In 1929 happened seemingly ordinary event in the Imperial library of Constantinople, one of thousands dusty shelves was found an old map of the world, belonging to the Navy Admiral of the Ottoman Turkish Empire Piri Reis.

In his time Piri Reis was a well-known figure, the historicity of existence which firmly established. Admiral of the Navy of the Ottoman Turkish Empire, he participated in many sea battles of the middle of XVI century. In addition, it was considered a big specialist in Mediterranean countries and was the author of the famous manual navigation "Kotabi Barie", which contained a detailed description of the coasts, bays, currents and shallow, places docking bays of the Aegean and Mediterranean seas. Despite a bright career, he fell into disgrace of their masters and was beheaded in 1554 or 1555.

Before 1959 on this map nobody paid attention until Professor Charles X. Hapgood from Kinsky College in one night, going over the next archival documents, did not notice the outline of Antarctica and decided to send it for examination. The conclusion he received caused a bombshell. It turned out that the so could look Antarctica many millions of years ago, long before, how did we as a species. Who were those ancient cartographers, who were able with such precision to map the mainland, which will open much later the card?

Charles Hapgood, taught the history of science in Kinsky College, new Hampshire, USA. He was neither a geologist or a specialist in the history of the ancient world. It is possible, however, that future generations will remember him as a man that has undermined fundamental principles of world history, and at the same time a significant part of Geology.

Albert Einstein was among the first who realized this when he decided to act as the author of the Foreword to the book, written Hagodol in 1953, several years before the latter started exploring the map Piri Flight: "I often get mail from people who want to know my opinion about them unpublished ideas. It is clear that these ideas are very rarely have scientific value. However, the first message I received from Mr. Hapgood, literally electrified me. His idea is original, very simple and, if confirmed, will be of great importance for anything connected with the history of the Earth's surface".

This "idea", formulated in the book Hapgood in 1953, is, essentially, a global geological theory that elegantly explains how and why large areas of Antarctica remained free from ice to 4000 BC, and many other anomalies in the Earth Sciences. In short its arguments are as follows:

Antarctica was not always covered with ice and was once much warmer than today.

Warmer it was because at that time was not physically on the South pole, and was located about 2000 miles to the North. It "took it outside South of the Arctic circle and placed in the zone of the temperate or cold-temperate climate".

The continent has moved and took his current position inside the Arctic circle in the so-called "displacement of the earth's crust". This mechanism, which should not be confused with plate tectonics, or the drift of the continents, is associated with periodic movements of the lithosphere, the outer crust of the Earth as a whole "around the soft inner body, just as could move the orange twist around pulp, if it has weakened the connection between them".

In the process of such travel South to Antarctica gradually cooling down, and it gradually but inexorably grew for several thousand years of the ice cap, until its present form.

Map Piri Reis, it seems that contains amazing confirmation of the statement about the recent, on a geological scale, the glaciation of Antarctica after the sudden displacement of the earth's crust to the South. Moreover, because such a map can be drawn not later than 4000 BC, its consequences for the history of human civilizations can be stunning. After all, it is believed that up to 4000 BC highly developed civilizations did not exist! And suddenly this map.

If Piri Reis was the only cartographer who had access to such anomalous information, it would be wrong to give too much importance to his map. However, Turkish Admiral was not the only one who possessed these seemingly unbelievable and unexplained geographic knowledge. Regardless of how this knowledge has been passed down through the age, there is no doubt that other cartographers had access to the same curious secrets. And Charles Hapgood continued the search, which was again a success.

During the Christmas holidays the end of 1959 Charles Hapgood was engaged in research of Antarctica in the reference room of the Library of Congress in Washington. For several weeks he worked on hundreds of medieval maps. "I found [he writes] a lot of amazing things that had no idea to find, and a few cards, depicting the southern continent. Then one day I turned the page and was dumbfounded. My eye fell on the southern hemisphere map of the world drawn by Oronteus Finisa in 1531, and I realized that to me is true, real map of Antarctica!

The General outline of the continent coincided with those depicted on modern maps. Almost on the spot, almost in the center of the continent, was the South pole. Mountain ranges bordering the coast, reminded numerous ridges opened in recent years, with enough not to regard it as an accidental result of the imagination of a cartographer. These ranges were identified, some of coastline, some were placed in removal. With many of them to the sea flowed a river, very naturally and convincingly fitting into the folds of relief. Of course, it is assumed that at the moment of drawing a card coast was free from ice. The Central part of the continent on the map are free from rivers and mountains, suggesting the presence there of the ice cap".

This was confirmed by the results of drilling of the bottom of the Ross sea, which was held in 1949, one of Antarctic expeditions Byrd. On the cores can be clearly traced layers of sedimentary rocks, reflecting the state of the environment in different epochs: large glacial deposits, average glacial deposits, small glacial deposits, etc. the Most amazing is the discovery of the layers of fine-grained, well-mixed sediments brought into the sea by rivers, the origins of which are located in temperate (that is free from ice) lands".

Using radioisotope Dating method, developed by Dr. U. D. URI, scientists at the Carnegie institution in Washington has managed to establish with sufficient precision that the great Antarctic river, which was the source of these fine sediments, really flowed around 6000 years ago, as shown on the map of Oronteus of Vinius. Only after this date, around 4000 years BC, "at the bottom of the Ross sea precipitation was collected glacial type...

Not only these cards was awarded the ancient Antarctica. On maps drawn the most famous cartographer of the XVI century by Gerhard Kremer, also known as Mercator, Antarctica is listed with many details, which of course were not known at that time.

Philippe Boise, French cartographer of the XVIII century, also managed to publish a map of Antarctica long before the southern continent was officially "opened".

This feature of the card Boise was that she, apparently, is based on the maps, created earlier, and, perhaps, thousands of years earlier than those, which were used Mercator and Oronteus Finius. Boise gives an exact image of Antarctica to the time when she was completely ice-free. On his map Dana ice topography of the entire continent, which we did not have a full view until 1958, when were held detailed seismographic research in the framework of the International geophysical year (IGY).

These studies confirmed that previously demonstrated Boise, publishing their map of Antarctica in 1737. Based on the now extinct sources, the French academician depicted in the middle of the southern continent water space, dividing it into two sub-continent, lying to the East and West of the line, which now represent the Transantarctic mountains. Such a Strait connecting the Ross sea, Weddell and Bellingshausen seas, no doubt, have existed if Antarctica is free of ice. As has shown the research program IGY-58, this continent, which on modern maps depict one, is actually an archipelago of large Islands, covered with ice a kilometer. But not only the southern continent was marked by these cards, and South America.

So, on the map of the same Pier, which was drawn in 1513, clearly present unexplained knowledge of South America - and not only the East coast, but the Andes in the West of the continent, unknown at that time. On the map are displayed correctly Amazon, originating in these unexplored mountains and flowing to the East.

Based on more than twenty documentary sources belonging to different periods, map of the Piri Flight depicts the Amazon, not once, but twice - most likely, in the unintentional result of the superposition of two sources used by a Turkish Admiral.

One of these channels brought to the mouth of the river Pair, but there is no pretty big island of Marajo. According Hapgood, it's momay mean that the corresponding source must be dated to the time when the river Pair formed the main or the only channel of the Amazon, and the island of Marajo was part of the mainland on its Northern shore (probably about 15,000 years ago). On the other hand, in the second case the channel of the Amazon island of Marajo shown, with a fantastically accurate details, although it was opened only in 1543. And again there is an assumption about the existence of an unknown civilization, which for thousands of years was engaged in surveying and mapping of the earth surface, and in the disposal Piri Flight was slightly cards that belong to different periods of this activity.

For example, not being known until 1592, Falkland Islands depicted on the map 1513 on its breadth, as well as many other details that were not known at that time.

Some other maps of the XVI century, too, appear to be based on accurate shooting, made during the last ice age. One of them was made in 1559 Turkish cartographer Haji Ahmed, who, according to Hapgood, had access to some very extraordinary cards-sources.

Most strange, not to say a stunning, feature-compile Haji Ahmed is clearly depicts the wide strip of land almost 1,000 miles, linking Alaska to Siberia. Such a bridge, according to geologists, indeed once existed on the Bering Strait, but disappeared under the surface of the sea at the end of the last ice age.

On the famous Map of the North" Claudius Ptolemy, compiled in the second century, very podrobno specified latitude North of our planet. And, of course, when Ptolemy was drew his card, no man on Earth and had no idea that once in the North of Europe existed in the past. Nobody had such knowledge and in the XV century, when the card was found. And in General it is not clear how depicts Ptolemy glaciers, and other related details of the relief may be discovered or invented any known civilization.

The significance of this is obvious. As well as the value of another card, or as it is otherwise called, "portulano" (the word derives from the purpose of these cards, serving as sailing directions from port to port), compiled in 1487 Yehudi Ibn-Ben Zara. This map of Europe and North Africa is based, perhaps, on the source, even more ancient than that of Ptolemy, because it glaciers depicted far South of Sweden - about the breadth of England, and the Mediterranean, Adriatic and Aegean seas are shown as they looked up to the melting of the European ice cap. Of course, the sea level had to be significantly lower than in our time. Therefore, it is interesting that on the map Ibn-Ben Zara in the Aegean sea shows much more Islands than there is now. At first glance, it seems strange. However, this contradiction can be easily removed if the source that was used by Ibn-Ben Zara, was from 10 to 20 thousand years: just since part of the Islands have disappeared, hidden rising sea levels at the end of the last ice age.

And again we have to search for traces of a lost civilization, can create amazingly accurate maps remote from each other parts of the world.

This was confirmed by the results of drilling of the bottom of the Ross sea, which was held in 1949, one of Antarctic expeditions Byrd. On the cores can be clearly traced layers of sedimentary rocks, reflecting the state of the environment in different epochs: large glacial deposits, average glacial deposits, small glacial deposits, etc. the Most amazing is the discovery of the layers of fine-grained, well-mixed sediments brought into the sea by rivers, the origins of which are located in temperate (that is free from ice) lands".

Using radioisotope Dating method, developed by Dr. U. D. URI, scientists at the Carnegie institution in Washington has managed to establish with sufficient precision that the great Antarctic river, which was the source of these fine sediments, really flowed around 6000 years ago, as shown on the map of Oronteus of Vinius. Only after this date, around 4000 years BC, "at the bottom of the Ross sea precipitation was collected glacial type...

Not only these cards was awarded the ancient Antarctica. On maps drawn the most famous cartographer of the XVI century by Gerhard Kremer, also known as Mercator, Antarctica is listed with many details, which of course were not known at that time.

Philippe Boise, French cartographer of the XVIII century, also managed to publish a map of Antarctica long before the southern continent was officially "opened".

This feature of the card Boise was that she, apparently, is based on the maps, created earlier, and, perhaps, thousands of years earlier than those, which were used Mercator and Oronteus Finius. Boise gives an exact image of Antarctica to the time when she was completely ice-free. On his map Dana ice topography of the entire continent, which we did not have a full view until 1958, when were held detailed seismographic research in the framework of the International geophysical year (IGY).

These studies confirmed that previously demonstrated Boise, publishing their map of Antarctica in 1737. Based on the now extinct sources, the French academician depicted in the middle of the southern continent water space, dividing it into two sub-continent, lying to the East and West of the line, which now represent the Transantarctic mountains. Such a Strait connecting the Ross sea, Weddell and Bellingshausen seas, no doubt, have existed if Antarctica is free of ice. As has shown the research program IGY-58, this continent, which on modern maps depict one, is actually an archipelago of large Islands, covered with ice a kilometer. But not only the southern continent was marked by these cards, and South America.

So, on the map of the same Pier, which was drawn in 1513, clearly present unexplained knowledge of South America - and not only the East coast, but the Andes in the West of the continent, unknown at that time. On the map are displayed correctly Amazon, originating in these unexplored mountains and flowing to the East.

Based on more than twenty documentary sources belonging to different periods, map of the Piri Flight depicts the Amazon, not once, but twice - most likely, in the unintentional result of the superposition of two sources used by a Turkish Admiral.

One of these channels brought to the mouth of the river Pair, but there is no pretty big island of Marajo. According Hapgood, this may mean that the corresponding source must be dated to the time when the river Pair formed the main or the only channel of the Amazon, and the island of Marajo was part of the mainland on its Northern shore (probably about 15,000 years ago). On the other hand, in the second case the channel of the Amazon island of Marajo shown, with a fantastically accurate details, although it was opened only in 1543. And again there is an assumption about the existence of an unknown civilization, which for thousands of years was engaged in surveying and mapping of the earth surface, and in the disposal Piri Flight was slightly cards that belong to different periods of this activity.

For example, not being known until 1592, Falkland Islands depicted on the map 1513 on its breadth, as well as many other details that were not known at that time.

Some other maps of the XVI century, too, appear to be based on accurate shooting, made during the last ice age. One of them was made in 1559 Turkish cartographer Haji Ahmed, who, according to Hapgood, had access to some very extraordinary cards-sources.

Most strange, not to say a stunning, feature-compile Haji Ahmed is clearly depicts the wide strip of land almost 1,000 miles, linking Alaska to Siberia. Such a bridge, according to geologists, indeed once existed on the Bering Strait, but disappeared under the surface of the sea at the end of the last ice age.

On the famous Map of the North" Claudius Ptolemy, compiled in the second century, very podrobno specified latitude North of our planet. And, of course, when Ptolemy was drew his card, no man on Earth and had no idea that once in the North of Europe existed in the past. Nobody had such knowledge and in the XV century, when the card was found. And in General it is not clear how depicts Ptolemy glaciers, and other related details of the relief may be discovered or invented any known civilization.

The significance of this is obvious. As well as the value of another card, or as it is otherwise called, "portulano" (the word derives from the purpose of these cards, serving as sailing directions from port to port), compiled in 1487 Yehudi Ibn-Ben Zara. This map of Europe and North Africa is based, perhaps, on the source, even more ancient than that of Ptolemy, because it glaciers depicted far South of Sweden - about the breadth of England, and the Mediterranean, Adriatic and Aegean seas are shown as they looked up to the melting of the European ice cap. Of course, the sea level had to be significantly lower than in our time. Therefore, it is interesting that on the map Ibn-Ben Zara in the Aegean sea shows much more Islands than there is now. At first glance, it seems strange. However, this contradiction can be easily removed if the source that was used by Ibn-Ben Zara, was from 10 to 20 thousand years: just since part of the Islands IPcesla, hidden rising sea levels at the end of the last ice age.

And again we have to search for traces of a lost civilization, can create amazingly accurate maps remote from each other parts of the world.