The fantastic legacy of our mysterious paste on a global scale. It spans more than fifty centuries of history and the earth's every continent. Scattered over the planet are curious ruins of cites, temples and tombs; puzzling earthworks and inscriptions on the land; sacred sites where humans have sought communion with the supernatural and the tantalizing remnants of lost lands with a proud and Prosperous Past.
Combining the most professional and up to-date archaeological detective work with a wealth of tales passed down through the generations, The Atlas of Mysterious Places begins to unravel the truth behind each enigma. Here the riddles that each enshrines are analyzed and interpreted in absorbing detail, and at a high level of scholarship.
Mysterious locations in mountain, desert, plain, jungle and ocean are revealed in all their drama and awesome magnificence through the book's wealth of illustrations. Clear, concise and accurate maps pinpoint where each is located, while line illustrations add factual reference to the expert arguments and explanations that make the book so splendidly informative.
With a magnetism of extraordinary power, the worlds unexplained places have, over the centuries, lured a rich variety of people. Thus the book makes special mention of the achievements and characters of people intimately associated with particular places of mystery. Archaeologists, explorers, dedicated investigators, famous visitors, indigenous peoples, legendary figures - even cranks - earn their place as an integral part of the book.
The Atlas of Mysterious Places is organized in four sections, each devoted to particular places with common qualities. Sacred Sites are places where man has grappled with the forces of nature and tried to forge intimate contacts with gods and spirits. These sites range from cathedrals, such as Chartres in France, to the sun temple formed by the massive pillars of Stonehenge. Shaped by people unknown, Symbolic Landscapes include the vast and intricate Nasca Lines in Peru and the intriguing earth mounds scattered over the river valleys of the central USA.