News Your archaeological news of the day - giant underwater structure discovered. - Page 3

**Rain Man** · 04-22-2013, 02:15 PM

I'm not saying it's aliens, but...

Note: I also changed their spelling of archaeologist since it bugged me.

http://us.cnn.com/2013/04/19/world/m...iref=obnetwork

Mysterious structure found at bottom of ancient lake
By Daisy Carrington, for CNN
updated 3:51 AM EDT, Fri April 19, 2013

(CNN) -- A mysterious, circular structure, with a diameter greater than the length of a Boeing 747 jet, has been discovered submerged about 30 feet (9 meters) underneath the Sea of Galilee in Israel.

Scientists first made the discovery by accident in 2003 using sonar to survey the bottom of the lake but published their findings only recently.

"We just bumped into it," recalls Shmuel Marco, a geophysicist from Tel Aviv University who worked on the project. "Usually the bottom of the lake is quite smooth. We were surprised to find a large mound. Initially we didn't realize the importance of this but we consulted with a couple of geologists, and they said it looked like an unusually large Bronze Age statue."

The structure is comprised of basalt rocks, arranged in the shape of a cone. It measures 230 feet (70 meters) at the base of the structure, is 32 feet (10 meters) tall, and weighs an estimated 60,000 tons. It is twice the size of the ancient stone circle at Stonehenge in England.

Its size and location, say Marco, who also took video of the structure during a scuba dive to examine it, indicated it could have been constructed underwater as a type of fish nursery. However archaeologists think it more likely it was built on dry land and later submerged by the lake.

"From a geophysical perspective, it is also important to the history of the lake, because it means the water level was lower than it was today," says Marco.

According to Yitzhak Paz, the archaeologist who led the study, the fact that the structure is underwater has made it a particularly difficult study.

"If the site was inland, it would be much easier to investigate. By now we would have excavated, but because it's submerged we haven't yet been able to. It is a much harder process, both physically and financially. It is very expensive to raise support for such an enterprise."

The exact age of the structure has been difficult to pinpoint, but calculations based on the six to ten feet (two to three meters) of sand that have accumulated over the bottom of the base -- sand accumulates an average of one to four millimeters per year -- as well as comparisons to other structures in the region, put the estimate anywhere between 2,000 and 12,000 years old.

Dani Nadel, an archaeologist from the University of Haifa, who partnered on the site, and who has lead several prehistoric excavations in the region, notes it shares similarities with communal burial sites, though he's quick to discourage anyone from drawing a definitive conclusion.

"This is such a huge structure that it truly is something unusual. It could have been a big ceremonial structure, or a ramp. There could have once been statues on top of people in certain rituals. [Rain man note: wait, what?] I mean, I'm really going wild here. The truth is we don't know how it was constructed, what its exact age is, how it was used, or how long ago it was used. We have several speculations, but we don't know much except that it's there and it's huge."

Despite the limitations of examining underwater ruins, Nadel says that once they do raise the funds to excavate, there is a good likelihood that their findings will be more complete than would be possible with a land-based structure.

"Above land, many organic remains are decomposed by worms, and other creatures needing oxygen. Underwater, you don't have oxygen, so the process of decomposition is on a much smaller scale," he says.

Nadel points to Ohalo, a site he excavated near the Sea of Galilee that had been submerged for 20,000 years before a drop in water level made it easy to excavate. Ohalo is significant because it was one of the best preserved sites in the world.

"In most sites, you're lucky to find five or ten seeds. At Ohalo, we found 15,000. We learned a lot about the diet (of the inhabitants), what fish they were eating, what animals they were hunting. When a site is underwater it gives us the opportunity to see history in much more detail."

What archaeologists are certain of is that the monument was likely of great importance to the people who built it. Marco notes that the nearest basalt outcrop was a few hundred meters from the site, and that the stones, which were three to six feet (one to two meters) in width, would have weighed over 200 pounds (90 kilograms) at times.

"We see a society that was capable of organizing the construction of such a large structure. It's unique to transport these stones and unique to arrange them. You need to plan and to mobilize people, because they're too heavy to be carried by a single person."

Nadel points out that given the harsh environment such a structure was a particularly impressive accomplishment.

"You have to imagine," says Nadel, "these people were building something that was more durable than their brush huts."

OrtonsPiercedTaint · 04-22-2013, 05:13 PM

Could be a pineapple.

Stanley Nickels · 04-22-2013, 05:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rain Man

I bet it was someone very unpopular who was stoned to death, and the crowd went into a frenzy.

And then they put a statue on top of him? That would make sense, given the quote in the article.

**Rain Man** · 04-22-2013, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stanley Nickels

And then they put a statue on top of him? That would make sense, given the quote in the article.

I cannot even postulate a theory on what that article's sentence was supposed to mean.

BlackHelicopters · 04-22-2013, 05:31 PM

To the alien watchtower.

kcfanXIII · 04-22-2013, 05:51 PM

Any cliche military guy demanding the president nuke the sight references yet?

Beeker · 04-22-2013, 06:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kcfanXIII

Any cliche military guy demanding the president nuke the sight references yet?

President Obama and the National Security Council recommended using nuclear weapons to secure the site at their morning briefing session today .....

listopencil · 04-22-2013, 06:48 PM

"Above land, many organic remains are decomposed by worms, and other creatures needing oxygen. Underwater, you don't have oxygen, so the process of decomposition is on a much smaller scale," he says.

Why aren't they making a bigger deal of discovering water that has no oxygen?

Strongside · 04-22-2013, 06:53 PM

There is an infinite amount of weird shit underwater on this planet that we have no clue exists. Ever seen the Abyss?

**Dylan** · 04-22-2013, 06:56 PM

So, CNN reproduced the article without giving credit to the original source - WOW - It is copyrighted content.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/1...270.12005/full

Green Prophet - Environment news from the Middle East -

Quote:

According to a report in the latest issue of the International Journal of Nautical Archaeology, the stones don’t conform to a specific pattern of placement, nor do they show signs of cutting or chiseling. Israeli researchers are trying to determine what the estimated 60,000 ton pile of rocks was used for, and who built it.

http://www.greenprophet.com/2013/04/...rce=feedburner

The official twitter account of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

Israel ישראל ‏@Israel 20 Apr
#Israel's Sea of Galilee Reveals #Mysterious Underwater Ancient Mound http://dld.bz/cyEND via @GreenProphet

Strongside · 04-22-2013, 06:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dylan

So, CNN reproduced the article without giving credit to the original source - WOW - It is copyrighted content.

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/1...270.12005/full

Green Prophet - Environment news from the Middle East -

http://www.greenprophet.com/2013/04/...rce=feedburner

The official twitter account of Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs:

Israel ישראל ‏@Israel 20 Apr
#Israel's Sea of Galilee Reveals #Mysterious Underwater Ancient Mound http://dld.bz/cyEND via @GreenProphet

Looks like a biblical era landfill to me...

tmh · 04-22-2013, 07:00 PM

Its all that remains of the tower of Babel.

**Dylan** · 04-22-2013, 07:02 PM

Strongside:

I think I will turn CNN in.

**Dylan** · 04-22-2013, 07:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tmh

Its all that remains of the tower of Babel.

I don't think so - I could be wrong - LOL

Quote:

Babylonia was situated in the area known as Mesopotamia (Greek for "between the rivers"). Mesopotamia was in the Near East in roughly the same geographical position as modern Iraq. Two great rivers flowed through this land: the Tigris and the Euphrates. Along these two rivers were many great trading cities such as Ur and Babylon on the Euphrates.

Today:

Quote:

Israel, the main water sources are the Sea of Galilee...

Gotta go...

ChiefaRoo · 04-22-2013, 08:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiefRocka

You serious Clarke?

Nervous biologist who suddenly wants to pet an alien snake after seeing decapitated aliens and getting trapped with them overnight? Dont even get me started on the evil android who put alien jizz in that guys drink...crazy

Cornstock · 04-22-2013, 08:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ChiefaRoo

Nervous biologist who suddenly wants to pet an alien snake after seeing decapitated aliens and getting trapped with them overnight? Dont even get me started on the evil android who put alien jizz in that guys drink...crazy

That movie made me want to go all Obama and destroy the space program. We don't need to be messin with sh.. like that.

But then I went back to the science thread and was shown the light.

04-22-2013, 02:15 PM
Rain Man NFL's #1 Ermines Fan Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: My house Casino cash: $3198491 VARSITY	Your archaeological news of the day - giant underwater structure discovered. I'm not saying it's aliens, but... Note: I also changed their spelling of archaeologist since it bugged me. http://us.cnn.com/2013/04/19/world/m...iref=obnetwork Mysterious structure found at bottom of ancient lake By Daisy Carrington, for CNN updated 3:51 AM EDT, Fri April 19, 2013 (CNN) -- A mysterious, circular structure, with a diameter greater than the length of a Boeing 747 jet, has been discovered submerged about 30 feet (9 meters) underneath the Sea of Galilee in Israel. Scientists first made the discovery by accident in 2003 using sonar to survey the bottom of the lake but published their findings only recently. "We just bumped into it," recalls Shmuel Marco, a geophysicist from Tel Aviv University who worked on the project. "Usually the bottom of the lake is quite smooth. We were surprised to find a large mound. Initially we didn't realize the importance of this but we consulted with a couple of geologists, and they said it looked like an unusually large Bronze Age statue." The structure is comprised of basalt rocks, arranged in the shape of a cone. It measures 230 feet (70 meters) at the base of the structure, is 32 feet (10 meters) tall, and weighs an estimated 60,000 tons. It is twice the size of the ancient stone circle at Stonehenge in England. Its size and location, say Marco, who also took video of the structure during a scuba dive to examine it, indicated it could have been constructed underwater as a type of fish nursery. However archaeologists think it more likely it was built on dry land and later submerged by the lake. "From a geophysical perspective, it is also important to the history of the lake, because it means the water level was lower than it was today," says Marco. According to Yitzhak Paz, the archaeologist who led the study, the fact that the structure is underwater has made it a particularly difficult study. "If the site was inland, it would be much easier to investigate. By now we would have excavated, but because it's submerged we haven't yet been able to. It is a much harder process, both physically and financially. It is very expensive to raise support for such an enterprise." The exact age of the structure has been difficult to pinpoint, but calculations based on the six to ten feet (two to three meters) of sand that have accumulated over the bottom of the base -- sand accumulates an average of one to four millimeters per year -- as well as comparisons to other structures in the region, put the estimate anywhere between 2,000 and 12,000 years old. Dani Nadel, an archaeologist from the University of Haifa, who partnered on the site, and who has lead several prehistoric excavations in the region, notes it shares similarities with communal burial sites, though he's quick to discourage anyone from drawing a definitive conclusion. "This is such a huge structure that it truly is something unusual. It could have been a big ceremonial structure, or a ramp. There could have once been statues on top of people in certain rituals. [Rain man note: wait, what?] I mean, I'm really going wild here. The truth is we don't know how it was constructed, what its exact age is, how it was used, or how long ago it was used. We have several speculations, but we don't know much except that it's there and it's huge." Despite the limitations of examining underwater ruins, Nadel says that once they do raise the funds to excavate, there is a good likelihood that their findings will be more complete than would be possible with a land-based structure. "Above land, many organic remains are decomposed by worms, and other creatures needing oxygen. Underwater, you don't have oxygen, so the process of decomposition is on a much smaller scale," he says. Nadel points to Ohalo, a site he excavated near the Sea of Galilee that had been submerged for 20,000 years before a drop in water level made it easy to excavate. Ohalo is significant because it was one of the best preserved sites in the world. "In most sites, you're lucky to find five or ten seeds. At Ohalo, we found 15,000. We learned a lot about the diet (of the inhabitants), what fish they were eating, what animals they were hunting. When a site is underwater it gives us the opportunity to see history in much more detail." What archaeologists are certain of is that the monument was likely of great importance to the people who built it. Marco notes that the nearest basalt outcrop was a few hundred meters from the site, and that the stones, which were three to six feet (one to two meters) in width, would have weighed over 200 pounds (90 kilograms) at times. "We see a society that was capable of organizing the construction of such a large structure. It's unique to transport these stones and unique to arrange them. You need to plan and to mobilize people, because they're too heavy to be carried by a single person." Nadel points out that given the harsh environment such a structure was a particularly impressive accomplishment. "You have to imagine," says Nadel, "these people were building something that was more durable than their brush huts."
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04-22-2013, 05:13 PM	#31
OrtonsPiercedTaint MVP Join Date: Dec 2012 Casino cash: $10004980	Could be a pineapple.
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04-22-2013, 05:31 PM	#34
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04-22-2013, 05:51 PM	#35
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04-22-2013, 06:48 PM	#37
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04-22-2013, 06:53 PM	#38
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04-22-2013, 07:00 PM	#41
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04-22-2013, 07:02 PM	#42
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