1 of 1

Write now Article Tools

Many books claim to be able to change people's lives or at least cause them to question what they know, or how they view the world around them. Charles Hapgood's 1966 release, Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings, never claimed to be such a book but in my opinion was one that should have caused a greater stir that it did. It normally goes hand in hand also, that most of these " life altering" works are written by people with a background that doesn't make them the most obvious of experts. Hapgood however had the best of credentials behind him when he formulated the theories found within this book. As a lecturer in History of Science for Keene State College and for the US military he could certainly be described as having the establishment on his side, so much so that his earlier work, the Earths Shifting Crust, a set of theories on plate-tectonic movements carried a forward by none other than Albert Einstein.

The geographer and geologist William Morris Davis once discussed "The Value of Outrageous Geological Hypothesis". The point being that such outlandish theories arouse interest, invite attack and thus serve as a useful ferment for the advancement of the geology. Once a theory that undermines current thinking is put forward it has an affect on all sectors of the field in question, in this case specifically Cartography. The conservative will be outraged and they will react to the book like bulls to red rags. The radicals will be attracted to the book will be drawn to its ideas like bees to honeysuckle and the liberals in between these two camps will feel at least a stimulating bafflement whilst the arguments race back and forth.

The starting point for the theories expressed within centres around the discovery of a set of maps in Constantinople in 1929. These maps were dated 1513 and named after an admiral called Piri Re'is. Articles were written at the time by Turkish and German scholars about these "lost maps of Columbus" but it was not until they were gifted to the US military that a modern team took a scientific look at what they contained. One of the most startling observations made about the maps was that they seemed to show a map of Antarctica's actual landform, something that, since it has been covered in ice for millennia, has only been achieved in the last few decades with sonar equipment. Was it possible to back up this amazing claim? At this point Hapgood and his students took over the examination of the maps and the findings are contained within this work.

According

• 1
• 2
• next page >>

Add your voice

Know something about Book reviews: Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings, by Charles H. Hapgood?
We want to hear your view. Write now!