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Monday, November 02, 2009

BURKLE CRATER - THE "FLOOD" of 2,800 BC?

I wrote previously of the largest meteor strikes in history the biggest of which is the Burckle Crater in the Indian Ocean. I mentioned this on Pournelle's blog & on Sunday somebody mentioned this New York Times article on the subject
But Madagascar provides the smoking gun for geologically recent impacts. In August, Dr. Abbott, Dr. Bryant and Slava Gusiakov, from the Novosibirsk Tsunami Laboratory in Russia, visited the four huge chevrons (characteristic shape of debris formed by the high point of a meteor caused tsunami) to scoop up samples...

About 900 miles southeast from the Madagascar chevrons, in deep ocean, is Burckle crater, which Dr. Abbott discovered last year. Although its sediments have not been directly sampled, cores from the area contain high levels of nickel and magnetic components associated with impact ejecta.

Burckle crater has not been dated, but Dr. Abbott estimates that it is 4,500 to 5,000 years old.
less certain is this
Bruce Masse, an environmental archaeologist at the Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. He thinks he can say precisely when the comet fell: on the morning of May 10, 2807 B.C.

Dr. Masse analyzed 175 flood myths from around the world, and tried to relate them to known and accurately dated natural events like solar eclipses and volcanic eruptions. Among other evidence, he said, 14 flood myths specifically mention a full solar eclipse, which could have been the one that occurred in May 2807 B.C.

Half the myths talk of a torrential downpour, Dr. Masse said. A third talk of a tsunami. Worldwide they describe hurricane force winds and darkness during the storm. All of these could come from a mega-tsunami.

Of course, extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof, Dr. Masse said, “and we’re not there yet.”
Indeed we aren't there yet. Nonetheless the size of the Chevrons & their position do show how high the water came in that area & can give an assessment of how high it should be elsewhere. This was an era when clay tablets were the height of literary communication so it is hardly surprising that no record of scientific measurements or explain it without reference exists. Anybody who has seen records of battles as late as the Middle Ages will know that records rarely accurately assessed how many men were in the armies, & that is something that kings & their scribes must have known & have had a deep personal interest in so a lack of decisive records is no surprise. The dating of 2,807 BC seems enthusiastic but a similar mention of an eclipse when Odysseus returned home has been used to date the Odyssey. We are at the stage regarding this crater that we were when the Dinosaur Killer meteor was first hypothesised by Dr Alvarez on the basis of finding a geological layer of iridium. We will see how it goes.

Still fairly isolated. As a species we have been lucky. Here is a rather elderly article that estimates a 1-6,000 risk to us all.

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Comments:
While this crater certainly implies a tsunami any such wave is NOT related to the flood stories in the religious books. These are allegory for astronomical events of a different nature. In any case Indian, Biblical and Mesopotamian legends all have 7 days warning given... Not possible for a tsunami. Further, these have no mention of any comet that would have been visible.

Harry Sivertsen [Author of Deluge:From Genesis to Atlantis which can be examined at http://www.completelynovel.com/books/77135]
 
If it were part of a larger comet that would be visible but if it were this rock alone or were an "Earth grazing" asteroid there would be no visible comet. On the other hand a visible comet might provide the 7 days notice you mention - indeed without invoking the supernatural such a sign in the skies would seem the most logical warning. I will check out your book.
 
If it was visible, maybe there's a reason so many cultures consider comets to be an ominous sign.
 
7 days warning cannot be given for tsunamis, but it can be given for planetary impact by a large object. Skywatchers may have seen the object approaching and given the warning. Also, this thing plowed all the way through the deepest part of the ocean and survived to make a crater at the bottom. All that water in between would have been vaporized. So there would have been rain for months in addition to tsunamis - thus the legends that speak of the waters coming from the floodgates in the depths of the sea and the skies above. All the pieces fit together.
 
Perhaps this should be linked to the aboriginal "Wagyl" of Western Australia, a multi coloured serpent who created the land and rivers around Perth WA. Originally a sky serpent the Wagyl later became associated with earth movements such as earthquakes. I have long thought the origin of this legend lay in a celestial impact somewhere off Perth in the Indian Ocean but until now could not find an impact area.
CuriousRog. Perth WA
 
Interesting thought. I don't know enough of the religion/keography of the area to express an eductayed opinion, thoughI note that the Wagyl was not a creator god but sent to Earth by the creator which fits with a landing meteor. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wagyl
 
People should understand that comets DO change history, cause destruction and create life.
I am hoping to interest you: Recent findings suggest a meteor from a serial impact off the dust tail of Comet C/1811 F1 was the initial mechanism to cause The New Madrid Earthquakes of 1811-1812.
There is a central semi-circular depression in Northeastern Marshall County, Mississippi which every hill in the valley reverberates out from in a shockwave pattern. On the northwest face numerous unusual rocks were found, with the appearance of melt rock, fusion crust, shatter cones, fallback breccia, vitrification, shocked quartz, nanodiamonds, etc... All aspects of imactites.
I have put more information at this site: http://koolkreations.wix.com/kalopins-legacy ,"Kalopins Legacy","wix","documents and links","A Few Comments on 1811". See how much more fascinating this becomes. Really just a starting point to what was a great cometary catastrophe. "A Theory of Cometary Associations with Earthquakes"-This IS "the smoking gun"! Find the truths behind the myths...
 
I noticed the Giza Pyramids were built within 200 years of this impact.

Seems to me with the Nile flooding, and stories of the flood disaster that likely lasted decades? Might have motivated the Egyptians to build a 'flight to safety' solution, a pyramid.

Could explain why there are so many.

Basically during flooding, you are toast unless you have a pyramid to climb and remain safe.

Maybe the Giza Pyramid was the first insurance company, maybe people paid for seat of safety during flooding, or, quite simply, to insure safety based on that Burckle Crater impact in 2803.

Seems practical, or maybe it was for the politically elite to go to during flooding, again, the pyramid is the absolute best structure for surviving a flood.
 
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