Before the Flood Dramatic new evidence that the biblical flood was a real-life event (Hardcover)

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Review
'Dramatic new evidence that the Biblical Flood was a real-life event!' boasts the jacket. For more than a century archaeologists working in the Near East have been discovering ancient texts describing a massive, seemingly world-engulfing flood. In 1998 two marine biologists revealed that seven and a half millennia ago the Black Sea was a freshwater lake separated from the Mediterranean by a narrow isthmus where now flows the river Bosphorus. Their theory suggested that around 5600 BC the Mediterranean breached this land barrier and salt water poured through with the force of 200 Niagara Falls, raising the level of the Black Sea by a hundred metres. This theory would seem to be supported by the findings of marine archaeologist Robert Ballard (discoverer of both the Titanic and the Bismarck) who in September 2000 found the wooden remains of houses 300 feet below the surface of the Black Sea. Building on this evidence, Ian Wilson, author of The Bible is History and Jesus the Evidence amongst others, contends that this catastrophic inundation, in which tens of thousands of people probably drowned, forms the basis for the story of the Biblical Flood, and that the true cradle of civilization was the north of Turkey, not Egypt or Mesopotamia as previously thought. If, as the titles of his many books suggest, Wilson has an agenda, it is well disguised. Indeed, he is fairly dismissive of creationists and self-styled 'bible archaeologists', preferring to present himself as a serious historian, interested only in the veracity (or not) of the myriad flood legends from around the world. This is an enjoyable and enlightening read which well distils the scholarship on the matter and offers a number of intriguing possibilities. (Kirkus UK)

A blend of archaeological fact and anthropological speculation by Australian historian Wilson. The flood as described in Genesis would have brought the world sea level up 6,000 feet, and establishing it as a real event would entail, as Wilson concedes, a "complete revision of all the basic understandings underpinning modern-day geology." Wilson is not proposing anything so drastic. Rather, he wants to connect a set of flood myths that occurred among ancient peoples in the swathe of land between Greece and India with the recent discovery that the present composition and size of the Black Sea can be dated to 5600 b.c., when the land barrier between the Mediterranean and the Black Sea crumbled. If it fell in one blow, the resulting flood would have caused the fresh-water Black Sea to rise for two years, flooding about 60,000 square miles. Both the extent and speed of the flood would have been catastrophic for humans living around the water. Wilson describes the fascinating underwater explorations of submarine archaeologist Robert Ballard, who has found signs of human habitation seventy kilometers out from the present Black Sea shoreline. Who were they? Wilson believes they are congruent with the goddess-worshipping inhabitants of an Anatolian site, atal Huyuk. That site dates from before 6000 b.c. and shows its people to have been sophisticated agriculturalists and weavers. Wilson speculates that when the site was abandoned around, probably because of a climate change, the inhabitants emigrated to the shores of the Black Sea, then a fresh-water lake. Escaping the flood, these people seeded civilization around the Mediterranean, spreading flood myths. Wilson backs up his idea with some dubious sources, such as Robert Graves's The White Goddess (1948). More troubling, though, is Wilson's construing of myth solely in terms of "collective memory," an anthropologically naive move. A bold revision of ancient history that is well worth reading, even if its conclusions sometimes overshoot the evidence. (Kirkus Reviews)

Product Description
For centuries in the Near East archaeological evidence has been turning up of a major flood in the area's ancient history. In 1995, two marine biologists put forward evidence that showed that until almost 7500 years ago the Black Sea was a freshwater lake separated form the Mediterranean Sea by a small strip of land where Istanbul now stands. Their theory suggested that around 5600 BC the Mediterranean broke through the land barrier and salt water poured through with a force 200 times that of Niagara Falls inundating the Black Sea and raising its level by over 300 feet. In September 2000, Marine archaeologist Robert Ballard discovered the wooden remains of houses 300 feet below the surface of the Black Sea, 12 miles north of the present-day Turkish coast. Building on this evidence Ian Wilson puts forward the hypothesis that this catastrophic inundation - the Biblical Flood - drowned tens of thousands of people and precipitated an exodus of people to Egypt and Mesopotamia, who formed the precursors of these great civilisations.

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews   15 of 17 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars The real cradle of civilisation?, 25 Jun 2004 By  Pieter "Toypom" (Johannesburg) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    This review is from: Before the Flood: The Biblical Flood as a Real Event and How It Changed the Course of Civilization (Paperback) This fascinating book investigates a lost culture that thrived in northern Turkey before an inundation in 5600BC turned a freshwater lake into what is now the Black Sea by connecting it to the Mediterranean. Such a cataclysmic event must have caused major destruction and caused the death of thousands of people. It would also not have been restricted to the area under consideration. By looking at the archaeological evidence brought to light by Robert Ballard's submarine explorations and by comparing the flood myths of the world, Wilson connects this disaster with the Biblical account of the Great Flood. He demonstrates that the Biblical account is composed of two different texts that were integrated, texts that he calls J and P. The opening part of original separate strands are displayed side by side. I found this very interesting; each of them is coherent in its own right but has a different emphasis. Both are in fact more coherent on their own than integrated as in the Bible. Wilson suggests that Turkey and the Black Sea area may be the real cradle of civilization. It was the first Post Ice Age civilization and it flourished until about 6000BC. The metropolis of this culture was what is today called Çatal Hüyük, a city that was abandoned around this time, most probably because of climate change. It gets really interesting when he looks at the diaspora caused by these natural disasters; Wilson points out shared characteristics of the Minoan culture and the megaliths on the islands of Malta and Gozo. This includes the worship of bulls and the prevalence of the Mother Goddess which is found over an even larger geographic area. There are far flung cultures displaying similarities to traits found at Çatal Hüyük, including in Egypt and Sumeria. I found his discussion of loan words in Sumerian very enlightening. Although Wilson is not a linguist, I would have liked a deeper exploration of historical linguistics to cast more light on the matter. He does look at the work of Indo-Europeanists Marija Gimbutas and Colin Renfrew. According to the consensus, the original Indo-European language is considered to have broken up into daughter languages between about 5000 and 4000BC. Wilson refers extensively to the work of Dr James Mellaart, the excavator of Çatal Hüyük. This theory of an original civilization in the Anatolian/Black Sea area before Egypt and before Sumeria is highly original and very plausible. Wilson is just scratching the surface and further investigation would no doubt lead to more remarkable discoveries. The book concludes with notes & references, a bibliography, an appendix of some key documents and an index. The text is illumed by some really gripping maps and illustrations. I would not classify Before The Flood as "alternative history" - rather the cutting edge of historical research, already underpinned by significant archaeological discoveries. Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)   7 of 8 people found the following review helpful: 5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent. I enjoyed every bit of the book, 17 April 2002 By  jaynedhammond@hotmail.com (UK) - See all my reviews I recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning a bit about our ancient history. It covers everything from Bible history to modern day excavations. Its informative and its information is backed up by evidence and believable theories. A wonderful read on an amazing subject Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this) Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review › See all 2 customer reviews...		Search Customer Reviews Only search this product's reviews

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