The MEGA Blog

News from the Bahamas!

After a long dry spell of nearly a year, we're back with some recent news about the ongoing research in the Bahamas. Dr. Greg Little recently posted an Expedition Report from a 5-day survey of the Great Bahama Bank he and his wife, Dr. Lora Little, made in August, 2011. In addition to the narrative, this report includes two short video clips, two underwater photographs and several hyperlinks to previously published articles on the area. Of special interest is the Littles’ exploration of a 20,000+ year old underwater structure that is being reclaimed by the sand and their exploration of massive cut stone blocks now known as “Brown’s Ruins.” Check out the Report at http://apmagazine.info/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=191

Ancient Underwater Structures in the Bahamas

Dr. Greg Little has posted what he says will be his last update of 2010 on the research taking place in the waters near the Bimini Islands in the Bahamas. Ignoring speculation about the legendary Atlantis, Little instead describes what he has personally seen and sums it up by stating that “research in the last few years has found some intriguing things—things that show an unrecognized maritime culture was active there thousands of years ago.”

In his article (http://mysterious-america.net/final2010atlanti.html) Little describes three distinct areas of interest: the Rectangles Area, Pino Turolla’s Columns and an unnamed area 10 miles south of Bimini that contains granite slabs, stone steps and cut rooms. Each is uniquely interesting and together they seem to provide the “smoking gun” that proves the existence of an ancient maritime culture which flourished in the area more than 10,000 years ago – long before the Egyptian pyramids rose above of the desert sands in the Middle East.

The Rectangle Area: This area has been “under suspicion” for some time and was first identified by William M. (Bill) Donato using side-scan sonar back in 2006. According to Little, who has conducted several on-site explorations, the site includes about “50 square and rectangular formations ranging in sizes from 10 to 45-feet or so. They have a striking appearance because they are regular in shape (most are square or rectangular), areas of white sand are spaced between them, and they are arranged into three parallel rows on a straight line running for about 1.5 miles. Most of them have outer walls, many vertical, that are from 2 to 6-feet high.” The Rectangle Area is a flat, sandy area some 4 to 5 miles off West Bimini and 100 to 110 feet below the surface. The area is adjacent to an ancient shoreline that experts believe slipped below the surface of the rising ocean more than 12,000 years ago!

Pino Turolla’s Columns: This area off South Bimini was uncovered by the storms of 2010 an is definitely a submerged structure. In his article, Dr. Little suggests that this site was probably first reported by Count Pino Turolla in the 1970s but that the ever shifting sands in the area covered it up until just recently.  Little’s recent visit to the site revealed the presence of at least three long stone beams, each between 20 and 25 feet in length and arranged perfectly parallel to each other. Additional investigations have shown that these “outer beams” are quite probably the outer stonewalls of a building. “It was a rectangular structure, 45-feet in length and 30 feet wide. It was divided into two rooms with one about twice the size of the other. Examination of the walls shows that they extend down at least 4-feet into sand and more sand conceals the actual extent of the vertical outer walls. All who have seen the structure agree that it is the ruins of a building,” relates Little. This structure was probably in use about the same time as the “Bimini Road” feature – some 5,000 years ago.

Granite Slabs, Stone Steps and Cut Rooms: Some 10 miles south of lies an area containing numerous flat granite slabs arranged in what appear to be rooms. A multilayed stone wall runs along the back of the “rooms” and stone steps lead down into a cut passageway. These features are in about 20 feet of water. Nearby there is another stone formation that appears to be very similar to the Bimini Road formation.

Coincidence or Evidence? Skeptics might try to brush off any one of these locations as “simple beach rock” but three such outstanding locations in such close proximity to each other seem to provide undeniable proof that a sophisticated culture inhabited the “new” world much earlier than originally thought.

 

Stunning new photos of Bimini’s undersea “rectangles”

Dr. Greg Little, in a new article posted here at Alternate Perceptions Magazine, has released some stunning photos of the undersea rectangles that he believes may be the foundations of ancient stone buildings. There are apparently about 50 individual structures, each measuring approximately 10 x 45 feet in size and resting on the ocean floor 100 feet below the surface. According to Little, this puts them on the 10,000 B.C. shoreline and would imply that the maritime culture who laid them out in straight, parallel rows is more than twice as old as the culture that built the pyramids in Egypt!

You can view the photos here: http://www.mysterious-america.net/bimini2010photos.html

Dr. Little’s latest article is loaded with big news for those who have been following the Bimini research but, for me, the most exciting part is the section titled “First Definitive Underwater Stone Building Ruins Found?” You see, in the spring of 2006 I released the third and final novel in my Seeds of Civilization series. Like the previous two installments, Triangle is loosely based on real underwater archaeology and it even includes scenes set in the “Lost City of Cuba.” However, the climax takes place off the southern coast of South Bimini and four years ago I wrote about an “unusual structure” in almost exactly the same spot where the Littles’ most recent expedition has just discovered never before explored stone ruins! Once again, fact meets fiction!

Check out my series at http://www.SeedsOfCivilization.com or pick up a copy of Triangle by R.J. Archer anywhere books are sold. ISBN-10: 0977910938, ISBN-13: 978-0977910939.

PRESS RELEASE - Evidence of Ice Age Civilization in the Americas?

Advanced Planetary Explorations Institute Announces Discovery Of Possible Underwater Ruins In The Bahamas

Evidence of Ice Age Civilization in the Americas?

For Immediate Release

BUENA PARK, Calif./EWORLDWIRE/Feb 14, 2010 --- The Advanced Planetary Explorations (APEX) Institute (http://apexinstitute.org) today announced the discovery of possible, submerged ruins in the waters near the Bimini Islands of the Bahamas.

William Donato, archeologist and president of APEX, a California based non-profit organization, has investigated this area over a 20-year period. He has directed several side-scan sonar surveys as part of an ongoing archeological investigation seeking evidence of ancient man in the Bahamas.

Donato's 1998 investigation revealed the presence of structural anomalies on the ocean floor. These side-scan sonar results were verified in subsequent surveys in 1999 and 2006. The existence of these anomalies, that include a series of several dozen rectangles, have been visually confirmed by other researchers within the last two years.

"The side-scan images reveal possible megalithic structures whose depth would place them toward the end of the Pleistocene Era - approximately 10,000 B.C. - when this area was above the surface. These structures are covered in ocean sand, coral, and marine vegetation, and they are of uniform size and oriented to each other, indicating human origin," said Donato. "We hope to excavate selected targets within the site to verify the existence of these ruins."

Donato stated that APEX plans to continue further investigations with the National Museum of the Bahamas - the Antiquities, Monuments and Museums Corporation (AMMC).

MEDIA: To interview William Donato or to request additional photos, call 714-527-3979.

CONTACT: William Donato APEX Institute 6599 Via Gancho Circle Buena Park, CA 90620 PHONE. 714-527-3979 EMAIL: williamdonato@apexinstitute.org http://apexinstitute.org

Vanda Osmon 648 Corte Loren San Marcos, CA 92069 PHONE. 1-800-569-5010, 1-760-944-9915 EMAIL: vanda-joy@sbcglobal.net http://apexinstitute.org

SOURCE: Advanced Planetary Explorations Institute (APEX)

AVAILABLE MEDIA: Photo: William Donato, archeologist at Bimni. (size: 37.0 k) Photo by Vanda Osmon

Interesting Comments from Greg Little

In the current online issue of Alternate Preceptions Magazine (Issue #144, January, 2010) Dr. Greg Little makes some very interesting comments about the widely reported claim by a "unknown group" regarding the discovery of a submerged city somewhere in the Caribbean. Little says:

"I have been asked by many people about the recent report regarding an 'underwater city' discovered by satellite imagery in the Caribbean. The report certainly generated a lot of publicity and comment. While I suspected that the imagery was an artifact of the imaging process and perhaps a hoax, I still contacted the author of the article who eventually phoned me. After a long discussion about the location and the process used to obtain the images I conclude that there may, in fact, be a lot more behind the announcement than I initially suspected. But a lot has to be done before anything else can be concluded about it. Due to the location and logistical obstacles involved with the site, my hunch is that it'll be some time before any more details emerge. I have agreed to keep all details about it confidential, so I ask all those interested to not ask me for any more details."

Dr. Little also talks about the GUE dive team that has been contracted by A.R.E. to explore some of the sites near Bimini. See the entire article at: http://www.mysterious-america.net/atlantisinsider1.html

Finally, the race to Atlantis is on!

An article in today’s Miami Herald should be welcome news for all of you who have been waiting for something to happen with the ongoing Bimini research! After a group of “unidentified archaeologists” leaked a story on December 16th that they had discovered Atlantis in an “undisclosed location” the Virginia-based A.R.E. group apparently decided it was time to call in some help before a group of unknowns steal their thunder. According to the Miami Herald, Gainesville-based Global Underwater Explorers has been hired by A.R.E. to “uncover evidence of the Lost Continent of Atlantis.” Now that’s what I call laying all your cards on the table! You can read the original Miami Herald article HERE

Archaeologists claim they’ve found the lost city of Atlantis ???

(MSNBC.com) "Undersea archaeologists claim they have found the ruins of an ancient city on the bottom of the Caribbean Sea, and these same researchers claim that it is the fabled and lost city of Atlantis. The satellite photos do show something that could be a city, and the researchers believe that what they've found would predate the pyramids of Egypt. Indeed they claim to be able to make out a pyramid and other city-like structures from the satellite photos.

The archaeologists have so far refused to divulge their identities or the location in the Caribbean. They say they are raising money for an expedition to confirm their findings."

At least one of the photos shown in the video below look to me like a side-scan sonar image (much different than a satellite photo) and several researchers I’ve heard from suspect this is a hoax. One person also points out that the video’s commentator grossly misuses the phrase “20,000 leagues under the sea” since that would be more than 15 times the radius of the earth! However, this same commentator asks a question I’ve been asking here since the beginning of this blog: How can the “science” of archaeology claim to “know” the history of mankind when they’ve only explored a fraction of the planet? You be the judge:

Click here to view Article and Video

Zahi Hawass and the Great Egyptian Cover-up

This blog does not - and never will - focus on Egyptian archaeology. However, I found the article listed below interesting for two reasons: (a) it’s a classic example of cover-up and corruption within the established academic community relating to the history of civilization and (b) it eludes to yet another culture dating back 10,000 years or more.

 

The lengthy and well-documented article suggests intrigue, corruption and scandal at the highest levels of Egypt’s Supreme Council of Antiquities (SCA) and it has the makings of another Hollywood movie (Indian Jones and the Wacky Egyptian Doctor). However, I wonder if there isn’t another, much more basic reason for the lies and misinformation spewed by the SCA - something that all their efforts over the years won’t be able to hide if the ongoing research in the Bahamas proves fruitful.

 

Is it possible that Egypt isn’t really the center of the universe, Dr. Hawass? Is it possible that other civilizations existed prior to the pyramid builders of the Giza Plateau and that Egypt’s “great accomplishments” were merely the product of skills learned from an earlier – and more advanced – culture that is yet to be discovered?

 

Philip Coppens’  article: http://www.philipcoppens.com/hawass.html

 

[Thanks again to Paul Bader and his AtlantisNews Yahoo Group for bringing the link to the Coppens' article to my attention.]

 

History Channel to feature Bimini Research in "Lost Atlantis" episode

In recent correspondence to Paul Bader (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/Halls-of-Atlantis/) Dr. Greg Little released some information about upcoming episodes of the History Channel's "Mysteryquest" series that will featrure work done this year in Bimini. One episode, showing  now, focuses on the numerous crashed airplanes the Little's have discovered during their travels in the Bermuda Triangle and an October 9th episode will (finally) show closeup video of the "rectangles" we've heard so much about. Here's the text of Dr. Little's message:

"On Wednesday Oct. 7 at 9 pm (Eastern time) on the History Channel the 4th show of the new series "Mysteryquest" will be on "The Lost City ofAtlantis." The show will show side-scan sonar from the "rectangles" area in deep water off Bimini as well as closeup high definition video of some of the formations. They also did some Cayce reading recreations for the show, but we don't know how this will come off or what it'll say or show. This area was first found by Bill Donato and APEX in 2006, but had been previously seen in an earlier Donato project. We took the first photos of it in 2008 and the first film in 2009. But this should be of interest to anyone interested in Cayce.

"The 2nd episode, which aired last Wed and has shown repeatedly since then showed underwater planes in that general area as we shot two episiodes while there. It was called the "Devils Triangle." On December 9 at 1 pm on Nat Geo another show, which concerns the Bermuda Triangle, will be shown and another plane, about 5 miles off Bimini was investigated. We think it turned out to be one of the more important Bermuda Triangle disappearaces, but haven't been told for certain." - Dr. Greg Little

UPDATE: This episode will repeat on October 17, 2009. Don't miss it!

History Channel photographs 12,000-year-old stone walls off Bimini!

In a series of recent posts to an online forum, Dr. Greg Little describes some of the objects recently videotaped and photographed by a History Channel film crew that accompanied the Littles on a seven-day trip to the Bahamas in early August. In one post Little states:

 

“We filmed and photographed much more at the rectangles site. What was revealed in the higher color resolution film/photos is that many of the structures on the 10,000 BC shoreline are covered with dense coral, but some were not as covered. The structures that were not totally covered show definite stone block walls. It appears to be what we previously said: remains of buildings/walls/structures laying along the 10,000 BC shoreline. It is a huge area, a long line of square and rectangular formations, which we mapped simultaneously via gps and video to identify the most promising ones for future investigation.”

 

And in another post:

 

“The blocks that were visible in the underwater formations' walls off Bimini look identical to a photo of an ancient Mediterranean port and what is described as "rubble and pier construction" in the 2000 book "Phoenicians." In fact, I showed that book and photo to the History Channel crew while we were there. The info in that book matching the Bimini structures leads me to conclude that what we are looking at is a series of interconnected walls, buildings, and structures used for a large seaside port. The blocks are a lot smaller than what people typically think of when they see South American stone structures. The Bimini blocks, and keep in mind that there are only 2-3 of all the 35+ structures where they are very visible, are perhaps 2-3x the size of a standard brick. There are, though, quite a few stone slabs, much, much larger, occasionally visible. These are found in the base, sides, and tops of a few structures.”

 

According to Little, the rectangle site is about two miles west of Bimini Road, into deeper water. Little believes the Bimini Road breakwater once protected a harbor that was in use circa 3,000 BC but he suggests that the larger area may have been continuously inhabited for the entire 7,000 year period and perhaps longer. He speculates that as the sea level raised the maritime culture simply receded inland and rebuilt until there wasn’t enough usable land left. When the rectangles were in use, the entire Grand Bahama Bank was exposed and formed a huge island that extended 150 miles east to west and as much as 200 miles north to south.

 

See http://atlantisonline.smfforfree2.com/index.php/topic,16827 for additional information.

 

The "Lost City of Cuba" makes an appearance on YouTube

These “videos” are made from some pretty dated material, but they're relatively new to YouTube, so I thought I’d share them with those of you who haven’t studied all the background information available on the Internet. MEGA, as the site is known, is also described on this site in some of my earlier posts and I even have a map of its general location elsewhere on this site.

 

As I’ve said here before, my email contact with Paul Weinzweig has convinced me that the ADC team is absolutely positive they saw and recorded ancient underwater ruins – the “Lost City of Cuba!”

 

“Underwater City Off of Cuba” posted by “JoeldeLawton”

Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=klRbcEnLPbU

Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hk6SWtumdK0

 

 

Another group searches for 12,000-year-old Americans

Much is written here about the work taking place near Bimini but there’s another group of researchers working a couple of hundred miles to the west, off Florida’s coast in the Gulf of Mexico. Their first expedition, funded by NOAA, took place last summer and it was promising enough to earn a second year’s funding. The 2009 expedition is currently underway and the researchers are due back on August 7. For more information, see these links:

 

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2009-07/mc-ues070909.php

 

http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/08negmexico/welcome.html

 

Bimini's maritime culture may have lasted 7,900 years!

If you’ve read the posts on this site and followed the links to the work being done in the Bahamas by Drs. Greg and Lora Little and the A.R.E. group, you know that there is now strong evidence that man-made structures exist on the sea floor west of the Bimini Islands in the Bahamas. Further, these structures have been located at two distinct depths: about 92 feet and about 300 feet. In a recent email, archaeologist William M. Donato (who is mentioned frequently in the material found on this site) made a very interesting observation which is paraphrased here with his permission.

 

According to Donato, the features at 92 feet should date to about 9,600 B.C. based on accepted sea level data. That is, the rising ocean would have submerged these features about 9,600 B.C. Using the same sea level data, the features at 300 feet would have been submerged about 17,500 B.C. If the structures all belonged to the same culture, then this culture not only existed long before our current civilization emerged around 3,500 B.C. but it also lasted at least 7,900 years – several thousand years longer than our culture has been around.

 

The significance of the discoveries being made in the Bahamas is HUGE. If the current evidence stands the test of scientific investigation, it would imply that the “new world" was inhabited by a complex maritime culture long before the rise of the Sumerians in Mesopotamia. Anthropologists and archaeologists would be forced to start over with a whole new set of assumptions and rewrite ancient history.

 

Once the existance of this culture is confirmed, we must turn to the the real questions - who were these people and where did they come from? Did I hear someone out there whisper "Atlantis?"

12,000-year-old structures found near Bimini?

In the July, 2009, issue of Alternate Perceptions Magazine, Dr. Lora Little and Dr. Greg Little published an archeological reconstruction of 35 square and rectangular formations located in 90-feet of water, about 5 miles off Bimini Island in the western Bahamas. Lying on the edge of the 10,000 BC shoreline, this series of well-spaced, similarly oriented rectangular and square formations are all the size and shape of buildings, platforms, and even occasionally seem to have ramps and multiple tiers. In places, what appear to be smaller stone blocks are seen in the sides of the formations giving them the appearance of buildings. Prior articles on expeditions to this area can be found here.

Stay tuned, because I’ve had the privilege of seeing some underwater photos of other structures in the same area and this could be the archaeological find of the century!

 

Bimini Underwater Rectangles Yield Stunning Finds

Drs. Greg and Lora Little have posted a new report on their continuing exploration of the mysterious, rectangular shapes 100 feet below the surface west of the Bimini Road structure in the Bahamas. Still not ready to make any definitive claims, Lora says, “It may well be that the remains of manmade structures are truly on the edge of this 10,000 BC shoreline—which would be a stunning and completely mind-boggling discovery.” Her detailed report can be found in its entirety at:

http://www.mysterious-america.net/may2009biminirep.html.

 

The new report describes the sites, the technology being pressed into service and the observations of photographers and film crews that have personally visited the sites.

 

As I’ve previously mentioned, I’ve had an opportunity to see the original side-scan sonar images recorded during the November, 2006 expedition led by Bill Donato and they certainly appear to show rectangular, intentionally placed structures of some kind on the ocean floor. In their professional and conservative tradition, the Little’s aren’t making any claims just yet, but each expedition creeps closer to the day when a 12,000 year old culture will be confirmed in the NEW WORLD! Because of the similarities between stone anchors found in the Bahamas and those used by the ancient Phoenicians, one can’t help wondering which anchors were fashioned first!