20th March 2010

Constantly changing sea levels – and Dwarka

I'm bewildered by the claims made in the climate change debate that currently rising (or otherwise changing) sea levels are some kind of an exception to historical trends and that we should be particularly bothered about them. The following facts seem to be crucial in understanding these claims:

a) The temperature of water changes quite dramatically everyday, but that doesn't mean that sea levels change with water temperature every day. Tides affect them far more than air (and hence water) temperature does.

b) Sea levels constantly change over the long run. They have been changing throughout history. Thus, sea levels have risen by 140 metres over the past 14,000 years.

"Over the duration of the current interglacial, the average sea level rise over the last 14,000 years has been 1.0 meter per century" (Plimer 316). However, "The sea level rise of 1.0 meter per century over the last 14,000 years must be placed in context. Most of this sea level rise was from 14,000 to 8000 years ago. By 8000 years ago, sea level was 3 meters lower than at present and sea level attained its current position 7700 years ago. This means that sea level rose by 2 meters a century during that period" (Plimer 316). Note that Plimer adds that "Over the last 6000 years, sea level rises and falls of 2 to 4 meters over periods of several decades are common" (Plimer 317).

Source: Plimer, p.317 [Click for bigger and clearer image]

Note: A PRECISE understanding of sea level changes over the past 6000 years will help us line up the vast amount of emerging literature on submerged cities with other archeological (above surface) evidence, and mythology. Watch this space over the next century. A phenomenal amount of data is needed to resolve the puzzles about sea level change.

DWARKA

"Dwarka submerged due to rise in sea level 3500 years BP. " (See Times of India, 3 March 2005). This article also states: "Studies show that sea level was 100 meters below the present sea level 15,000 years BP, rose steadily and was 60-70 metres below present sea level 10,000 years BP. In the next 1500 years it reached to 40 metres below present sea level, came at par with the present sea level around 7000 years BP, then rose by five metres in the next 1000 years. Thereafter, there was a gradual fall and sea level came down to 20-30 metres below present sea level about 3500 years BP when Dwarka is presumed to have been constructed."

Interesting fact: "The account of Dvaraka's sinking into the ocean is found in book 16 of the Mahabharata (Mausala-parvan)." (Wikipedia).

"A few years back discovered the remains of a vast 9,500 year old city. This submerged ruin has intact architecture and human remains. More significantly, this find predates all finds in the area by over 5,000 years, forcing historians to reevaluate their understanding of the history of civilazation in the region. The find has been termed Dwarka, or the ‘Golden City,’ after an ancient city-in-the sea said to belong to the Hindu god Krishna." (http://weburbanist.com/2007/09/12/underwater-urban-archeology-7-submerged-wonders-of-the-world/)

MORE on Dwarka

"found in waters 120 feet deep in the Gulf of Cabay, located off the western coast of India. It is estimated that the vast city, discovered by chance during an investigation on pollution, could date back some 9,000 years. Using a sonar tracker, investigators managed to identify defined geometric structures at a depth of about 120 feet. From the site, they recovered construction material, pottery, sections of walls, basins, sculptures, bones, and human teeth. The carbon tests indicate that these pieces were 9,500 years old." (http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/8965/)

"It's believed that the area was submerged when ice caps melted at the end of the last ice age, 9-10,000 years ago." (http://www.unknowncountry.com/news/?id=1176)

OTHER CITIES THAT HAVE BEEN SUBMERGED IN AROUND THE SAME PERIOD

Dwarka was not the only city submerged. "According to marine archeologist Dr. Nick Flemming, at least 500 submerged sites containing the remains of some form of man-made structure or artifacts have been found around the globe. Some calculations figure that nearly a fifth of these sites are more than 3,000 years old." (http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/8965/)

A nice summary article: http://epoch-archive.com/a1/en/us/dal/2008/12-Dec/26/a5.pdf

1) India: A major extension of Mahabalipuram, likely to be 6000 years old, has been found (http://www.lauralee.com/news/cityundersea.htm).

Also Poompuhar (TN) (http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/fr/1033877/posts)

2) Japan: Undersea relics have been found near Okinawa (http://www.morien-institute.org/imk11.html). Yonaguni-Jima: "Discovered by a dive tour guide some twenty years ago, controversies have arisen around a mysterious pyramids found off the coast of Japan. These structures seem to have been carved right out of bedrock in a teraforming process using tools previously thought unavailable to ancient cultures of the region". (http://weburbanist.com/2007/09/12/underwater-urban-archeology-7-submerged-wonders-of-the-world/)

"the precise angles of the rocks and their arrangement in relation to one another suggest that this site might hold remnants of a submerged city… The entire submerged city of Yonaguni is estimated by some to be at least 10,000 years old." (http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/8965/)

3) Greece: Pavlopetri https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kepaQu4uerg. A Youtube video of a 5,000 year old early-bronze age urban settlement. "we are looking at a port city which may be 5000-6000 years old, with trade goods and wrecks nearby showing some of the very earliest days of seafaring trade in the Mediterranean" (http://www.physorg.com/news175338826.html). See alsohttp://trendsupdates.com/pavlopetri-in-greece-oldest-underwater-submerged-town/

"The ruins of Pavlopetri, which lie in three to four metres of water just off the coast of Laconia in the Peloponnese, date from at least 2 800 BC." (http://tinyurl.com/ye6clna)

"Off Greece are a multitude of submerged ruins, off Astakos, Platygiali, Abdera, Samos, and Elafonisos, to name a few" (http://tinyurl.com/yc2vnjv).

4) Egypt: "Two 2,500-year-old cities, poss

ibly Menouthis and Herakleion, which served as trading hubs in the Late Dynastic Period" (http://www.archaeology.org/online/news/negypt.html ). See alsohttp://edition.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0006/04/sm.08.html

5) Cuba: Havana: "A team of scientists continues to explore megalithic ruins found in the Yucatan Channel near Cuba. They have found evidence of an extensive urban environment stretching for miles along the ocean shore. Some believe that the civilization that inhabited these predates all known ancient American cultures. So far, only computer models of this mysterious underwater city exist." (http://weburbanist.com/2007/09/12/underwater-urban-archeology-7-submerged-wonders-of-the-world/)

6) USA: Florida: "In 1967 … the Aluminaut—an exploration submarine capable of submerging deeper than any craft of its day—casually discovered a “road” off the coastal zone of Florida, Georgia, and South Carolina. Found at a depth of nearly 3,000 feet, this road traced a straight line for more than 15 miles. Even more surprising, this road had been paved with sophisticated cement composed of aluminum, silicon, calcium, iron, and magnesium. Despite its age, the road was found to be free of debris due to an underwater current that kept it clear.

This forgotten road still proved a worthy thoroughfare as the special wheels of the Aluminaut allowed the sub to actually travel along the enigmatic highway. Later, scientists exploring the area found a series of monolithic constructions at one end of the road. What technology could construct a long paved road that would remain in good condition for 10,000 years?" (http://www.theepochtimes.com/n2/content/view/8965/)

7) Germany: "ancient Basiliea, now submerged in the North Sea, fifty miles out, five miles east of the island of Helgoland, off the northern coast of Germany" (http://tinyurl.com/yc2vnjv)

8. UK: Damsay. "the structures may be several thousands of years old, and that they may represent a line of defense that the people of the time constructed in the face of the same threat we have today – rising sea levels" (http://tinyurl.com/ycxumwm)

9) Persian Gulf: Dalamatia. "This discovery is most likely the location of 1st Susa, the lower and first city of Susa in ancient times before it was inundated by floods in around 8000 years ago, Susa was part of the latter Andite/Sumerian settlements along the mouth of the rivers in earlier times when the water levels was 15 meters lower. " (http://www.sevenfoldtruth.com/dalamatia/index.html)

RELATED POST ON MY BLOG

Ian Plimer's book: http://sabhlok.blogspot.com/2009/05/is-ian-plimer-on-right-track-ive-been.html

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