Atlantis and the Silver City (14 page)

It is now clear. If southwest Iberia was where Atlantis was situated, apart from the citadel itself, this eastern zone was the next most important area of the kingdom, the font of much of its vast wealth … precious metals. Certainly a fitting area of responsibility for Poseidon’s second born.

Gades is the only specific place name quoted by Plato for anywhere in Atlantis.

So far, so good. The most implacable cynic could not argue against southwest Iberia’s conformity with Plato’s description of immense wealth. This was all starting to get very exciting indeed.

In view of my comments in Chapter Three, wealth was one of the most promising and obvious clues to examine first. But would the others prove more problematical? What, for instance, about the climate, the plants, and the animals?

CHAPTER TEN

Mysterious Fruit, Warm Sun, and Big Beasts

T
wenty-one of Plato’s clues give information about what the climate was like, the rainfall, which crops and fruits grew there, what the landscape looked like, and a limited amount concerning animals. Taken together, they are crucial in helping to place the legendary land accurately in the right latitude—and are also the basis for ruling out so many sites suggested over the years. If previous authors had noted them, they might not have plunged into writing their hypotheses for some far-flung spots.

Climate

Most of the information is interlinked like a giant spider’s web. The weather details, for instance, are not only given directly but can also be deduced from a study of the crops and fruits listed. Perhaps the most pertinent climate clue is that regarding bathing. Clue 75 reads: “They made cisterns, some open to the heavens, others roofed over to be used in winter as warm baths.” It was obviously too cold for open-air pools to be used in the winter. This information is reinforced by the disclosure in clue 97 that it was
warm enough for two crops annually and, although there was plentiful rainfall in the winter, water had to be carefully conserved in a hugely ambitious storage system for irrigation in the summer. “Twice in the year they gathered the fruits of the earth, in winter having the benefit of the rain from heaven, and in summer the water which the land supplied by introducing streams from the canals.” This clearly indicates a climate of hot, dry summers and mild, wet winters. Any resident of the Algarve or southwest Andalucía, asked about the local climate, would describe it exactly thus.

In southern Iberia, summer lasts from May to the end of September, with hardly any rain. The temperatures vary between 27ºC and 35ºC, with occasional heat waves causing spikes up to 40ºC.

October is often glorious, with little rainfall and sufficiently strong sunshine to still quickly bring a red glow to unprotected skin. Autumn colors continue beyond the end of November and any serious rain immediately heralds the first sprinkling of wild flowers. In late December, early almond blossoms break bud and wild narcissi and dainty daffodils nod in the fresh breeze. The lemon yellow as acacia (mimosa) blooms, completely covering the trees, is synonymous with January, as autumn blends seamlessly into spring.

There is no real winter, apart from a few frosts in places in early January, when the night skies are so clear that you yearn for a telescope.

The most satisfying months are from February to May. It is a joy to be alive, bathed in warm sunshine and breathing alpine-like air, for an average of twenty days each month. The fields and trees are swathed in blossom and, before March is out, the heady perfume of orange blossom is all-pervading.

From November to April there is usually rainfall, sometimes torrential, interspersed with spells of two or three weeks of sparkling blue skies. Daytime temperatures range from 15ºC to 25ºC; but when the sun sets, it is decidedly cooler and cold winds can make the air feel chillier still. It is very much a climate of warm sun but cold air. As soon as the sun dips, the temperature drops dramatically. One minute you are comfortable in an open-necked shirt, the next you need to don a woolly. Heating of some sort is definitely necessary in the home, especially from late afternoon onward.
Only the masochistic swim in open-air pools; the water is far too cold. The precious rainfall has to be conserved and stored for summer irrigation.

That is just as Plato indicated. Other areas frequently suggested as sites for Atlantis—off the coast of West Africa, for example—are automatically ruled out, as winter temperatures there are far too high. The more temperate zones of northern Europe, where winter weather is foul and summers are seldom hot and dry, can also be dismissed. This idyllic Algarve climate is helped enormously by the 40-kilometer-deep tract of mountains immediately to the north. Thousands of years ago, in the era Plato alludes to, the range was even grander and would have played a vital role in protecting the area from the Ice Age and the five thousand years or so of thaw that followed it. In most places, the mountains are within 10 kilometers of the coast, in some areas they practically reach it, and—despite millennia of erosion, earthquake-induced landslides, and, most likely, some subsidence—they are still substantial. Numerous fertile valleys nestle in the folds, and many of the hillsides, particularly those farthest south and in river valleys, have been terraced in order to grow timber or orange trees.

There is, though, one doubt—especially relevant in view of the current uproar over global warming. Was the southwest Iberian climate in 9600
B.C.
the same as it is today?

As the glaciers receded and the ice caps melted, from around 16,000
B.C.
, the earth warmed up. By approximately 11,000
B.C.
, the conditions were much like today’s, and the sea level was about 120 meters higher than before.

Then, around 11,000
B.C.
, there was a sudden and dramatic reversal known as the Allerød or Younger Dyas period. Temperatures dropped, as did sea levels, since the water was again being trapped in ice.
⁵³

Then temperatures once more suddenly started to rise, quickly reaching the previous levels before 9600
B.C.

This muddies the water swirling around the current man-made global-warming theories. The temperature tap has repeatedly, and often suddenly, opened or closed during periods when humans could not have been responsible.

It indicates that at the time Atlantis disappeared, the climate would have been the same as it is today. A few thousand years before that, however,
as the empire was growing, it would have been cooler, though far more agreeable than in northern Europe.

There is something else worth noting that was a by-product of these climate changes. The great agricultural plains of the Sahara were converted into desert, presumably by global warming.

As for comparing Plato’s clues about climate, however, the inescapable conclusion is that he could just as well have been describing the conditions in southwest Iberia. They are identical.

Crops and Vegetation

One of the most intriguing aspects of Plato’s description of Atlantis is that sophisticated agriculture existed thousands of years before it is thought to have been developed. It would have necessitated a long period of careful selection and propagation first—or, alternatively, people with the advanced biological knowledge that we possess today. It was not a case of just collecting wild seeds, sticking them into prepared ground, and then harvesting: high-yield versions had to be developed before the intensive labor involved in farming could be really worthwhile. Archaeological records show that around 8000
B.C.
, the so-called “eight founder crops” suddenly appeared out of the blue in the Levant, the countries bordering the eastern Mediterranean. There were two varieties of wheat, together with barley, peas, lentils, bitter vetch, chickpeas, and flax. Agriculture required settled communities and they, in turn, required the developed crops; they were interdependent. Only after these communities were successfully established could more complex societies develop, together with technical abilities and other occupations … civilization.

It is clear from what Plato wrote that Poseidon, the founder of Atlantis, and his fellow gods were well acquainted with this form of society and went about setting it up in each of their allotted territories. First, Poseidon
peopled
the land (clues 18 to 20), then organized an efficient irrigation system to maximize agriculture. Plato left no clue as to who this founder race was, where they came from, and how they acquired their knowledge, apart from telling us that they were gods.

Many have suggested that it was the survivors of this Atlantis ruling elite who brought their far superior culture and their crops to the Middle East’s
Fertile Crescent, Egypt, and the Americas. This, it is proposed, explains the sudden appearance in each area of agriculture and more sophisticated societies, without any apparent evidence of prior development.

Don’t get the wrong idea about these gods. Apart from what Plato wrote, references to these ruling elites from other cultures, such as Sumeria, Egypt, India, and South America, make it clear that they were not supernatural beings, but rather flesh and blood. They had the same appetites, requirements, pleasures, and lusts that we do. I will leave readers to ponder the implications.

Returning to the comparison with southwest Iberia, Plato specified that “Atlantis” provided most of what was required for
the uses of life
(clue 40). This included root crops, herbs and pulses, all manner of fruits, nuts such as chestnuts, and plenty of timber (clues 48 to 52). As you will see, that description fits the Algarve as tightly as a Victorian corset pinched a lady’s waist.

The land yields two crops every year of fruits, wheat, maize, sunflowers, and animal fodder. Bountiful amounts of citrus, apples, pears, quince, plums, apricots, peaches, nectarines, pomegranates, figs, loquats, grapes, olives, avocados, and nuts are harvested—although these are not all necessarily indigenous. A huge variety of vegetables is produced at intervals throughout the year. Runner and broad beans are particularly beloved, and a wide range of dried pulses makes attractive, colorful displays on market stalls.

Plato particularly mentions chestnuts (clue 51): “… and a good store of chestnuts.” It is the only crop or fruit he names individually, and that is an important indicator. Many of the Algarve’s hills, close to the plain, have groves of them, coincidentally providing rewarding harvesting grounds for edible mushrooms like exquisite chanterelles. Yuletide shopping expeditions in Algarve towns and cities wouldn’t be complete without the tempting aromas emanating from roast-chestnut stands.

It is usually assumed that Plato was referring to the sweet, edible chestnut variety, which is generically known as the Portuguese or Spanish chestnut. Where this originated is still debated. Eastern Spain is the favorite, but that is only to be expected as it is in the Mediterranean basin, in an area better documented than the little known far southwest of Iberia.
That Plato selected chestnuts for special mention indicates that they were spread across that area too.

They are not the only nuts that are prolific in the region. Most mature gardens have a walnut tree, and the Algarve is also famous for its almond blossom—so much so that the Tourist Board made it the region’s official symbol. Kilometer after kilometer of the countryside is smothered in pink and white blossoms in January and February … a visual substitute for snow.

Like citrus fruit, it is suggested that almonds were introduced by invaders such as the Romans or the earlier Phoenician traders; but there appears to be little, if any, proof of this. The possibility of anything much ever having been native to the area, or introduced during a much earlier epoch, is not even entertained. It is a repetitive theme. For thousands of years, the Algarve was little known, regarded as insignificant: a forgotten land.

The hypothesis developed in this book supports the opposite view … that an ancient civilization flowered here, probably preceding all others known in Europe, the Mediterranean basin, and the Middle East.

One of Plato’s clues that has been the subject of much debate is number 50, referring to a fruit with a hard rind, which the Atlanteans used for food, to make a drink, and to extract oil from (for ointments). The assumption perpetuated in many books is that this was the coconut. This led to a further assumption: that the Atlantis climate was tropical, thus leading to theories of all sorts of exotic locations for Atlantis. This is an excellent example of how the story is often twisted. The explicit clues provided by Plato most certainly do not indicate a tropical zone. Coconut palms would not have survived in an area where the seasonal chill factor made the water too cold for swimming in open-air pools during the winter.

More tellingly, as already discussed, Plato specifically referred to chestnuts, which simply do not grow in the same climatic zone as coconuts. The latter prefer tropical climes like that of Hawaii. They might just survive in lower temperatures, provided there were no frosts and provided they were planted in containers that could be brought under cover or indoors at night. In those circumstances, though, the palms would be unlikely to fruit.

Nevertheless, the puzzle remained: what on earth
was
Plato referring to? I kept returning to this problem for many months until one day, while walking the dog, I had a “Eureka” moment: as we reached the bottom of
our drive, Coco paused to nuzzle and sniff in the leaf litter and fallen fruit of the carob tree. Suddenly the answer to the conundrum flashed before me. It had, literally, been under my nose all along—and was now under my dog’s. The mystery fruit was the humble carob.

The carob tree produces three- to six-inch broad bean–like fruits in summer. They are black when ripe and have a hard, brittle skin with several beans inside. These beans were used in the ancient Middle East to weigh against gold, due to their incredibly uniform weight—hence the word “carat,” used to define the quality of gold. During the Second World War years, when I was very young, almost the only sweets available to us were pieces of carob fruit. It softens as it is chewed, releasing a pleasant, faintly sweet, chocolaty taste. (
SEE IMAGE
14
BELOW
.)