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Meteor Clue To End Of Middle East Civilisations
The Telegraph (UK) ^ | 4-11-2001 | Robert Matthews

Posted on 06/08/2003 7:17:12 PM PDT by blam

Meteor clue to end of Middle East civilisations

By Robert Matthews, Science Correspondent
(Filed: 04/11/2001)

SCIENTISTS have found the first evidence that a devastating meteor impact in the Middle East might have triggered the mysterious collapse of civilisations more than 4,000 years ago.

satellite images of southern Iraq have revealed a two-mile-wide impact crater caused by a meteor

Studies of satellite images of southern Iraq have revealed a two-mile-wide circular depression which scientists say bears all the hallmarks of an impact crater. If confirmed, it would point to the Middle East being struck by a meteor with the violence equivalent to hundreds of nuclear bombs.

Today's crater lies on what would have been shallow sea 4,000 years ago, and any impact would have caused devastating fires and flooding.

The catastrophic effect of these could explain the mystery of why so many early cultures went into sudden decline around 2300 BC.

They include the demise of the Akkad culture of central Iraq, with its mysterious semi-mythological emperor Sargon; the end of the fifth dynasty of Egypt's Old Kingdom, following the building of the Great Pyramids and the sudden disappearance of hundreds of early settlements in the Holy Land.

Until now, archaeologists have put forward a host of separate explanations for these events, from local wars to environmental changes. Recently, some astronomers have suggested that meteor impacts could explain such historical mysteries.

The crater's faint outline was found by Dr Sharad Master, a geologist at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, on satellite images of the Al 'Amarah region, about 10 miles north-west of the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates and home of the Marsh Arabs.

"It was a purely accidental discovery," Dr Master told The Telegraph last week. "I was reading a magazine article about the canal-building projects of Saddam Hussein, and there was a photograph showing lots of formations - one of which was very, very circular."

Detailed analysis of other satellite images taken since the mid-1980s showed that for many years the crater contained a small lake.

The draining of the region, as part of Saddam's campaign against the Marsh Arabs, has since caused the lake to recede, revealing a ring-like ridge inside the larger bowl-like depression - a classic feature of meteor impact craters.

The crater also appears to be, in geological terms, very recent. Dr Master said: "The sediments in this region are very young, so whatever caused the crater-like structure, it must have happened within the past 6,000 years."

Reporting his finding in the latest issue of the journal Meteoritics & Planetary Science, Dr Master suggests that a recent meteor impact is the most plausible explanation for the structure.

A survey of the crater itself could reveal tell-tale melted rock. "If we could find fragments of impact glass, we could date them using radioactive dating techniques," he said.

A date of around 2300 BC for the impact may also cast new light on the legend of Gilgamesh, dating from the same period. The legend talks of "the Seven Judges of Hell", who raised their torches, lighting the land with flame, and a storm that turned day into night, "smashed the land like a cup", and flooded the area.

The discovery of the crater has sparked great interest among scientists.

Dr Benny Peiser, who lectures on the effects of meteor impacts at John Moores University, Liverpool, said it was one of the most significant discoveries in recent years and would corroborate research he and others have done.

He said that craters recently found in Argentina date from around the same period - suggesting that the Earth may have been hit by a shower of large meteors at about the same time


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: ancienthistory; catastrophism; civilisations; clue; craters; crevolist; curseofagade; donaldpatten; donaldpatton; donpatten; donpatton; east; gilgamesh; godsgravesglyphs; iraq; marsharabs; meteor; meteors; middle; mikebaillie; satellites
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To: Little Bill
re the Bull from Heaven:

In Gilgamesh, because he refuses to marry the Godess Ishtar, she goes to the head God and receives permission to bring the Bull of Heaven down to earth to kick Gilgamesh's ass. The rest of the story, and the meteorite of Anu are also represented there. See also my post 60
61 posted on 06/09/2003 1:18:38 AM PDT by John Beresford Tipton
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To: John Beresford Tipton
I concur. I read the epic years ago in two translations also, the Bull of Heaven, or what ever it was in reality stuck in my mind for some reason.

I have though for many years that there are more to myths than just a cute story.

62 posted on 06/09/2003 2:17:45 AM PDT by Little Bill (No Rats, A.N.S.W.E.R (WWP) is a commie front!!!!,)
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To: andrew1957
I think it's about time that more large meteors land in a few selected places, to end Middle East Civilization as it exist's today.

Yep, the whole place seems like a mega job posting asking for an event to destroy it, it is so cursed.

63 posted on 06/09/2003 2:44:56 AM PDT by lavaroise
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To: blam
Why do you believe discussing creationism is religious? Are you excluding it because it purports to attribute the origin of life to a Creator? Does that mean you will only consider that which is material in nature?
64 posted on 06/09/2003 7:06:19 AM PDT by LiteKeeper
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To: sasportas
This comment arises from NASA concerning Mars;

Observations going back as far as Mariner 4 note Mars's unusuall elliptical,"has been seriously disturbed and the planets structure severely strained at some time in the past"
Furthermore,telltale fractures on the Martian crust indicate the there has at some point been significant change in "the planets rotational equilibrium figure"-that is,in its rate of spin.
The laws of celestial mechanics dictate that it[Mars]..should be revolving once every 8 hrs..vs the present rotation of 25.
Such change appears to have been far to large to have been caused by Tidal interaction with Phobos and Deimos,the 2 tiny moons of Mars....
"Some other cause" must be sought.

Interesting that the mythology of ancient man references Mars's moons as being on fire...leading Mars[Chariot]...like "Fiery Steeds".
The names of the moons are telling;

Deimos :Terror
Phobos : Fear
To the ancients...the fiery trabants...Terror and Route.
These myths accompanied by other plain statements of gravametric distortions...energy release events is world wide..and very prominent in the Northern Hemisphere.
Electrical dischargres...waters pulled up above the mountains..."Waters towering in to the skies".
then the collapse of the waters...and the mythology of unbelievable hydraulic action gouging the earth in waves which rolled around the planet for weeks.
Storms of magnitudes only imagined by our thinking...

The stories of Volcanoes going off around the world hints that the earth was experiencing released energys from within its core ..the enertial energies via convection tearing the planet to pieces as they radiated in wave emmisions.
The ancients tell of the earth groaning after the violent events eased off.

The groaning noises continued for decades and terrified man.
Many of the myths cover the enertial dynamics well...the stories tell of the prodigy appearing..then a struggle above as the earth met its combatant..then the energy interactions..with the streaming subsidence theme..as the magnitudes ease off..as the masses distance themselves.

Ancient man witnessed and survived events that would make our sci fi imagination artists envious..yet it was as the Mayans comment;
The Sun age ended..and only a few men survived.

65 posted on 06/09/2003 9:05:39 AM PDT by Light Speed
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To: Light Speed
myths as possible real events placemarker
66 posted on 06/09/2003 6:38:50 PM PDT by Aric2000 (If the history of science shows us anything, it is that we get nowhere by labeling our ignorance god)
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To: Interesting Times
Thanks for the ping.

I'm not at all sure that one space rock this size could cause the demise of several civilizations. But maybe it was one of a shower of rocks.

Now that we have this kind of surveilance technology, we are likely to find more and more meteor impact sites.
67 posted on 06/12/2003 8:26:18 PM PDT by zot
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To: andrew1957
Why don't we put a few dozen hydrogen bombs in stone shells and drop them out of the space shuttle instead?
68 posted on 09/28/2003 7:15:16 PM PDT by CodeMonkey
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To: blam
A Blast from the Past.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list. Thanks.
Please FREEPMAIL me if you want on or off the
"Gods, Graves, Glyphs" PING list or GGG weekly digest
-- Archaeology/Anthropology/Ancient Cultures/Artifacts/Antiquities, etc.
Gods, Graves, Glyphs (alpha order)

69 posted on 02/08/2006 10:34:59 AM PST by SunkenCiv (If you could read my mind, you'd know I dislike Gordon Lightfoot.)
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To: SunkenCiv
One of my favorites along with Disaster That Struck The Ancients, a documented world changing meteorite (asteroid) impact.
70 posted on 02/08/2006 10:54:14 AM PST by blam
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To: 75thOVI; AndrewC; Avoiding_Sulla; BenLurkin; Berosus; CGVet58; chilepepper; ckilmer; demlosers; ...
an oldie.
Catastrophism

71 posted on 08/06/2006 7:15:37 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (updated my FR profile on Thursday, July 27, 2006. https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: blam

Whoops. The first one:

Meteor Clue To End Of Middle East Civilisations
The Telegraph (UK) | 11-04-2001 | Robert Matthews
Posted on 01/04/2002 1:50:09 AM EST by blam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/601395/posts


72 posted on 08/06/2006 7:21:36 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (updated my FR profile on Thursday, July 27, 2006. https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: blam
SCIENTISTS have found the first evidence that a devastating meteor impact in the Middle East might have triggered the mysterious collapse of civilisations more than 4,000 years ago.

And their brains haven't the same since.

73 posted on 08/06/2006 8:31:39 PM PDT by Mike Darancette (I'll have the duck with mango salsa.)
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The Dark Ages: Were They Darker Than We Imagined?
The Universe | 9-1999 | Greg Bryant
Posted on 06/09/2003 1:31:29 AM EDT by blam
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/925578/posts


74 posted on 02/01/2007 2:53:31 PM PST by SunkenCiv (I last updated my profile on Wednesday, January 31, 2007. https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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75 posted on 07/31/2011 6:42:20 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Yes, as a matter of fact, it is that time again -- https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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 GGG managers are SunkenCiv, StayAt HomeMother & Ernest_at_the_Beach
Just updating the GGG info, not sending a general distribution.

To all -- please ping me to other topics which are appropriate for the GGG list.


76 posted on 07/31/2011 6:42:34 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Yes, as a matter of fact, it is that time again -- https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: SunkenCiv
Posted over ten years ago.

Still an interesting article.

77 posted on 07/31/2011 6:58:35 PM PDT by blam
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To: blam

turned out I was waaay behind on my FRchive surfing.


78 posted on 07/31/2011 7:05:49 PM PDT by SunkenCiv (Yes, as a matter of fact, it is that time again -- https://secure.freerepublic.com/donate/)
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To: blam

Jeez, talk about slow ... 2002,2003,2006, ... finally downloads in 2011.


79 posted on 07/31/2011 7:18:00 PM PDT by patton (I am sure that I have done dumber things in my life, but at the moment, I am unable to recall them.)
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To: SunkenCiv

2,3,6,11 ... almost a fibbinacci (drunkard’s walk).


80 posted on 07/31/2011 7:19:31 PM PDT by patton (I am sure that I have done dumber things in my life, but at the moment, I am unable to recall them.)
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