The southern polar regions are a forbidding place. Antarctica’s harsh climate and thick ice coverage have made archaeological explorations — or explorations of any kind — exceptionally challenging. This has added a sense of mystery to various theories that humans could once have occupied the continent as a permanent civilization.
Scientists, however, have given a decidedly chilly reception to the prevailing hypotheses. Let’s go through them one-by-one.
This room in Kilitbahir Castle (Kalesi) is also known as the place where Piri Reis drew his contentious world map. (Credit: fotopanorama360/Shutterstock)
fotopanorama360/Shutterstock
Perhaps the oldest and most frequently cited piece of “evidence” for the possibility of an ancient civilization in Antarctica is the Piri Reis map, which was drawn by the eponymous Ottoman sailor and cartographer in 1513. The map illustrates a relatively accurate coastline of South America. It also hints at the presence of a landmass where Antarctica is, albeit one ...
