Ancient civilizations have always excited the minds of scientists, treasure hunters and lovers of historical puzzles. The Sumerians, Egyptians or Romans left plenty of evidence of their existence, but they were not the first on the planet. In addition to the legends about their rise and fall, there are still blank spots in history that have not yet been filled.
All these civilizations were outstanding in their time and in many ways surpassed not only their era, but also modern achievements. But, for various reasons, they disappeared from the face of the Earth, losing their greatness and power. We are talking not only about those empires that definitely flourished on the planet, but also about the cultures that may have existed. For example, the well-known Atlantis has not yet been found, but could it even exist?
The editors of InPlanet have compiled a list of ancient civilizations, the legacy of which still causes heated debate among historians. We present to your attention the 12 greatest empires that left behind many mysteries!
1 Continent of Lemuria / 4 million years ago
The origins of all ancient civilizations originate from the myth of the mysterious continent of Lemuria, which sank under water many millions of years ago. Its existence was repeatedly mentioned in the myths of different peoples and philosophical works. They spoke of a highly developed race of apes who had excellent education and advanced architecture. According to legends, it was located in the Indian Ocean and the main evidence of its existence is the island of Madagascar, inhabited by lemurs.
2 Hyperborea / before 11540 BC
The mysterious land of Hyperborea has been exciting the minds of scientists and researchers for many years who want to find at least some evidence of its existence. So, at the moment there is an opinion that Hyperborea was located in the Arctic and was inhabited by the ancestors of the Slavs. At that time the continent was not yet covered with ice, but was blooming and fragrant. And this, by the way, is possible, because scientists have established that 30-15,000 BC. The Arctic had a favorable climate.
It is worth noting that attempts to find Hyperborea have been practiced for a long time, for example, Germany and the USSR during the Second World War sent expeditions to search for the lost country. But it was never possible to establish whether the country that became the ancestor of the Slavs really existed.
3 Aroe Civilization / 13,000 BC
This civilization belongs to the category of mythical, despite the fact that there are a lot of buildings that prove the existence of peoples on the islands of Micronesia, Polynesia and Easter. Ancient cement statues dating back to 10,950 BC have been discovered in New Caledonia.
According to legends, the civilization of Aroe, or the Kingdom of the Sun, was formed in the Pacific Ocean after the disappearance of the continent of Lemuria. Among the indigenous inhabitants of these islands there are still legends about ancestors who were able to fly through the air.
4 Gobi Desert Civilizations / approximately 10,000 BC
Another mysterious civilization, the existence of which is debated. Now the Gobi Desert is the most sparsely populated place on the planet, arid and destructive. However, there is an opinion that many millennia ago a certain White Island civilization lived there, which stood on the same level as Atlantis. It was called the country of Agharti, the underground city, Shambhala and the land of Hsi Wang Mu.
In those years, the desert was a sea, and the White Island rose on it as a green oasis. Scientists have confirmed that this was indeed the case, but the date is confusing - the sea disappeared from the Gobi Desert 40 million years ago. Whether a settlement of sages could have existed there at this time, or later, has not been scientifically proven.
5 Atlantis / 9500 BC
This mythical state is perhaps the most famous in the whole world. There is no exact evidence that there really was an island that went under water along with a highly developed civilization. But until now, sailors, historians and adventure lovers are looking for an underwater city filled with the treasures of ancient Atlantis.
The main proof of the existence of Atlantis is the works of Plato, who described the war of this island with Athens, as a result of which the Atlanteans simply went under water along with the island. There are many theories and myths about this civilization and even entire scientific movements.
6 Ancient China / 8500 BC - our days
Chinese civilization is recognized as one of the oldest in the world. Scientists believe that its first beginnings appeared 8000 years ago BC. Written sources record the existence of a state called China 3,500 years ago. Therefore, archaeologists have discovered shards of pots in China dating back to 17-18,000 years BC. The ancient and rich history of China has shown that this state, ruled by dynasties for many millennia, was one of the most developed and powerful in the world.
7 Civilization of Osiris / before 4000 AD
Since this civilization cannot officially be considered to have existed, one can only guess about the dates of its heyday. According to legends, the Osirians were the progenitors of the Egyptian civilization and, accordingly, lived in the Mediterranean basin before their appearance.
Of course, all guesses about this civilization are based on unreliable facts, for example, that the Osirian civilization died due to the fact that the death of Atlantis provoked the flooding of the Mediterranean basin. There is no exact evidence of these events, so we can only consider the mass of flooded cities at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea as confirmation of a civilization that has gone under water.
8 Ancient Egypt / 4000 BC - VI-VII centuries AD
The ancient Egyptian civilization existed for about 40 centuries and reached its peak in the middle of this time period. To study this culture, there is a separate science of Egyptology, which studies the diverse history of this empire.
Ancient Egypt had everything it needed for development and prosperity - fertile land in the Nile River valley, religion, a government system and an army. Despite the fact that Ancient Egypt fell and was absorbed by the Roman Empire, there are still traces of this powerful civilization on the planet - the huge Sphinx, ancient pyramids and a lot of historical artifacts.
9 Sumerians and Babylon / 3300 BC - 1000 BC
For a long time, the Sumerian civilization was credited with the title of the first in the world. The Sumerians were the first to engage in crafts, agriculture, pottery and construction. In 2300 BC, this territory was captured by the Babylonians, who, led by Babylon, became the cultural and political center of the Ancient World. Both of these civilizations are the strongest states of Ancient Mesopotamia.
10 Ancient Greece / 3000 BC - I century BC.
This ancient state was called Hellas and was considered one of the most powerful in the ancient world. This territory was nicknamed Greece by the Romans, who captured Hellas in the first century BC. Over the three thousand years of its existence, the Greek empire left behind a rich history, a lot of architectural monuments and many literary masterpieces that are still popular today. Just look at the myths of Ancient Greece!
11 Maya / 2000 BC - XVI century AD
Legends about the power and greatness of this amazing civilization still circulate and push people to search for ancient treasures. In addition to countless riches, the Mayans had unique knowledge of astronomy, which allowed them to develop an accurate calendar. They also had amazing knowledge in construction, thanks to which their devastated cities are still included in the UNESCO heritage list.
This highly advanced civilization had advanced medicine, agriculture, water systems and a rich culture. Unfortunately, in the Middle Ages this empire began to fade away, and with the arrival of the conquistadors it completely disappeared.
12 Ancient Rome / 753 BC - V century AD
The Ancient Roman Empire was one of the most powerful in the history of the Ancient World. She left behind a bright mark in history, enslaved many small states and won a lot of bloody wars. Ancient Rome had its own mythology, a powerful army, a system of government and was, during its heyday, the center of civilization.
The Roman Empire gave the world a rich cultural heritage and history that still excites the minds of scientists. Like all ancient empires, it faded away due to exorbitant ambitions and plans to conquer the whole world.
All these ancient civilizations left behind a huge cultural heritage and a lot of mysteries that remain to be solved. Whether humanity will be able to find out whether some empires existed or not, time will tell. For now, we can only be content with guesses and existing facts.
They left behind many mysteries that the best scientists on Earth are still struggling to solve. Hermit archaeologist David Hatcher Childress has made many incredible journeys to some of the oldest and most remote areas in the world. Describing lost metropolises and ancient civilizations of the world, he published 6 books: a chronicle of travels from the Gobi Desert to Puma-Punka in Bolivia, from Mohenjo-Daro to Baalbek. Especially for Atlantis Rising magazine he was asked to explain secrets of civilizations and write this article.
1. Mu or Lemuria
According to various secret sources originated 78,000 years ago on a giant continent known as Mu or Lemuria. And it existed for an amazing 52,000 years. The civilization was destroyed by earthquakes caused by the shift of the Earth's pole, which occurred approximately 26,000 years ago, or 24,000 BC.
While Mu civilization did not achieve as high technology as other, later civilizations, however, the peoples of Mu succeeded in erecting megastone buildings that were able to withstand earthquakes. This building science was Mu's greatest achievement.
Perhaps in those days there was one language and one government throughout the entire Earth. Education was the key to the prosperity of the Empire, every citizen was versed in the laws of the Earth and the Universe, and by the age of 21 he was given an excellent education. By the age of 28, a person became a full citizen of the empire.
2. Ancient Atlantis
When the continent of Mu sank into the ocean, today's Pacific Ocean was formed, and water levels in other parts of the Earth dropped significantly. The islands in the Atlantic, small during Lemuria, increased significantly in size. The lands of the Poseidonis archipelago formed an entire small continent. This continent is called Atlantis by modern historians, however, its real name was Poseidonis.
Atlantis had a high level of technology, superior to modern technology. In the book “The Dweller of Two Planets,” dictated in 1884 by philosophers from Tibet to the young Californian Frederick Spencer Oliver, as well as in the 1940 continuation “The Earthly Return of the Dweller,” there is a mention of amazing including such inventions and devices as: air conditioners for purifying air from harmful fumes; vacuum cylinder lamps, fluorescent lamps; electric rifles; transport by monorail; water generators, a tool for compressing water from the atmosphere; aircraft controlled by antigravity forces.
The clairvoyant Edgar Cayce spoke of the use of planes and crystals in Atlantis to generate enormous energy. He also mentioned the misuse of power by the Atlanteans, which led to the destruction of their civilization.
3. Rama's Empire in India
Fortunately, the ancient books of the Indian Rama Empire have survived, unlike the documents of China, Egypt, Central America and Peru. Nowadays, the remains of the empire are swallowed up by impenetrable jungles or rest on the ocean floor. Yet India, despite numerous military devastations, managed to preserve much of its ancient history.
It was believed that civilization of ancient India appeared not much earlier than 500 AD, 200 years before the invasion of Alexander the Great. However, in the last century, the cities of Mojenjo-Daro and Harappa were discovered in the Indus Valley in what is now Pakistan.
The discovery of these cities forced archaeologists to move the date of the emergence of Indian civilization thousands of years ago. To the surprise of modern researchers, these cities were highly organized and represented a brilliant example of urban planning. And the sewage system was more developed than it is now in many Asian countries.
4. The civilization of Osiris in the Mediterranean
During the times of Atlantis and Harappa, the Mediterranean basin was a large fertile valley. The ancient civilization that flourished there was the progenitor of dynastic Egypt, and is known as the Osiris Civilization. The Nile previously flowed completely differently than it does today and was called Styx. Instead of emptying into the Mediterranean Sea in northern Egypt, the Nile turned west, formed a huge lake in the area of the central part of the modern Mediterranean Sea, flowed out of a lake in the area between Malta and Sicily, and entered the Atlantic Ocean at the Pillars of Hercules (Gibraltar). When Atlantis was destroyed, the waters of the Atlantic slowly flooded the Mediterranean basin, destroying the Osirians' large cities and forcing them to migrate. This theory explains the strange megalithic remains found at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea.
It is an archaeological fact that at the bottom of this sea there are more than two hundred sunken cities. Civilization of ancient Egypt, along with Minoan (Crete) and Mycenaean (Greece) are traces of one large, ancient culture. The Osirian civilization left huge earthquake-resistant megalithic buildings, owned electricity and other amenities that were common in Atlantis. Like Atlantis and Rama's empire, development of civilization The Osirians reached a high level and they had airships and other vehicles, mostly electrical in nature. Mysterious routes in Malta, which were found underwater, may be part of the ancient transport route of the Osirian civilization.
Probably the best example of the high technology of the Osirians is the amazing platform found in Baalbek (Lebanon). The main platform is made up of the largest hewn rock blocks. Their weight ranges from 1200 to 1500 tons each.
5. Civilizations of the Gobi Desert
Many ancient cities The Uyghurs existed during Atlantean times in the Gobi Desert. However, now the Gobi is a lifeless, sun-scorched land, and it’s hard to believe that ocean waters once splashed here.
So far no traces of this civilization have been found. However, vimanas and other technical devices were not alien to the Uiger region. Notes about burial finds have appeared in the press more than once, indicating that the tallest man on Earth was from these places, but they have not received scientific confirmation. The famous Russian explorer Nicholas Roerich reported his observations of flying disks in the region of northern Tibet in the 1930s.
Some sources claim that the elders of Lemuria, even before the cataclysm that destroyed their civilization, moved their headquarters to an uninhabited plateau in Central Asia, which we now call Tibet. Here they founded a school known as the Great White Brotherhood.
The great Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu wrote the famous book Tao Te Ching, where he tried to reveal secrets of ancient civilizations. As his death approached, he traveled west to the legendary land of Hsi Wang Mu. Could this land be the possession of the White Brotherhood?
6. Tiahuanaco
As with Mu and Atlantis, construction in South America reached megalithic proportions in the construction of earthquake-resistant structures.
Residential houses and public buildings were built from ordinary stones, but using a unique polygonal technology. These buildings still stand today. Cusco, the ancient capital of Peru that was probably built before the Incas, is still quite a populated city, even thousands of years later. Most of the buildings located in the business part of the city of Cusco today are united by walls that are many hundreds of years old (while younger buildings built by the Spaniards are being destroyed).
A few hundred kilometers south of Cusco lie the fantastic ruins of Puma Punka, high in the Bolivian altiplano. Puma Punka - near the famous Tiahuanaco, a massive mahalic site where 100-ton blocks are scattered everywhere by an unknown force. This happened when the South American continent was suddenly hit by a huge cataclysm, probably caused by a pole shift. The former sea ridge can now be seen at an altitude of 3900 m in the Andes mountains. Possible evidence of this comes from the abundance of oceanic fossils around Lake Titicaca.
The Mayan pyramids found in Central America have twins on the Indonesian island of Java. The Sukuh Pyramid on the slopes of Mount Lawu near Surakarta in central Java is an amazing temple with a stone stele and a step pyramid, the place of which is more likely to be in the jungles of Central America. The pyramid is virtually identical to the pyramids found at the site of Washaktun near Tikal.
The ancient Mayans were brilliant astronomers and mathematicians whose early cities lived in harmony with nature. They built canals and garden cities on the Yucatan Peninsula.
As stated by Edgar Cayce, artifacts Mayan civilization, the records of all the wisdom of this people and other ancient civilizations are found in three places in the earth. Firstly, this is Atlantis or Poseidonia, where some of the temples may still be discovered under long-term bottom deposits, for example in the Bimini region off the coast of Florida. Secondly, in temple records somewhere in Egypt. And finally, on the Yucatan Peninsula, in America.
It is assumed that the ancient Hall of Records could be located anywhere, probably under some kind of pyramid, in an underground chamber. Some sources say that this repository of ancient knowledge contains quartz crystals that are capable of storing large amounts of information, similar to modern compact discs.
8. Ancient China
Ancient China, known as Han China, like other civilizations, was born from the vast Pacific continent of Mu. Ancient Chinese records are known for descriptions of celestial chariots and jade production, which they shared with the Mayans. Indeed, the ancient Chinese and Mayan languages seem very similar.
The mutual influences of China and Central America on each other are obvious, both in the field of linguistics and in mythology, religious symbolism, and even trade.
Great civilization Ancient China invented many things: from toilet paper, to earthquake detectors, to rocket technology and printing methods. In 1959, archaeologists discovered aluminum tapes made several thousand years ago; this aluminum was obtained from raw materials using electricity.
9. Ancient Ethiopia and Israel
From the ancient texts of the Bible and the Ethiopian book Kebra Negast, we know about the high technology of ancient Ethiopia and Israel. The Temple in Jerusalem was founded on three giant blocks of cut stone similar to those at Baalbek. An earlier Temple of Solomon and a Muslim mosque now exist on the site, whose foundations apparently date back to the civilization of Osiris.
Solomon's Temple, another example of megalithic construction, was built to house the Ark of the Covenant. The Ark of the Covenant was an electrical generator, and people who carelessly touched it were electrocuted. The ark itself and the golden statue were taken from the King's Chamber in the Great Pyramid by Moses during the Exodus.
10. Aroe and the Kingdom of the Sun in the Pacific Ocean
While the continent of Mu sank into the ocean 24,000 years ago due to the pole shift, the Pacific Ocean was later repopulated by many races from India, China, Africa and America.
The resulting new civilization Aroe on the islands of Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia built many megalithic pyramids, platforms, roads and statues.
Cement columns dating back to 5120 BC have been found in New Caledonia. to 10950 BC
The Easter Island statues were placed in a clockwise spiral around the island. And on the island of Pohnpei a huge stone city was built.
The Polynesians of New Zealand, Easter Island, Hawaii and Tahiti still believe that their ancestors had the ability to fly and traveled by air from island to island.
According to the theory of the origin of life on Earth, man is the first intelligent being born through the course of evolutionary development. We are so accustomed to thinking - and this is what academic science tells us - that we are the first on Earth who have intelligence. Before us, there were no civilizations with advanced technologies on the planet, although not all scientists agree with this opinion.
Many researchers believe that numerous incredible archaeological finds tell us that thousands and even millions of years ago there were civilizations on Earth with extremely advanced technologies. Moreover, ancient civilizations may have had far superior knowledge and technology than we have today!
Studying ancient artifacts, scientists ask the question: What if all modern inventions of mankind are nothing more than a reproduction of the inventions of the past? That is, inventions from the time when different civilizations (possibly the colonization of the Earth came from deep space) inhabited the planet and then, without the support of the mother planet, the colonies degenerated and went wild, or the colonies were simply abandoned for some reason.
In fact, this is a very interesting hypothesis, however, under its basis there is a large pile of mysteries. After all, we will have to think about what could have caused development to be put on pause and even send highly developed civilizations of the past into the Stone Age. Meanwhile, most finds from ancient times are at least unexpected, and make you wonder where they came from.
What if, in our distant past, someone so powerful could have appeared that through his actions (for example, total bombing) he caused a “reset” in the evolution of growing civilizations? And from those developed civilizations that plunged into the “Stone Age” only archaeological finds remain, which we cannot explain, believing that we are the first on Earth.
Is it possible that some civilization from the distant past experienced a “reset”?
Could the existence of prehistoric civilizations explain the construction of incredible ancient monuments such as Puma Punku, Tiahuanaco, Teotihuacan and the Great Sphinx? Is it possible that our ancestors only discovered lost technologies and used them in their own lives, thereby beginning to revive the development that had once stopped?Let's look at some of the revolutionary technologies of ancient civilizations that still pose a mystery to researchers. Looking at individual artifacts, there seems to be nothing incredible about them, but looking at them together...
Ancient Chinese seismograph - seismoscope.
Even 1500 years before the invention of the modern seismograph, the Chinese scientist Zhang Heng (100th century AD) was able to record an earthquake. The invention is called a seismoscope - a device incredibly amazing in its beauty and precision (an elegant vase with carved bronze animals).
To this day, no one knows exactly how the amazing device worked, but, nevertheless, it worked! By the way, the scientist was the first to confidently declare that the Moon shines with reflected light.
Nuclear reactor of an ancient civilization 1.8 billion years old.
Many of us remember the discovery of a nuclear reactor in Africa about 1.8 billion years old. Traditional science explains that in fact this is a nuclear reactor built by nature, that is, it is of natural origin. Other scientists believe that it is impossible to imagine the conditions under which Mother Nature could create a nuclear reactor with such high precision.
Yes, our planet has fantastic possibilities; after all, it gives us life. But at the same time, we understand that we know too little about the past of the Earth, and we know very little about what was on the planet before the birth of our civilization.
Baghdad battery.
In 1938, archeology introduced the world to the electric battery from Baghdad. The scientific world was amazed, but still agreed, the ancient device was used more than a couple of thousand years ago. According to some researchers, the rulers of ancient mankind used batteries for certain electrical devices. It’s just unknown where the battery could have been used in those days.
It has been proven that the battery from Baghdad can indeed generate electricity. Could the Baghdad battery serve as the missing link in humanity's ancient technology? - So to speak, the remains of the former power of technology of humanity gone wild and having lost everything?
Piri Reis: Cartographer's Mission.
The Piri Reis map, which shows Antarctica without ice cover, is very surprising. Yes, the map is still a mystery, compiled by a cartographer without the use of orbital satellites. The Piri Reis map is based on much older maps, where the continent appears before us as we have never seen it.
It’s a complete mystery how this continent could have been drawn by an ancient cartographer (who, in fact, had just thrown his club and climbed down from a tree) before Piri Reis. Unless, before Homo sapiens, there were already intelligent beings on the planet with powerful technologies, and now not only modern space debris, but also products of extreme antiquity are “hanging out” in orbit.
The map also shows a piece of land that appears to be connected to South America. A piece of land that might have corresponded to the Antarctic coastline in prehistoric times.
Nanostructures of ancient technologies 250 million years old!
In the Ural Mountains, researchers found an extremely mysterious object, an artifact, the discovery of which initially created a big “boom” in the scientific world. The first guess about the tiny structure said that it was the product of an exceptionally ancient civilization with advanced nanotechnology about 250 million years ago!
Given the age of these mysterious nanostructures, the artifact became a hit among finds of this kind. The first studies of the structure showed simply impossible results. The researchers found that the large pieces that were discovered were almost entirely made of copper, while the smaller pieces were made of tungsten and molybdenum.
As you know, metals themselves do not occur in nature, much less similar alloys. This means that they are components that are of artificial origin, in other words, they are manufactured using “fine” technology by some intelligent being.
At the same time, we have to admit that this is just a slice of a plant and not a 250 million year old microchip. Yes, these are fossilized pieces of organic matter - incredibly similar to the architecture of modern electronic devices. After all, according to the theory adopted hundreds of years ago, our civilization is the only one on Earth. There was no one intelligent with advanced technology on the planet before us.
Great Sphinx of Egypt: The Sphinx is the guardian of an 800,000 year old pyramid.
This is an ancient structure that, from the moment of its discovery until today, has baffled researchers of the ancient monument. Strangely, no one is able to accurately date the age of the Sphinx, since there are no written records or mentions of its construction or purpose in ancient records. Now Sphinx researchers are increasingly talking about the age of the monument at least 10,000 years, but Ukrainian researchers suggest an age of 800,000 years!
The authors of the work are scientists Vyacheslav Manichev (Institute of Environmental Geochemistry of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine) and Alexander Parkhomenko (Institute of Geography of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine). The research was presented at the International Conference of Geoarchaeology and Archeomineralogy held in Sofia under the title: geological aspects of the problem of dating the Great Sphinx of Egypt.
Two Ukrainian researchers have taken a provocative look at ancient history, with scientists suggesting that the Great Sphinx of Egypt has been around for about 800,000 years. This is a revolutionary theory, which, once confirmed, will change our entire attitude towards ancient history and the development of civilizations of that time.
According to the study, scientists Manichev and Parkhomenko have proposed a new natural mechanism that could explain the irregularities and erosion in the features of the Sphinx. This mechanism is the effect of waves on the structure of the monument. This formation - several layers of "ripples" - could take place over a thousand years, a fact that is clearly visible, for example, on the shores of the Black Sea.
The fact is - to put it briefly - that having studied the accumulation and destruction of the Great Sphinx, scientists believe that the processes that influenced the monument were not caused by the Nile overflowing its banks, but by complete immersion under water for a long time. Yes, researchers have repeatedly pointed out that the Sphinx survived the Flood, but Ukrainian researchers, having studied the destruction and dissolution of the rock, date the age of the “guardian” of the pyramid as 800,000 years!
According to Manichev and Parkhomenko:
The visual study of the Sphinx allows us to conclude that the water of large reservoirs played an important role, which partially flooded the monument with the formation of wave-cut depressions on its vertical walls.
The morphology of these formations is similar to similar depressions formed at sea in coastal areas. The similarity of the compared forms of erosion, the geological structure and petrographic composition of the sedimentary rocks of the complex lead to the conclusion that the decisive factor in the destruction of the historical monument was wave energy, and not sand.
Geological literature confirms the existence of long-lived freshwater lakes during various periods from the Quaternary Lower Pleistocene to the Holocene. These lakes were distributed in areas adjacent to the Nile. The absolute mark of the upper trace of the erosion of the Sphinx corresponds to the level of the water surface, which took place in the early Pleistocene.
During this period, the Great Sphinx of Egypt already stood on the Giza plateau of this geological (historical) time. - This is a huge age in the life of the Sphinx, isn’t it? But...who could have worked the Sphinx at that time? Could this be evidence that a million years ago there was a civilization on Earth capable of doing this?
In recent years, scientists have discovered many artifacts and ruins that cast doubt on the modern chronology of the development of human civilization.
Here are a few places that have generated a lot of discussion. Some consider them evidence of the existence of advanced prehistoric civilizations. Individual structures have been submerged because sea levels have risen over thousands of years.
Bosnian pyramid: 25,000 years old
Two Italian archaeologists, Dr. Riccardo Bret and Niccolo Bisconti, discovered a fragment of organic material on the pyramid in 2012. They carried out radiocarbon dating to determine the age of the pyramid. He showed that the pyramid is more than 20,000 years old. This means it was built before the birth of the Sumerian civilization and Babylon, which are considered the oldest on Earth.
When the Bosnian pyramid was first discovered in 2005, scientists could only determine the age of the soil layer, which was 12,000 years old.
Dr. Semir Osmanagic, who studies the Bosnian pyramid, told NTD television: “Organic material found on the Pyramid of the Sun and biological analysis indicate that its age is more than 12,500 years.”
Because the pyramid was covered with soil and vegetation, people thought it was just a hill until stone structures were discovered beneath the soil layer. It was known as Vysoko Hill.
Osmanagic was supported by some scientists, but there are also skeptics. Robert Schoch, a geologist at Boston University who studied the Bosnian pyramid for 10 days, said in 2009 that it was a natural formation, Smithsonian magazine reported. He was supported by Paul Heinrich, a geologist at the University of Louisiana. Heinrich said: “The formation that Osmanagic called a pyramid is actually quite common in nature... In America they are called flatirons, in the western US they are often found.”
Enver Buza, a scientist at the Geodetic Institute in Sarajevo, wrote in his article that the pyramid is “clearly oriented to the north.” Some argue that the hype around the Bosnian pyramids was inflated for political purposes.
Gobekli Tepe, Türkiye: 11,000 years
Göbekli Tepe is a massive stone megalith structure in Turkey that is 6,000 years older than Stonehenge. Archaeologist Klaus Schmidt believes that this is the oldest cult place on Earth, and its age is at least 11,000 years. But from the point of view of generally accepted science, in this era people did not even engage in agriculture, let alone build such structures.
Archaeologist Ian Hodder of Stanford said in an interview with Smithsonian magazine that Göbekli Tepe could revolutionize science's understanding of ancient civilizations.
“The dating of this place is correct, there is no doubt about it,” Klaus Schmidt said in a radio interview. The age was determined using radiocarbon dating and by analyzing nearby structures. Schmidt is convinced that Göbekli Tepe was built 11,000 years ago.
“We did not expect that in a society of gatherers and hunters they could organize such a complex task as transporting megaliths,” he says.
Radar scans have shown that there are 16 more megaliths underground, according to an article in Smithsonian magazine. Even after 50 years, there will still be a lot of work at the Göbekli Tepe excavations, Schmidt said.
The megaliths contain images of spiders, predators, waterfowl and other animals.
Yonaguni, Japanese Atlantis: 8000 years old
Large structures off the coast of the Yonaguni Islands are often cited as evidence of the existence of prehistoric civilizations. Proponents of this theory believe that they were built over 8,000 years ago.
British journalist Graham Hancock and Professor Masaaki Kimura from Okinawa studied these structures after they were discovered by a diver in 1987.
Kimura supported Honkok's idea that the structure was man-made or represented natural formations that had been transformed by man.
“They look like a monument,” Hancock told the BBC, “and they have unusual features. There are steps and terraces cut out on the side. It is oriented to the cardinal points. These structures have all the hallmarks of a place of worship or religious construction.”
Skeptic Schoch disagrees. He told the BBC that parts of the structure "look man-made" but the structures could have formed naturally:
“These mysterious structures deserve more careful study,” he wrote.
Lake Kinneret, Israel: 9500 years old
At the bottom of Lake Kinneret, also known as the Sea of Galilee, lies a mysterious massive structure that is more than 9,500 years old.
It was discovered by the National Institute of Ocean Sciences in 2000. The structure is cone-shaped, made of rough basalt cobblestones and boulders, weighs almost 60,000 tons and is 9.7 m high. It was studied only through sonar scanning and sample analysis soil. One artifact was recovered during soil sampling. Analysis showed that it was created in 7500 BC. BC, Princeton University reported.
The Princeton University website explains why some archaeologists disagree with the dating: “The main claim is that the artifact was recovered during dredging rather than a regulated archaeological excavation. As a result, some archaeologists say he is not related to the site."
Dani Nadel, an archaeologist from the University of Haifa, told Fox News: “This is a very mysterious find, very interesting. The most important thing is that we don’t know who created it and why, or what its functions are. We only know that it is there, it is huge and unusual,” he said.
Excavations at the site could cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, Fox News reported.
Bimini Road: 12,000 years
Underwater structures off the coast of the Bahamas have divided scientists into two groups since they were discovered in 1968.
Scientists from the first group claim that these are artificial structures 12,000-19,000 years old, although civilization appeared only about 5,000 years ago. The second group is confident that this is a natural formation.
Little is a psychologist who took a keen interest in Bimini and participated in multiple dives with archaeologist William Donato to study the structures.
Donato said in an email to The Epoch Times that the line of stones forms a breakwater, built to protect the prehistoric settlement from the waves. During their dives, Donato and Little found a multi-level structure with supporting stones that they believed were placed there by humans.
Two scuba divers also reported that they found anchor rocks with holes for the rope. At least one stone was later examined at the University of Colorado, showing signs of tooling used to shape it, functional wear, and erosion.
In a 2005 paper, Little wrote that using neutron activation analysis, scientists compared nearby shore rocks with rocks on the Bimini wall. They determined that the Bimini stones had lower trace elements and suggested that they were made elsewhere and then transported to this site.
Dr. Eugene Shinn, a retired geologist who worked for the Geological Society of America for 30 years, argues that Bimini is formed from beach sandstone. Due to the climate in this region, sand and other materials on the shore cement relatively quickly to form rocks. The rocks then became submerged because sea levels rose.
