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"The Jesuit Agnelio Oliva (1572-1542) recorded the words of an old Inca quipu reader to the effect that the real Tiahuanaco was a subterranean city exceeding the one above ground in vastness. It was believed that the entrance to the underground apartments could be gained through four tunnels. Last century one passage was evidently found as treasure hunters managed to get in, to look for gold, but only one came out. He brought out with him two gold bars but left behind his sanity. After this incident the Peruvian government decided to wall up the cave entrance..."
Lost Subterranean Incan Treasures in Bolivia and Peru. There have been many historical figures (Incans and Spaniards) from the era of the Spanish Conquistadors that stated that the Incas kept a well guarded secret of underground tunnels criss-crossing Bolivia and Peru. They also attested that those ancient tunnels hundreds of miles long were built by an unknown peoples many years before them! Perhaps the Tiahuanacans?
The most powerful theory that locates Atlantis in South America is J.M. Allen's theory. Allen's research was shown on Discovery Channel and his work was published as "Atlantis, the Andes Solution". He first stumbled upon his theory when studying ancient measuring systems. He didn't believe that Atlantis could be an island that sank in one night, so he searched for Atlantis in South America, focusing first on finding a plain as described by Plato. Allen places Atlantis in the Andes. This shouldn't make us wonder, given that the scientists continue fighting over the Maya and Olmec mystery. The region is so full of question marks, that one more can only help. His first focus is Altiplano, a plain found in Bolivia. To verify his research, he uses Plato's "Dialogues".
If you remember, Plato mentions a man-made channel used for ships. Allen finds the channel which is indeed man-made and is cutting the plateau in two. The plain has a rectangular shape, as described by Plato. Allen finds a new length for a 'stadia', and the pieces of his puzzle fall correctly into place. Using the new measurements, he traces on his map the place where the wall surrounding the city should be. Afterwards, using the map and the calculations he has made, he looks for the wall on land, and finds ruins of it, just where they should be. South America is prone to floods and the plain was indeed flooded in 9000 BC. Earthquakes are common also, which leads us to think that a calamity could have struck the area thousands of years ago. Allen also mentions the number of 'tribes' of Atlantis, which was, according to Plato, ten. Atlantis is not only the name of the continent, but of the city itself. So Allen went for Tiahuanaco and its mysteries.
Another thing which follows the 'Dialogues' is the plain (Altiplano), that is indeed enclosed by the mountains. It contains volcanoes of similar size to those upon which the city was built. The region faces south, as seen on the Inca map (another good point). As in any other volcanic area, hot and cold springs exist. The mountains contain gold, copper, silver, tin, and a natural alloy of copper and gold that could be 'oricalcum'. This alloy can be found only in this part of the world. In the Aztec language, "atl" means "water", and in Peruvian Quechua, "antis" means "copper". Besides, Antis is the correct name for the Andes Mountains. A section of a 600 feet wide channel is found on the rectangular Altiplano. Square irrigated plots also exist. The plain measures 3,000 x 2,000 "stades", which would be 300 feet. Plato talks about temples and statues of gold built to Poseidon and Cleito. Local legends in South America talk about the "golden city" of El Dorado. It was the same El Dorado that brought the Spanish to conquer the Incas. The sea of those parts (Lake Poopo) couldn't be searched because of shoal mud.
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The who, what, where, when, etc. of Atlantis has always intrigued me, and so this is very interesting.
I find it fascinating that people like Jim Allen and Eric Von Daniken would through their time, money and resources into searching for the truth about our history, who we are and where we came from.
It's humbling to think that someone from a long, long time ago could have been so much closer to the truth about life than we are. I mean, we "think" we are such hot shots with our technology and advanced civilization, right?
Ha! is what I say.
I think the path to truth begins with a humble spirit and an open mind. I think these two creatures need to be added to the "endangered species act".
Kurt in the Great Smoky Mountains