New Discovery Reveals Ancient Tree City, Archaeologists Claim
Science can be stranger than fiction. Sometimes, science seems to compete with fiction. Take the story of Atlantis, for example. For centuries people assumed that Plato had made it all up and then archaeologists began associating the Mediterranean island of Thera with Plato’s story. Thera had been destroyed by a huge volcanic eruption, much like Atlantis in Plato’s story.
Other odd discoveries have made waves through the years. In 2007, for example, Reinhard Van Gelder, a now discredited archaeologist, announced that he and a team of other archaeologists had solved a 100-year-old mystery. Their report claimed that two Rhine valley fortresses had been enemies thousands of years ago and that western fortress apparently prevailed over eastern one.
A doubting scientific community demanded proof, especially citing the need to produce some remains from the ancient inhabitants of the fortresses. Van Gelder spent the last couple years of his life trying to quell the criticism and salvage his reputation. His quest ended up in the hands of Dr. Ernst Voorst, who had participated in Van Gelder’s investigation of the two fortresses.
Now this week Dr. Voorst has announced a follow up investigation reveals that the western culture apparently lived in trees but — probably at the end of the war — it simply packed up its homes, buried them, and then left. No one seems to know where they went, but one grave has finally been located. The nearly complete remains of a woman dubbed the Princess of the Golden Wood have been exposed for scientific scrutiny.
Working in complete secrecy for over a year (after initial leaks about the project were quashed on the Internet), Dr. Voorst and his team (including French anthropologist Felecia Bonnet) found traces of ancient tree houses buried nearby. They reconstructed what they believe may have been a royal residence, perhaps belonging to the “princess”.
Pictures of the small golden wood region, the princess and her grave, the reconstructed tree house, and what is supposedly an ancient road have been released to the Internet. No one is quite sure of what to make of all this. Has Dr. Voorst finally discovered the proof that he and Dr. Van Gelder needed several years ago?
