Andre Chaisson: Telepylos, from Myth to Reality
Telepylos and Homer’s Odyssey In Homer’s Odyssey, Telepylos is described as the city of the Laestrygonians, a race of giants who ambush Odysseus and his crew. The vivid depiction includes towering cliffs, a narrow harbor entrance, and dramatic landscapes, suggesting a location of strategic maritime importance. Traditionally dismissed as myth, these detailed descriptions raise the question: could Telepylos have been a real place, its memory preserved through oral storytelling? By analyzing Homeric texts alongside physical data from the region between Malta and Sicily, this study investigates the plausibility of identifying Telepylos as a submerged site.Spanning approximately 80 square kilometers, the site lies at a depth of 250 meters between Sicily and Malta and features striking geometric formations. A central mound, comparable in scale to the Great Pyramid of Giza, and an encircling canal—529 meters wide and 50 meters deep—underscore the engineering sophistication of this ancient settlement. These features suggest a city of immense scale and importance, potentially serving as a waypoint for ancient mariners. Through a recalibration of sea-level models using datasets from EMODnet and GEBCO, this study proposes that the Mediterranean basin, isolated from the Atlantic during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM), experienced a localized sea-level drop to approximately -250 meters, exposing vast landscapes suitable for human settlement. This stable plateau, lasting nearly 3,000 years, likely provided the conditions for Telepylos and similar civilizations to thrive before a gradual sea-level rise submerged the city by 8,600 BC. Unlike Atlantis, Telepylos’s submersion was not sudden but marked by centuries of encroachment as nature slowly reclaimed the city. The findings challenge conventional paradigms about LGM sea levels and ancient Mediterranean civilizations.André Chaisson is a seasoned civil engineering designer with over 25 years of CAD experience, including five years as a senior designer shaping large-scale infrastructure projects. With a knack for crafting plans and maps—honed through work on urban designs, municipal systems, and bathymetric surveys—he built a career grounded in pragmatism. Yet beneath the surface, a lifelong fascination with the mysteries of the past, from Atlantis to the Great Pyramids, simmered quietly. Self-taught with years of college education, including naval architecture, he’s now channeling his skills into a bold new chapter. Already, he’s uncovered the lost city of Telepylos, a discovery he’s determined to bring to the world’s attention. With sights set on revealing Atlantis next, André is on a mission to rewrite the history of humankind. Humble yet driven, he aims to spark a renaissance in archaeology, blending meticulous expertise with an adventurer’s heart to inspire future exploration.https://grahamhancock.com/author/andre-chaisson/Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/earth-ancients--2790919/support.
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