As promised, here’s the first instalment of a series of posts giving a summary of what I considered the best stories from last year. That doesn’t necessarily mean they were the biggest stories – sometimes what interests me more is the reaction certain stories inspire, how they link up with other news threads coming out at the time, and so on.
To start, here’s what I thought were the most fascinating ‘Hidden History’ stories for 2008:
- Despite the drop in visibility since the ‘hey-days’ of the 1990s, the ‘Hall of Records’ mythos continues, as evidenced by this story.
- Similarly, the quest for the ‘secret chamber’ hidden by the ‘Gantenbrink Door’ in the Great Pyramid continues, with Dr Zahi Hawass at the reins.
- And still more secret pyramid chambers rumours in last year’s ongoing news story regarding the ‘internal ramp’ theory of French architect Jean Pierre Houdin.
- Finishing up in Egypt: Did Khufu build two pyramids at Giza?
- Everyone seemed to get interested in the origins of Stonehenge once more.
- The ‘Jesus Tomb’ controversy erupted…again.
- In related news, the ‘Jesus Bone Box’ fraud case collapsed.
- Telling us what we already new, researchers proclaimed that the ancients smoked pot.
- An exciting Peruvian ‘lost city’ was ruled to be a natural formation by authorities.
- The legal fight over a $500 million underwater treasure continued.
- And the Flores ‘Hobbit’ debate just keeps on going.
- Almost 20 years after Graham Hancock wrote about it, some latecomers suggested the Ark of the Covenant could be in Ethiopia.
- A specialist in faked antiquities suggested that the enigmatic Phaistos Disc may have been a 100-year-old hoax.
- There was controversy and disappointment when it came to release of the ‘Bloodline’ documentary.
- The new Indiana Jones movie ensured that the crystal skulls made a comeback…and brought the skeptics out swinging in the process.
- The Long Now Foundation devised a new Rosetta Stone.
- There were new theories about the colonisation of the New World.
- And finally, the dominating ‘hidden history’ story of the year was probably the much-hyped and debated Bosnian Pyramid claim. Which went on, and on.
- But my personal pick for the best story of the year: Göbekli Tepe finally got some mainstream media coverage. Look for a slew of misinformed books from hidden history ‘experts’ in the near future…
Tomorrow, we head into UFO country…bring your fly swats.
