Slam, bang, thanks Saddam: new meteor theory

The Sunday Telegraph via Sydney Morning Herald ^ | 11/06/01 | Robert Matthews

[dead]

Perusal of an article about Saddam Hussein's canal-building projects has led a scientist to a startling discovery about the mysterious collapse of Middle East civilisations more than 4,000 years ago.

Sharad Master, a geologist at the University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, saw on satellite images of southern Iraq a large circular depression which he believes is a meteor crater.

If confirmed, it would indicate an impact equivalent to hundreds of nuclear bombs, causing devastating fires and flooding in an area which would have been shallow sea at the time.

The discovery could explain why so many early cultures went into sudden decline around 2300 BC, including the Akkad culture of central Iraq and the fifth dynasty of Egypt's Old Kingdom, along with hundreds of settlements in the Holy Land.

Until now, archaeologists have put their demise down to wars or environmental changes. Recently, however, some astronomers have suggested meteor impacts.

"It was a purely accidental discovery," Dr Master said 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."

The faint outline was on satellite images of the Al 'Amarah region, north-west of the confluence of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers and home of the Marsh Arabs.

Analysis of other satellite images 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, caused the lake to recede, revealing a ring-like ridge inside the larger depression - a classic feature of meteor craters.

Dr Master has reported his findings in the journal Meteoritics & Planetary Science.

The Sunday Telegraph, London

[ctdonath2]

Neat - so where's the photo?

[Ciexyz]

Maybe we can pray for a big fat meteor to fall smack on those Taliban caves.

[Mr. Bird]

If confirmed, it would indicate an impact equivalent to hundreds of nuclear bombs, causing devastating fires and flooding

I've been feeling a bit nostalgic lately....

[dead]

I wondered the same thing myself. The SMH Herald didn't include a copy (rather lame, considering the article is about the photo.)

[ctdonath2]

I'd like to see a news network that really focuses on images rather than text or talking heads. Too often news outlets talk about an image but don't bother to show it, or show just a couple out of dozens/hundreds available.

[gnarledmaw]

cross index: lost civilization theory

[JudyB1938]

Ping me if you comment on this thread. I'd like to read what you have to say.

[LTCJ]

Here's to seeing a series of gaint craters, "coming soon to a city near them..."

[blam]

"cross index: lost civilization theory."

About all I can add (quickly) to the discussion is that there was a severe worldwide 'tree ring' incident at 2354BC. This could have been part of a swarm? If not a swarm, it must have been pretty big event to affect the trees worldwide. (I'll see if I can find other things that may connect, later)

[blam]

....also, wasn't it around 2300BC that it was recorded that the Egyptians were so famished that they began to eat their children/babies? I think so. And, this is also the 'Ussher date' for Noah's Flood. (Nap time)

[grimalkin]

Here's a satellite image from the Telegraph's article:

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

[blam]

"James Ussher"

James Ussher Portrait of James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh, Church of Ireland James Ussher (1580-1655), was one of the greatest scholars and theologians of his time. In his enduring search for knowledge he travelled widely in Britain and Europe http://star.arm.ac.uk/history/ussher.html

[blam]

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

This is twice as big as Meteor Crater in the western US.

[Thinkin' Gal]

FYI

[Fifth Business]

Both the Akkadians, in whose dynasty this event allegedly took place, and the Sumerians, who ruled shortly after the Akkadians, were highly literate. This raises the question, "Where is the written record for this sort of event?"

The demise of the Akkadians is generally attributed to Gutian hordes, while the demise of the Sumerians who followed is attributed to over-irrigation causing excess salinity in the soil.

[ctdonath2]

Neat!

[RightWhale]

it must have been pretty big event to affect the trees worldwide

The Barringer Crater was created what, 50,000 years ago, and it's still in pretty good shape. It hit dry land, so erosion would be less than one that hit a marshy area.

Did they give the age of this Basra crater? They mentioned 4000 years, but was that the determined age of the crater?

[jennyp]

Did they give the age of this Basra crater? They mentioned 4000 years, but was that the determined age of the crater?

This longer article at the Telegraph mentions this:

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.

Yet another reason to topple Saddam's regime - so we can send in the archaeologists!

[blam]

"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.

Ah ha. Maybe a meteor shower.