Search - Secrets of the Dead: Sinking Atlantis on DVD

Good, but makes assumptions

Duane R. Wirdel | 11/13/2008

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Ok. This film once again uses the Thera Theory for the demise of the Minoans. It pretty much proves there was significant ash fall near and around the island and that there is significant evidence for a tsunami. It does fall short in three ways though. One, the presenter states CONCLUSIVELY that Linear A has been deciphered and that it was an Indo-Iranian language, which although a theory is in no way accepted by the majority of academia and quite frankly does not make a lot of sense based on the placenames and words that we do understand. Also, recent DNA evidence shows the Minoans coming from Cilicia and being Anatolian in origin. Linear A does not seem to be a Luwian-Hittite language though. Second, the presenter does nothing in terms of accounting what was going on on Crete between 1600 and 1450, when the Mycenaeans rebuilt Knossos. One hundred and fifty years is a long period of time. The presenter also makes the assunption that just because ONE piece of evidence exists for cannibalism on Crete that the practice was common amongst the MINOAN people. Thats like saying that if an archaeologist 5000 years from now found evidence in the strata of a town of a mass serial murder that all of American society were serial killers. In short, the film presents some interesting evidence for a catastrophic event, but makes some seriously misleading statements and assumptions about Minoan culture."