Three Studies on the Ancient World

<strong>Three</strong> <strong>Studies</strong> on the
Ancient World: Atlantis,
America, Canada
Enzo Sardellaro
1

Contents
Between the Palace of Knossos and Atlantis
Sources
White Men in America before Columbus
Sources
North American Paleo-Indians nomadic
hunters
R.S. MacNeish and the first archaeological excavations
Arthur Moffat’s expedition
Primitive prehistoric settlements in the Black Lake area
The frequenters of these outposts were hunters
Arctic Paleo-Eskimo groups of hunters
Sources
2

Between the Palace of Knossos and
Atlantis
The territory of Crete, located in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea,
South of the Cyclades, is dominated by mountainous terrain, but
it also offers beautiful beaches, enjoying a mild climate throughout
the year. In about three-quarters of an hour, a pretty road
will lead you out of the town of Candia towards the site of the
ancient city of Knossos. You will pass throughout vineyards and
olive groves, while the mighty Mount Jouktas was always in front
of you, where you will see clearly the remains of the sanctuary of
Zeus, where, according to legend, there is the tomb of the King of
the gods. You will glance around the side of the road and will
see the ruins of the ancient Roman “Colonia Julia Nobilis Cnosus”
(27 BC). A few steps beyond the Roman ruins, the Palace of
Knossos, situated on and around the Kephala Hill, and near the
Keratos river, was before your eyes.
3

The Palace of Knossos has the shape of a quadrilateral, with a rectangular
courtyard area in the middle, crossed at right angles by
two main lines that follow the orientation to the cardinal directions.
Perhaps we find here the typical layout of the Roman camp, where
the main street running north-south was the cardo, which is
crossed by streets that run east-west (the decumanus). The Cretan
Palace had no fortifications, but on all sides was closed by powerful
walls, of which the Western one is well preserved. On the North
there are a few rooms once containing thousands of clay tablets,
locked in crates marked with a seal. Tablets showed a hieroglyphic
writing system never seen before, containing the inventory of the
Royal administration of Knossos. On the walls of the throne room
large painted figures of griffins and plants are still visible, while a
great staircase of four ramps down to the courtyard, surrounded on
two sides by porticos, with a balustrade adorned with columns and
pilasters. The Northwest Palace of Knossos shows wide terraces
from which the citizens of Knossos were able to watch games, religious
functions, and ritual dances in honor of the Great Goddess.
4

We can find the period of greatest development of Minoan civilization
between 1700 and 1613 BC, when the island came into commercial
and cultural contacts not only with the Achaeans but also
with Egypt. The foreign trade was one of the fundamental aspects
of the Minoan economy and society, so that, Sir Arthur Evans, basing
himself on Thucydides, spoke of a Minoan thalassocracy.
(Evans, 1921. I. 10). But no less significant, were agriculture and
pastoralism as a source of wealth.
We commonly ignore the details of Minoan political structure, but
it seems established that the great palaces were mostly built as luxurious
residences of the Kings (called Minos), priests and court officials,
who had managed to surround themselves with every comfort
and convenience. The whole historiography on Crete agrees that the
absence of fortifications is the proof of the pacific character of the
ancient Cretan society.
But it was about one particular point that Evans’ works fascinated
people all over the world, namely, the disappearance of the great
Cretan civilization. Around the seventeenth century BC a cataclysmic
event (Friedrich, 2013,39), perhaps a massive earthquake,
caused by the eruption of the volcano of Santorini island, destroyed
all the buildings in it, thereby ending the Cretan civilization. The fact
is that, the entire area was prone to volcanic explosions and consequent
destructive earthquakes. Santorini was literally destroyed, and
the entire center of the island exploded. When the sea water poured
inside the crater, huge explosions occurred, and tidal waves propagated
throughout the entire archipelago , ravaging villages and palaces
in Crete.
5

Even if “It is unlikely, however, that the palace of Knossos was destroyed
by tsunamis, because it has an elevation of about 60 m
above the sea ” (Friedrich, 2013. 46), the Cretans lost their political
independence, because of the attack which was brought to the island
by the Achaeans of Mycenae, who came into conflict with
Crete because of the wool trade.
As Rodney Castleden stated, “The Minoans became rich on the back
of large scale wool production *…+ and the Mycenaean kings and
their merchants were able to exploit the fall of Knossos” (Castleden,
2005. 189, 195). Thus the Achaeans of Mycenae “were not the
cause” of the devastation suffered by Crete in the seventeenth century
BC, as it was thought by several historians over forty years ago,
but “the consequence,” because the Achaeans probably took advantage
of the weakness of the Cretans, troubled by an insurmountable
calamity, to seize the island, and inserting it into the Mycenaean
power system.
But the disaster that engulfed Crete is in various aspects related to
the legend of Atlantis, which was narrated by Plato (Timaeus).
Critias and Timaeus learned the story of Atlantis from Solon, who
had stayed some while at Sais, in the Nile Delta, where a priest had
told him about Atlantis. According to Plato, Atlantis was located “in
the Atlantic Ocean.” Now, I perceive that to enter into discussion on
Atlantis I am going to stir up a hornet's nest, but hundreds of hypotheses
stay firmly in the realm of fantasy.
6

Somebody has taken a poetical image used by Plato as “the objective
reality.” When Plato spoke of “Atlantic Ocean, ” he meant
simply to refer to an immense body of water “governed” by the god
Atlas. “The old Homeric notion of the river Ocean retained its place
in the poets long after its meaning had been abandoned; and some
indications are found of an attempt to reconcile it with later discoveries,
by placing the Ocean outside of all seat of the world even of
the outer seas. Afterwards, the language of old poets was adapted
to the progress of knowledge by transferring the poetical name of all
-encircling river to the sea which was supposed (by most geographers
though not by all) to surround the inhabited world; and this
encircling sea was called not only Ocean, but also by the specific
names applied to the Atlantic Ocean.
Thus, in the work de Mundo falsely ascribed to Aristotle it is said
that the whole world is an island surrounded by the Atlantic Sea *…+
The same idea is again and again repeated in passages of the work,
where the name used is simply Okeanòs.” (Smith, 1872. I. 312). It
suffices to say that the Greeks called even the Nile Oceanus: “ Herodotus
observed that Homer called the Nile Okeanòs,
(=Oceanus).” ( Holmes Agnew, 1844. 123). But there are other assumptions
which are relevant, just as the belief that Santorini was
the location of Atlantis. Before J.V. Luce’s essay, which identified Atlantis
with Santorini island, in 1969, Edwin Swift Balch has convincingly
argued that the island of Santorini could be Atlantis.
7

“Did the Egyptians or the Greeks o in the years 600 BC have any
knowledge of the Atlantic Ocean? There is no record of anything of
the kind .” (Swift Balch, 1917. 3. 391). Balch was right, because
after all the Greeks knew almost nothing of Europe, “Nor were they
better acquainted with the Northern Ocean; *…+ the Greeks knew
nothing of the extreme parts of Europe nor of *…+ the Northern
coasts of Germany on the Baltic and the British Isles. ” (Borlase,
1769. 32).
In his turn, J. V. Luce stated that, “ One has to admit that the convergence
of archaeology and Greek literary tradition about this site
has become very close.” (Luce, 1969. 14). Despite many refusals,
Balch and Luce’s hypotheses are not fanciful, and above all they are
the only ones that had respected the state of the Greek’s geographical
knowledge. As Balch said clearly, “Is there any recollection
of Crete and its destruction in Greek records? It seems as if
there were in the shape of the legendary Minotaur *…+ And the
Minotaur, Greek mythology tells us, was destroyed by Theseus,
which would seem to be a reminiscence of the destruction of Minoan
Crete by Athenians and Egyptians.” (Swift Balch, 1917. 3. 390).
The system of knowledge of the ancient Greeks should be respected
if we wish to obtain some plausible solutions, especially because
Plato is “our only authority for the story.” (Guthrie, 1978.
248).
8

In conclusion, if Knossos has become an extraordinary reality, the
hypothesis about Santorini seems to me perhaps not reliable or
unreliable in any absolute sense, but certainly it has more points of
contact with Greek culture than several hundreds of proposals that
seem to rest on the “endless Ocean of fantasies.”
9

Sources
Baker J.A. 1995. Cheque Mate: The Game of Princes . Whitaker
House.
Borlase, W. 1769. Antiquities, Historical and Monumental, of the
County of Cornwall. London.
Castleden, R. 2005. The Mycenaeans. London and New York:
Routledge.
Evans, J. A. 1921. The Palace of Minos at Knossos. London: MacMillan
and Co., Limited.
Friedrich, W. L. 2013. “The Minoan Eruption of Santorini Around
1613 BC and Its Consequences”. Tagungen des Landesmuseums für
Vorgeschichte. Halle. Band 9. 44. “ A. Evans began to speculate about
a possible connection between the eruption of Santorini and the destruction
of Knossos. ” Link: http://geo.au.dk/fileadmin/
www.geo.au.dk/02_Forskning/Publikationer/friedrich_satz.pdf
Guthrie, W. K. C. 1978. A History of Greek Philosophy. The Later Plato
and the Academy. Cambridge University Press.
Holmes Agnew, J. 1844. The Eclectic Magazine of Foreign Literature,
Science, and Art. New York & Philadelphia: Leawitt, Trow & Co.
Luce, J. V. 1969. Lost Atlantis: New Light on an Old Legend. McGraw-
Hill.
Smith, W. 1872. A Dictionary of Greek and Roman Geography. London:
J. Murray.
Swift Balch, E. 1917. “Atlantis or Minoan Crete”. Geographical Review.
3. Link: http://www.jstor.org/stable/207382.
10

White Men in America before Columbus
In the early Middle Ages, some white men pushed toward Florida,
the Carolinas, Georgia and Vinland. Here they settled, establishing
the first group of white men in America.
A very interesting study published by the prestigious Royal Society
of Northern Antiquaries in 1839 (founded by Professor C. Christian
Rafn) , gave us some valuable information based on C. Christian
Rafn’s primary research work on the first inhabitants of America.
Compiled from authentic documents and the most accurate
sources of information, Professor Rafn stated that the Skrelinghi or
Old Eskimos (from the Danish word Skvelling, little men) lived in
more southern countries than today.”
These facts are supported both by the most ancient written documents
and manuscripts dating back to the tenth century, and by
human remains found during archaeological excavation on site.
According to Professor Rafn, some ancient Northmen discovered
the eastern coasts of North America, where they attempted to establish
colonies in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. They discovered
three lands, called respectively Helluland, Markland and Vinland,
which it appears to have extended as far as Massachusetts
and Rhode Island.
11

According to Professor Rafn, there was another vast land in front of
the country inhabited by the Skrelinghi, where, according to standard
accounts of their history, a white population lived. These men
were dressed in white raiment, and used long spears in which pieces
of cloth were tied together near the top, uttering dreadful cries
at the same time. The ancient author of the document thought that
it was the land called Hvitra-mann-a-land, that is, the White Man’s
Land, also called Irland and Mikla, namely Great Ireland.
This region probably must be regarded as belonging to North America
which from the southern shore of Ckesapeak Bay stretches towards
the South, including the Carolinas, Georgia and Florida. A very
interesting oral tradition remains vital today among the indigenous
peoples, in particular the Sciavannesi Shawannos, who emigrated
from Florida during the 18th century to Ohio, where they currently
reside. According to their ancient traditions, Florida had once been
inhabited by white people, who used iron to make their tools. According
to original documents, Florida had been the seat of a Christian
colony of Irishmen , who settled there around 1000 AD, namely,
during the Early Middle Ages.
12

In fact, the powerful Chief Ari Marsson, from Reykianes in Iceland,
had been trapped in lightning storms and pushed toward unknown
lands by the force of wind in 985 AD. The first author of this report
was the so called Navigator of Limerick (Hlymreksfari), a famous
city of Ireland, where he had made a long stay. The learned and famous
Ari Frodi, the oldest author of the Chronicle of Landnama,
said that his uncle, Thorkell Gellir or Gellisson, a man worthy of
credit, had heard several Icelanders tell of Thorfinnr Sigurdsson
Jarl, Earl of Orkney, who would often repeat that Ari Marsson was
well known in Hvitra-mann-a-land, the White Man’s Land, who
however couldn't get out of it, but that, nonetheless, he enjoyed
the highest consideration among this former people.
Professor Rafn Concluded his study, saying that all these things
clearly demonstrate that there was a strong relationship with the
Western lands, that is, the Orkney Islands, Iceland, and that very
remote part of America in ancient times .
Then Professor Rafn added that, after the year 1000 (probably in
1004), there were other expeditions that followed those of the
oldest white men. A son of Eric Thorvaldson called Leif was able
to see two different lands already views by Biórn in 1002, to which
he gave the names of Helluland (Land of bare rocks) and Markland
(Wooded Land). After proceeding to the southward, Leif discovered
a third land. Then he started to move westward, entering the
Gulf of Saint Lawrence, and at this latter place (Canada) he spent
the winter.
13

A German who accompanied Leif's expedition found a type of grape,
so the place was called Vinland, that is, the Land of Wine. This land
later became very famous in the Annals of Scandinavia because
many voyages had been made by other navigators, and especially by
Thorvald, Leif’s brother, who founded there a permanent colony in
1005, continuing to explore neighboring lands that were those that
surround and enclose the aforesaid Bay, i.e. the woodlands of Labrador,
Canada, Terra Nova Islands, Anticosti Island (Quebec), Cape Breton,
New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia.
14

Sources
C. Cristiano Rafn, Memoria sulla scoperta dell’America nel X secolo
a.C., Estratta dalle Memorie della Società Reale degli Antiquari del
Norte, traduzione in italiano di Jacob Graberg, Pisa, Presso i fratelli
Sistri, 1839, pp. 33-34. Rafn’s work was translated into English one
year before the Italian edition of 1839, i.e. in MDCCCXXXVIII (1838)
with the title, America discovered in the Tenth Century, by Charles
C. Rafn, New York, William Jackson, 102 Broadway, MDCCCXXXVIII
*1838+. Besides, Rafn’s work was also translated in German, in the
same year, 1838, titled Die Entdeckung Americas im zehnten
Jahrhundert. Von C. C. Rafn. Aus der dän. Hdschrift von G. Mohnike,
Stralsund, 1838.
15

North American Paleo-Indians
nomadic hunters
Black Lake, Saskatchewan, is located at the eastern end of the Mackenzie
basin, whose age is probably Precambrian. Later, this area became
a privileged place for the migration of caribou. It was the main
reason for establishing temporary hunting settlements particularly
in the area around Black Lake.
R.S. MacNeish and the first archaeological excavations
At first, archaeologists were interested in the geophysical aspects of
Black Lake, Saskatchewan, namely the structure and composition of
the soil, vegetation and associated fauna, and some aspects of climate
change scenarios. Later, an even more careful study came to a
very interesting conclusion as a basis for understanding the development
of human settlement and migration in this part of Black Lake.
16

The first archaeological excavations in the area of the Black Lake,
Saskatchewan, were carried out by R.S. MacNeish in 1949 and in
1951. Born in 1917, MacNeish was a Golden Glove Boxing Champion
out of New York. He was a person of great gusto, who in the
winter was to be found occasionally in Mexico, even while still
heading up the Archaeological Section of the National Museum.
In 1963, with Richard Forbis, he established the first Department
of Archaeology in Canada at the University of Calgary, although
in 1969 he left to join the Peabody Museum. He was, like his
colleagues Emerson and Quimby, a graduate of the University
of Chicago, short in stature, a hard driving character, and a devoted
archaeologist.” (Dawson, 1999). R.S. MacNeish conducted a survey
on behalf of the National Museum of Canada to define the boundaries
of different cultural traditions on the shore of Lake Athabasca.
In the course of his research, he also did a quick survey in the
Black Lake region (MacNeish, 1951). As Dawson said,
“MacNeish ventured into the boreal forest when he was at the National
Museum of Canada in the 1950s. In 1950, he excavated
the first Palaeo-Indian site to be professionally investigated in
Canada, the Brohm site, located on the shore of Lake Superior,
on Thunder Bay opposite the city. He undertook surveys in
the boreal forest in Manitoba, defining the cultural sequence along
the Winnipeg River and in Saskatchewan at Lake Athabasca.”
(Dawson, 1999).
17

Arthur Moffat’s expedition
Important archaeological soundings were also made under the direction
of Arthur Moffat in 1955, starting from the Black Lake, and
proceeding up Dubawnt-Thelon and Chipman rivers. But Arthur
Moffat’s expedition, and his epic canoe voyage had a tragic ending,
“On July, 3, 1955, six men in three canoes showed into Black Lake,
Saskatchewan, and began a long journey northward toward the
great Barren grounds *…+ In shooting rapids above Marjorie Lake two
of three canoes capsized *…+ and Moffat succumbed.” (Helmer,
1959).
18

Primitive prehistoric settlements in the Black
Lake area
However, among all these studies, only one had explicitly addressed
the problem of prehistoric settlements in the Black Lake region. The
Prehistoric Occupation of Black Lake Northern Saskatchewan,
1975, by Sheila J. Minni, was a milestone in the field, because she
was able to give a very credible account of primitive prehistoric
settlements in the Black Lake area.
Her survey revealed that the first inhabitants of this region were
Proto-Indians hunters arriving from the North and seeking new
hunting grounds. Minni’s research program involved a survey concentrated
on about sixty sites around Black Lake which were said
to be not essentially related to a permanent settlement, but as a
system of land observation by temporary outposts. Archaeological
data *arrow tips, and pointed knives+ have shown that indigenous
peoples and different cultures overlapped each other in these
sites, because the peoples who lived there practiced different lifestyles.
19

The frequenters of these outposts were
hunters
So that the frequenters of these outposts were hunters, who followed
migratory caribou herds throughout their dry-season migrations.
From the early debates it emerged with some certainty
that Paleo-Indians nomadic hunters frequented the Black Lake
area, Saskatchewan, between the 7th Millennium BC and the
fifth millennium BC. Other archaeological data, and additional
lines of evidence refer to the second millennium BC, because
hunting tools belonging to the Indians Cree were found, while,
between the 3rd century BC and the 2nd century AD, Chipewyan
Indians * called pointed skins+ frequented the Black Lake area in
spring and summer to hunt buffalo.
20

Arctic Paleo-Eskimo groups of hunters
Moreover, Arctic Paleo-Eskimo groups of hunters visited this area
between the ninth and sixth centuries BC. “This data suggests a
northward movement of late Paleo-Indian hunters from the plains
through the boreal and transitional forests of the Canadian Shield.
Gordon mentions the possibility of northerly moving buffalo
hunters shifting subsistence to the migratory barren-ground caribou
in the wake of final deglaciation in the barrenlands *…+ and a
number of sources postulate that the caribou formed the subsistence
base of these Paleo-Indian hunters. It is possible that this
postulate of barren-ground caribou subsistence may also apply to
the early hunters of northern Saskatchewan.” (Minni, 1976).
21

The same Minni, however, has pointed out for the areas of Black
Lake in particular the discontinuity of Proto-Indian settlements,
because, as archaeological remains show, the Proto-Indians hunters
must have settled at distant periods from each other,
“All of the historic sites are evidenced by square and rectangular superficial
formations, foundation remains and collapsed basements.
The average side of one of these structures is from 4 to 6 m in
length. Of the historic sites, only IgNk 2, j and 6 and IhNJ S are associated
with trade goods which consist of a variety of copper pot fragments
and musket balls. Artifacts from all of the other sites are
clearly recognizable as dating from the early to middle 1900's. All of
the historic structures appear to be trapper's cabins with the majority
being occupied in the late historic time period ” (Minni, 1976).
Research in Saskatchewan expanded rapidly with the advent of
contract field work under the dynamic leadership of the late J.F'V.
(Jim) Miller *1921-1994+ (Noble 1996). A PhD graduate of the University
of Calgary, who had before- hand acquired extensive experience
in the north by taking part in mining explorations, Miller
joined Pohorecky at the University of Saskatchewan in 1969. Under
his auspices, M. Forsman undertook field work in the Montreal
Lake area and in 1972, Sheila Minni began a three year
excavation program at Black Lake in the Athabasca area”
(Dawson, 1999).
22

Sources
Dawson, Kenneth, C.A. 1999. “Archaeologists in the Continental Boreal
Province: A Personal Recollection”. Ontario Archaeology. n.67.
27. 33.
Harp, Elmer, Jr. 1959. “The Moffatt Archaeological Collection from
the Dubawnt Country, Canada”. American Antiquity. Vol. 24, No. 4.
412.
MacNeish, R. S. 1951. “An archaeological reconnaissance in the
Northwest Territories”. Canada. National Museum Bullettin 123. 24-
41.
Minni, Sheila, J. 1975. The Prehistoric Occupation of Black Lake
Northern Saskatchewan. A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate
<strong>Studies</strong> and Research in Partial Fulfilment of the Requirements
For the Degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Anthropology
and Archaeology, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, 49. 37-39. More detailed
information on the subjects discussed can be found in: Noble,
W.C. 1981. “Prehistory of the Great Slave Lake and Great Bear
Lake Region”. Handbook of North American Indians: Subarctic.
Washington: Smithsonian Institution. 1981. 100.
23