Latest news with #GrahamHancock
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Science
- Daily Mail
Ancient explosion in Louisiana 'proves' lost advanced civilization was wiped out 12,800 years ago
Almost 13,000 years ago, a massive fragment of a comet exploded over Louisiana, turning stone into glass and potentially offering evidence for one of history's most controversial theories. New research supports ideas popularized by author Graham Hancock, who shared a stage with comet scientist Dr Allan West to discuss the findings. Hancock's bestselling books argue for the existence of a lost, advanced civilization wiped out by a cosmic cataclysm around 12,800 years ago. Speaking to the Daily Mail, Hancock said his work is often misunderstood or dismissed by critics, but recent comet impact discoveries lend weight to the mystery he explores. Dr West, one of the scientists behind the Louisiana find, warns that such explosions with the destructive power of nuclear weapons may be more common than previously thought. 'I am exploring a mystery, and that mystery is a very strong feeling that the archaeological project is not giving us the whole story about the past, not because of any conspiracy, but because archaeology mainly focuses on physical artifacts,' Hancock explained. 'This approach tends to overlook important evidence found in religious texts and ancient myths, like the Egyptian Book of the Dead and the global flood myth.' 'It's clear to me that something is missing, that during the Ice Age, there was a culture with advanced astronomy, knowledge of the Earth's dimensions, and even the problem of longitude solved.' The study identified what appeared to be a 12,800-year-old depression in Louisiana caused by a cosmic airburst, an explosion in the atmosphere by a space object. Radiometric dating and electron microscopy date the event to the Younger Dryas Boundary, a period marked by abrupt cooling and mass extinctions. Researchers suggested that the 984-foot-long lake and crater-like depression in Perkins could be the first airburst crater identified from this era. Hancock believes the Earth was bombarded by fragments of a giant comet, part of the Taurid meteor stream, thousands of years ago. 'Comets can get caught in the sun's gravity and enter orbit. According to research by Nature and others, the Taurid stream included a massive comet, possibly over 100 kilometers wide, which crossed Earth's path about 20,000 years ago,' Hancock said. He argues the impacts were not single hits but 'like a shotgun blast,' multiple airbursts from objects ranging in size from the Great Pyramid to entire cities, affecting locations worldwide, including the US, Belgium, Syria, Chile and Antarctica. Hancock sees the recent discovery as one among dozens of such global events, possibly including an impact crater as well as airbursts. Rising to fame with Fingerprints of the Gods in 1995, Hancock has faced ongoing rejection from mainstream archaeology. 'That book gathered evidence from mythology, traditions, and design, leading to my conclusion that a global cataclysm wiped out part of human history around 12,500 years ago,' Hancock said. 'The Younger Dryas Impact hypothesis, proposed scientifically in 2006, fits this timeline perfectly. Evidence continues to build, though it remains controversial.' Dr West, from the Comet Research Group, stressed the broader implications of their findings. 'The accepted view is that extraterrestrial impact events are extremely rare, especially large ones like the dinosaur extinction event,' he said. 'But smaller, dangerous airbursts like Tunguska in 1908 and Chelyabinsk in 2013 happen more often than believed.' He said evidence points to a major encounter with a giant comet's tail 12,800 years ago, causing widespread devastation without the comet itself striking Earth. 'This event was enormous, equivalent to thousands or even tens of thousands of nuclear bombs exploding simultaneously,' West explained. The aftermath pushed many megafauna species, including mammoths and saber-toothed cats, into extinction. West warns that if a similar event happened today, it could be catastrophic. 'Back then, fewer than a million people lived on Earth. Today's billions would suffer immensely, millions could die, crops would fail, satellites and electrical grids would be destroyed.' The Younger Dryas Impact hypothesis remains controversial because the sharp climate downturn it explains has no other widely accepted cause. West believes the comet impact darkened skies with dust and soot for months, plunging the world back into ice age conditions. West and Hancock share the experience of facing intense criticism for their unconventional ideas. 'Graham invited me to speak because our work challenges the prevailing scientific paradigm,' West said. 'We've had papers blocked, delayed, and even targeted for retraction by those opposed to our research.' Hancock is realistic about the acceptance of their theories. 'I'm not optimistic for a sudden paradigm shift. Overturning established views is a slow, often hostile process,' he said. 'But with enough evidence, the truth will eventually emerge, just not tomorrow or anytime soon.'
Daily Mail
3 days ago
- Science
- Daily Mail
Groundbreaking find uncovers catastrophic event linked to destruction of legendary Atlantis
A discovery beneath the ocean floor has revealed evidence of a catastrophic event that may be linked to the destruction of the legendary lost city of Atlantis. Some researchers, including well-known author Graham Hancock, have long proposed that around 12,800 years ago, a giant comet passed through Earth's atmosphere, triggering devastation that wiped out advanced civilizations worldwide. While credible proof of Atlantis itself remains elusive, scientists have now uncovered geochemical clues supporting the theory of this cataclysmic event, known as the Younger Dryas. The controversial Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis (YDIH) suggests Earth passed through debris from a disintegrating comet. The resulting impacts and shockwaves destabilized massive ice sheets, causing massive flooding that disrupted crucial ocean currents and triggered rapid climate cooling. Now, researchers led by the University of South Carolina have uncovered metallic debris, like comet dust and thousands of tiny microspherules, in Baffin Bay seafloor sediments, strengthening the comet impact theory. Archaeologist Marc Young, co-author of the study, told the Daily Mail: 'The Younger Dryas onset is associated with significant changes in human population dynamics all over the planet, though mostly in the northern hemisphere. 'Several independent studies over the last few years have shown conclusively that most of the megafaunal species that went extinct disappeared precisely at that time.' Many mainstream scientists argue that the cooling was caused not by a comet but by glacial meltwater flooding the Atlantic Ocean. This influx of fresh water weakened ocean currents that transport warm tropical waters northward, leading to the temperature drop. However, Young pointed out that 'such cooling events have occurred dozens of times over the last 100,000 years, but none caused megafauna extinctions, wiped out human populations, or deposited a global layer of impact debris like the YD did.' He added: 'Furthermore, the release of meltwater into the oceans at the YD onset was orders of magnitude larger than previous events, causing a near-instantaneous global sea level rise of over 16 feet, while past sea level rises during similar coolings were negligible.' The sediment cores analyzed by the team serve as historical records, preserving layers of mud, sand and particles deposited over millennia. By examining these layers, scientists can reconstruct past climates, ecosystems and geological events. The four cores were collected from locations spanning about 620 miles across Baffin Bay, from shallow waters near Jones Sound to deeper areas near Davis Strait. The cores were taken from water depths between 1,640 and 7,870 feet. Iron-rich and silica-rich tiny spherical particles, or microspherules, were found in layers of the sediment cores dating back 12,800 years. These microspherules formed at very high temperatures, with bubbles, branching surface patterns and aerodynamic shapes that suggested they traveled fast through the air. The iron-rich microspherules also contained small blobs of a low-oxygen metal that is chemically between chromite and chromium-magnetite, minerals found in certain types of meteorites and impact materials. Led by Christopher R Moore, the researchers also detected a pronounced spike in platinum, a rare element often enriched during extraterrestrial impacts, in the same sediment layers containing the microspherules and comet dust. Fragments of melted glass and grains were also found, including melted clusters with iron-rich particles and quartz that melted or boiled at very high temperatures. These also included glass rich in iron, chromium, potassium and titanium. Small blobs of melted chromite, iron-chromium-nickel alloys, iron oxide, and tungsten were found fused onto quartz and magnetite grains from the Younger Dryas Boundary layers in the cores. These metallic blobs mostly consist of native nickel, iron-chromium-nickel alloys, and chromite, and they look very similar to melted splatters on minerals found in South Carolina that have been identified as cometary dust particles. Young emphasized the significance of this ocean-based evidence: 'Until now, no oceanic sediment cores had been used to test the Younger Dryas Impact Hypothesis. 'This is the first and only ocean-based geochemical evidence for the hypothesis since it was proposed in 2007. 'Importantly, it's the first time anyone has looked, and finding this evidence on the very first attempt is very promising. Technically, we have a 100 percent replication rate in ocean cores based on this data.' These findings indicate a geochemical anomaly occurring around when the Younger Dryas event began, but they do not provide direct evidence supporting the impact hypothesis, according to the team. More research is needed to confirm whether the findings are indeed evidence of impact, and to firmly link an impact to climate cooling. 'Our identification of a Younger Dryas impact layer in deep marine sediments underscores the potential of oceanic records to broaden our understanding of this event and its climatological impacts,' Moore said. Co-author Dr Mohammed Baalousha added: 'It is great to implement our unique nano-analytical tools in a new area of study, namely the analysis of nanoparticles generated or transported to the Baffin Bay core site during the Younger Dryas.
ABC News
6 days ago
- Business
- ABC News
Long-term National Trust SA volunteers go public about controversial 'service fee'
One of South Australia's largest National Trust branches has refused to pay a $47,000 "service fee" to the conservation group, saying the money is better spent on maintaining heritage properties. National Trust SA Moonta Heritage chair Graham Hancock is among volunteer members who have criticised a new 10 per cent revenue fee which the ABC understands most of the South Australia's 45 branches have not paid. However, National Trust SA (NTSA) president Millie Nicholls said the money was needed to remain financially sustainable while paying for "consolidated auditing, insurance and financial compliance". NTSA manages more than 100 heritage sites, mostly through volunteer-run local chapters. Mr Hancock, who joined in 1986, said the relationship between volunteers and Adelaide head office had become "strained" since the April decision. Describing the fee as "flawed", he said the Moonta branch was "totally opposed" to it and would not pay it. "If we took $100,000 in income but our cost for operation was, say, $50,000, we're left with $50,000," he said. "Their program says 'we're going to charge [the service fee] on $100,000, not the $50,000 left over'. The Moonta branch is the custodian of Cornish mining sites which are candidates for UNESCO World Heritage status. Other assets include the tourist railway which needs an engine replacement starting at $100,000, according to Mr Hancock. "We have a number of employed persons now, given the size of our operations," he said, adding he had around 100 volunteers. Renmark branch chair Ann Ryan said her branch's fee was $7,000 out of $12,000 remaining in profit. Ms Ryan's branch runs the 19th century Olivewood Historic Homestead and Museum, for which it pays insurance and utility costs. "If they'd said we want a 10 per cent service fee on your profit we'd probably be happy with that, to be able to contribute somehow to them running their books," she said. "But not off of our total turnover. Mount Gambier chair Wayne Horbury said there was an appetite to acquire more properties beyond the old courthouse, such as the local railway station, but the branch did not have enough money. "The only money we're raising so far is school tours, the odd one or two tourists, and donations," Mr Horbury said. "It's so frustrating, and I don't know why they're charging us because we used to do the books ourselves and send it to Adelaide, and they were happy with it." In a statement, NTSA president Millie Nicholls said the fee was "part of an internal effort to ensure the [trust's] ongoing success". "While it may appear to be a flat fee it's actually tied to the workload for managing each branch's operations to ensure fairness," she said. "Preliminary consultations occurred via branch meet-ups and communications over some months prior to the implementation of the fee, and further consultations are ongoing to ensure alignment and understanding."
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Science
- Daily Mail
Great Pyramid timeline shattered as new clues point to older origins
A growing body of controversial evidence is challenging the long-accepted timeline of the Great Pyramid, and raising new questions about who may have built it. British author Graham Hancock recently appeared on the American Alchemy podcast, where he claimed geological and astronomical clues suggest the monument was not built 4,500 years ago by Pharaoh Khufu, but by a lost civilization 12,500 years ago. 'There's no doubt that parts of the Great Pyramid were completed and finished by the ancient Egyptians,' Hancock told podcast host Jesse Michels. 'I don't seek to take it away from them, but I think they were inheriting a very ancient tradition and completing a monument that already stood in basic form on the Giza Plateau.' One of Hancock's central arguments centers on the erosion patterns of the nearby Great Sphinx , saying that only heavy rainfall over thousands of years could have caused such deep weathering. 'No such rains were on the Giza Plateau 4,500 years ago, but they certainly were at the end of the last Ice Age,' he said. However, renowned Egyptologist Dr Zahi Hawass has disputed these claims . He told the Daily Mail he had discovered workers' tombs dating to the 13th century BC and dismissed the erosion theory, attributing the Sphinx's damage to millennia of wind, not rain. 'If someone built this pyramid 12,000 years ago, aren't you going to leave any evidence at the site to prove that?' said Dr Hawass. 'Me and my colleague, Mark Lehner, have excavated Giza for the last 50 years. All that we discovered until now has to do with the Fourth Dynasty.' The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid, and was constructed by Pharaoh Khufu, who ruled during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. It is one of three within the Giza plateau, the other two include the Pyramid of Khafre and the Pyramid of Menkaure, as well as the Great Sphinx. All shrouded in mystery due to their unclear construction methods, precise astronomical alignment and still-debated purpose. Dr Hawass shared further insights during a July appearance on the Matt Beall Limitless podcast, including details about a planned excavation inside the Great Pyramid to search for Khufu's lost tomb. Hancock, however, remains unconvinced that any burial ever took place inside. 'It's well known that no burial of any Pharaoh was ever found in the Great Pyramid or, for that matter, in any of the 100 pyramids in Egypt,' said Hancock, who is known for his controversial theories about ancient civilizations. 'It's well known that no burial of any Pharaoh was ever found in the Great Pyramid or, for that matter, in any of the 100 pyramids in Egypt,' said hancock. 'Some of that can be attributed to tomb robbery, but in the case of the Great Pyramid, it was completely closed and sealed until Arab raiders under Khalif Ma'mun broke in. 'They were expecting to find enormous treasures and wealth, but instead, they found a completely empty building with nothing inside.' Hancock also rejected the mainstream view that the Great Pyramid was built in just 23 years during Khufu's reign, calling that idea 'absurd.' Instead, he proposed that the structure may have taken hundreds, even thousands, of years to complete. Adding to his theory, Hancock pointed to the massive bedrock foundations beneath the three pyramids at Giza, naturally existing formations that were leveled before construction. While most archaeologists believe the foundations are natural, Hancock believes the platforms themselves are much older. He linked the structures to a lost epoch known in Egyptian lore as Zep Tepi, or 'The First Time,' citing astronomical alignments between the pyramid platforms and Orion's Belt as it appeared 12,500 years ago. 'At 4,500 years ago, the stars of Orion's Belt didn't match up,' he said. 'The Great Sphinx was looking at the sun rising against the background of Taurus. But in 12,500 BC, it aligned perfectly with Leo.' Dr Hawass, however, dismissed Hancock's claims as unfounded, emphasizing that the ancient Egyptians left behind detailed records of the Great Pyramid's construction. 'The Wadi El-Jarf Papyri is a diary from an overseer named Merer,' he said. 'He wrote, 'I am from the Delta. I was hired by Khufu and held the title of inspector, with 40 workmen under me.' The papyri also describe how Merer led crews to the Tura quarries to cut fine white limestone, which was then transported on wooden sledges to cargo boats. These vessels docked at harbors built in front of each pyramid. 'Egyptian history has no gaps that would justify dating the pyramids to 12,000 or 20,000 years ago,' Hawass added. 'That era, known as the Epipaleolithic period, marked the earliest stages of civilization, far too primitive for monuments of this scale.'
Daily Mail
6 days ago
- Science
- Daily Mail
Great Pyramid timeline shattered as new 'evidence' reveals who really built them
A growing body of controversial evidence is challenging the long-accepted timeline of the Great Pyramid, and raising new questions about who may have built it. British author Graham Hancock recently appeared on the American Alchemy podcast, where he claimed geological and astronomical clues suggest the monument was not built 4,500 years ago by Pharaoh Khufu, but by a lost civilization 12,500 years ago. 'There's no doubt that parts of the Great Pyramid were completed and finished by the ancient Egyptians,' Hancock told podcast host Jesse Michels. 'I don't seek to take it away from them, but I think they were inheriting a very ancient tradition and completing a monument that already stood in basic form on the Giza Plateau.' One of Hancock's central arguments centers on the erosion patterns of the nearby Great Sphinx, saying that only heavy rainfall over thousands of years could have caused such deep weathering. 'No such rains were on the Giza Plateau 4,500 years ago, but they certainly were at the end of the last Ice Age,' he said. However, renowned Egyptologist Dr Zahi Hawass has disputed these claims. He told the Daily Mail he had discovered workers' tombs dating to the 13th century BC and dismissed the erosion theory, attributing the Sphinx's damage to millennia of wind, not rain. 'If someone built this pyramid 12,000 years ago, aren't you going to leave any evidence at the site to prove that?' said Dr Hawass. 'Me and my colleague, Mark Lehner, have excavated Giza for the last 50 years. All that we discovered until now has to do with the Fourth Dynasty.' The Great Pyramid of Giza is the largest Egyptian pyramid, and was constructed by Pharaoh Khufu, who ruled during the Fourth Dynasty of the Old Kingdom. It is one of three within the Giza plateau, the other two include the Pyramid of Khafre and the Pyramid of Menkaure, as well as the Great Sphinx. All shrouded in mystery due to their unclear construction methods, precise astronomical alignment and still-debated purpose. Dr Hawass shared further insights during a July appearance on the Matt Beall Limitless podcast, including details about a planned excavation inside the Great Pyramid to search for Khufu's lost tomb. Hancock, however, remains unconvinced that any burial ever took place inside. 'It's well known that no burial of any Pharaoh was ever found in the Great Pyramid or, for that matter, in any of the 100 pyramids in Egypt,' said Hancock, who is known for his controversial theories about ancient civilizations. 'It's well known that no burial of any Pharaoh was ever found in the Great Pyramid or, for that matter, in any of the 100 pyramids in Egypt,' said Hna 'Some of that can be attributed to tomb robbery, but in the case of the Great Pyramid, it was completely closed and sealed until Arab raiders under Khalif Ma'mun broke in. 'They were expecting to find enormous treasures and wealth, but instead, they found a completely empty building with nothing inside.' Hancock also rejected the mainstream view that the Great Pyramid was built in just 23 years during Khufu's reign, calling that idea 'absurd.' Instead, he proposed that the structure may have taken hundreds, even thousands, of years to complete. Adding to his theory, Hancock pointed to the massive bedrock foundations beneath the three pyramids at Giza, naturally existing formations that were leveled before construction. While most archaeologists believe the foundations are natural, Hancock believes the platforms themselves are much older. He linked the structures to a lost epoch known in Egyptian lore as Zep Tepi, or 'The First Time,' citing astronomical alignments between the pyramid platforms and Orion's Belt as it appeared 12,500 years ago. 'At 4,500 years ago, the stars of Orion's Belt didn't match up,' he said. 'The Great Sphinx was looking at the sun rising against the background of Taurus. But in 12,500 BC, it aligned perfectly with Leo.' Dr Hawass, however, dismissed Hancock's claims as unfounded, emphasizing that the ancient Egyptians left behind detailed records of the Great Pyramid's construction. 'The Wadi El-Jarf Papyri is a diary from an overseer named Merer,' he said. 'He wrote, 'I am from the Delta. I was hired by Khufu and held the title of inspector, with 40 workmen under me.' The papyri also describe how Merer led crews to the Tura quarries to cut fine white limestone, which was then transported on wooden sledges to cargo boats. These vessels docked at harbors built in front of each pyramid. 'Egyptian history has no gaps that would justify dating the pyramids to 12,000 or 20,000 years ago,' Hawass added. 'That era, known as the Epipaleolithic period, marked the earliest stages of civilization, far too primitive for monuments of this scale.'
