Forbidden History: Prehistoric Technologies, Extraterrestrial Intervention, and the Suppressed Origins of Civilization

24 West, Schoch, and Hancock Dive into Lemurian Waters

J. Douglas Kenyon

The issue of underwater ruins in the Pacific remains controversial, even within the alternative science community. Atlantis Rising has not taken a stance one way or the other on the issue, desiring instead to present both sides of the argument in a fair and even-handed manner. I will say, however, that those individuals who believe that these underwater ruins are man-made are supported by the argument presented by Frank Joseph in the foregoing chapter, while those who question this supposition may find themselves agreeing with the positions of Robert M. Schoch, Ph.D., et al., in the following essay.

—EDITOR

In September 1997, the maverick Egyptologist John Anthony West, accompanied by the geologist Robert M. Schoch, Ph.D., and the writer Graham Hancock, visited the island of Yonaguni in Japan, where a mysterious 160-foot pyramidal platform had been found under the waters of the ocean at a depth of eighty feet. In several dives, the three investigated part of what could be one of the most significant discoveries of the century. Subsequent to the trip, West shared with Atlantis Rising his opinion regarding the site’s archeological authenticity.

He and Schoch, it was pointed out, had made the trip predisposed to believe that here could be the great breakthrough most of us have been waiting for—the discovery of undeniable proof of the existence of prediluvian civilization (the area has been under water for at least 11,500 years). The photos they had been shown certainly appeared unambiguous. And, after all, it was their research that had, a few years earlier, shaken the academic establishment by demonstrating that it was water and not windblown sand that had weathered the Great Sphinx of Egypt, thus establishing that it was thousands of years older than previously supposed.

After examining the Yonaguni site, however, both West and Schoch are of the opinion that it is probably natural in origin, though perhaps worked over by human hands in some way—maybe to create a terra-form. Nevertheless, the two continue to believe that even if the Yunaguni site is of strictly natural origin, the spot remains one of the most—if not the most—unusual to be found anywhere. The one thing that West, Schoch, and Hancock agree on unanimously is the need for much more research and a complete examination of the site, as they all feel it is far too early to draw any final conclusions.

In response to West’s comments, Atlantis Rising contributor Frank Joseph pointed out that West, Schoch, and Hancock visited only one of eight locations that are spread over a 311-mile area, and added that the onus is now on Schoch to demonstrate just how geomorphologic forces could have created the formations, which, if indeed natural, are unique in the world.

After attending a conference of avant-garde researchers held in England by Quest Magazine (also attended by West), Joseph reports that while there is still much controversy and complexity surrounding the issue, the consensus at the conference, he felt, was that the formations were of man-made origin. Joseph also added that laboratory analysis by Japanese researchers of some of the stone from the site is consistent with artificial tooling.