User:Jesusisking3305/Richat Structure

Psuedoarchaeological Beliefs

The Richat Structure has gained popularity in the 21st century media due to psuedoarchaeological beliefs surrounding the Richat Structure's connections to Atlantis. While all such beliefs have been proven scientifically inaccurate, content continues to develop surrounding the issue. Atlantis is a mythical lost naval empire and island described by Plato in an allegorical context in his writings given by Timeaus and Critias. Today, classicists agree that the writing is allegorical in nature, and therefore a work of fiction. However, many modern-day writers and researchers still believe in the authenticity of Atlantis and continue the search for a location that matches that of the work of Plato. The Richat Structure is believed to be the location of Atlantis by a myriad of Atlantis-enthusiasts. The most popular supporter of the Richat Structure as the location of Atlantis is Jimmy Corsetti. Corsetti utilizes his Youtube Channel "Bright Insight" to create a myriad of video presentations, typically over topics such as "lost ancient mysteries, conspiracies, and the cosmos. Corsetti is a self-proclaimed "independent researcher" that has devoted a large quantity of his time to research surrounding Atlantis. The archaeological community views Atantaen Theories and Corsetti as contributors to psuedoscience and pop-culture theory. In particular, Corsetti has focused on the Richat structure as the brunt of his Atlantis Youtube videos. Corsetti posted his first video surrounding the "Eye of the Sahara" on September 4, 2018. In this video, he connects the words of Plato to the location of the Richat Structure.

Since his first video in 2018, Corsetti has produced a large quantity of his content on his Youtube Channel. His most popular video pertaining to the Richat structure, is titled "Ancient Map Shows The Lost City of Atlantis is The Eye of The Sahara – Ancient Civilization" and had recieved 5.8 million views (as of 11/7/2023). In the video, Jimmy Corsetti first makes the connection between the area of Mauritania and Atlas, the supposed legendary king of Mauritania in Greek mythology. Atlas is also known as the "King of Atlantis" in Greek mythology, which Corsetti uses to suggest that it is not coincidental that the Richat structure is located within Mauritania. Herodotus, the Greek father of history, developed maps in 430 B.C. Corsetti notes that Herodotus locates an area titled "Atlantes" south of the Straight of Gibraltar and within north-west Africa. Using the work of Plato, Corsetti compares how both the Atlantis from Plato and the Richat Structure consist of five concentric circles, with three rings of water and two of land. The distance of the Richat structure is claimed to be 23.5 kilometers in diameter, which matches the estimated 127 stadia, or 23.5 kilometers in diameter of Atlantis. Corsetti claims a diameter structure of the Richat structure that differs from the scientifically accepted length. Satilite imaging of the Richat structure contains an opening to the southwest, which is claimed to be similar to Plato's account of an opening of Atlantis to the south. Additionally, the Richat structure is located with mountains with rivers to its north, with large plains surrounding the area, which Corsetti claims to be similar to the description of Atlantis. Atlantis was also described to have red, black, and white stone. The area contains bedrock (brown) and sand (yellow or white) due to it's geological nature. Corsetti connects the colors of the Richat Structure in the geological record with that of Atlantis descriptions. Finally, Corsetti notes that Atlantis is claimed to have a multitude of elephants and draws the connection that Mauritania is home to Savanah Elephants in its area. Corsetti describes the area of the Richat Structure to have once been the sea-faring city of Atlantis around 12,000 years ago. Scientific studies estimate the Sahara Desert, including the Richat Structure, were formed approximately 7 million years ago with no evidence of recent submersion, creating tension between beliefs of Corsetti and the scientific community.

Corsetti originally based his ideas off of the 2018 documentary "Visiting Atlantis" by George S. Alexander and Natalis Rosen. The 57 minute documentary was posted onto the website "Gaia.com", a website criticized to be a "conspiracy theory hub". With great inaccuracy, the documentary questions how the Atlantis recorded by Plato, which consisted of concentric island rings, canals, and moats, became under sea-level. Corsetti also shares ideas connecting The Richat Structure with the Younger Dryas Impact, a theory promoted by Graham Hancock and Randall Carlson. The Younger Drayas Impact implies that the Richat Structure, which once was the city of Atlantis, was wiped out by global flooding caused by the Younger Dryas Impact approximately 12,000 years ago. Flooding in North America is theorized to have sent tidal waves transcontinentally, although with no empirical evidence.

While Corsetti was the pioneer in the theory of the Richat Structure as Atlantis, but other content creators and psuedoarchaeological websites soon followed suit. David Edward, an "author and ancient history theorist", independently published his book, Atlantis Solved: The Final Definitive Proof in 2022. Edward uses the research of Corsetti, along with his own analysis, to attempt to validate the Richat Structure as the lost city of Atlantis. Edward creates a checklist of Atlantis requirements and compares it the location of the Eye of the Sahara. After evaluating the Richat structure, he determined that the Richat structure is a 99.32% match as the location of Atlantis. At the conclusion of his work surrounding the Richat structure, he references the work of Jimmy Corsetti, Graham Hancock, and Erich von Däniken as inspirations to his work and underestimated outliers in the scientific world. Popular ideation surrounding the Richat Structure and Atlantis has expanded through Jimmy Corsetti's presentations on the Eye of the Sahara.

In addition, Corsetti promoted his theory on The Joe Rogan Experience on the YouTube channel "Poweful JRE" on December 2021, which stimulated more than 11 billion views. Since the release, Graham Hancock, a popular writer and psuedoarchaeologist, has also listed the Richat structure as a potential location for Atlantis. On the other hand, Randall Carlson is in firm negation of the Richat Structure as the location of Atlantis, listing the Azores Plateu as the more likely location.

Today, the archaeological community urges the public to utilize critical thinking and reject notions of psuedoscience. While the scientific community has disputed suspicions of an existent Atlantis, theorists continue to research the Richat Structure, and other locations, in the search of Atlantis's resting place.