The very words “Lost Civilizations” has always made my blood run with excitement, and in this collection, there is plenty of food for thought on various ancient “lost” civilizations. This collections of essays contains works by some of the most respected researchers in areas of history, pre-history, archaeology and mythology. Among the authors featured here we find Frank Joseph, editor of Ancient American Magazine and Atlantis explorer extraordinaire, Freddy Silva, one of the world’s leading experts on crop circles and sacred sites, and Erich Von Daniken, the guru of ancient alien theorists.
The first thing that struck me about the writing here is the thorough and well-organized research that has gone into each essay. These aren’t a bunch of lunatics wildly speculating about little green men and mysterious underwater continents. These are serious-minded researchers who draw upon many areas of science in search of possible explanations including studies in geology and mythology, the examination of ancient artifacts and writings, and astronomical and mathematical observations.
The book begins with Joseph’s examination of “Archaeological Scandals,” beginning with the Kensington Rune Stone. I had the privilege of writing a review of the book on the Kensington Rune Stone for Ancient American a few years back. (LINK) He also examines Chief Joseph’s Sumerian Tablet, Georgia’s Hearn Stone, and Peru’s La Paz bowl. These artifacts resist accusations of fraud and Joseph clearly outlines why they cannot be forgeries and therefore must be considered to be genuine relics indicating ancient communication between the continents that far predates our standard assumptions.
In “Paradises Lost,” Oberon Zell examines the evidence of lost places including, naturally, Atlantis, Lemuria and the Garden of Eden. But he also includes Dilmun, a lost land appearing in Sumerian writings, Doggerland, an area once above water between England and Denmark, as well as discussing the inundation that created the Black Sea.
Other essays include an exploration of Atlantis as being the Valhalla that the Vikings were seeking when they invaded the British Isles, a treatise on an ancient race of giants, the possibility of ancient civilizations using sound as a means of locomotion, evidence in ancient writings of possible nuclear conflict in man’s distant past, and the role of symbols carved into the stone places of ancient landscapes.
In this genre, it is all here—Noah, the Great Flood, Sumeria, Egypt, Easter Island, Peru, Atlantis, UFOs, Native Americans, and time travel. But it is backed up with genuine artifacts, real ancient writings, accurate geological and astronomical history, and even DNA research! Which, greatly to my relief, doesn’t end up sounding flaky—instead these thoughtful and well-researched essays will make you think and wonder and speculate on your own. Perhaps even sparking the reader to delve in and explore man’s history from yet another new perspective.