Controversial Claim by Geologist: Mysterious tracks in Turkey caused by unknown civilization millions of years ago
In what is sure to cause controversy, a researcher has claimed that the mysterious and ancient ruts which crisscross the Phrygian Valley of Turkey were caused by an unknown and intelligent race between 12 and 14 million years ago.
Dr. Alexander Koltypin, geologist and a director of the Natural Science Scientific Research Centre at Moscow's International Independent University of Ecology and Politology has recently completed investigations at the site in Anatolia which is marked with strange ruts, described as “petrified tracking ruts in rocky tuffaceous deposits’ made from compacted volcanic ash,” according to MailOnline.
Repeated travel with vehicles eventually cut into the soft, volcanic rock in Turkey. Credit: Alexander Koltypin, Dopotopa.com
The tracks cut across the landscape of the Phrygia Valley, dating back to various historical periods, according to conventional academia. The earliest roads are thought to have been made during the Hittite Empire (circa 1600 BC – 1178 BC). As time went on, paths were cut deeply into the soft rock by the Phrygians, then by the Greeks, and Alexander the Great with his armies. They eventually became part of the Roman road network, writes Culture Routes in Turkey.
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Relief in basalt depicting a battle chariot, Carchemish, 9th century BC; Late Hittite style with Assyrian influence. Did such vehicles leave the tracks in the ancient Phrygia Valley? (CC BY 2.0)
Koltypin and colleagues have examined the rocky fields interlaced with deep grooves, and have suggested that it was indeed vehicles which caused the tracks, but not lightweight carts or chariots. Instead he suggests the “unknown antediluvian all-terrain vehicles” were huge and heavy. In addition, he dates them back to approximately 14 million years ago, and claims they were driven by an unknown civilization.
He told MailOnline, “All these rocky fields were covered with the ruts left some millions of years ago....we are not talking about human beings.”
The geologist says with certainty that the ruts are prehistoric without a doubt, due to the weathering and cracks observed.
“The methodology of specifying the age of volcanic rocks is very well studied and worked out,” Koltypin said.
The deep tracks run along the landscape, some reportedly as deep as 3 feet (1 meter). Credit: Alexander Koltypin, Dopotopa.com
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The scientist notes that the distance between each pair of tracks remains consistent, and that the measurement fit that between the wheels of a modern vehicles. However, the tracks are much too deep for today’s cars, raising more questions about what sort of transport device was being used.
The deepest ruts are three feet (one meter), and on the walls of these ruts are horizontal scratches, very much appearing to have been left by the ends of axels poking out of ancient wheels.
Photograph showing the scratch marks along the side of the tracks. Were these caused by ancient axels? Credit: Alexander Koltypin, Dopotopa.com
News site Express reports that Koltypin believes the deep channels were cut into the soft, wet soil and rock due to the sheer weight of the large prehistoric vehicles. He says, “And later these ruts - and all the surface around - just petrified and secured all the evidence. Such cases are well known to geologists, for example, the footprints of dinosaurs were ‘naturally preserved’ in a similar way.”
The prehistoric mysterious vehicle tracks as found in the Phrygian Valley of Turkey, with a modern car for scale. Credit: Alexander Koltypin, Dopotopa.com
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Koltypin is aware that his claims are controversial, but says mainstream academia will not address the subject matter as it will “ruin all their classic theories.”
“I think we are seeing the signs of the civilization which existed before the classic creation of this world. Maybe the creatures of that pre-civilization were not like modern human beings,” he proposes.
Very similar interesting and mysterious tracks exist in other locations of the world, notably in the Maltese archipelago. These ancient grooves continue to puzzle researchers. Some of the strange tracks of Misrah Ghar il-Kbir deliberately plunge off cliffs or continue off land and into the ocean. It is not yet known who made the tracks, or why.
Cart Ruts at Misraћ Gћar il-Kbir, Malta, so similar to the tracks in Turkey. (CC BY-SA 3.0)
Like the channels at Malta, questions remain surrounding the deep tracks cut into the stone in the Phrygian Valley.
Koltypin’s research work continues as he investigates anomalous sites, but it will likely be some time before established academia embraces his unconventional theories.
Featured Image: Mysterious ancient tracks dissect the landscape in the Phrygian Valley of Turkey. What is the truth about who made these tracks, and how? Credit: Alexander Koltypin, Dopotopa.com
By Liz Leafloor
Comments
Much of this is because the knowledge is lost and "Experts" tend to disregard the simple and obvious answers. The locals probably have stories of these tracks and how they came about, but because they are not "Educated Experts" their stories are immediately thrown out without any consideration at all.
After personally walking 50 miles of what is left of the "Beale Road" and observing the same type of ruts along with drag stones I inquired with the experts in the area for a detailed explanation how they were actually used. Not one could put together a viable step by step operation in how they were used.
I then tracked down one of the Ranchers who owned land that this road happened to pass through. Turns out his great great grandfather came west along this road to settle the Ranch lands he owned and knew exactly how the operation to lower Wagons down these steep inclines using the Drag stones was done. It was quite an operation that took a whole day to complete safely and successfully.
Point is that because the Rancher did not have three or four "Degrees" no one would even take the time to inquire or consider the knowledge this Gentleman had to offer.
Lawn chair archaeologists aren't we all? What good does it do to go on-site and record the evidence to study when there is already a para-dime point of view to explain everything? There is no wonder that the headline of "scientists baffled by new discovery" is so common. Who needs evidence when someone else can always just tell us what to believe? Sarcastic I reckon.
We have the same thing along the Historic Beale Road in Az. Loaded Wagons were hard to hold while going down a grade of Slippery Stone so “Drag Stones” were tied to the back which added friction Braking. Dragging these Stones down behind the wheels and back up to the top again for another go around created the very same type of Ruts as these. I’ll Bet with some searching around in these areas one could find a Drag Stone or two. I do not think they are as old as claimed though, Tuft weathers fairly quickly once disturbed, especially in an area where it freezes repeatedly.
These look almost exactly like the ruts on the Oregon Trail in the Northwest U.S. which were cut in only a few decades (c. 1830 - 1870) by metal-rimmed wagon wheels. No need for it to have been muddy ground that then petrified; stone is not as impervious as some geologists seem to think.
Am I the only one that sees a problem with the article claiming the tracks are in VOLCANIC ROCK, but then going on to say these supposed vehicles left tracks in WET MUD?
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