The Flood - ca 5600 BC
Aug 9, 2010 20:57:05 GMT -8
Post by moabiter on Aug 9, 2010 20:57:05 GMT -8
What happened to the Black Sea?
The theory presented by Ryan & Pitman is partly based on generally agreed scientific findings, and partly on their observations at the Black Sea. The dates will not make much sense to conservative Christians and others who believe in "creation science." This is the belief that God created the earth and the rest of the universe less than 10,000 years ago. We will use the dates used by the 95% of scientists who believe in an "old earth" -- one which coalesced about 4.5 billion years ago.
* Circa 5 million BCE: What is now the Mediterranean Sea was a largely dry valley. A narrow height of land between what is now Spain and Northern Africa held back the Atlantic Ocean. The height of land collapsed -- perhaps due to an earthquake, and the Atlantic Ocean flowed in to form the Mediterranean Sea.
* 120,000 to 18,000 BCE: During the last ice age, sheets of ice up to two miles thick covered much of the northern parts of North America, Europe and Russia. So much water had been withdrawn from the world's oceans that their level was about 400 feet (120 meters) lower than it is today.
* 18,000 BCE: Temperatures started to warm again. The ice at the southern boundaries of the glaciers began to melt. Some of the water fed what is called the New Euxine Lake -- a fresh water lake located within the area of today's Black Sea. It had a small outlet to the Sea of Marmara and thence to the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas.
* 13,000 BCE: The flow of freshwater from the glaciers into this lake had almost stopped.
* 10,500 to 9400 BCE: Both the temperature and rainfall dropped in the region -- an event called the Younger Dryas. The flow of fresh water into the New Euxine lake almost stopped. The lake level dropped, due to evaporation. Eventually, the lake level fell below its outlet to the Sea of Marmara. The New Euxine Lake then became a landlocked, fresh water lake. Various tribes in the Near East were experiencing drought conditions. They gravitated to the shores of this and other large lakes where the water supply was fresh and plentiful. They built villages, hunted, fished and learned to cultivate grain crops. They may even have experimented with primitive irrigation methods.
* 9400 BCE: Decent levels of temperature and rainfall returned once more.
* 6200 BCE: Another ice age arrived. With it was a lessening of rainfall which produced difficult times for those farmers throughout the Middle East who were not situated beside a reliable water supply. Many "farming villages in Anatolia and along the Fertile Crescent were abandoned, while others dwindled." 1 Villagers from many cultures gravitated in large numbers to the New Euxine lake. Along the shores of the lake there would have been villages with farmers and hunters from many cultures in the region. They spoke "many different languages -- Proto-Semitic, Proto-Indo-European, Proto-Kartvalian and others..."
* Circa 5650 to 5500 BCE: Warmth and rain returned once more. The New Euxine lake was still landlocked and fresh. But the Mediterranean Sea and Sea of Marmara had gradually risen to a level some 426 feet (130 meters) higher than the lake. It was held back only by a small rise of land at the Bosporus River -- now the Bosporus Straight near present-day Istanbul, Turkey. Eventually, the ocean level rose high enough to slosh over into the Euxine Lake. It would have cut a small channel down to the lake. "The rivulet became a gentle brook, flowing ever more swiftly, scouring and tugging more forcefully at the bottom and walls of its channel." In a short time, the flow would reach 10 cubic miles of water per day -- 200 times the flow of the present Niagara Falls. Its velocity would have reached 50 miles per hour (over 80 km/hour)! Its noise would have been audible 120 miles (200 km) away. The lake level would have risen about six inches a day. The shoreline would have expanded up to a mile each day in some areas. The effect on the multiple cultures who had settled on the lake shore would have been catastrophic.
Verification of this theory:
Their theory has been verified in a number of ways:
* In 1999-summer, maritime explorer Robert D. Ballard and his team located the ancient coastline, almost exactly where Ryan and Pitman said that they would find it. The team dredged up samples of rocks from the old shore line of the New Euxine Lake. They found seven distinct species of salt-water mollusks, all of which were carbon dated as being from 2,800 to 6,820 years old. They also found two species of freshwater mollusks which ranged from 7,460 to 15,500 years old. This supports the theory that the Black Sea switched from being a fresh water lake to a salty sea about 7,000 years ago.
* A survey of the floor of the Black Sea shows that the river beds of the Dniester, Dnieper, Danube, Don, Volga and other rivers continue beyond the present sea shore for as much as a hundred miles. The river beds all stop at the same level. This would have been the ancient shoreline of the New Euxine Lake.
* A number of features have been detected on the bottom of the Black Sea near its old shoreline. They are shaped like tells -- a characteristic shape of the remains of ancient towns or cities.
* At one site, some 150 meters (500 feet) under water, archaeologists found more than 30 stone blocks, pieces of wood and other objects -- possibly ceramics. The site "appeared uniquely rectangular." The stone blocks did not appear to be part of a natural geological formation. They tentatively conclude that they have found a site that was once occupied by people. 10
* A tell near Ilipinar which is south of the Bosporus Straight, has been excavated. At the approximately 5500 BCE level the excavation reveals a sudden change in pottery design. Archaeologists have studied other tells in the area which also showed similar abrupt changes in pottery at the same time. This shows that one society was overrun by another culture at about the same time that the New Euxine Lake was flooded. Presumably the more recent culture were refugees from the flooded lake.
The next logical step will be to search for the remains of villages and sunken boats from the 6th millennium BCE. 4,5
www.religioustolerance.org/ev_noah.htm
The theory presented by Ryan & Pitman is partly based on generally agreed scientific findings, and partly on their observations at the Black Sea. The dates will not make much sense to conservative Christians and others who believe in "creation science." This is the belief that God created the earth and the rest of the universe less than 10,000 years ago. We will use the dates used by the 95% of scientists who believe in an "old earth" -- one which coalesced about 4.5 billion years ago.
* Circa 5 million BCE: What is now the Mediterranean Sea was a largely dry valley. A narrow height of land between what is now Spain and Northern Africa held back the Atlantic Ocean. The height of land collapsed -- perhaps due to an earthquake, and the Atlantic Ocean flowed in to form the Mediterranean Sea.
* 120,000 to 18,000 BCE: During the last ice age, sheets of ice up to two miles thick covered much of the northern parts of North America, Europe and Russia. So much water had been withdrawn from the world's oceans that their level was about 400 feet (120 meters) lower than it is today.
* 18,000 BCE: Temperatures started to warm again. The ice at the southern boundaries of the glaciers began to melt. Some of the water fed what is called the New Euxine Lake -- a fresh water lake located within the area of today's Black Sea. It had a small outlet to the Sea of Marmara and thence to the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas.
* 13,000 BCE: The flow of freshwater from the glaciers into this lake had almost stopped.
* 10,500 to 9400 BCE: Both the temperature and rainfall dropped in the region -- an event called the Younger Dryas. The flow of fresh water into the New Euxine lake almost stopped. The lake level dropped, due to evaporation. Eventually, the lake level fell below its outlet to the Sea of Marmara. The New Euxine Lake then became a landlocked, fresh water lake. Various tribes in the Near East were experiencing drought conditions. They gravitated to the shores of this and other large lakes where the water supply was fresh and plentiful. They built villages, hunted, fished and learned to cultivate grain crops. They may even have experimented with primitive irrigation methods.
* 9400 BCE: Decent levels of temperature and rainfall returned once more.
* 6200 BCE: Another ice age arrived. With it was a lessening of rainfall which produced difficult times for those farmers throughout the Middle East who were not situated beside a reliable water supply. Many "farming villages in Anatolia and along the Fertile Crescent were abandoned, while others dwindled." 1 Villagers from many cultures gravitated in large numbers to the New Euxine lake. Along the shores of the lake there would have been villages with farmers and hunters from many cultures in the region. They spoke "many different languages -- Proto-Semitic, Proto-Indo-European, Proto-Kartvalian and others..."
* Circa 5650 to 5500 BCE: Warmth and rain returned once more. The New Euxine lake was still landlocked and fresh. But the Mediterranean Sea and Sea of Marmara had gradually risen to a level some 426 feet (130 meters) higher than the lake. It was held back only by a small rise of land at the Bosporus River -- now the Bosporus Straight near present-day Istanbul, Turkey. Eventually, the ocean level rose high enough to slosh over into the Euxine Lake. It would have cut a small channel down to the lake. "The rivulet became a gentle brook, flowing ever more swiftly, scouring and tugging more forcefully at the bottom and walls of its channel." In a short time, the flow would reach 10 cubic miles of water per day -- 200 times the flow of the present Niagara Falls. Its velocity would have reached 50 miles per hour (over 80 km/hour)! Its noise would have been audible 120 miles (200 km) away. The lake level would have risen about six inches a day. The shoreline would have expanded up to a mile each day in some areas. The effect on the multiple cultures who had settled on the lake shore would have been catastrophic.
Verification of this theory:
Their theory has been verified in a number of ways:
* In 1999-summer, maritime explorer Robert D. Ballard and his team located the ancient coastline, almost exactly where Ryan and Pitman said that they would find it. The team dredged up samples of rocks from the old shore line of the New Euxine Lake. They found seven distinct species of salt-water mollusks, all of which were carbon dated as being from 2,800 to 6,820 years old. They also found two species of freshwater mollusks which ranged from 7,460 to 15,500 years old. This supports the theory that the Black Sea switched from being a fresh water lake to a salty sea about 7,000 years ago.
* A survey of the floor of the Black Sea shows that the river beds of the Dniester, Dnieper, Danube, Don, Volga and other rivers continue beyond the present sea shore for as much as a hundred miles. The river beds all stop at the same level. This would have been the ancient shoreline of the New Euxine Lake.
* A number of features have been detected on the bottom of the Black Sea near its old shoreline. They are shaped like tells -- a characteristic shape of the remains of ancient towns or cities.
* At one site, some 150 meters (500 feet) under water, archaeologists found more than 30 stone blocks, pieces of wood and other objects -- possibly ceramics. The site "appeared uniquely rectangular." The stone blocks did not appear to be part of a natural geological formation. They tentatively conclude that they have found a site that was once occupied by people. 10
* A tell near Ilipinar which is south of the Bosporus Straight, has been excavated. At the approximately 5500 BCE level the excavation reveals a sudden change in pottery design. Archaeologists have studied other tells in the area which also showed similar abrupt changes in pottery at the same time. This shows that one society was overrun by another culture at about the same time that the New Euxine Lake was flooded. Presumably the more recent culture were refugees from the flooded lake.
The next logical step will be to search for the remains of villages and sunken boats from the 6th millennium BCE. 4,5
www.religioustolerance.org/ev_noah.htm