Bimini Road

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The Bimini Road is an underwater rock formation near North Bimini island in the Bahamas. The Road consists of approximately one half-mile of limestone blocks, lying in a semi-rectangular pattern, with the blocks themselves appearing to be roughly rectangular in shape.

Discovery

On 2 September 1969,[1] while diving in three fathoms of water off the northwest coast of North Bimini island, Dr. J. Manson Valentine, Honorary Curator at the Miami Science Museum, encountered "an extensive pavement of rectangular and polygonal flat stones of varying size and thickness."[2]

The edges of the stone blocks had been rounded off by long years of water erosion, so that the stones resembled giant loaves of bread. Most were rectangular, but some stones approached a perfect square. Many were 10 to 15 feet in length, while others were much smaller. Where sand had washed away between the seams, another deeper layer of blocks was visible.

Valentine found the stones to be composed of native oolitic limestone, typical of Bahama reef or beachrock. The general direction of the feature is northeast-southwest, lying roughly parallel to the island coast, and extended for approximately one-third of a mile.

Geological explanations

Geologist Eugene Shinn, while still an employee of the U.S. Geological Survey in Miami did his own analysis of the rocks and concluded that they are "beach rock", a form of limestone that forms along the tidal areas of the shoreline.[3] He asserts:

  • The geometry of the formation conforms to older shorelines of the island.
  • Core samples taken from several rocks reveal that they formed in place because layers of stratification have identical orientation
  • Similar formations are found throughout the Bahamas
  • The age of the rocks is 2,000 to 4,000 years old [4]

Another explanation is that the "road" is an example of tessellated pavement, a natural phenomenon. Concretions of shell and sand form hard sedimentary rock which over time fractures in straight lines and then at ninety degree angles. They are quite common and a popular tourist attraction on the island of Tasmania;[5] some also can be seen on the coast of Venezuela.[6]

In 1971 Jacques-Yves Cousteau investigated the Great Blue Hole off Belize and also a similar cave system off Andros Island, near Bimini. [7] Both of these revealed classic Karst limestone cave systems, formed before rises in sea level of at least 400 feet. Although Cousteau did not investigate the Bimini Road itself, these observations support the possibility that the Road may be another example of submerged limestone pavement. Note that although similar in composition, the limestones studied by Cousteau were far older than the beachrock reported by Shinn.[3] His son, Philippe, did investigate the Bimini Road and questioned whether notions of this being a man made structure were contrived.[citation needed]

Claims of a human origin

Although it is generally considered to be a naturally occurring geological feature, as a result of the unusual arrangement and shape of the stones, some believe the formation is an ancient road, wall or the remains of some other deliberately constructed structure.[8]

An article written for a popular magazine by Robert F. Marx, a marine archeologist who dove on the site, announced that Dr. Carl Holm, head geologist for North American Rockwell, stated that there was "little doubt" that the massive stone blocks were cut by people.[9][10]

Others who consider the Bimini undersea formation to be man-made, as opposed to natural beachrock, are Dr. J. Manson Valentine, zoologist,[11] Charles Berlitz, linguist,[12] Dr. Gregory Little, phychologist,[13] Dr. R. Cedric Leonard, anthropologist.[14] and Prof. Dimitri Rebikoff, underwater archaeologist. [15] All have investigated the ruins in person, and claim to have observed more than one horizontal layer of blocks, at least in places.

Sci Fi Channel Presentation

Sci-Fi’s “Quest for Atlantis: Startling New Secrets”[16] followed several different groups researching possible locations for the legendary Atlantis, one of which focused on the Bimini Road. Dr. Greg Little led a team of researchers on a dive to recover objects at Bimini Bay. Little and his team made a discovery: an entire second layer of square-cut rocks with similar dimensions beneath the stones of the Bimini Road.[8] Dr. Little believes that his discovery suggests the Bimini Road may actually be one part of an entire wall or water dock. He has also published a critique[17] of Shinn's report [3]. The Bimini Road was also discussed in season 1, episode 10 of the TV series In Search Of.

References

  1. ^ R. Cedric Leonard (2008). "Bahama Island Underwater Ruins". Atlantek Software Inc. Retrieved 2008-05-01. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. ^ Valentine, J. Manson (June 1969). "Archaeological Enigmas of Florida and the Western Bahamas". Muse News. Miami Science Museum.
  3. ^ a b c Shinn, Eugene (2004). "Exploration and analysis of the road". Committee for Skeptical Inquiry.
  4. ^ "Bahamian Atlantis reconsidered". Nature (287): 11–12. 1980. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Cite has empty unknown parameter: |month= (help)
  5. ^ "Eaglehawk Neck". Walkabout Australia. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ "Bimini Road". BC Skeptics. 2008. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ Jacques-Yves Cousteau (1973). Galapagos - Titicaca - The Blue Holes. London: Cassell.
  8. ^ a b Dr. Greg Little (2007). "Bimini". Mysterious America .net. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  9. ^ Marx, Robert F., & Rebikoff, Dimitri (December 1969). "Atlantis at Last?". Argosy. Vol. 369 (No. 6). {{cite journal}}: |issue= has extra text (help); |volume= has extra text (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  10. ^ Marx, Robert, “Atlantis: the legend is becoming fact," Argosy magazine, Vol. 373, No. 5, November 1971.
  11. ^ Valentine, J. Manson, “Archaeological Enigmas of Florida and the Western Bahamas,” Muse News, Vol. 1, No. 2, June 1969.
  12. ^ Berlitz, Charles, “Atlantis: the Eighth Continent,” G. P. Putnam’s Sons, New York, 1984.
  13. ^ Little Greg, "Are's Search for Atlantis," (DVD) ATA Productions, 4004.
  14. ^ Leonard, R. Cedric, “Quest for Atlantis,” Manor Books, New York, 1979.
  15. ^ Rebikoff, Dimitri, “Precision Underwater Photomosaic Techniques for Archaeological Mapping; Interim Experiment on the Bimini ‘Cyclopean’ Complex,” International Journal of Nautical Archaeology and Underwater Exploration, Vol. 1, 1972, pp. 184-186.
  16. ^ "Quest for Atlantis: Startling New Secrets". Sci Fi Channel. (aired July 2006). {{cite journal}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  17. ^ Dr. Greg Little (December 2004). "More Adventures With Bimini Beachrock: Remarkable Blunders in a Purported Scholarly Report Debunking the Bimini Stones". Mysterious America .net. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)

Further reading

  • Harrison, W. (1971). "Atlantis undiscovered: Bimini, Bahamas". Nature. 230: 287–289. doi:10.1038/230287a0. {{cite journal}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help)
  • Gifford, J.A. and Ball, M.M. (1980). "Investigation of submerged beachrock deposits off Bimini". National Geographic Society Research Reports (12): pp. 21–38. {{cite journal}}: |pages= has extra text (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)

External links

See also

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