and Mesopotamia, in Asia and South America.
Other models of Atlantean civilization are even more modest. After all, Plato never directly speaks of bronze. He mentions orichalcum, gold, silver, lead and iron. But all these are native metals (except for the mysterious orichalcum). Their abundance in the capital of Atlantis does not yet indicate developed metallurgy. Tools could have been made of stone, and metals may have been used for jewelry, for cladding walls or decorating temples. The ancient world knows such paradoxes.
Plato does not mention brick, lime, or cement anywhere. Metal rods may have been used to hold the wall blocks together (as in some buildings in ancient Peru). This also corresponds to the time of transition from the Stone Age to the Bronze Age. The gigantic dimensions of the canals, palaces and temples that the philosopher speaks of also do not indicate (in themselves) a highly developed civilization. Slave labor made any absurdity possible grandiose projects with the most primitive technology. It was in the early stages of culture that many peoples gravitated toward gigantism in architecture. This is caused by the desire to exalt the leaders and gods.
A number of authors of Atlantological works associate the truly mysterious pan-European culture of megalithic buildings with “proto-civilization.” Huge structures made of roughly hewn blocks are found on the coasts from Scandinavia to Africa. They also exist in the USSR, for example in Black Sea coast Caucasus. Megaliths are very similar to each other. These are rows or concentric circles of stones. Sometimes the blocks are placed one on top of the other in the shape of the letter "P".
Defenders of the Atlantis hypothesis suggest that the colossal and apparently virtually meaningless structures were left as monuments to a people who came from the sea, perhaps on rafts. Of course, such an Atlantis could only be the homeland of Stone Age tribes. However, there are “optimists” among atlantologists who believe that even under Paleolithic or Mesolithic conditions astronomical knowledge could have developed, as well as art. The first assumption is supported by the famous megalithic structure in England - Stonehenge. Some even see in the proportions of the British megalith... the distances between the planets of the solar system. The aesthetic talents of the “sea aliens” are evidenced by cave frescoes made many thousands of years ago, for example, hunting scenes in the caves of Lascaux or Altamira. The painting is extraordinarily perfect. There is an opinion that the Cro-Magnons - the draftsmen of primitive Europe - achieved such realism in their works that the world did not know until the Renaissance. But the Cro-Magnons are sometimes called “sea people” who landed on the Atlantic shores...
However, no matter what hypotheses are put forward by modern atlantologists, no matter what level of civilization they attribute to the country of their dreams - atomic, bronze or stone, atlantology as a whole still remains true to some of the provisions formulated more than 100 years ago by Ignatius Donnelly. That is, it was from Atlantis that bronze and iron technology came; From there came various knowledge, including the Phoenician writing, the ancestor of all European alphabets; Many peoples emerged from Atlantis and then settled throughout the world.
One can talk a lot about the strange coincidences between the customs of tribes separated by oceans, say about the mummification of the dead, accepted in Egypt and in the early civilizations of South America. On the coincidence of words in the languages ​​of the Old and New Worlds. About the same pyramids that were built on the banks of the Nile, in the cities of pre-Columbian Mexico and in ancient Cambodia... Atlantological literature is extensive. However, we will limit ourselves to only a brief analysis of hypotheses answering the question: did Atlantis exist and, if so, where exactly was it located?
The most substantiated theory in this regard was built by the already mentioned Doctor of Chemical Sciences N.F. Zhirov. He placed the “island of the blessed” in the same place as Plato and Donnelly behind him, that is, opposite the “Pillars of Hercules” of the Strait of Gibraltar, in the middle of the Atlantic, but supported his opinion with evidence from geology, oceanology, geotectonics and other sciences of the 20th century. Here are his words: “The data of modern science suggests that in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean there is an underwater North Atlantic Ridge, which could have existed subaerally (above the surface of the water) at times close to those indicated by Plato in his legend. It is possible that some of These areas of land existed until historical times." Zhirov suggested looking for traces of Atlantis on islands located near Europe or Africa, the Azores, Canary Islands, etc. Plato writes that the walls of the capital of Atlantis, Poseidonis, were made of red, black and white stones. But these colors are basic for hard rocks Azores, it is from such stones that the ancient buildings of the islanders are made! Canary Islands provide evidence of a different kind. The indigenous, now extinct population of the islands, the Guanches, are considered by many experts to be direct descendants of the Atlanteans. By 1500, the Guanches were completely exterminated by the Spanish conquerors, but drawings and descriptions preserved their appearance. The Guanches were tall, fair-haired and blue-eyed. Their customs revealed a strange resemblance to the customs of highly cultured ancient peoples. The Guanches had a caste of priests who wore clothes and headdresses similar to those of Babylon. They embalmed their dead like the Egyptians and buried them in domed tombs like the Greeks at Mycenae. The Guanches left rock inscriptions; they are similar to the hieroglyphs of Crete, but have not yet been deciphered. L. Seidler quotes the words of one of the last Guanches, recorded by a Spanish chronicler: “Our fathers said that God, having settled us on this island, then forgot about us. But one day he will return along with the Sun, which he ordered to be born every morning and which gave birth to us." These words indicate at least two circumstances. Firstly, that the Guanches considered themselves aliens in the Canaries, and forced aliens - “God forgot about us.” Secondly, the white-skinned and blue-eyed islanders were sun worshipers, like the Egyptians or Peruvians...
N.F. Zhirov, not without reason, believed that the most amazing thing we know about Atlantis and the Atlantic is the existence in the place indicated by Plato (west of Gibraltar) of a huge underwater mountainous country of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge with the Azores Plateau adjacent to it to the east ( also located below sea level). Back in 1945, the Dane Frandsen pointed out that the bottom topography in the area of ​​the Azores Plateau corresponds to Plato’s description of Atlantis. Recent work by the Swedish scientist Malaise confirmed the consistency of Frandsen's calculations with bathymetric maps of the area.

Atlantis

Atlantis - according to the ancient Greek legend preserved by Plato, a once-existent huge fertile densely populated island in the Atlantic Ocean west of Gibraltar, which sank to the bottom due to an earthquake. Questions about the existence and causes of the death of Atlantis remain controversial in science. (BES).

The search for Atlantis began in 50 AD and has actually continued for two millennia. During this time, a huge number of versions were expressed, but then scientists agreed to count only 40-50 points on the map of the Earth that corresponded to the legend with the greatest degree of plausibility. A version was put forward that such events could have happened at different times, in different places, and a chronology of the alleged events was built. Presumably the events could have developed in the following order:

– south of the Cape Verde Islands, opposite the city of Conakry (Africa);

- near the southern part of the Mendeleev Ridge, but north of the island. Wrangel (Arctic Ocean);

- in the Caribbean Sea, west of the island. Haiti;

– in the northeast of Taimyr;

– north of the island. Crete;

– in the center of Bolivia (South America);

– in the South China Sea;

– in Novorossiysk Bay (Krasnodar Territory).

The ancient Greek philosopher Plato (427-347 BC) in his two works “Timaeus” and “Critias” described the glorious history and tragic end of the island state of Atlantis. The plot is based on a story in the form of a dialogue conducted by Plato's great-grandfather Critias with his grandfather, who heard the story of Atlantis from his contemporary Solon, an Athenian legislator and poet, who, in turn, heard the story from an Egyptian priest. This island state was, according to Plato, beyond the Pillars of Hercules, as the Strait of Gibraltar was previously called.

Plato gives a fairly detailed description of the island itself, its capital. In the center of the island rose a hill on which stood temples and the royal palace of the Acropolis. The upper city was protected by two rows of earthen embankments and three water rings-canals. The outer ring was connected to the sea by a 500-meter canal through which ships entered the inner port. The harbor could accommodate up to 1,200 ships, which could wait out any bad weather here.

The central part of the island was surrounded by stone walls. Molten copper was applied to the stone walls around the outer earthen ring of the Atlantean Canal, and the inside of the wall was covered with cast tin. The wall of the Acropolis was covered with orichalcum (an alloy of copper and zinc), which gave off a “fiery glow.” The floors of the temple of the main deity of the Atlanteans, Poseidon, were lined with gold, silver and orichalcum. Another temple dedicated to Poseidon and his wife Cleito, the ancestor of all Atlanteans, was also surrounded by a golden wall.

In the dialogue “Timaeus,” Plato explains some of the political structure of the island state: “On this island, called Atlantis, arose a great and amazing alliance of kings, whose power extended over the entire island, over many other islands and over part of the mainland, and beyond that , on this side of the strait they captured Libya as far as Egypt and part of Europe as far as Tyrrhenia...”

If you do not take into account a number of late geographical names(Europe, Tyrrhenia, Libya, Egypt), which can be attributed to translators, the narrative looks quite convincing, and Plato himself repeatedly repeats that he writes the true truth. The information that underground passages led to the African and American continents raises some doubts.

The Olympian gods, angry at the greed of the islanders and Athens, who fought with them, decided to punish them for greed and violence. A monstrous earthquake and flood “in one terrible day and one night” destroyed the Athenian army and the entire Atlantis, which sank under the ocean waters.

Such is the legend. Many researchers were attracted by the treasures of Atlantis; everyone wanted to take possession of them. Most of the signs described by Plato pointed to the existence of something sunken in the vastness of the Atlantic Ocean; some believed that they had misinterpreted the main landmark and tried to look in the Mediterranean Sea, which in the old days could be compared to the ocean. New versions also appeared that the ancient philosopher did not know about: Brazil and the sea coasts of Siberia.

Interest arose with renewed vigor after the First World War in connection with the development of new underwater technology. This prompted adventurers to organize search companies in several countries at once. The companies failed one after another, but the interest did not wane; each new one believed that it was closer to the goal of the previous search engines. In the Soviet Union, the search for the sunken island began several decades ago. “The Russians found Atlantis!” - such sensational headlines circulated all the world's newspapers in 1979 and were accompanied by photographs of the seabed. In the photographs, longitudinal ridges were clearly visible under the layer of sand, reminiscent of the walls of a destroyed city. The impression of ancient city ruins was enhanced by the fact that other ridges ran along the bottom at right angles to the first. The underwater images were taken by scientists from the Moscow University research vessel Akademik Petrovsky. The place itself fit perfectly with Plato’s version and was located “beyond the Pillars of Hercules” in the area of ​​the shallows near the underwater volcano Ampere. Scientists were able to establish that the volcano once protruded above the water and was an island.

Three years later, the better-equipped Soviet vessel Rift launched the Argus submersible submersible at this location. A message from the commander of the Argus, V. Bulyga, was sent to the Institute of Oceanology of the USSR Academy of Sciences: “We were presented with a panorama of the ruins of the city, since the walls very much imitated the remains of rooms, streets, and squares.” Unfortunately, such encouraging impressions of the aquanaut were not confirmed by the subsequent expedition of the Vityaz, which took place in the summer of 1984. Two stones of regular shape were raised to the surface from one of the walls, but their analysis showed that these were the creations of human hands, but volcanic rock. The commander of the Argus crew, Doctor of Geological and Mineralogical Sciences A. Gorodnitsky, will write in his report: “Most likely, the stone is solidified lava that once poured out through the cracks of the volcano.”

This expedition examined another seamount, Josephine, an equally ancient volcano, and previously an island. A. Gorodnitsky proposed his vision of a geological catastrophe of the distant past: it occurred as a result of a sharp shift in the northern direction of the African tectonic plate. Its collision with the European plate caused the eruption of the Santorini volcano in the east, and in the west - the immersion of the named volcanic islands into the ocean. This hypothesis does not contradict the geological and geophysical data of modern science. Meanwhile, once again, the version of Atlantis turned out to be just another myth and scientists did not find traces of material culture.

The most plausible version of the study is worthy of attention by the Swiss archaeologist Eberhard Zangger, who, having compared some data relating to Troy and Atlantis, considered them identical. Quite close and important coincidences (the number of ships was “twelve hundred”, strong northern winds that interfered with rowing ships when passing into the Black Sea).

Not long ago, the wealthy English athlete T. Severin decided to follow the path of the Argonauts in a galley built according to an ancient model. Before entering the Sea of ​​Marmara, the rowers at the latitude of Troy were exhausted several times, struggling with the oncoming northern current coming from the Dardanelles Strait. Such a natural obstacle could allow Troy to firmly hold an important trade artery in its hands and levy tolls on merchant ships. The information we have confirms that the maritime tax was an important source of income for the Trojans. This also explains the presence of a large fleet and a spacious harbor. Currently, scientists using aviation and other equipment are looking for traces of the proposed canal to the inland port, 500 meters long.

An article by E. Milanovsky was published in one of the collections of Moscow State University, in which the author quite convincingly gives his version: “Many facts and details reported by Plato make it possible to identify the ancient metropolis of Atlantis, consisting of several rounded rings, as if “nested” into each other and horseshoe-shaped in terms of mountainous islands and polygenic straits, that is, for a long time and repeatedly active volcano central type". Each volcanic eruption was accompanied by partial subsidence of the central volcanic structure, which turned into a caldera - a basin left after the eruption. Repeated ejections of the volcano have piled up the calderas, like bowls of different diameters inserted into each other. The gaps between the edges of the bowls are those ring channels, if we talk about the structure of the port of Atlantis. From the standpoint of geology, we can reasonably assume that the island or archipelago described by Plato with a concentric relief structure and thermal springs and its sudden collapse into the depths of the sea, accompanied by an earthquake, tsunami and the appearance at the site of the failure of large masses of floating “fossilized mud” (pumice) are quite correspond to what has become known to geologists in the last 100-150 years."

In his works, E. Milanovsky sets out arguments in favor of the complete correspondence of geological events on the island of Thira to what Plato wrote about the catastrophe of Atlantis. He gives a detailed description of the ongoing excavations of the Tyrian city of Akrotiri, much like modern cities. The version of E. Milanovsky was recently confirmed by the Greek seismologist G. Galanopoulos. While studying the caldera on the island of Thira, he became convinced that a volcanic explosion of incredible force had occurred here, causing a tsunami up to 100 meters high. This wave washed away everything on the shores of the eastern Mediterranean.

Materials obtained by the famous researcher underwater depths J. Cousteau gave him the opportunity to build his own hypothesis: “The power of the Minoan empire rested on its coastal cities conducting trade. Therefore, even if the palaces and cities located in the center of the island (Crete) were not damaged, if not all Cretans died (as well as the inhabitants of the Cretan colonies in Greece, the Cyclades or Asia Minor), if not all the fields were covered with ashes, the greatest civilization of King Minos was ended. They began to forget about Crete. The Cretans moved from real life into the realm of myth. They were turned into a semi-legendary people and expelled from history. In Egypt they became Atlanteans. Solon or Plato had already forgotten about the greatness of Crete when the story of the greatness and fall of Atlantis was written down from the lips of the priest of the goddess Neith. There is other evidence that speaks in favor of identifying Crete with Atlantis.” Further, the scientist refers to the Bible, which contains the parables “about the ten plagues of Egypt” set out in the book “Exodus”. The parables can be interpreted as describing the consequences of a grandiose catastrophe in the eastern Mediterranean.

The hypotheses of the Russian and French scientists, as much as possible, complement each other and work in the same direction. The question inevitably arises: what is the point in continuing the search for Atlantis in other places? I think it’s worth it, at least for science to gain new information about the life of our ancestors.

In 2000, the August issue of the Megapolis Express newspaper published a sensational article by Yevgeny Surkov, “But a piece of Atlantis has surfaced!” Due to its small volume and solid information content, I present it without abbreviations.

“echoes of strong underground tremors were recently recorded by seismological stations in Russia and Canada. They did not cause any particular concern: the epicenter of the earthquake was in a remote corner of the Arctic Ocean. In photographs taken from space, in the zone of natural disaster, the outlines of some unknown land were clearly visible.

However, this did not cause any surprise. As they explained to the correspondent of the Exotic News Agency at the Institute of Physics of the Earth, unexpected rises and falls of the planet's surface under the influence of underground forces often occur. In general, it is one thing when the earth sinks into the abyss of water, carrying entire cities with it, and another when a small section of the bottom rises. What could be interesting here? But this time nature brought a surprise. An ancient civilization “surfaced” along with the “earth”.

Such an unusual event was witnessed by the crews of several ships sailing in a caravan from Murmansk to Pevek, accompanied by the icebreaker Ob. The sight of rising ice and “boiling” water plunged the crews into a state of mild shock.

- Look, Atlantis! – the watchman on the icebreaker suddenly shouted. In fact, right before the eyes of the sailors, an island with ruins emerged from the water. Massive columns in the Egyptian style were interspersed with gigantic buildings made of huge blocks. Piles of stone fragments stuck out from under the broken ice floes. The “streets” of the ancient city were filled with silty slurry that flowed into the ocean. Above all this chaos reigned a huge structure of regular geometric shape.

The captains of the ships gave the command “stop”. But even approaching the newborn island was out of the question: sometimes such “babies” behave too insidiously. Indeed, the sailors did not have to admire the fabulous spectacle for long. A few minutes later, shuddering, the island also suddenly began to slowly sink into the ocean.

The International Association for the Study of the Arctic Ocean (with headquarters in London) learned about what had happened only after the caravan returned to its home port. However, scientists interviewed eyewitnesses.

“It is reliably known,” commented the vice-president of the Russian branch of the association, Mikhail Buynov, “that it was in those latitudes that one and a half ten thousand years ago one of the highly developed cultures existed.” This is the so-called Arctida. Once, as a result of a global catastrophe, it was gradually flooded by the waters of the Arctic Ocean. However, evidence of it has been preserved in the myths of various peoples. Now, by a lucky coincidence, exactly that section of the bottom that archaeologists and historians have dreamed of for so long has risen from the deep.

By the way, seismologists are predicting a number of serious tectonic upheavals in the bottom of the Arctic Ocean in the near future. Therefore, the emergence of new islands with traces of Arctida between Spitsbergen and Franz Josef Land may resume.

The news of such an unusual find excited the scientific world. Any archaeologist dreams of finding the treasury of the ancient Aryans who inhabited Arctida. After all, according to legend, sacred knowledge written on gold sheets is stored in it. The Golden Library of the Aryans was located, according to the ancient traveler Pytheas, on the island of Thule, somewhere in the Spitsbergen region. According to Harry Smith, a doctor at the Illinois Archaeological Institute, this is nothing more than a bank of high technologies developed by one of the first civilizations on the planet. For those who master them, magic will become a simple routine.

A similar hypothesis is confirmed by another find. In 1935, Norwegian fishermen fishing in the Barents Sea discovered three “golden papyri” with unknown inscriptions among crabs and fish in their trawl. They disappeared during the occupation of Norway: apparently, the Germans tried to use them in their secret developments.

That is why the observation of Russian sailors interested not only scientists, but also the Russian General Staff. According to some reports, it was at his instigation that military experts are urgently calculating where the ruins of prehistoric cities may surface in the near future. And the research ship “Georgy Sedov”, without wasting any time, set off to “patrol” the harsh waters of the Arctic.”

I cannot ignore one more version regarding the location of the legendary Atlantis. It is so customary in science that versions that belong exclusively to scientists are considered. Even the finds in Troy of Heinrich Schliemann were repeatedly called into question due to the “lack of learning” of the self-taught archaeologist. Despite this, Schliemann rendered an invaluable service to science by finding Troy and conducting excavations in Mycenae and other cities of antiquity. These circumstances forced the world of science to recognize the significance of his work.

In the port city of Novorossiysk lives our modest compatriot, who found his Troy and his Atlantis without leaving the city. V. Vladykin, having carried out a comparative analysis of all the above sources, came to the conclusion that in ancient times these objects were located on the territory of modern Novorossiysk. His analysis is striking in the depth of his research using the length measures of that time and the correspondence of the values ​​given in the works of ancient authors. It is impossible to argue with the logic and accuracy of the author. He found absolutely all the signs of disappeared cities within and around Novorossiysk, including existing thermal springs. In other countries, such a person would be carried in their arms, and buildings from the corresponding period would be erected on historical sites and the city would be turned into a tourist Mecca, but things are still there...

The reluctance of the state to deal with such objects involuntarily leads to reflection: these facts do not fit into the plans of the Global Predictor, which determined our life according to the biblical concept. For the same reason, they continue to impose on us the history of Rus', limited by a thousand-year framework. I have always been outraged by the loose use of the words “prehistoric” and “antediluvian.” In S.I. Ozhegov’s dictionary, the first means “Belonging to the most ancient period, about which there is no written evidence,” and the second means “Outdated, old-fashioned, backward (lit.: existing before the mythical flood).” Thus, the Cretan-Minoan civilization, with its multi-story buildings equipped with water supply and sewerage on all floors of the buildings, corresponds to the prehistoric period. All the “incomprehensible” objects of antiquity that could not fit into the consciousness of the nomadic Arabian people also belong to this period. You can’t help but believe in the meaning of the word “history”, which is interpreted as “from the Torah” and fits perfectly into the biblical concept.

Concluding our excursion to the possible locations of Atlantis, I would like to draw your attention to the presence of “Russian” components of this name “from lan ida” meaning “land cut off from the mainland” or sea and ocean islands, in contrast to the small river islands-sich. That is why globalizers are afraid to conduct serious searches for ancient civilizations, because they belong exclusively to the Russian people. The descendants of the “earth men” cannot, even in their wildest fantasies, “fly away” beyond five and a half thousand years of their history, and here are tens and hundreds of thousands of years of flourishing civilizations...