Peter James - Ancient Mysteries: Discover the latest intriguiging, Scientifically sound explinations to Age-old puzzles

Table of Contents

For Catherine ( James), Louise ( James), and Freya (Thorpe)

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

It would have been impossible to write a book of this scope without help from many friends and colleagues. To them we extend our warm thanks, as well as to those experts we contacted who were kind enough to respond to questions out of the blue:

Philip Attwoodmedallist
Ruth Bakerlinguist
Andrij Cholijfilm buff
Dr. Victor Clubeastronomer
Dr. Garmon Harbottlearchaeological scientist
Bob Forrestmathematician
Dr. Nikos Kokkinosancient historian/archaeologist
Brian Moorelibrarian
Dr. Robert MorkotEgyptologist
Dr. Bernard Ortiz de Montellanoanthropologist
Dr. Dino Politisarchaeologist
Bob Porterengineer/archaeologist
Andrew Rosenbaumjournalist
Robert Templehistorian of science
Allison Thorpeenvironmentalist
Dick VigersTV producer

Special thanks have to go to Peter Koenig for his painstaking work on the new illustrations; Leslie Primo and Nikos Kokkinos for taking photographs on research trips (England and the Aegean, respectively); Richard Dean for his usual and amazingly generous help in troubleshooting computer problems; Phil Marter and Geoff Couling for their timely production of two maps; Dr. Birgitta Wallace for her kindness in providing a selection of Viking illustrations; author Francis Hitching for permission to reproduce some of Ken Smiths drawings from the World Atlas of Mysteries (1978), as well as for setting Peter off (as researcher) in the mysteries field all those years ago; Rosemary Burnard for her drawing of Quetzalcoatl; Haydar Aksakal and the Alpinists club of Manisa for their extraordinary hospitality and help in Turkey, especially in getting Peter and Nikos to the throne of Pelops; Julie Clements of the Ashmolean for her kind help in finding photographs; Sue Hutchinson of the Griffith Institute for finding us photographs even when the institute was officially shut; the authorities of Glastonbury Abbey for allowing us to spend hours photographing it from every possible angle; and the Goulds for giving us access to Chalice Hill, a great vantage point for Glastonbury Tor.

At Ballantine we have to thank a succession of patient editors: Phebe Kirkham, Andrea Schulz, but most of all Elizabeth Zack. Last, but by no means least, thanks to our wonderful agent, Leslie Gardner, for looking after us so well.

Peter James and Nick Thorpe
London and Chichester, March 1999

More praise forAncientMysteries

COMPREHENSIVE... James and Thorpe view their subjects from a middle ground. They are not wide-eyed believers in every theory that comes to light, nor are they narrow-minded traditionalists. They seek to present explanations that are scientifically plausible, but in the end it is up to the reader to decide what he or she thinks.

Tampa Tribune & Times

COMPELLING... Ancient Mysteries will give you endless enjoyment.... A wide-ranging and richly detailed look at parts of our past that grab the imagination... The layout of this book is excellent; you can read it front to back or pick your way through its thoroughly cross-referenced pages, with one subject serendipitously leading to another. Sort of a Choose Your Own Adventure book for adults.

BookPage

And acclaim forAncientInventions

FASCINATING... AMAZING... This book should be read by everyone interested in science or technology.

Nature

ENGROSSING... REWARDING... IMPRESSIVE... It is impossible not to be astonished.

New Scientist

ITS CHOCKABLOCK WITH CURIOUS LORE.... [James and Thorpe] have amassed scores of persuasive testimonials of primeval ingenuity.

The Boston Globe

THOROUGHLY RESEARCHED... It is doubtful that anyone could examine [this book] without coming away enlightened in one of its broadly ranging areas.

Library Journal

AUTHORS NOTE

Rather than attempting perfect consistency in our spelling of non-European names, we have used those forms which we feel will be most familiar to out readers. While we have expressed serious doubts about the conventional dates for the Egyptian New Kingdom (c. 15501070 B.C.) and the Late Bronze Age in the Old World (see our book Centuries of Darkness, 1991), we have kept to generally accepted chronology for this book.

INTRODUCTION

After the publication of Ancient Inventionswhich were pleased to say was a great successwe were discussing another project when the idea was suggested to us of writing a book on Ancient Mysteriesthe unsolved puzzles of lost civilizations and knowledge; the inexplicable monuments and earthworks built by the ancients; the strange messages conveyed by the worlds great legends; the riddles of early exploration; and even apparent evidence of extraterrestrial and paranormal phenomena in ancient times. There were scores of compelling subjects, yet our initial reaction to the idea was mixed. The stores are already crammed with books on ancient mysteries, even some with that very title, so why add to the agony?

On reflection, we decided that there was actually an urgent need for a new book on the subject. Interest is burgeoning, but most books on ancient mysteries are written by authors with little, if any, background in the fields involvedwhich range from ancient history and archaeology to geology and astronomy. Many of these titles, full of amazing claims about lost civilizations, Atlanteans, extraterrestrial visitors, and the secret wisdom of the ancients, are frankly very badly researched and can be completely misleading. The authors do not treat the evidence critically, and deliberately overmystify subjects in order to convince readers that they are being told some awesome secret about the past.

On the other side of the coin are the ancient mysteries books written by professional historians and archaeologists. Unfortunately, these are usually sterile exercises in debunking, written with a closed rather than an inquiring mind. Their authors easily fall into a lecturing mode, telling their readers loudly and slowly that such and such is merely nonsensea style particularly common in America. Perhaps here the dividing lines between conventional and unconventional views of the past have been drawn so sharply because of the battle between evolutionists and creation scientists over what should be taught in schools. Archaeologists have felt themselves under attack, and have sometimes responded by trying to claim a monopoly on the past. Those adopting this approach often belittle the interested but ignorant layperson, arguing that discussion should be left to the professionals. Theories developed by amateursor even academics from different fieldsare often rejected wholesale as fringe or cult archaeology.

Professional archaeologists have also been concerned by the level of belief in such cult archaeology topics among their own students. To assess this, two surveys were carried out at Central Connecticut University in 1984 and 1994, with students asked their opinions on a variety of topics, including religion, the paranormal and controversial fringe theories in archaeology. The surveys showed that 27 percent accepted that Earth had been visited by extraterrestrials, rising to 31 percent by 1994; the reality of the curse of Tutankhamun was supported by 12 percent, doubling to 24 percent a decade later, and the existence of the lost continent of Atlantis was accepted by 29 percent in both surveys. (These figures compare closely to the answers provided by the general public.) Archaeologists have agonized over the gullibility and ignorance that they perceive these figures as showing. This is a rather arrogant attitude. For example, believing that extraterrestrials have visited the world is hardly a sign of ignorance! It all depends on how one reads the question. Astronomers are increasingly finding evidence that the raw materials necessary for life such as waterare to be found in abundance elsewhere in the universe, and with every discovery the statistical likelihood increases that other technological civilizations existeven some advanced enough to make the long trip to our solar system. The real question is whether there is any sound archaeological evidence for extraterrestrial visitations in the past. We do not feel there is, but would not call anyone who believed in them ignorantnor, for that matter, people who have a belief in the efficacy of curses, which is as much a cultural judgment as a scientific one.