Looking for Ruins at Bimini or elsewhere..

[guru153]

Has anybody dived off Bimini at all? There are supposed to be some ruins there,
'the Bimini Road' even ancient columns. I have heard theories that they can be anything from the legendary ancient Atlanteans, to Mesoamerican to barrels of Portland cement.

Is it worth a trip to dive to these areas. Or are they hoaxes to attract tourists?

 

[archman]

They're geomorphic features... natural. Nothing special there, 'cept maybe to marine geologists.

 

[DennisS]

Gene Shinn did a study of these in the mid 70's

http://www.csicop.org/si/2004-01/geologists-adventures.html

 

[archman]

Gene Shinn did a study of these in the mid 70's
http://www.csicop.org/si/2004-01/geologists-adventures.html

That's an oustanding article, exactly what should be expected from a professional expert in the field. What disgusts me is how people even today conveniently ignore studies like this, or attack the qualifications of the people who perform them. Hooray for geology.

 

[Jmaserati]

I'm reading the Graham Hancock book "Underworld" right now... it speaks to these conjectures about an ancient civilization.

There was also a PBS special recently about the Chinese discovering North America before Columbus... it surmised that the Bimini "road" was actually a stone "rail" so that the Chinese crews could careen their massive ships.

I like this kinda stuff too...

Check out info on the Japanese site at Yonaguni too.

 

[tvictory]

There is very good diving in the Bimini area, especially to the south around Cat Cay, Gun Cay, etc. "Bimini Road" is a waste of time and compressed air. You can see it all in five minutes with a mask and snorkel. If you are diving off North Bimini, see if the captain will take you there during your surface interval.

 

[archman]

"Bimini Road" is a waste of time and compressed air. You can see it all in five minutes with a mask and snorkel.

Alas, that is how I also see it. On my Blackbeard's trip to Bimini, I dove or snorkeled every site but the "roads". The people that did snorkel it reported nothing to see but rocks, and got out pretty quick, bored. The time we spent motoring to the site and heaving too could've been more profitably spent at a patch reef.

 

[guru153]

Alas, that is how I also see it. On my Blackbeard's trip to Bimini, I dove or snorkeled every site but the "roads". The people that did snorkel it reported nothing to see but rocks, and got out pretty quick, bored. The time we spent motoring to the site and heaving too could've been more profitably spent at a patch reef.

Thanks for the feedback, so I am not going to waste my time and air on Bimini.

Let's move further south to the Yucatan. Has anybody dove off of the Mayan
pennusula, say Cancun? According to travel brochures this is suppose to be
the world's second best coral reef. One being the great barrier in Australia.

Now with all the pyramids in Mexico is there a possibilty there
could be remains of others in the gulf. Anybody seen any?

I guess ruins would not stay in tack too long underwater. They may get
pushed down from the coral.

 

[guru153]

One last question on Bimini.

One other artifact that is found off the shores of Bimini
is the columns or pillars. Fantasy has it that they are columns
from ancient Atlanteans but more sober research indicate that they
are from crates of cement from Portland Cement. The barrels of cement
fall over from trade ships and the wood rots aways leaving just the
cement in the shape of the barrels. Well one problem with that'
is that as anybody will tell you that for cement to get hard it
must dry out, difficult to do when the cement powder is constantly
in the water. Will cement get hard when it it is submerged?

Has anybody here seen these columns?

Alas, that is how I also see it. On my Blackbeard's trip to Bimini, I dove or snorkeled every site but the "roads". The people that did snorkel it reported nothing to see but rocks, and got out pretty quick, bored. The time we spent motoring to the site and heaving too could've been more profitably spent at a patch reef.

 

[Damselfish]

Well one problem with that'
is that as anybody will tell you that for cement to get hard it
must dry out, difficult to do when the cement powder is constantly
in the water. Will cement get hard when it it is submerged?

It would harden, assuming it doesn't wash away first. Cement does not "dry" - the hardening is a chemical reaction with water. It's an exothermic reaction (generates heat), and especially in hot weather you'll see concrete hosed down and/or covered with plastic to keep it wet and cooler, especially something thin like a slab.