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Egyptology (Hardcover) by Emily Sands (Illustrator), Nick Harris (Illustrator), Helen Ward (Illustrator), Ian Andrew

The Oxford History of Ancient Egypt I cannot praise this book enough. Unfortunately in academic areas, introductions and overviews to various fields, particularly broad histories, tend to reflect the opinions and suppositions of the authors much more than render the actual environment they are working in. This book proves to be a rare exception to this sad fact and sets a standard of scholarship to be emulated by all researchers of the ancient world. Never in egyptology, assyriology, or biblical studies have I found a history that did such a wonderful job of laying out the textual and archaeological finds that scholars base their judgments upon. This is important to me, as I am in disagreement with many scholarly communities about issues of chronology. This book, rather than simply laying out tables and dates, supplements those tables with actual references to the texts and archaeological items that have lead scholars to date things the way they have, pointing out inconsistancies and uncertainties along the way. -- Jonathan Bailey

The Epic of Gilgamesh was inscribed on stone tablets by the Sumerians in the Akkadian language a thousand years before the Iliad and the Bible and was found in fragments. The tablets were buried during the fall of Nineveh. Various portions of the epic were composed in the late third millennium B.C. The writing includes a flood story that very closely parallels the description of Noah and his ark in Genesis of the Bible. Gilgamesh is described as a giant with wealth and power. Buy The Epic of Gilgamesh

Finger Prints of the Gods Graham Hancock, the bestselling author of The Sign and the Seal, reveals the true origins of civilization. Connecting puzzling clues scattered throughout the world, Hancock discovers compelling evidence of a technologically and culturally advanced civilization that was destroyed and obliterated from human memory. Four 8-page photo inserts. He begins the book by introducing us to an ancient map of Antartica, made in 1513. It is called the Piri Reis map and was drawn up in Constantinople. It is an enigma because according to our current "knowledge" Antartica was not discovered until 1818. Hancock goes on to reveal many examples wich indicate that at some time in the distant past mankind was much more "evolved" tecnologically than in the recent past. Somehow the ancients had detailed knowledge about astronomy, mathematics, engineering, etc much of which we have only "learned" in the past century. How did they learn of these things? How did we - as a species - forget or lose this knowledge?

ICE AGES: - The impact of the ice ages and inter-glacial effects on the rise and fall of ocean levels and the earth readjustments to the departure of the ice cap cannot be over-looked in the human historical picture. Research in the area is far greater than in the recent past and we can learn what might have happened to earlier civilizations on earth. Atlantis is a given name for a civilization that inhabited many islands and coastal regions, in my mind. The idea of one central location makes little sense when one considers such things as Ice Ages and changes in the flow of the Gulf Stream and climate that resulted. Because it lasted for from 30,000 to 100,000 years and may have co-existed with other civilizations rising and falling it is most inauspicious to debate one specific time when it was in Tara or Crete or the Azores or Bimini or even Finias. That seems to be the usual debate among the over 25,000 books written about just this one lost civilization. As long as people don't integrate all facts they inevitably just come up with theories to fit pet or prevailing concepts. In Gateway to Atlantis, 'The Search for the source of a lost Civilization' we see a far better scholar who is doing the right kind of investigation. Mapping of the ocean bottoms and geological understandings as well as studying glacial deposits and tree rings gives a better picture of history than history books.

In 1960 a scientific paper by Wallace S. Broecker and his colleagues Maurice Ewing and Bruce C. Heezen, of Lamont Geological Observatory at Columbia University, Palisades, New York, appeared in the 'American Journal of Science'. Entitled 'Evidence for an Abrupt Change in Climate close to 11,000 years ago', it advanced the theory that a 'number of geographically isolated systems suggested that the warming of world-wide climate which occurred at the close of Wisconsin glacial times was extremely abrupt. (3)

By examining sediment cores taken from various deep-sea locations, Broecker and his team were able to demonstrate that around c. 9000 BC. the surface water temperature of the Atlantic Ocean increased by between six and ten degrees centigrade, (4) enough to alter its entire ecosystem. More significantly, it was found that the bottom waters of the Cariaco Trench in the Caribbean Sea, off Venezuela, suddenly stagnated, {The Gulf Stream being sent back south from hitting the land around the Azores when the water level was lower suddenly started warming the Iceland and British Isles regions, again.} showing that an abrupt change in water circulation had taken place coincident to the warming of the oceans. (5) Additionally, the silt deposits washing into the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi Valley abruptly halted and were retained in the delta and valleys, as the waters from the glacier-bound Great Lakes switched direction and began draining through the previously frozen northern outlets. (6) With extreme rapidity, the water levels of these lakes shrank from maximum volume, down to the much lower level they occupy today. (7)

Among the data drawn on by Broecker and his team to make their findings was the work conducted in 1957 by Cesare Emiliani of the Department of Geology at the University of Miami. He found that deep-sea cores displayed clear evidence of an abrupt temperature turn around in 9000 BC. was responsible for the other changes set out by Broecker et al. (8) However, since other cores examined by Emiliani had not shown the same rapid transition, he decided that the anomalous cores lacked vital sediment layers covering a period of several thousand years of ecological history, and so dismissed them as unreliable. (9) Yet Broecker and his colleagues disputed Emiliani's interpretation of the results. They could find no reason to suppose that key sediment layers could have been lost in the manner suggested. As a consequence, they reinstated Emiliani's controversial findings as crucial evidence of a major shift in oceanic temperatures around 11,000 years ago. (10)

Although Broecker et al seemed keen to promote a date of c. 9000 BC for the rapid transition from glacial to post-glacial ages, there are indications that this event did not occur until a slightly later period. At least three lake sites in the Great Basin region revealed carbon-14 dates around 8000 BC for a maximum water level shortly 'before' they experienced a sudden desiccation after the withdrawal of the ice sheets. (11) In addition to this, marine shells from the St. Lawrence Valley, which provided evidence of an invasion of seawater coincident to a rapid ice retreat, frequently produced dates 'post' 9000 BC. (12)

Broecker and his colleagues accepted the presence of these much lower dates and suggested that the whole matter was complicated by the fact that there had been an estimated 200-year resurgence of glacial conditions, known as the Valders re-advance, around the mid-ninth millenium BC. They therefore acknowledged that their own findings might in fact relate to the recession of the ice fields after this time, bringing the dates of their suggested 'major fluctuation in climate' and the 'sharp change in oceanic conditions' down to well below c. 9000 BC. (13)

THE EVIDENCE OF POLLEN SPECTRA

Further evidence that dramatic changes accompanied the transition from glacial to post-glacial ages came from the work of Herbert E. Wright Jnr, of the School of Earth Sciences at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, (14) and J Gordon Ogden III of the Department of Botany and Bacteriology at the Ohio Wesleyan University, Delaware. (15) Both examined the pollen spectra range from sediment cores taken from various lake sites in the Great Lakes area and found they provided clear evidence of an abrupt shift in flora at the end of glaciation. The spruce forests that had thrived in the cold harsh climate for many thousands of years were supplanted swiftly, first by pine and then by mixed hardwood forests, such as birch and oak. Deciduous trees, as we know, only thrive in a warmer climate.

The significance of these findings is the acceleration at which this transition took place. In an article for the journal 'Quaternary Paleoecology' in 1967, Ogden pointed out that some pollen spectra samples showed a 50 per cent replacement from spruce to pine occurring in just 10 centimetres of sediment. (16) In one sample taken from a site named Glacial Lake Aitken in Minnesota, the transition from 55 per cent to 18 per cent spruce pollen occurred in only 7.6 centimetres of sediment, re- presenting a deposition corresponding to just 170 years. (17) The problem here is that conventional geologists and paleoecologists consider that the transition from glacial to post-glacial ages occurred over several 'thousand' years, not just a few hundred {The time it takes for one or two trees to live and die.} years.

These findings so baffled Ogden that he was led to comment: 'The only mechanism sufficient to produce a change of the kind described here would therefore appear to be a rapid and dramatic change in temperature and/or precipitation approximately 10,000 years ago.' (18)

What kind of climatic 'event' might have been responsible for this 'rapid and dramatic change in temperature' {Could this relate to the buttercups found frozen and undigested in Mammoth mouths of the Arctic?} in the American Midwest, sometime around c. 8000 BC? Had it been a consequence of the proposed cometary impact that devastated the western hemisphere during this same epoch?

The knowledge that some 65 million years ago the Cretaceous period had been abruptly brought to a close by just such an impact has softened the most stubborn of minds concerning such a possibility. Broecker himself, in an article written for 'Scientific American' in 1983, now accepted that asteroid or comet impacts might be responsible for the instigation and termination of glacial ages. (19)

This is indeed what Emilio Spedicato has suggested as the mechanism behind the revolution in climate and ocean temperature experienced during this period" (20)

We will return to implications related to this and the work of Mr. Collins throughout this encyclopedia as we develop real history from actual facts rather than the Bible Narrative. It should be evident that these climate changes had significant impacts on society and created a loss of culture and technology in certain areas of the world. There were probably people who took advantage of these spiritual and other perceptions that resulted as well.

About the Author
Robert Bruce Baird is the author of Diverse Druids. World-Mysteries.com guest 'expert' Columnist for The ES Press Magazine.

Diverse Druids by Robert Bruce Baird

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On the paths of the learned, there are casms of void that remain which are, typically surrenderred to the term and category of "mystery." In Diverse Druids, these gaps are addressed and little remains a "mystery." Within it's pages, Mr Baird presents solid connections to the archaics and continuity of the ages, eras, cultures and civilizatio, even to the origin of man. The common threads are those familiar to all people, across a wide spectrum of diverse knowledges and established mindsets. The text provides archaelogical substantiation as well as theological and cultural standards that bind the fragmented gleanings of theory, myth and legend that we all know as the origin of species, to form one cohesive illustration. Anyone who is a passionate enthusiast, dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge, our connections to the archaics and the origin of life or those who seek the answers to all that represents the "missing links" will want to discover the wealth of information and subsequent commonalities that Baird has documented in this book.

The world of the "Eire-yann", "Keltoi", the "very tall red-headed giants", uncovered and validated by archaelogical finds cited will resound harmoniously and echo familiar tones of theories known to man regarding the "mighty men of old", the "ogygia-ancient ones" and no doubt remains in the mind of the reader that these are, assuredly, the pre-adamic hom-sapien referred to by mythology, legend, scripture and the memories of the indigenous.

Mr Baird las also addressed the underlying issues involved in the evolution of society and culture of civilization throughout the ages as well as exposed the dynamics of empowerment strategies within it's structure and traditions with a brilliant, sound balance of intellect and rationale, combined with historical validity.

The reader is compelled to the extremeties of knowledge and prompted to the boundary of realization of that which cannot be denied. One may love or hate the content for it's capacity to challenge widely established and accepted convention. Complacency or apathy will not be an option. It may well be that Robert Baird is become, by this independent, conducive line of reasoning and his ability to encompass the common denominators of all that we wonder about as a species, one of the most profound philosophers and theorists of our time. What is very striking and unique in Diverse Druids is the extremely diverse scope of the author. This vantage lends an unusually wide field of correllations. Hence, this book appeals to a greater audience and pertains to a variety of knowledges including archaelogy, ancient and modern histories of the world, theology, theocracy, sociolgy, psychology, linguistics and philosophy, to name a general gamut.

The author provides a paradoxial portal of muti-dimensional vision, encompassing the metamorphosis of man, since the beginning of time. As an enthusiast on the paths of learning and discovery, I cannot deny that 'Diverse Druids' has left me to conclude that perhaps there never were any "missing links." Perhaps all the links have been present all the while, but were obscured by a limited pattern of thinking or narrowed by specification of knowledges. The content will stimulate an otherwise habituated and mundane train of thought. Baird entices the reader to the brink of intellect and introspect. Just as the proverbial "smoke" rises from the fires of wisdom, we achieve clarity as it does and a greater truth is realized, so too, this information provides insightful sound wisdom that "clears the air" concerning the "mysteries of the ages."

I recommend Diverse Druids to all who sojourn the greater quest for truth. The circle of life is illuminated by this dimensional spectrum of enlightenment, well grounded in realistic representations. Greater truth of greater substance,unveiled is what radiates from the pages of this monumental read.

Intention is reflected on a constant continuum throughout these chapters, and is represented by the author in references to "ecumenicism", "unity", "living love" and the "oneness" of humanity in relation to the greater universe. Mr Baird quotes Albert Einstein as saying, "The intuitive mind mind is a sacred gift and the rational mind is a faithful servant. We have created a society that honors the servant and has forgotten the gift." This mindset is the one Diverse Druids is meant for; for people who know exactly how much we do not know and who do remember the gift and all it implies.

Applauding the Greater Quest for Truth and the Greater Truth for Quest. - Cheryl Hartwell

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Gateway to Atlantis:
The Search for the Source of a Lost Civilization

Purchase Gateway to Atlantis: The Search for the Source of a Lost Civilization at Amazon

A historian's investigation that may have solved one of humankind's greatest and most enduring mysteries: the location of the "Lost City" of Atlantis. More than 2,350 years ago Plato wrote of the fabulous island empire of Atlantis, which ruled the ocean as well as parts of the "opposite continent" - what we know today as the Americas - until the single "terrible day and night" that destroyed it in a storm of earthquakes and floods.

For two millennia the fate of Atlantis has fascinated historians, philosophers, and explorers who have debated its reality and searched in vain for a kingdom shrouded in myth and legend. And now, after years of travel and research, Andrew Collins has gathered convincing evidence that may establish not only that Atlantis did indeed exist but also that remnants of it survive today. Collins's journey into the past follows the clues left by Plato, and they take him far beyond Crete and the Mediterranean, where scholars in recent times have located Atlantis. So do mummies in Egypt, Roman wreckage in the West Atlantic, the African features of great stone heads in Mexico, and the explosion of a comet 10,500 years ago.

Collins's final destination will shock the experts and amaze all readers. "Acclaimed historian provides for the first time a clear argument for the civilization's existence and a pointer to its location." - The Express; "Probably the most substantial and well researched book on Atlantis since Ignatius Donnelly." - Colin Wilson, Daily Mail

In this insightful reappraisal of the Atlantis myth Collins begins by telling us that it was not just Plato who wrote of Atlantis -- informing us that the Egyptians knew of more than one earlier rise and fall of civilization -- but that a contemporary historian, Theopompus, citing a different source, wrote of an immense continent with great cities that surrounded the outside world. Quite rightly, Collins dismisses small islands in the Mediterranean and the mid-Atlantic ridge as possible sights for the sunken continent, and he eventually concludes that the continent itself did not sink, although its coastal cities must have perished. Why? Because coastal cities of 11,500 years ago (the time given to the destruction of Atlantis by Plato) would have been built on land now 400 feet below the sea (at the end of the Pleistocene sea levels were 400-420 feet lower than at present. Where was Atlantis according to Collins? I want you to read the book. It is worth the Journey. And remember, much of the Caribbean is shallow shoal water that was once well above sea level. - George Erikson

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