Chapter VII: The Underwater Search For Atlantis

I'm not going to try to pretend that I know where Atlantis is. I don't. I am trying to figure it out, but I have a few stronger views about some areas. I will point you to some more or less relevant points in history. If the things are not in proper chronological order, please forgive me, I am still trying to find the best layout for presenting the huge amount of information that I have.

I. Dr. Schliemann's Atlantis

I will start with Dr. Heinrich Schliemann.

What I have found is based on an account of Dr. Schliemann's grandson, Dr. Paul Schliemann, at Internet Sacred Text Archive, "How I Found the Lost Atlantis, The Source of All Civilization" (1912). The article appeared on October 20th, 1912, in New York American. I cannot testify for the accuracy of the information concerning Atlantis, but I find it quite an interesting story.

Dr. Heinrich Schliemann discovered the great Mycenean civilization whose history was mentioned by Homer. In 1873, he discovered the ruins of Troy, at Hissarl覺k (Turkey) and the "Treasure of Priam". Quoting from Dr. Schliemann's letter: "Whoever opens this must solemnly swear to carry out the work which I have left unfinished. I have come to the conclusion that Atlantis was not only a great territory between America and the west coast of Africa and Europe, but the cradle of all our civilization as well."

Photos of owl vase and objects: Internet Sacred Text Archive.

The letter contains directions and information about the research he's done. "[At Troy] I found among the treasure a peculiar bronze vase, of great size. Within it were several pieces of pottery, various small images of peculiar metal, coins of the same metal and objects made of fossilized bone. Some of these objects and the bronze vase were engraved with a sentence in Phoenician hieroglyphics. (*my note: Phoenicians lived 2500 years ago) The sentence read 'From the King of Chronos of Atlantis'."

In 1883 he said he found in Louvre a collection of objects excavated from Tiahuanaco, in Central America. The pottery had the same shape and material and objects of fossilized bone which reproduced line by line those which he had found in the bronze vase of the "Treasure of Priam". However, these vases did not bear Phoenician hieroglyphics or any other writing. "I secured pieces of these simulacrums from Tiahuanaco and subjected them to chemical and microscopic analysis. These tests proved that both the Central American vases and those from Troy had been made from the same peculiar clay, and I learned later, further and definitively, that this clay does not exist, either in old Phoenicia or in Central America." The material was a combination of platinum, aluminum, and copper.

Later on he found in the Museum at St. Petersburg (Russia) one of the oldest papyrus rolls in existence. "It was written in the reign of Pharaoh Sent (*my note: now called "Sened"), of the Second Dynasty, or 4,571 years B.C. (*my note: nowadays books mention Second Dynasty to cover 2890-2686 B.C.). It contains a description of how the Pharaoh sent out an expedition 'to the West' in search of traces of the 'Land of Atlantis', whence '3,350 years ago the ancestors of the Egyptians arrived carrying with themselves all the wisdoms of their native lands'." (*my note: I'd be curious to see that scroll.) The expedition returned five years later and reported that the land, the people, and the objects were gone.

Another papyrus, in the same museum, written by Manetho, an Egyptian historian, mentions a period of 13,900 years as the reign of the sages of Atlantis. "An inscription which I excavated at the Lion Gate at Mycenae in Crete recites that Misor, from whom, according to the inscription, the Egyptians were descended, was the child of Taaut or Thoth, the God of History, and that Taaut was the emigrated son of a 'priest of Atlantis, who having fallen in love with a daughter of King Chronos, escaped and ended after many wanderings in Egypt.' He built the first temple at Sais and there he taught the wisdom of his native land."

Dr. Paul Schliemann continues, as his grandfather requested, by breaking the owl-headed vase: "I was not a little startled when out the bottom of the vase slipped a square of white, silver-like metal upon which were drawn strange figures and an inscription which were not like any hieroglyphs or writings I had ever seen. These were on the head side of the coin or medal. On the obverse side was engraved in ancient Phoenician, "Issued in the Temple of Transparent Walls." How did the metal get in the vase? I do not know. The neck was too small for its insertion, but there it was and it had been imbedded in the clay of the bottom and my grandfather had evidently known it was there.

If the vase was from Atlantis the piece must have come from it too. And yet my examination showed me that the Phoenician letters had been cut in after the object had been under the die that made the face figures. This is a mystery to me even now. But there is the evidence.

Besides this, I found in the collection, the other material objects which my grandfather had said came from Atlantis. One was a ring of the same peculiar metal as the coins or the medals. There was a strange looking elephant of fossilized bone, an extremely archaic vase and some other objects which I will not discuss now. The map by which the Egyptian captain had sought for Atlantis was there too. I prefer to save these other objects for my extended work--nor could I, under the instructions of my grandfather, tell of them. It is sufficient to say that no scientist can controvert them. The owl vase, the archaic vase, the bronze vase and the ring have the Phoenician inscription. The elephant and coins did not."

Then Dr. Paul Schliemann continues to the west coast of Africa, and finds the shore covered with volcanic action. "Some distance in from the shore those evidences stopped. For many miles it was as though the volcanic action had chopped away land from the coast. Here I found an object of inestimable value to my research. It was a head of a child done in the same metal as that which formed the ring and the medals. It was imbedded in an encrustation of volcanic rock of great age. The chemical analysis showed it to be of exactly the same strange alloy I have described."

"I pass on to the translation of a Maya manuscript which is part of the famous collection of Le Plongeon, the Troano manuscript. It can be seen in the British Museum. It reads:

"In the year of 6 Kan, on the 11 Muluc, in the Month Zac, there ocurred terrific earthquakes which continued without interruption until the 13 Chuen. The country of the hills of mud, the Land of Mu, was sacrificed. Being twice up heaved it disappeared during the night, being continually shaken by the fires of the under earth. Being confined these caused the land to sink and rise several times and in various places. At last the surface gave way, and then ten countries were torn asunder and scattered. They sank with their 64,000,000 of inhabitants 8,000 years before the writing of this book."

In the records of the old Buddhistic Temple at Lhasa there is to be seen an ancient Chaldean inscription written about 2,000 years B.C. It reads:

"When the star Bal fell on the place where is now only sea and sky the Seven Cities with their Golden Gates and Transparent Temples quivered and shook like the leaves of a tree in storm. And behold a flood of fire and smoke arose from the palaces. Agony and cries of the multitude filled the air. They sought refuge in their temples and citadels. And the wise Mu, the hieratic of Ra-Mu, arose and said to them: 'Did not I predict all this?' And the women and the men in their precious stones and shining garments lamented: 'Mu, save us.' And Mu replied: 'You shall die together with your slaves and your riches and from your ashes will arise new nations. If they forget they are superior, not because of what they put on, but of what they put out, the same lot will befall them!' Flame and smoke choked the words of Mu. The land and its inhabitants were torn to pieces and swallowed by the depths in a few months.

II. The Bahamas Hysteria (aka Underwater Amusement Parks)

How did it all begin? Help yourself first with the Bahamas map.

In 1957, Dr. David Zink found, off the Bahamas coast, a stylized marble head, a building block cast in a mold, a stone column that 'radiated energy', and a few more things. He was interviewed at the time by Steven Forsberg, from M.I.N.D. International Research Agency, and they obtained the photographs (or so it is being said). David D. Zink was not a scientist, but a former English teacher and an Edgar Cayce fan. He was accompanied by a psychic, Carol Huffstickler, and it seems they were hunting for the remains of Atlantis.

In 1958, Dr. William Bell took photos on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean of a six-foot spire. There were light emanations from the bottom of the shaft.

In 1969, Robert Fero and Michael Grumley found pillars on the Atlantic floor. It's being said that the rock from which parts of them were made was not found in that part of the world.

Now... I said I wouldn't mention Edgar Cayce, the prophet, but there is no way around it, if we want to look at the facts objectively.

In one of his books, Cayce says: "A portion of the temples may yet be discovered under the slime of ages and seawater, near what is known as Bimini off the coast of Florida. Also Poseida will be among the first portions of Atlantis to rise again. Expect it in 68 and 69, not so far away."

What followed? I'll tell you a well-known story.

In 1968, two commercial pilots, Capt. Robert Brush and co-pilot Trigg Adams, spotted a rectangular feature in the shallow waters off Andros. It seems that the two reported the sightings to J. Mason Valentine and Dimitri Rebikoff.

J. Mason Valentine had a BA and a Ph.D. in zoology, from Yale. He was a college lecturer, a research associate of Honolulu's Bishop Museum, and an explorer. Dimitri Rebikoff was a French oceanographer and underwater surveyor. Some say Valentine and Rebikoff were already supporters of Cayce, prior to the discovery. However, later on, Valentine denied the 'accusations'.

The structure the pilots had seen was first called 'temple'. It was rectangular, 34 by 20 meters and had an east-west orientation. The limestone blocks were perfectly laid and about a meter thick. After the news had been announced in the newspapers, the structure turned out to be, according to some scientists, a sponge pen.

On September 2nd, 1968, Valentine dived and discovered one of the most controversial structures: "The Bimini Road". The 'road' is found about half a mile (800 meters) out from Paradise Point, Bimini North Island. It's found in five meters of water, and its length is of 638 meters. You can see its drawing on the left side, and an aerial view below. The blocks have smooth upper surfaces. The road runs parallel to the beach line, then makes a 90-degree turn in the direction of the beach, in a reversed "J" manner. The blocks continue for another 110 meter, then the disappear under the sands. To support the theory that this is a man-made structure, evidence of other structures have been found near the 'road': fallen monoliths and a three-meter ring of large stones.

Also, evidence of human occupation was found in the waters of the Little Bahama Bank (Cay Sal Bank), at the south-western corner of the Bahama chain.

In 1974, Dr. David Zink went on an expedition to survey the mysterious forms off Bahamas shore. He produced a drawing of the 'road' and of the way the stones joined. Also, he took the measurements of each rock almost. The stones are said to be "three by four meters in size and about seventy centimeters thick". In his defense, as an answer to the scientists' claims that the stones were nothing else but 'beach rock', he said: "the ocean floor is essentially level, not sloping", as it might be the case with beach rock.

In 1978, the structure was examined by the French figure of Jacques Cousteau, accompanied by Dr. David Zink, in an expedition trying to locate Atlantis. The problem that rose again was: are they man-made or natural? While Zink continued claiming the former, Cousteau didn't expose his views.

Scientists made their point right away; according to them, the formation is natural, a result of the water being supersaturated with calcium carbonate. A continual deposition of calcium carbonate sediment is responsible for the cementation process, which had actually built the whole Bahama Banks. This calcium concentration helps with the rapid formation of limestone beach rock. Sea-level has been constantly rising since 15,000 B.C., and for 600-700 years it has witnessed a continuous fluctuation, that accounts for the parallel, linear 'road'. Apparently, the different levels of water, the sun exposure, and the calcium carbonate are the true 'builders' of the 'road'.

(Below you can see three examples of natural formation of beach rock.)

Samples were taken from the core of the rocks, in a way to show the orientation of each block from where the sample had been taken. It turned out that the pebbles contained in the blocks were gradually decreasing in size, which means that the rocks were once part of a 'single ribbon of beach rock' (Eugene A. Shinn, geologist).

Furthermore, the Bahamas sank gradually after the ice melt after the last Ice Age, between 8000 and 3000 BC.

For many, the only remaining problem is related to the pattern of the rocks and the shape of the rocks itself.

However, I will quote from a 1992 article, "Quest for Atlantis", written by Vanda Osmon, researcher at Joy Travel: "I located Dr. David Zink in 1988, and we agreed to create a program on Bimini with Joan Hanley.[...] During the 1989 project, our group headed out for Paradise Point looking for the ancient stones in the vast ocean.[...] We were amazed at the incredible site we saw. large rectangular boulders far more impressive than we had imagined - all fitted neatly in rows extending beyond our sight. Later during the conference while conducting aerial fly-bys with Dimitri Rebikoff as pilot, members of the flight observed a mysterious fish-like mound, over 500 feet long, in the mist of the mangrove swamp." To read the rest of the article, check the link above.

That concludes the 'Bimini Road' story.

If we are to believe Charles Berlitz in his book, "Atlantis: The Lost Continent Revealed", and Dr. Ray Brown, the person 'interviewed', then we end up with this story: In 1970, Dr. Ray Brown, a naturopathic practitioner and lecturer from Mesa (Arizona), was diving in the Berry Islands, Bahamas, with five other divers, looking for Spanish treasure galleons. He was familiar with the area, for he had been there before.

To quote him: "[...] We saw that our compasses were spinning and our manometers were not giving readings. We took off north- east from the island. It was murky but suddenly we could see outlines of buildings under the water. It seemed to be a large exposed area of an underwater city. We were five divers and we all jumped in and dove down, looking for anything we could find. As we swam on, the water became clear. I was close to the bottom at 135 feet and was trying to keep up with the diver ahead of me. I turned to look toward the sun through the murky water and saw a pyramid shape shinning like a mirror. Thirty-five to forty feet from the top was an opening. I was reluctant to go inside... but I swam anyway. The opening was like a shaft debouching into an inner room. I saw something shinning. It was a crystal, held by two metallic hands. I had on my gloves and I tried to loosen it. It became loose. As soon as I grabbed it I felt this was the time to get out and not come back."

In the center of the room there was a slab and on the pyramid slab was a crystal held by two hands. The hands seemed to be made of copper. A metallic rod was hanging down from the ceiling and its end was a multi-faceted red gem, pointing to the crystal. He removed the crystal and according to some, he still has it and shows it to lecture audiences. The crystal is spherical, with three pyramid images inside, one smaller than the other. "When the crystal is held, a throbbing sensation is experienced, whether by autosuggestion or some other quality inherent in the object".

The crystal seemed to have been tested by the University of Florida and the result was: the crystal amplifies energy that passed through it. Oh, forgot to mention, the Berry Island is part of the famous "Bermuda Triangle".

It seems that more crystals like this have been discovered. In 1927, F.A.Mitchell-Hedges found a skull in a pyramid at Lubaat'un, a Mayan city. What happened with it, I don't know, but it's a bit weird how suck astonishing discoveries are not broadcast, made public to a wide audience. Let alone the scientists who should be running after the crystals to get a second look at them.

Well, I say, that's that; I tell you a story which I've read in many places, coming from lots of sources, but obviously, the main one is Brown, and then Berlitz. You have to forgive me for being a bit skeptical, but I'd like some more experts to test the crystal and I'd also like to see a full coverage of the issue in a good newspaper or magazine.

The following information is given as I have found it, and I wouldn't bet on its accuracy, not until I find conclusive evidence. So take it as I have found it.

According to Charles Berlitz again, the US Marine and British Admiralty charts show 'pyramids' at 23 deg 26 mins N and 79 deg 43 min W (North of Cuba, off Cay Sal) in 1500 feet of water, that rises suddenly to 42 feet. Also, a similar kind of rise occurs at 23 deg 34 mins N and 80 deg W (North of Cuba) (you might want to check with a large map for darker spots in the water).

In 1970's, the Italian diver R. Rola discovered somewhere off Bahamas Islands four long stone-made columns, having a cylindrical shape. They were similar to the Egyptian columns.

In 1978, Ari Marshall photographed a 650-foot pyramid at about 1500 feet underwater, off Cay Sal. The existence of the pyramid had been reported first in 1977. He saw flashes of light, which could have been, according to him, energy or gaseous emissions. The surrounding water was green, not black, even at night.

In 1981, P. Cappellano's expedition discovered mysterious ruins bearing strange symbols on the sea floor off the Canary Islands.

In 1982, Herbert Sawinski, explorer, diver, and chairman of the Museum of Science and Archeology in Fort Lauderdale, found and photographed stone pavements at a depth of 25 feet, in the North of Cuba. The main wall continued for a quarter of a mile out to sea, then it disappeared into 2500 feet of water. Under submerged rocks they found a 'sunken quarry, complete with shaped blocks of stone till inside it". The remains were on a plateau which was "60 miles on each side of a lopsided triangle between Straits of Florida and the Santaren and Nicholas Channels". It establishes the boundaries of what could have been a large island that could support many inhabitants.

Off Cuba, Liecester Hemingway reported the existence of acres of white marble-like ruins.

III. Other Discoveries

In 1967, the Nikolai Seleznev's "Aluminaut" investigated Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina's shores and found an enormous 'highway', at 1000 meters under the sea level, having a length of more than 250 kilometers and a width of 20 meters. The submarine was able to use the road after the crew installed the wheels. The 'highway' was a paved road made of blacktop magnesium oxide and it was found on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean. (like I said, I'd appreciate some pictures and evidence, but 'Fat Chance' strikes again.)

A Soviet Expedition led by Boris Asturua, found a sunken city at 400 miles off Portugal. Asturua took a statue with him and on his return he declared that 'the remains of streets suggests the use of monorails for transportation".

Andros Islands - a foundation of a structure, 100 by 75 feet, on the bottom of the ocean.

How about Spain?

According to New York Times, May 21, 1978, another Soviet Expedition to the Atlantic took place and resulted in photographs of ruins destroyed by lava. The discovery was reported by Prof. Akasyonove, who had previously reported ruins in Cadiz, Spain. These ruins were first witnessed by Talia's (Spain), salvage ship's crew. Captain Reyes Miraga and his men took footage of pillared temples, buildings, and statues, wide curving boulevards and avenues, temples and pyramids. At the moment, Dr. Maxine Asher is investigating the area in search or Atlantis, but we will be back with this later.

Mid Atlantic Ocean - Tony Benik's expedition discovers in 10,000 feet of water, a huge pyramid with a pulsating crystal on top of it. The opaque crystal tablet that they had found was showing mysterious inscriptions when light was passed through it.