Thank you, John. The last link in
particular is fascinating. I've found the salt archive before, but not this
particular document (the whole site is weirdly formatted). I have done
extensive searches on this topic before, but never really came across something
aside from a site with a spectacular map of Sundaland. Earlier this year, I
think it was, Steven Jay Gould did one of his Natural History essays
on the Putoli columns of Naples (on the snail-bits -- Gould's Ph.D. is
in snails).
Sea level was 9 or 10 feet
('several meters') below present, for most of the 1st Mill.
BCE.
The 'controversial' link about the
'Kuwait River' (Gihon) is controversial because, together with another
now-seasonal river coming in from present-day Iran (Pison), added to the Tigris
and Euphrates and the place they flowed into the sea, you have the geography
described by Genesis 2:10-14.
Why oh why has not someone written
a semi-popular book on the subject? Sea level rise and a the aridification of
much of the world explains a great many of the 'popular' mysteries. Even
scholars need to be introduced to the topic this way. We've got the *real*
Garden of Eden here, the *real* Noah's flood -- documented events in
earth-history whose memories have been mythologized. Even Ryan and
Pitman, with that ill-titled book of theirs, seem grossly ignorant of this
-- and they are the real earth-scientists who should be telling us all
this.
Sea level rises do have effects --
slowly drowning coastal cities, crises in the salt industry, but they are not
catastrophic in the short-run. People move further inland.
But an abandoned Greece and Thrace?
Italy flooded to the 5 meter level? In the years 3800-3200? And then sea
level reducing? The implications for IE studies are quite large.
Piotr, I think, will be
noncommittal, but will likely be mugging his colleagues in the earth-history
department for more information.
I ordered the book you mentioned.
As I've said, the local public library is pitiful, and I don't have access to an
adequate academic library (there isn't one within an hour).
Again, thanks. You've answered some
questions I've had for some time.
Mark.
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Wednesday, August 23, 2000 10:36
PM
Subject: [tied] Re: Sea Level and the
Entry of Greek.
Mark
If you are interested in Sea Level Rises and
the effects on history
you may like to follow the threads from
http://www.mailbase.ac.uk/lists/britarch/1999-12/0352.html
Which
speaks about the sea level rise/land sinking in the Scillies of
Cornwall.
A much more contentious but fascinating article on the
climatic
fluctuations in the Middle East and its corelation with sea level
changes is found at
http://www.washington-report.org/backissues/0194/9401048.htm
For
an animated view of sea level changes, clearly showing the higher
sea
levels of the past have a look at
http://geochange.er.usgs.gov/pub/sea_level/
For
an analysis of historical data over the last 4.3 thousand years
showing a
sea level change of over 4 foot see
http://www.salt.org.il/sealevel.html#fig1
Warm
regards
John