Graham Hancock covers a lot of ground in his books, but I think this story can go here:
Have the secrets of a lost civilisation finally been unearthed?
Rupert Hawksley 4 October 2015 • 8:00am
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Twenty years ago, Hancock set the cat among the academic pigeons when he published a book called Fingerprints of the Gods, a re-evaluation of mankind's past that claimed an advanced civilisation was wiped out by a giant comet towards the end of the last Ice Age.
Based on Hancock's own investigations and interviews with archaeologists and astronomers, the book claimed survivors of this cataclysm, the giant flood remembered in myths all around the world, went on to settle in locations from Mexico to Egypt and impart their ancient knowledge to the other remaining humans.
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Now, he has written a sequel to Fingerprints, Magicians of the Gods, which reveals "explosive new evidence" to support his claims. It also warns of another comet strike that is destined to hit Earth in 2030.
The book, which is already a bestseller, has proved irresistible to fans and Hancock's talks, which he has been holding to accompany the launch, have been hugely popular, attracting far larger audiences than equivalent talks by Booker-prize winning authors.
What Hancock has not achieved, however, is credibility. Leading archaeologists have been denouncing his theories for decades. He has been compared to The Da Vinci Code author Dan Brown and dismissed as a pseudo archaeologist or "Pyramidiot".
Hancock has no formal qualifications in archaeology, history or astronomy. His long-standing interest in hallucinogenic drugs – "they are something that society really needs" – has not enhanced his reputation either.
But the author says he has never claimed to be an academic. He presents himself as a journalist who is simply reporting theories by scientists who think they can fill in some of the gaps in the history of mankind – holes acknowledged by all mainstream academics.
"Let's get to grips with that first of all," he says. "The foundations upon which history is based look increasingly suspect. Let's no longer shroud ourselves in the illusion that [traditional] historians and archaeologists are invincible."
There are, according to Hancock, two smoking guns. Firstly, matter was discovered recently in North America that is likely to have been caused by a comet or asteroid strike. In 2014, the Journal of Geology confirmed that this matter was formed 12,800 years ago.
"For someone who proposed [in Fingerprints of the Gods] a giant cataclysm between 12,000 and 13,000 years ago, it is a bit of a gift from the universe to have a bunch of very major scientists now saying that there was indeed a giant comet impact 12,800 years ago," he says.
Secondly, excavations at an archaeological site in Turkey called Göbekli Tepe have uncovered ruins that are at least 11,600 years old. That is more than 6,000 years older than other megalithic sites such as Stonehenge. A civilisation capable of the advanced architecture and art discovered at Göbekli Tepe is not supposed to have existed 11,600 years ago.
So what is the explanation?
"We're looking at a place where the survivors of a lost civilisation settled." References to these survivors – described as sages, magicians or "mystery teachers of Heaven" – can be found in various cultures, he adds.
"When the evidence started to build up, my first feeling was one of weariness," he says. "Because my books have been quite successful, I have been subjected to more of the scathing and withering attacks on the quality of my work, and on my qualities as a human being, by the academic community than anybody else. But this story needs to be told. It would just be plain wrong for me to ignore it."
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And Hancock believes that we may be about to lose another part of the human story. In the conclusion to his new book, he writes: "It is possible – indeed highly probable – that we are not yet done with the comet that changed the face of the earth between 12,800 years ago and 11,600 years ago."
There remains, he explains, at least one large comet in the same meteor stream. In 2030, we are due to come into contact with it once again.
"We have fallen out of harmony with the universe… In mythological terms, we tick all the boxes for the next lost civilisation," warns Hancock. "Plato says it very clearly about the citizens of Atlantis: there was a time when they loved a pure and good life but they became arrogant and cruel and no longer bore their prosperity with moderation. I think we sound a lot like that."
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/books/authors/graham-hancock-interview/
Ancient history, Atlantis, Göbekli Tepe, comet/asteroid impacts - several major Fortean themes linked together. Perhaps this book should have its own thread? If not, here will do. I probably won't be around in 2030 to see the next big impact...