In 1958, historian Charles Hapgood proposed a "pole shift theory". According to this hypothesis, movements of the earth's crust made it possible to free large areas of the Antarctic continent from ice around 12,000 years ago. These conclusions have led some to speculate that the legendary Atlantis is not hidden underwater, and perhaps under a thick layer of ice.
Hapgood's theory relied heavily on an artifact known today as the Piri Reis map. It is a manuscript discovered in Turkey in 1930. It was discovered by the German theologian Gustav Adolf Deismann. Deissmann was appointed by the Turkish Ministry of Education to catalog non-Islamic works in the Topkapı Palace Library. The researcher showed it to the orientalist Paul Calais, who identified it as a map compiled by the Ottoman admiral and cartographer Piri Reis.
The fragment found at Topkapi contained the preserved western third of a map of the world drawn on gazelle skin parchment. The find became an international sensation as this 16th-century map depicted South America geographically correctly in relation to Africa. The strangest thing, however, is that the map shows what appears to be the north coast of Antarctica if it were ice-free. Piri Reis's map is said to include an area known as Queen Maud Land.
Hapgood concluded that Antarctica had been mapped long before the Turkish Admiral was born, adopting the view that Antarctica's warm period coincided with the last ice age in the northern hemisphere. The maps depicting Antarctica must therefore have been based on "ancient" maps derived from Ice Age originals. This means that the lost continent which was supposed to be the legendary Atlantis could actually be a different name for today's Antarctica.
The first historical mention of Atlantis is in the work of the Greek philosopher Plato, who refers to the city as a sanctuary built by a hybrid species between gods and humans, 9,000 years before his time. These dates coincide with the dates determined by the "polar shift theory". The mythical cataclysm responsible for the destruction of the Atlanteans would then be the retreat of the ice sheet. Although this theory currently seems difficult to prove, it must be admitted that there are many reasons for its credibility.
Antarctica as an ice-free continent also appears on other maps "before" its discovery. A fascinating find is the map of Hadji Ahmed, published in 1559. This amazing map shows the exact delineation of the west coast of North America and Antarctica. The map even shows where the land bridge connects Siberia and Alaska. This connection no longer exists, but its location on the map indicates that it dates back to the times when this natural bridge was still present.
Additionally, the Buache map published in 1737 by Philippe Buache was also supposed to be based on much older maps. Interestingly, like many other ancient maps, this one also shows Antarctica without ice. To this list, you can add the Oronce Finé world map, which shows the continent before it was officially "found", in addition to showing continental rivers, valleys, and coastlines, and even the approximate location of today's South Pole.
It is not difficult to conclude that the knowledge presented by cartographers must have come from the past. This belief was also shared by the highest-ranking officials of the Third Reich. Around the existence of a German base in Antarctica, sometimes called New Swabia, Base 22 or New Berlin. Some say that this is where the defeated Nazis moved. It is true that since the mid-1930s, the Germans have sought the same knowledge of ancient civilizations on which the legendary maps were supposed to be based. Their investigation took them to many regions of the world, from Tibet to the North Pole.
The theory that the discovery of Atlantis has so far been unsuccessful because the remains of this legendary civilization are hidden under several kilometers of ice definitely differs from the classical ideas about the fate of this culture. At the moment, it is impossible to say whether any society settled in this region and may have existed there until the end of the ice age. Many potential locations for this lost land have been proposed over the centuries. It was to be hidden in the Mediterranean Sea, the Atlantic Ocean, and even in the heart of the Sahara. Without additional evidence, the Antarctica theory is just another hypothesis on a long and unverifiable list.
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