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Alien Earths & 24 Hours After Asteroid Impact.2010

includes:
Alien Earths.2010.HDTV.45m AVI
24.hours After Asteroid Impact.2010.45m AVI
+ music

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What Possible ways Could One HIDE Or Cloak A Planet???
Could there be More Here than Meets the EYE? Is it Here Now???
As in the 400 to 700nm Visible Light Range, this shouldn't be to Hard???

This IS a Real Easy Game to play,the name IS  (LETS LOOK FOR PATTERNS)
We have been programed All along to get ready for.......................IT!!!
Can YOU SEE it??? Its all around you!!!   Try some Pattern Recognition!!!

Could there be a Reason They would want you to think the MOON came from Earth?
Could there be a Reason one would want you to think its been there Millions of Years?
Just how far back have we been programmed to think the MOON is a Lifeless Ball of Dirt?
Could it be to Distract all from overwhelming Evidence Everywhere of Another SUN???
YOUR MOON Should not be there!!! Why would on go through so much trouble to FOOL you???
See for yourself what the original TEXT in GENESIS actually says about Our Moon!!!
Could Religions be Set in Place ages ago to make one believe the MOON should be HERE???
Why???  what could one do with this..................Lets SEE!!!
Wow! It says Absolutely Nothing about our MOON!!! Lets take a Close LOOK!!!

We are going to change all references of (GOD) to SOURCE, sorry


1st DAY.

Then said SOURCE,
Let be light and was light.
And saw SOURCE the light that good (it was)
And separated SOURCE between the light and the darkness.
And SOURCE called the light Day. And the darkness IT called Night;
And was the mixing and was the breaking forth, time one.


(SEE??? Can YOU see what ever makes DAY & NIGHT is made on the first day!!!
(IF one were to talk about the MOON, this is where it would be!!! SEE there is DAY & NIGHT
On the first 3 Days!!! Now SEE what else this (SOURCE) made on the fourth DAY!!!
(two the luminaries great) TYMN


--->>>


4th DAY.

And said SOURCE,
Let be (luminaries) in the expanse of the heavens to divide between the day
And the night and (let them be for signs), and for seasons and for days and years;
And let them be for luminaries in the expanse of the heavens,
To give light on the earth;

And it was so.
And brought forth SOURCE, (two the luminaries great);
The luminary great for the rule of the day,
And the luminary small for the rule of the night,
(And the stars.)

And appointed them SOURCE in the expanse to give light on the earth,
And to rule over the day and over the night,
And to separate between the light and the darkness;
And saw SOURCE that good (it was).
And was the mixing and was the breaking forth time the fourth.

A child can see this clearly IS not talking about the Moon!!!
It is however talking about a Brown Dwarf!!!  (DARK SUN) (BINARY Star System)
Take a Good LOOK at the SIZE of our Moon in Comparison to our SUN!!!
Now ask yourself if our MOON is one of the (two the luminaries great)???

Now it’s easy to SEE how We all have been waiting for a Golden Age???
What has to happen to the Surface of Earth for this to be Possible???
See two SUNS separate the Light (Rise of Man) From darkness (Fall of Man)
Also Notice the First thing the TWO luminaries are used for is not light but SIGNS!!!

(let them be for signs)!!!---------------------------->>>

Have you ever wondered where the moon came from?
Have you ever contemplated how the asteroid belt Came to be?
These are basic things to WONDER about!! We need everyone’s help!! Do your part!!

When the student is ready, the teacher will present one’s self.
Come help us figure this mystery OUT!!!!
No matter what your color or belief, Sex or age, YOU can be a scientist!!
Challenge yourself, your peers, your teachers. Participate in a revolution in science!!

UNDERSTAND, IT IS YOUR WORLD!!! & TOGETHER we can Figure it OUT!!!
When WE all UNDERSTAND HOW MUCH WE ARE THE SAME,
TRUE POSITIVE things happen all around YOU!!!


Your Children, (ARE) Tomorrow's LEADERS!!!-------------->>>>>>>>>>>>

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These are for Planet X, Precession & Pole/Magnetic Reversal research ONLY!

NOT!! Religious debate!! Your faith is your OWN BUSINESS!!

We are here for Research ONLY!!

If you have an open mind, you will GO far!!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------->


---->>> includes:


------------------------------------------------------------------------->
VIDEO: 2 45 min DOCS - WARNING CHOCK FULL OF INFO & DISINFO!!!
                  YOU DECIDE!!!
OR TURN DOWN SOUND AND LISTEN TO MUSIC - PROVIDED!!!
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Alien Earths.2010.HDTV.45m  AVI
INFO:
Join leading astronomers on a visual journey beyond our solar system in search of planets like Earth. Using CGI animation, we’ll explore bizarre worlds that stretch our imagination: planets with iron rain and hot ice, with diamonds everywhere, and endless oceans of gas. Planets with abnormal orbital patterns and planets with no pattern at all that drift alone in the Milky Way. Planets so strange we never could have predicted them before. Could life exist there?

Read more: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/alien-earths-3637/Overview#ixzz0oQBKJHF3

THE SEARCH FOR ANOTHER EARTH: CURRENT AND FUTURE EXOPLANET MISSIONS

Image: Keck interferometers on National Geographic Channel show Alien EarthsKeck Interferometer Telescopes
In Operation Since 2003
Standing eight stories high, these twin optical and infrared telescopes sit atop Hawaii’s Mauna Kea volcano, measuring the dust of nearby stars. This information will help astronomers better understand how planets form around these other stars.

Image: Spitzer Telescope on National Geographic Channel show Alien EarthsSpitzer Space Telescope
Launch Year: 2003
This infrared telescope is the largest to be launched into space since its departure in 2003. The Spitzer detects infrared energy emitted from objects in space, allowing it to expand scientists’ “vision” into space farther than the capabilities of optical telescopes.

Kepler Mission
Launch Year: 2009
Image: Kepler Telescope on National Geographic Channel show Alien EarthsLaunched on March 6, 2006, the Kepler uses the “transit” method to detect new planets. The Kepler will search the skies for four years, looking for a slight “dimming” of a star, which may indicate that a planet is passing in front of its parent star. This movement is called a “transit.” By detecting the magnitude of the periodic dim, scientists can predict the size of the exoplanet.


Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer (LBTI)
Launch Year: 2011
The Large Binocular Telescope Interferometer will examine and study the formation of other solar systems. The telescope will be capable of producing high-resolution images from a wide area of deeper space as well as directly identify large planets in other systems.

Gaia Mission
Launch Year: 2011
Consisting of two extremely sensitive telescopes, Gaia’s goal is to provide astronomers with a detailed map of the Milky Way. By examining over one billion surrounding stars, Gaia may find giant exoplanets within our galaxy.

Image: James Webb Telescope on National Geographic Channel show Alien EarthsJames Webb Space Telescope
Launch Year: 2013
Located four times the distance from the Earth as the Moon, the James Webb Space Telescope will be capable of observing planetary systems and determining their ages and the masses of their planets through infrared imaging. Though not considered to be a “planet finder,” its ability to detect large planets and study their atmospheric composition makes it a valuable tool in the future of astronomy.

Image: Terrestrial Planet Finders on National Geographic Channel show Alien EarthsTerrestrial Planet Finders
Launch Year: TBD
This ambitious mission hopes to capture images of other solar systems in hopes of finding a planet with an Earth-like signature. The two TPF observatories will analyze the dust surrounding nearby stars in order to take better images of possible “Earths” and to detect atmospheric indications of life, such as water, carbon dioxide, and ozone.

Image: SIM Lite on National Geographic Channel show Alien EarthsSpace Interferometer Mission (SIM) Lite
Launch Year: TBD
The SIM Lite mission’s objectives range from searching for Earth-like planets to gathering data about the formation of our own Milky Way. The SIM Lite will also determine the distribution of nearby dark matter and more accurately measure the distances between Earth and other nearby stars in the galaxy.

Read more: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/alien-earths-3637/Overview#tab-missions#ixzz0oQBZ6EpJ

THE SEARCH FOR ANOTHER EARTH
A Gallery of the Planets

The search continues for a planet that mimics Earth's ability to sustain life. During this incredible investigation, astronomers have discovered a myriad of exoplanets, planets orbiting other stars. Some of the findings have puzzled scientists: planets completing their orbits in mere hours, water worlds, a planet maybe as old as the universe. The ultimate find, however, still eludes astronomers: a planet that could acts as our second home, another Earth. Journey to other galaxies and explore the different types of planets, one of which might one day become our new "home" planet.

Read more: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/alien-earths-3637/Overview#tab-search-for-earth#ixzz0oQBjoTAb

THE GIANTS
GAS GIANTS
Image: Gas Giant on National Geographic Channel show Alien Earths

Gas giants or Jovian (Jupiter-like) planets have gaseous atmospheres and lack solid surfaces. Like Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune, gas giants consist of mainly hydrogen and helium gases. Each is many times the size of Earth.

HOT JUPITERS
Image: Hot Jupiter on National Geographic Channel show Alien Earths

Like gas giants, “Hot Jupiters” consist mainly of gases. These planets, however, orbit extremely close to their star, boiling the planet. The gaseous atmosphere may even begin to “leak” out into space because of the tremendous heat of the star. Like the moon is to Earth, Hot Jupiters are thought to be tidally locked to their stars, leaving one side of the planet constantly exposed to the star. An example of a Hot Jupiter may be found with the planet 51 Pegasi b, the first exoplanet discovered orbiting a star. The planet was found in 1995 by Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz.

SUPER EARTHS
Image: Super Earth on National Geographic Channel show Alien Earths

Somewhere between Earth and a gas giant lies a type of planet known as a “Super Earth.” At about ten times the mass of our planet, a Super Earth may be small enough to have similar qualities as a terrestrial planet and support life. Astronomers have classified three types of Super Earths: water planets, rocky planets, and carbon planets. Although none of the Super Earths discovered so far are suitable for life, astronomers continue to search for one with the correct chemical composition that may be able to support life.

Read more: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/alien-earths-3637/Overview#tab-the-planets-1#ixzz0oQBrUVSO

ODD PLANETS

DWARF PLANETS AND PLUTOIDS
Image: Plutoid on National Geographic Channel show Alien Earths

Astronomers have long debated if a celestial body as small as Pluto could be considered a true planet. In 2006, the International Astronomical Union declared a new type of celestial body: a dwarf planet. The IAU defines a dwarf planet as "an object in orbit around the Sun that is massive enough to have its own gravity pull itself into a round (or nearly round) shape" and that is usually smaller than Mercury. If a dwarf planet in our solar system orbits the Sun at a distance beyond Neptune, it is characterized as a plutoid. Plutoid orbits take at least 200 years to complete, and are typically very elliptical and at a greater tilt compared to the classical planets in the system. As of 2008, Pluto is now classified as a plutoid, along with two other celestial bodies: Eris and Makemake. Currently, our solar system contains 13 planets, if we were to include the dwarf planets and plutoids with the original planets.

DOUBLE PLANETS
Image: Pluto and Charon on National Geographic Channel show Alien Earths

Two planets may become “double planets” if they orbit each other as well as their star. The two planets orbit around a point known as a “barycentre,” which must lie between the two bodies. An example of a double planet in our solar system would be the relationship, shown above, between Pluto and Charon, which was once considered to be Pluto’s moon. Astronomers believe that triple and quadruple planets are also possible, though both have yet to be discovered.

Read more: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/episode/alien-earths-3637/Overview#tab-the-planets-2#ixzz0oQBxxePA

------------------------------------------------------------------------>

24.hours After Asteroid Impact.2010.45m AVI
INFO:
Explorer travels back 66 million years to break down the chain of events that led to the extinction of the dinosaurs and changed the world forever. Visit a high-tech NASA lab where scientists use new technology to recreate the force of the blast and reveal the likely cascade of effects of the catastrophic impact.

Read more: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/explorer/4095/Overview#ixzz0oQCb1eNp

Sixty-six million years ago a six-mile wide meteor struck the Earth, wiping out three-quarters of all life on the planet, including dinosaurs. Using computer graphics and real-world demonstrations, 24 Hours After Asteroid Impact explains the likely cascade of effects of this catastrophic impact, and shows who won and who lost, and why, in the ultimate test of survival.

   *

     An asteroid is believed to have hit the planet, impacting an area as large as the island of Manhattan and as wide as Washington, D.C.
   *

     This asteroid may have created earthquakes registering 12 on the Richter scale, while also leading to the extinction of 75 percent of all life on Earth.
   * No measured earthquake has been large than a 9.0 on the Richter scale.Many experts think the huge crater measuring over 100 miles in diameter beneath the Yucatán Peninsula was the site of the impact that caused the mass extinction.

   * In the Late Cretaceous Earth, no ice covered the Polar regions, and the Gulf of Mexico and the Arctic Ocean were joined.

   * Scientists believe the Chicxulub impact would have superheated the world, as if having been thrown into a broiler oven.

   * As the material shot into Earth’s orbit from the asteroid impact reentered the atmosphere, the sky would likely have begun to glow red hot.

   * If the Chicxulub asteroid would have hit the surface of the ocean while traveling at eight miles a second, the back of it would have been at the height of a cruising commercial airplane.

   * During the Late Cretaceous period the Yucatan Peninsula was underwater.

   * An object the size of a grain of sand, starting at an altitude of 60 miles or higher, creates the typical meteor that is visible to the naked eye.

   * Although shock waves are faster than sound wave, shock waves lose their intensity faster than sound waves do as a result of their energy being expanded as they heat up.

   * Scientists estimate that Chicxulub contained seven billion times the energy of the fifteen-kiloton atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan.

   * Each increase of one unit on the Richter scale represents a ten-times increase in the magnitude of an earthquake.


Read more: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/explorer/4095/Overview#tab-facts#ixzz0oQCmEWFG

DODGING BULLETS

By A Production Crew Member

Dodging 150mm bullets was not part of the original plan. Two and a half tons of ammonium nitrate, three high-speed cameras, and the blazing desert sun were a part of the plan, but not dodging bullet test fires. We had traveled out to the Energetic Materials Research and Testing Center at the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology to set up and film a 2.5-ton explosion that will help demonstrate staggeringly large effects of the Chicxulub meteor impact. On the testing center's 40-square-mile facility they perform a wide range of tests, including both ballistics and explosives. As we readied for our test we were warned that ballistics experiments would be happening that day, and close to our site.

Forty-square-miles of energetic materials testing space in the middle of the New Mexico desert would seem, in any ordinary setting, to be more than enough space to hold many independent experiments at the same time. In this case, it was not, and our test pad was directly in the path of the ricochet from the 150mm bullet test range. Throughout the course of the day a warning siren would sound from the blast bunker requiring us to jump in the nearest vehicle and rush back to the safety of our bunker, for a 20-minute lock down.  Unfortunately these "drills" occurred while our crew was attempting to dig a 10 foot deep hole with an earth mover, move 2.5 tons of explosives, and set up eight cameras in the desert heat.  

In between five test fires and five sprints to the safety of the bunker, we were able to set up all of our cameras. We had to run tests to make sure that our high-speed-cameras would in fact go off with the detonation of the explosives. We had all of our cameras on and recording, the three high-speed-cameras were tested and ready to be triggered. All we needed was the final countdown.

3…2…1… the electric detonator buzzed and then we felt the ground beneath us and the bunker around us shake…the concussion of the pressure blast pass through us. It was after this that you heard the explosion and the sound of debris hitting the top of the bunker. With anticipation, we waited for the “all clear” to go see for ourselves what a 2.5-ton explosion could really do.

Read more: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/series/explorer/4095/Overview#tab-dodgingbullets#ixzz0oQCsnWAR

------------------------------------------------------------------------>
MUSIC: DRUM & BASS - JUNGLE - CHILL - JAZZ - BLUES - FUNK
------------------------------------------------------------------------>

Ultrafunkula - Elixir.Studio.2010.320kbps
LM1 - The Offworld Show.05.17.2010.1H31M.128kbps

------------------------------------------------------------------------>

SEED YE SALTY DOGS SEED!! DONT HIT N RUN YE DARN PIRATES
AND SAY THANKS IF YA LIKE IT!

Runnin-RED..Forward......WE flex for Planet X
Runnin-RED..Forward......WE flex for Planet X
Mindscape-Planet X


Drum&Bass (SONG) Come listen: http://www.bassdrive.com/v2/

------------------------------------------------------------------------->

These are for Planet X, Precession & Pole/Magnetic Reversal research ONLY!

NOT!! Religious debate!! Your faith is your OWN BUSINESS!!

We are here for Research ONLY!!

If you have an open mind, you will GO far!!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------->

Much thanks to the original people who UP'd these!!! You who help Us on Our journeys!!

We WANT to:
Gather and cross-check vast amounts of knowledge in many dozen specialized fields from scientists and researchers around the globe in addition to studying hundreds of historical documents spanning back to the dawn of history. These fields include archeology, geology, astro, geo & quantum physics, ancient languages & civilizations, paleontology, ancient history, genetics and others.

Events shape our lives, even distant and dark ones. From the time I was a wee little one, I have stopped my fear of dark places. I pick up my torch and journey alone through darkened corridors leading down into bottomless caverns of events past. I stumble upon the remnants of an intricate puzzle, which I bring back with me, and in the quiet of my dreams, are assembled before me.

The turning of the stars bring a time when my secrets can give you immortality.
but when that time has passed, those fleeting minutes gone, the secret is worthless.
until once again the stars unlock its power.

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This is FACTUAL Torrent of the week May 21st 2010

WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE A WINNER click me
yourmomsnutz20/05/2010 21.00.34
Geological Society, London, Special Publications

yes, you have to pay to read some of these

But you can still read enough to do your own RESEARCH!!!  

http://sp.lyellcollection.org/content/vol273/issue1/
**************************************************************
Geomythology: geological origins of myths and legends
Dorothy B. Vitaliano

(e-mail: c/o judy@xylor.com)

Myths and geology are related in several ways. Some myths are the result of man's attempts to explain noteworthy features of his environment, such as striking landforms or unusual smaller features, whereas others try to account for conspicuous natural processes, such as earthquakes, volcanic phenomena, and floods. Local myths have sometimes proved helpful in solving geological problems, and even the geological nomenclature is indebted to mythology. Examples of each kind of relationship are given.


[Reprint (PDF) Version of Vitaliano]

Abstract 2 of 25 back
Exploring the nature of myth and its role in science
W. Bruce Masse1, Elizabeth Wayland Barber2, Luigi Piccardi3 & Paul T. Barber4

1 ENV-EAQ Ecology & Air Quality Group, Mailstop J978 Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA (e-mail: wbmasse@lanl.gov)
2 Department of Languages and Literatures, Occidental College, 1600 Campus Road, Los Angeles, California 90041, USA
3 CNR, Istituto di Geoscienze e Georisorse, Via G. La Pira, 4, 50121, Firenze, Italy
4 UCLA Fowler Museum of Cultural History, Box 954951, Los Angeles, California 90095-1549, USA

The scientific study of myth is dominated by a paradigm that recognizes myth as having been viewed as truthful narrative history by past traditional cultures and yet is considered false or otherwise suspect by the modern scholars who study myth. Although virtually all scholars recognize that myth was of critical importance for traditional cultures, the attempt to elicit scientific reasons for this importance has led to many competing theories, few of which place an emphasis on the validity of myths as representing the product of actual observed historical natural events. This paradox may hinder our understanding of the origins of myth and prevent us from fully appreciating a critical aspect of why myth was so highly valued by past cultures. To set the stage for our examination of the possible natural history core of myth, we discuss briefly the history of the western scientific study of myth, with an emphasis on geological sciences. We then explore the cognitive structure of myth and provide working principles about how the historical information contained in these myths can be transmitted faithfully through successive generations and can be elicited by scientific study. Although recognizing the extreme complexity of myth as a cultural product, our data indicate that a science-based natural history approach can lead to important insights regarding the nature of myth.


[Reprint (PDF) Version of Masse et al.]

Abstract 3 of 25 back
Geo-mythology of India
D. Chandrasekharam

Department of Earth Sciences, Indian Institute of Technology Bombay, Mumbai, India 400076 (e-mail: dchandra@geos.iitb.ac.in)

In all the Indian legends, whether it is the Ramayana or Mahabharata, one can find embedded elements of geological processes. Perhaps due to the lack of a sound scientific basis for recognizing geological processes in ancient Indian civilization, such processes were believed to be the acts of ‘Gods’ (Suras) and ‘Demons’ (Asuras) and hence they formed an integral part of these legends. Even in the present age where science is able to explain several geological processes, the Hindu faith is such that these myths and legends continue to be passed on to succeeding generations. The fact that these geological processes are contained in these epics helps to sustain truth (dharma) and maintain harmony. Ancient Indian civilization adopted this doctrine and its continuance will remain a fresh and vital part of future generations in India.


[Reprint (PDF) Version of Chandrasekharam]

Abstract 4 of 25 back
Genesis Chapter 1 and geological time from Hugo Grotius and Marin Mersenne to William Conybeare and Thomas Chalmers (1620–1825)
Michael B. Roberts

The Vicarage, 5 Lancaster Road, Cockerham, Lancaster, LA2 OEB, UK (e-mail: michael.andrea.r@ukonline.co.uk)

In 1550 few questioned the ‘biblical’ age of the earth, but by the mid-nineteenth century no educated person accepted it. The change is considered to have been a period of conflict between Christianity and science over the age of the earth. In fact, the conflict was small because from the Reformation era most considered the bible to be accommodated to its culture and that at the beginning of time God created a Chaos, which was re-constituted in ‘six days’. This was put forward by Grotius and Mersenne. then by the Theories of the Earth of Burnet. Whiston and others and then by later writers to allow for geological time. This reached its climax in early nineteenth century Britain with Chalmers. Conybeare and Buckland, thus preventing any major conflict between geology and Genesis. The perceived conflict of these centuries is a matter of retrospective interpretation, which does not do justice to those Christian thinkers, like de Luc, Chalmers and Townsend who accommodated geological time with little conflict, and those like Patrick, Ray and Whiston who opened up the way for this accommodation to geological time in the seventeenth century. The conflict between geology and Genesis is one of retrospective perception rather than historical reality. Only a minority of Christians, as with the anti- or scriptural geologists of the early nineteenth century, considered there to be a conflict.


[Reprint (PDF) Version of Roberts]

Abstract 5 of 25 back
Environment and natural hazards in Roman and Medieval texts: presentation of the CLEMENS database project
Eutizio Vittori1, Sabina Fulloni2 & Luigi Piccardi3

1 Geological Survey of Italy, Italian Agency for Environmental Protection and for Technical Services (APAT), via Vitaliano Brancati, 48-00144 Roma, Italy (e-mail: eutizio.vittori@apat.it)
2 APAT consultant
3 CNR—Institute of Geosciences and Earth Resources, via G. La Pira, 4-50121 Firenze, Italy

CLEMENS, acronym for Corpus Latinorum Et Mediaevalium Naturae Scriptorum, is a new electronic archive of excerpta reporting environment-related data contained in the literary and epigraphic sources of classical Roman and Medieval age. The aim is to fill a gap in information about environmental disruptions or memorabilia that occurred in ancient times within the Mediterranean basin, and to verify whether any useful information has eluded our knowledge. One of the main purposes of the systematic gathering and cataloguing carried out by CLEMENS is to become an extensive easy-to-search tool, offering the scientific community complete annotated documentation of what is available inside ancient sources about the natural environment in the Mediterranean. This information, currently dispersed in a variety of publications that may be difficult to access, has often proven essential for hazard assessment in several areas of the former Roman empire. It also contributes significantly to the understanding of changes caused by environmental events over the centuries, and of their incidence on natural habitats and on cultural heritage. The analysis of such interconnections may lead to a much improved understanding of either natural environment, hazards and cultural setting, as shown by interdisciplinary investigations merging together science, archaeology and history or even myth.

Considering the vast amount of documentation, the work is still far from completion. However, the encouraging preliminary results will soon be available on the web.


[Reprint (PDF) Version of Vittori et al.]

Abstract 6 of 25 back
From myth to Earth education and science communication
Tiziana Lanza1 & Aquiles Negrete2

1 Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia, via di Vigna Murata, 605, 00143-Roma, Italy (e-mail: lanza@ingv.it)
2 Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Claverton Down, Bath BA2 7AY, UK

There is a longstanding and intimate relationship between myths and the Earth. Myths represent human beings in childhood when a primitive language made of symbols transmitted the wisdom necessary to live in harmony with nature. Today science uses mainly the language of data. Nevertheless, myths and legends are still popular and part of our culture, and the Earth sciences remain confined mostly to the world of scientists. This paper is an attempt, from the perspective of science communication, to provide a theory that uses myths and legends to stimulate the curiosity of the man in the street about the planet we live on. Recent studies have demonstrated that fictional stories can be used to convey science to the general public in an accurate, memorable and enjoyable way. Following these ideas, we believe that myths can be a useful tool for Earth science studies, learning and popularization.


[Reprint (PDF) Version of Lanza and Negrete]

Abstract 7 of 25 back
Folklore and earthquakes: Native American oral traditions from Cascadia compared with written traditions from Japan
Ruth S. Ludwin1 & Gregory J. Smits2

1 Department of Earth and Space Sciences, University of Washington, Box 351310, Seattle, WA 98195-1310, USA (e-mail: rludwin@u.washington.edu)
2 Department of History and Program in Religious Studies, 108 Weaver Building, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, , PA 16802, USA

D. Carver3, K. James4, C. Jonientz-Trisler5, A. D. McMillan6, R. Losey7, R. Dennis, Chief Councilor8, J. Rasmussen9, A. De Los Angeles10, D. Buerge11, C. P. Thrush12, J. Clague13, J. Bowechop14 & J. Wray15

3 Carver Geologic, P.O. Box 52, Kodiak, AK 99615, USA
4 , 13797 Silven Ave NE Bainbridge Island, WA 98110, USA
5 FEMA, Federal Regional Center, 130 228th St, SW Bothell, WA 98021-9796, USA
6 Dept of Anthropology, Douglas College, New Westminster, BC, V3L 5B2, Canada
7 Department of Anthropology, Room 13–15, Tory Building University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, T6G 2H4, Canada
8 Huu-ay-aht First Nation, P.O. Box 418, Port Alberni, B.C., V91 1M7, Canada
9 Duwamish Tribe cultural resources expert, Duwanish Tribal Services, 4717 West Marginal Way SW, Seattle, WA 98106, USA
10 Snoqualmie Tribe, cultural resources expert, and great-grandson of James Zackuse, Duwamish Indian Doctor, The Snoqualmie Tribe, P.O. Box 280, Carnation, WA 98014, USA
11 , 310 NE 85th St, Seattle, WA 98115, USA
12 , Rm 1297, 1873 East Mall, University of British Columbia, Vancouver BC V6T 1Z1, Canada
13 Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, B.C., Canada
14 Makah Cultural and Research Centre, Makah Tribe, P.O. Box 160 Neah Bay, WA 98357, USA
15 , Olympic National Park, Port Angeles, WA, USA

This article examines local myth and folklore related to earthquakes, landslides, and tsunamis in oral traditions from Cascadia (part of the northern Pacific coast of North America) and in written traditions from Japan, particularly in the Edo (present-day Tokyo) region. Local folklore corresponds closely to geological evidence and geological events in at least some cases, and the symbolic language of myth and folklore can be a useful supplement to conventional geological evidence for constructing an accurate historical record of geological activity. At a deep, archetypical level, Japan, Cascadia, and many of the world's cultures appear to share similar themes in their conception of earthquakes. Although folklore from Cascadia is fragmentary, and the written record short, the evolution of Japanese earthquake folklore has been well documented over a long period of history and illustrates the interaction of folklore with dynamic social conditions.


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Abstract 8 of 25 back
The AD 60 Denizli Basin earthquake and the apparition of Archangel Michael at Colossae (Aegean Turkey)
Luigi Piccardi

C.N.R., Istituto di Geoscienze e Georisorse, Via La Pira 4, 50121 Firenze, Italy (e-mail: piccardi@geo.unifi.it)

This paper illustrates the results of a multidisciplinary study on the active tectonics of Hierapolis and Colossae in Aegean Turkey. Tectonic analysis is combined with a study of historical seismicity, highlighting the use of historical sources from oral tradition (legends and myths) to derive important geological information for which the legendary account is the only witness. Strong correlation between tectonic and historical/mythological data suggests that the legendary narration is based on real geological events. This allows a better understanding of the local active tectonics and seismic history. At Hierapolis, it is possible to recognize evidence of surface faulting from the AD 60 earthquake. At Colossae, we can reconstruct the local geomorphic evolution, and show its relationship to the AD 60 earthquake.


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Abstract 9 of 25 back
Writing on the walls: geological context and early American spiritual beliefs
Susan E. Hough

US Geological Survey, 525 S. Witson Avenue, Pasadena, California 91106, USA (e-mail: hough@usgs.gov)

Native American culture in many parts of California is preserved in fragmentary oral and conventional written histories, but also in sometimes dramatic petroglyphs and pictographs throughout the state. The symbolism of these images has been interpreted to reflect the natural environment, in particular issues related to rain. Although there is little doubt that rain was of paramount concern to native tribes, I suggest that geological context also played an important role in shaping early spiritual beliefs in general, and petroglyph sites in particular. From the standpoint of Native American philosophies and spiritual beliefs, geological unrest is not merely a reflection but in some cases an actual embodiment of the spiritual world. To understand the significance of petroglyph sites, they must be considered in the context of overall Native American beliefs. In this context, sites of repeated geological unrest would invariably have evolved great spiritual significance. Petroglyph locations and ages may thus provide independent age controls on ‘prehistoric’ earthquakes in California.


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Abstract 10 of 25 back
The Fenris Wolf in the Nordic Asa creed in the light of palaeoseismics
N.-A. Mörner

Palaeogeophysics & Geodynamics, Stockholm University, S-10691 Stockholm, Sweden (email: morner@pog.nu)

The Nordic Asa Creed talks about a giant wolf, ‘the Fenris Wolf’, that was trapped and chained deep in the mountains. When he howled, the ground trembled violently and fractured. With the discovery of frequent high-magnitude palaeoseismic events in Sweden not only in de-glacial time but also in Late Holocene time, it seems both natural and logical that the Fenris tale refers to frightening earthquake events in the past. Once again tales and sagas have been shown to be rooted in facts.


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Abstract 11 of 25 back
Band-e-Amir Lakes and Dragon Valley (Bamiyan): myths and seismicity in Afghanistan
F. G. Bourrouilh-Le Jan1, B. Akram2 & M. Schvoerer3

1 Laboratoire CIBAMAR, Cinématique de Bassins et Marges, Université Bordeaux 1, Avenue des Facultés, 33405 Talence Cedex, France (e-mail: f.bourrouilh-lejan@cibamar.u-bordeaux1.fr)
2 , 63 rue Guy Moquet, 94700 Maison Alfort, France
3 Institut de Recherche sur les Archéomatériaux-UMR 5060, Université Bordeaux 3-CNRS et Réseau européen FER-PACT (Sciences et Patrimoine culturel), France

Located SW of the Hindu Kush range, the Band-e-Amir lakes and other continental bioherms around Bamiyan are famous for their ordering into terraces and their great variety of colours. Numerous legends, the earliest likely dating to the establishment of the Zoroastrian religion, refer to the topography, ecology, and colours of the lakes and seismic activity of the area. The lakes have been formed by the chemical and biologically-induced build-up of semicircular or successive linear travertine dams. The discovery of a highly truncated karstic network located at an elevation of around 4000 m. along the base of Maastrichtian carbonate cliffs surrounding the lakes, may explain the presence of this carbonate sedimentation which has fluctuated with time and was responsible for legendary floods. Localized at the eastern end of the Herat strike-slip fault, the timing and duration of the build-ups and lakes are under the influence of intense seismic activity, partially due to the seismic activity of the nearby Hindu Kush, in relation to the northern drift of the Afghan Gondwanian block towards the Eurasiatic plate. These bioherms and lakes occur in an area of high risk; a zone of floods, freezing temperatures, earthquakes and rock avalanches caused by the high altitude and location in the Himalayan alpine belt. These natural features have affected local populations beginning with the movement into the area of more or less sedentary people, apparently coming from the Bactrian province. Such a fragile biological and sedimentological environment should be maintained by organized governmental assistance, with a primary goal of protecting the local inhabitants, but also preserving this exceptional environment for others to enjoy.


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Abstract 12 of 25 back
The Bible and geology: destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah
Vladimir G. Trifonov

Geological Institute of the Russian Academy of Sciences, 7, Pyzhevsky, Moscow, 119017, Russia (e-mail: trifonov@ginras.ru)

The biblical story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah is interpeted as a reflection of a real natural disaster. According to the Bible. Sodom and Gomorrah were situated near the southern part of the Dead Sea basin or in the Jordan River valley. The description of their destruction in the Bible can be interpreted only as volcanic eruption. Evidence of middle Holocene volcanism is absent both in the Dead Sea and Jordan River regions, but has been found in the Neogene—Quaternary lava highland in the southern Syria. At two settlements, Khirbet El-Umbashi and Hebariye, dated around the second part of the third millennium BC, many animal bones were covered by the basaltic lava. It is possible that, the Bible's story of the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah combined collective memories about two events. Located in the Dead Sea region, Sodom and Gomorrah were most probably destroyed by a strong earthquake or flood, but the fresh memory about two settlements perishing from a volcanic eruption caused the population to merge these two events.


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Abstract 13 of 25 back
Geological histories and geohazard potential of Pacific Islands illuminated by myths
Patrick D. Nunn & Ronna Pastorizo

School of Geography, The University of the South Pacific, Suva, Fiji (e-mail: nunn_p@usp.ac.fj)

Understanding of the geological history of the Pacific, especially its geohazard potential, can be improved using details in ancient and properly-authenticated Pacific Islander myths. To demonstrate this, a synthesis of Pacific Island origin myths involving islands having been either ‘fished up’ or ‘thrown down’ is presented, with an account of origin myths for the island Niue used as a case study. A discussion of geohazards and myths in the Pacific focuses on tsunami, coseismic uplift, and island flank collapse, the last being illustrated by the first analysis of myths recalling ‘vanished islands’ in the Pacific.


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Abstract 14 of 25 back
Exploding lakes in myth and reality: an African case study
Eugenia Shanklin

Department of Sociology & Anthropology, The College of New Jersey, Ewing, New Jersey, 08628-1718, USA (e-mail: eshanklin@earthlink.net)

In the night of 21 August, 1986. Lake Nyos, a crater lake in the Cameroon Grassfields of West Central Africa, ‘exploded’ and sent out a cloud of carbon dioxide that killed more than 1800 people. Ultimately the causes of the explosion were scientifically determined to have been limnological. They were part of a process, much like the opening of a champagne bottle, in which carbon dioxide that has collected at the bottom rises quickly to the top and, following the ‘pop’ of the cork, sends out a liquid mixture of wine and carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide at the bottom of small Lake Nyos (roughly the size and shape of New York's Chrysler Building; 319m in height) was disturbed by an unknown force that caused it to ‘pop’ out as a deadly cloud about 700 m long, deep and wide. Stories about ‘misbehaving’ or exploding lakes had circulated in the region for many years before the 1986 explosion, and continue to circulate. This article summarizes eighty years of myth collection carried out by ethnographers, historians, administrators and missionaries who visited prior to the 1986 explosion. It also adds information about myth transformations and new folklore explanations for the Nyos explosion over 13 years following the explosion, and contributes to the discussion of implications for disaster relief in any large-scale catastrophe.


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Abstract 15 of 25 back
Myth and catastrophic reality: using myth to identify cosmic impacts and massive Plinian eruptions in Holocene South America
W. Bruce Masse1 & Michael J. Masse2

1 ENV-EAQ Ecology and Air Quality Group, Mailstop J978, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Los Alamos, New Mexico 87545, USA (e-mail: wbmasse@lanl.gov)
2 , Mail Drop SW308, Scripps Green Hospital, La Jolla, California 92037, USA

Major natural catastrophes such as floods, fire, darkness, and ‘sky falling down’ are prominently reflected in traditional South American creation myths, cosmology, religion, and worldview. Cosmogonic myths represent a rich and largely untapped data set concerning the most dramatic natural events and processes experienced by cultural groups during the past several thousand years. Observational details regarding specific catastrophes are encoded in myth storylines, typically cast in terms of supernatural characters and actions. Not only are the myths amenable to scientific analysis, some sets of myths encode multiple catastrophes in meaningful relative chronological order. The present study considers 4259 myths, including 284 ‘universal’ (perceived in the narratives to be worldwide) catastrophe myths, from 20 cultural groups east of the Andes. These myths are examined in light of available geological, palaeoenvironmental, archaeological, and documentary evidence. Our analysis reveals three likely major Plinian volcanic eruptions in Columbia and the Gran Chaco. We also identify a set of traditions that are probably linked to the well-known Campo del Cielo iron meteorite impact in northern Argentina around 4000 years ago, along with a separate set of traditions alluding to a possible airburst in the Brazilian Highlands. These impacts apparantly triggered widespread mass fires. There are hints of cosmic impacts in the mythologies for other locations in South America.


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Abstract 16 of 25 back
Cosmogenic mega-tsunami in the Australia region: are they supported by Aboriginal and Maori legends?
E. Bryant1, G. Walsh2 & D. Abbott3

1 Science Faculty Office, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW, Australia, 2522 (e-mail: ebryant@uow.edu.au)
2 TAKARAKKA Rock Art Research Centre, 36 Bonros Place, The Gap, Queensland, Australia 4061
3 Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Route 9W

Mega-tsunami have affected much of the coastline of Australia over the past millennium. Such catastrophic waves have left an imprint consisting predominently of bedrock sculpturing of the rocky coastline and deposition of marine sediments to elevations reaching 130 m above sea level. One of the largest of these events occurred in eastern Australia in the fifteenth century. This event may be related to the Mahuika impact crater found at 48.3 S, 166.4 E on the continental shelf 250 km south of New Zealand. A comet at least 500 m in diameter formed the crater. Maori and Aboriginal legends allude to significant cosmogenic events in the region, while Aboriginal legends about tsunami are common along the eastern Australian coast. Evidence for legends that could describe the impact of a cosmogenic tsunami also exists in NW Australia. Here geological evidence of a single mega-tsunami as recent as in the seventeenth century covers 1500 km of coastline. We term this event Wandjina after the artwork related to the legends. More attention should be given to oral traditions in searching globally for other sites of significant mega-tsunami.


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Abstract 17 of 25 back
Meteorite records in the ancient Greek and Latin literature: between history and myth
Massimo D'Orazio

Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa, Via S. Maria 53, 1-56126 Pisa, Italy (e-mail: dorazio@dst.unipi.it)

A catalogue of citations related to possible meteorites has been assembled by searching the ancient Greek and Latin literature up to the end of the West Roman Empire (AD 476). The catalogue illustrates the attitude of ancient populations towards the fall of meteorites and extends the record of meteorite falls back in time. The citations are arranged in the catalogue as: i) ‘meteorite falls’, when both the locality and the date of the fall are, at least approximately, indicated; ii) ‘worshipped stones’, when the written and archaeological sources suggest the actual existence of a stone as an object of worship, but the information about the locality and the date of the fall are missing or vague; iii) ‘myths’, when the connexion between an object said to have fallen from the heaven and the fall of a meteorite is weak or obscured by mythological traditions.


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Abstract 18 of 25 back
Sooty sweat stains or tourmaline spots? The Argonauts on the Island of Elba (Tuscany) and the spread of Greek trading in the Mediterranean Sea
Andrea Dini1, Alessandro Corretti2, Fabrizio Innocenti3,1, Sergio Rocchi3,1 & David Scott Westerman4

1 Istituto di Geoscienze e Georisorse - CNR, Pisa, Italy (e-mail: a.dini@igg.cnr.it)
2 Laboratorio di Storia, Archeologia e Topografia del Mondo Antico, Scuola Normale Superiore, Pisa, Italy
3 Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra, Università di Pisa, Italy
4 Department of Geology, Norwich University, Northfield, VT-USA

In various ancient authors (e.g. the ‘Argonautika’ of Apollonios Rhodios) curious news about the Island of Elba can be found, concerning the existence, somewhere on the shore near Portoferraio, of pebbles that are ‘dirty’ from the Argonauts' sweat. The Argonauts are said to have stopped on the island during their journey back from the looting of the ‘Golden Fleece’. These pebbles are found to be typical of the gravelly beaches below the Capo Bianco cliffs. Such walls are made up of a bony-white aplitic rock dotted with blue-black tourmaline spots. Capo Bianco aplite is the uncommon result of the solidification of a boron-rich magma in a subvolcanic setting. Here, the separation of a boron-rich fluid phase gave way to the crystallization of peculiar spherical dark tourmaline clots in a very fine-grained white groundmass. This rock was noted by Argonauts (i.e. the ancient travellers they represent) and used as a lighthouse to the harbour of Argoos limen (now Portoferraio). Also in the myth, the unique mottled pebbles were recorded as stained by the Argonauts' sweat. The occurrence, within the same, complex myth, of ‘data’ concerning navigation (the white cliffs) and geology (description of the spotted aplite) identify the Argonauts as a blending of mineral prospectors, explorers and early eighteenth century-like naturalists, legitimatizing the commercial/political presence of Greeks in the region.


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Abstract 19 of 25 back
Place names describing fossils in oral traditions
Adrienne Mayor

Classics Department, Stanford University, Stanford CA 94305 (e-mail: mayor@stanford.edu)

Folk explanations of notable geological features, including fossils, are found around the world. Observations of fossil exposures (bones, footprints, etc.) led to place names for rivers, mountains, valleys, mounds, caves, springs, tracks, and other geological and palaeontological sites. Some names describe prehistoric remains and/or refer to traditional interpretations of fossils. This paper presents case studies of fossil-related place names in ancient and modern Europe and China, and Native American examples in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Evidence for the earliest known fossil-related place names comes from ancient Greco-Roman and Chinese literature. The earliest documented fossil-related place name in the New World was preserved in a written text by the Spanish in the sixteenth century. In many instances, fossil geonames are purely descriptive; in others, however, the mythology about a specific fossil locality survives along with the name: in still other cases the geomythology is suggested by recorded traditions about similar palaeontological phenomena. The antiquity and continuity of some fossil-related place names shows that people had observed and speculated about mineralized traces of extinct life forms long before modern scientific investigations. Traditional place names can reveal heretofore unknown geomyths as well as new geologically-important sites.


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Abstract 20 of 25 back
Giants and elephants of Sicily
V. Agnesi, C. Di Patti & B. Truden

Dipartimento di Geologia e Geodesia e Museo Geologico ‘G.G. Gemmellaro’, Università degli Studi di Palermo, corso Tukory 131, 90134 Palermo, Italy (e-mail: agnesi@unipa.it, mgup@unipa.it)

In Sicily, the great abundance of fascinating and impressive natural phenomena, have fed the imagination of men, who have interpreted them as the manifestation of the existence of supernatural and fantastic beings giving rise to myth and legend. Amongst these many myths, that of the cyclops Polyphemus, is closely linked to the geopalaeontological history of Sicily. The discovery, often inside caves, of the fossil skulls of elephants, in which there is a great nasal hollow (in the frontal part) where there was a trunk in life, gave rise to the belief that one-eyed giants had existed, in the past. The nasal hollow was wrongly interpreted as the orbit of a single frontal eye that characterized these monstrous beings, and the gigantic size was inferred by the notable dimensions of the skulls and the bones that are frequently found. In 1830 Giorgio Cuvier, attested to the fossil nature of the bones and put an end to the different inferences formulated about their origin.


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Abstract 21 of 25 back
On the discovery of the ice age: science and myth
W. H. Berger

Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, USA(e-mail: wberger@ucsd.edu)

The discovery of the ice ages began with the invention of the Great Ice Age by Louis Agassiz, in the first half of the nineteenth century. His ideas were shaped by the interpretation of skeletons and frozen remains of large mammals found in Siberia, at the beginning of the nineteenth century. The concept of the Great Ice Age stands in contrast to earlier notions emphasizing widespread flooding, notions that owed much to the Great Flood described in the Bible, and which gave rise to geological terms such as ‘diluvial deposits’ and ‘glacial drift’. Nordic myth as recorded in Iceland during the Middle Ages likewise contains observations and interpretations concerning the remains of giant animals emerging from frozen ground and makes reference to large-scale flooding. The ancient cosmogony related by Icelandic poets postulates the former existence of a kingdom of ice, represented by a primeval Ice Giant, whose rule is ended by the newly emerged gods. According to the myth, the melting of ice (the blood of the dying Giant) caused widespread flooding that killed the large creatures abundant during ice time.


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Abstract 22 of 25 back
Shepherds' crowns, fairy loaves and thunderstones: the mythology of fossil echinoids in England
Kenneth J. McNamara

Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences, Western Australian Museum, James Street, Perth, Western Australia 6000, Australia(e-mail: ken.mcnamara@museum.wa.gov.au)

The presence of fossil echinoids in archaeological sites in southern England that range from the Palaeolithic through the Neolithic, Bronze and Iron Ages, Romano-British to Anglo-Saxon indicates that humans have long had a propensity for collecting these fossils. The palaeo-ethnological significance of fossil echinoids can be determined from a number of criteria. The fossils may occur with the dead, either in burials or cremations, or be associated with past activities of the living. These include presence on a flint worked as a tool; artificial alteration of the fossil; association with human habitation; or occurrence outside the area of natural geological occurrence. Their archaeological association provides an indication that these fossils have been collected by people for hundreds of thousands of years and, at times, attained a high degree of spiritual significance. Moreover, recent folklore associated with them, particularly their folk names, such as shepherd's crowns, fairy loaves and thunderstones, provides a further insight into the myths that were associated with them. These indicate the use of fossil echinoids in both ‘Celtic’ and Norse mythologies where they played a role in resurrection myths. The occurrence of fossil echinoids in a medieval church is indicative of retention of ‘pagan’ belief systems in a Christian context.


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Abstract 23 of 25 back
Obsidian: sacred glass from the California sky
Susan Fox Hodgson

, P. O. Box 644, Davis, California 95617, USA(e-mail: cosmos@dcn.org)

For at least 13 000 years, California Indians mined and worked obsidian, trading the precious volcanic glass near and far, including obsidian and its uses in their everyday lives and beliefs. The cultural importance of obsidian is emphasized by the fact that a number of tribal groups created myths specifically about obsidian. Not only do the myths illustrate tribal religious beliefs, they help to trace geological and archaeological histories, as well. That obsidian still plays economic, artistic, and religious roles in the lives of today's Californians offers testimony to its qualities the Indians discovered long ago.


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Abstract 24 of 25 back
Erratic blocks: from protector beings to geosites to be protected
Luigi Motta & Michele Motta

Earth Sciences Department, 35 Via Valperga Caluso, 10125 Italy(e-mail: michele.motta@unito.it)

Erratic blocks are the main geosites in Turin's suburban area. Today, they are a symbol of the ‘landscape to be saved’ even for those who are barely aware of their geological importance. This is because the blocks are the subject of myths (based on their geomorphological characters), such as: interpretation of weathering as altars or runic writing: attribution of strange shapes, noises, lairs, to petrified supernatural beings: interpretation of isolated blocks as dwellings of protector beings; use of the blocks for boulders: supposed reports of UFOs and ‘disappeared civilizations’. In ancient times, erratic blocks were at the centre of religious practices. However, most myths are in fact recent. The Barbarian invasions and the fight against Paganism destroyed the ancient myths. The creation of new myths proves that erratic blocks are able to attract mankind's attention in every epoch. When the geologist proposes blocks as protected geosites, he must show the connection between geomorphology and myths, maintaining the suggestive impact of the myths. Myths, including recent and altered ones, can work together with scientific explanation to make it easier for the public to understand the true importance of erratic blocks. By exploiting the power and appeal of myth, the community will more easily accept the need to preserve scientifically valuable geosites.


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Abstract 25 of 25 back
The contribution of the ‘Sibilla Appenninica’ legend to karst knowledge in the Sibillini Mountains (Central Apennines, Italy)
D. Aringoli1, B. Gentili1, G. Pambianchi1 & A. M. Piscitelli2

1 University of Camerino, Department of Earth Sciences, viale Gentile III da Varano, I-62032 Camerino, Italy (e-mail: gilberto.pambianchi@unicam.it)
2 ‘Progetto Elissa’, via Italia 16 I-63048 Montemonaco, Italy

Geological studies of the Sibillini Mountains carried out mainly during the last century, provided evidence of a hypogeal karst characterized by a small number of caves of limited extent. The only one mentioned by numerous ancient authors is the ‘Grotta della Sibilla’, on account of its legendary references. This cave is the keeper of one of the most fascinating secrets of the Apennines, having been both a place of mountain cult as far back as pre-historical times and the home of the fortune-telling prophetess ‘Sibilla’. Historical sources tell of the presence of someone mysterious at the site from the time of the Romans but amongst the historical descriptions, the testimony of Antoine de la Sale is most notable: he visited the cave in 1420 and described it as a good-sized cavity within the bowels of the mountain. Nothing about this setting is mentioned in the geological literature or in topographic descriptions, made for the first time at the beginning of the 1940s, when a regular but small cave was revealed. Today rockfall deposits completely obstruct the entrance.

On the basis of the above-mentioned legendary references, geomorphological and geophysical studies started helping to define the real extent of the cave. The planimetric trend of the electromagnetic anomalies surveyed allow us to make hypotheses about the presence of a vast hypogeal system.


[Reprint (PDF) Version of Aringoli et al.]


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