• AP Magazine

    An alternative way to explore and explain the mysteries of our world. "Published since 1985, online since 2001."

  • 1



The “Underwater Pyramid” Discovered off the Azores—The Update No One Wants To Read



By Dr. Greg Little


The story emerged around September 23, 2013 and was soon touted on thousands of web sites where it morphed into more and more fantastic claims. The stories started by relating that a “gigantic pyramid” had been discovered off the Azores Island of Terceira in 130 feet of water. It was said to be 197-feet tall, perfectly aligned to the cardinal directions, perfectly square, and discovered by a private Portuguese yachtsman using sonar. The base was calculated at 295 feet on each side. It was first reported on Portuguese television and then by a newspaper. When it hit the internet it quickly morphed into a “perfect stone pyramid,” definitely “the discovery of Atlantis,” the main site where “ancient aliens from Atlantis” landed, and so much more. The Portuguese Navy was said to be excited and investigating the discovery.

The sonar images didn’t really look perfectly square, but that didn’t matter. And the idea that it was “gigantic” seemed odd. There are a lot of pyramids, ancient and modern, that are taller and have much larger bases. But the speculation ran rampant on web sites and forums. Almost immediately, calculations were made asserting that the pyramid was so “perfect” that it incorporated Phi in its base and Pi in its height. The slope of the pyramid’s sides was calculated by some people to be precisely the same as Kafre’s Pyramid at Giza. Author Graham Hancock became so excited that he wrote that he was considering going to site to scuba dive it. Then a website touting the discovery popped up that used the nonprofit (org) designation. It began by complaining that the discovery was not getting enough media attention. The owner of the website is listed as “private” and was registered by a third party.

Very few people wrote anything cautious. I wrote on Facebook that there were stone structures on several Azores islands and it would not be surprising that some structures there were now underwater. And I hoped that the reports were true, but because I have used sonar and seen a lot of old sonar reports of underwater “pyramids”—which later turned out to be nothing but shifting piles of sand, I doubted the entire thing. Andrew Collins wrote on Facebook that, while it was intriguing, he cautioned that sonar was not a reliable way to discover an underwater pyramid and that volcanic hills and ridges were known to be in that area. Oddly the reports of pyramid discoveries in the Bahamas still keep emerging as if they are new stories. But all of these have turned out to be false—sadly so, I will add.

For a week or so the websites touting the discovery kept asking what the Portuguese Navy was doing? But when the Navy gave their answer, it was met with silence and claims of a cover-up.

On October 5 the Portugal-based Hydrographic Institute issued a report that was all but totally ignored by the English speaking media. Portuguese newspapers reported that the sonar used by the sailor was extremely low-resolution. The data points obtained by the sonar pings created straight lines making it look uniform. The Secretary of Science & Culture had also asked the Portuguese Navy to investigate so they pulled out a hydrographic survey of the site made with the highest resolution equipment. The results were definitive: there is no “structure” there, just a hill on the bottom.

The Portuguese Navy then formally commented on the “discovery.” In this video a Navy Commander relates that it is a sonar “read error” and that it is a volcanic hill.

The Portuguese Hydrographic Institute then related that the “pyramid” was a known volcanic hill and posted actual underwater bottom contours of the site from a hydrographic survey.

Note that if you click on the above link, the best view is obtained by clicking on the link to watch it on YouTube. Then click on the “full page view” setting.

For the Portuguese Navy and their officials (who were initially said to be excited and involved) that ended the affair. But almost immediately there came allegations that it was a cover-up. It is obviously a pyramid from Atlantis some claimed, and for reasons that are obscure, the government doesn’t want anyone to know. At least, that’s the claim. But of course, none of the people who claim a cover-up will ever go out there and dive it or drop a camera down. It is much better to keep it alive as a mystery. After all, no one wants to admit the truth—or know the truth.


Saturday, November 09, 2024