Chapter III
Before Written History
Callaway returns to the ancient site with the requested supplies and equipment. His crew lands five helicopters three-hundred yards from the mouth of the entrance. The millionaire has brought thirty men and women to help excavate the new find. Callaway has also brought a small bulldozer, carried by an aerial crane.
Duncan runs toward the millionaire, ducking his head to avoid wind gusts from the rotors, to inform the investor of the breastplate and the skeletal remains found in the city. Kyle and another archeologist put the two artifacts inside a helicopter, and Callaway orders the two items to be taken immediately for carbon dating.
While the aircraft prepares to lift off with the ancient relics, Callaway tries to yell over the sound of the blades to Duncan, “I have wonderful news. Is there anywhere private that we can talk?”
Kyle and Duncan follow Callaway. The tycoon turns around and says, “This is a private matter. Kyle, can you give us a moment?”
Duncan looks at his right-hand man, giving him a nod of reassurance. As Kyle walks away, he turns back to watch the tycoon and his mentor enter a tent.
“What is so important that I can’t have my best archeologist here?” Duncan asks bluntly.
Callaway looks around the tent and says softly, “Kyle needs to hear this from you. You may need to sit down.”
“What is going on?” Duncan asks, sipping water from his canteen.
Callaway looks at Duncan as though he can hardly believe what he is about to say and responds, “The carbon dating came back from the stone horse; the artifact is a lot older than you and I expected.”
“How old is this site?” Duncan asks, pacing around. He’s finding it difficult to wait for the answer.
Callaway looks quickly outside the tent to see if anyone is nearby. He turns back to Duncan, pausing to gather his thoughts, and says, “The stone horse looks as if it is about nine-thousand-five-hundred years before Christ. We need more artifacts for verification. There is a good chance you just uncovered the discovery of the century.”
Duncan leans against a small portable table, barely keeping his emotions in check as he replies, “Callaway, you may be right. In the last three decades, archeologists have found cities dating right after the Ice Age. This new find could change the way we see mankind before written history. Look at the ancient site close to the shore of India. Experts say those two cities are the size of Manhattan and twelve-thousand years old. The structures are immersed under one-hundred-twenty feet of water inside the Gulf of Cambay. After the glaciers melted, oceanographers say the oceans rose three to four-hundred feet, submerging the ancient site. With what I know, mankind flourished after the Ice Age and then something happened. It could have been disease, climate change, or maybe civilizations killed each other. No one knows. We are fortunate to find this site. If this place is more than eleven-thousand years old, we will help chronicle a new chapter in mankind’s history.”
Callaway shrugs his shoulders and says, “The artifact confirms the dating. I think this is part of the lost civilization of Atlantis; not Atlantis itself, but a satellite city.”
“We can’t rule that out of the possibilities,” Duncan replies. “If this is the lost civilization of Atlantis, a new story will be told. From what I see here, Atlantis may not be a myth, but until we find out what the ancient writing says, we will never know. I am putting Rachael in charge of the project. She can break the text.”
The millionaire walks toward the entrance of the tent and motions Duncan to follow. Callaway looks through the crack of the canvas and points at the breach of the mountain where everyone is working. He says assertively, “The answer is in that doorway. If you think Rachael can figure out the writing, I have complete confidence in her. Nonetheless, she is only twenty-seven years old. I thought you hired her because of her looks.”
Duncan looks sharply at the tycoon and replies defensively, “She is one of the most intelligent people I know. I trust her to do anything.”
The next morning, Duncan’s and Callaway’s teams clear the pathway to the city’s entrance. Working together, the two groups excavate the site more quickly. Duncan is in control of the excavation. Callaway does not interfere, understanding this is too important for a hasty excavation.
Using the bulldozer, the crews are finally able to move the large stone door from the mouth of the entrance. In doing so, archeologists can more easily bring additional equipment into the site. Being able to use heavy machinery, the teams are able to clear debris from cave-ins. The excavators find more statues, furniture, tools, and extravagant buildings deeper inside the mountain. They discover that the city had a sewer system and baths like the ancient Romans. They also come across marvelous monuments and personal items made of gold and silver. To all those involved, it becomes clear the expedition will make them famous.
Duncan and Kyle begin establishing a map of their discoveries to date. The teams find skeletons and weapons deeper inside the entrance. Duncan has concluded that there must have been a major battle toward the end of these people’s lives, and the silver-plated warrior was protecting the city from attackers. The teams find other soldiers that were also probably killed in the same conflict. Duncan construes that the enemy of the city was not as advanced as the inhabitants of the mountain. The excavators discover other weapons which were made only of bronze, assuming the items belonged to the attackers of the city.
Duncan says to Kyle at one of the sites, “The other army must have been overwhelming to take the defensive positions inside the mountain. The inhabitants of this city had swords made of stainless steel. This kind of technology would not appear for centuries to come. Look at Göbekli Tepe found in Turkey recently. The site was built twelve-thousand years ago. That technology to move ten ton stones is unbelievable, but the ancient culture did the impossible right after the Ice Age. The way we look at mankind before written history is really starting to change.”
Searching inside the mountain, they find a pathway to another room. Duncan and Kyle find large lanterns made of metal and broken glass, hanging from the ceiling. Duncan and his team are completely surprised. Days later, the archeologists find out that the lanterns were filled with whale oil. To have done so, the civilization had to have good boating and hunting skills. The ships, which hunted the whales, had to be very large.
On the twenty-fourth day of excavating, Callaway and Duncan wait for the opportunity to enter through another cave-in. A cavern was discovered with thirty feet of rubble blocking the entrance to the newly discovered pathway. Large boulders kept anyone from entering, and the crews try to dig a conduit around the obstructions.
Duncan says eagerly to Callaway, “I have a feeling this will be another key in unlocking the answers to these people’s lives.”
Workers finally announce that they have broken through the hallway. Although it is still dangerous to venture through the debris, Callaway, Duncan, Rachael, and Kyle crawl and wriggle their way through. They slide off an obstruction and hit solid ground. Studying their surroundings, Callaway and the three archeologists understand the fate of the city’s inhabitants. They find thousands of skeletal remains in the large room. The grand hall still has burn scars on the ceiling.
“They were burned alive,” Duncan says to Callaway. “There must be thousands of skeletal remains here, and I don’t see any weapons. These must have been the citizens of this once great city.”
Callaway looks in disgust and replies, “But why would any army burn the civilians? They have no weapons. There was not a fight here. The inhabitants were forced into this room and massacred. Who could hate a civilization this intensely?”
With tears riding down Rachael’s face, she exclaims, “I don’t see children’s remains anywhere in this chamber.”
Duncan wants to believe that the children were spared, and responds, “Most likely they were put into slavery by their attackers.”
Kyle walks deeper into the cavity and as
ks, “Why not kill everyone? Why eradicate only the adults?”
“Children can be incorporated into other cultures. Adults are too dangerous; they can rebel,” Duncan replies as he scans the room with his flashlight.
Callaway, who is ready to find answers, says boldly, “Let’s start excavating for more artifacts. Since I will be leaving tomorrow, I’ll leave the rest of this mystery to you.”
Duncan starts to breathe heavily and replies to the group, “This was butchery. This grand hall reminds me of Nazi concentration camps in World War II.”