The A.R.E.'s Search For Atlantis

Andros Island Investigation Report Summary (February 14, 2003)

By Dr. Greg Little & Dr. Lora Little

Note: A further update on the Andros Investigation has been posted on this website. We are returning to Andros March 13. The update includes pictures and can be found by clicking here. The discovery of an underwater Anomaly at Andros on March 16 is described here.

From February 4 to February 12, we were at Andros Island, the largest island of the Bahamas. Our broad goal was to look for any clues or evidence pointing to the possible existence of pre-Ice Age civilizations in the region. In addition, we had several specific goals including searching for the enigmatic "concentric stone circles of Andros" photographed by Robert Brush and Trigg Adams in 1968. Prior to making the journey, we determined that, despite claims to the contrary, apparently no one else had ever seen or photographed the formation. In late January we interviewed Trigg Adams, a long-time A.R.E. member, at his home to determine the location of the circles. That interview was videotaped and will be included in a video documentary and book that will be available at the October "Atlantis Rising" conference at the A.R.E. This report is only a brief summary of a few of the findings of this investigation and another trip to Andros will be made in the near future to complete the investigation. Next month we will post a few photographs of the trip.

Aerial View of Bimini.

Our flight began by flying over Bimini where we located the "pentagon," several circles previously located on the A.R.E.'s satellite survey, and other curious forms including two question marks complete with the circular dot at the bottom (?).

Aerial Survey of Andros.

Andros is 100 miles long and about 40 miles wide at its widest point. Only a few thousand people live on the island and virtually all of these people live on a narrow strip on Eastern Andros. In fact, western Andros is a mystery to virtually everyone on the island as it is uninhabited and seldom visited, since it is extremely difficult to visit. Other than at a small Mennonite farm on North Andros, no formal cultivation is done. A few residents grow citrus and vegetables, but the remainder of the island is mangrove, pine forest, dense jungle vegetation, or what looks like vast mud plains. About 150 blue holes are on or around the island.

We began by making an extensive aerial survey of the island flying at 900 feet. Essentially, we flew from top to bottom about 2 miles out to sea and then retraced the journey further inland making three passes before flying back and forth over the widest point of the island. We found dozens of perfect circles under the shallow waters of western Andros and the most promising were noted on maps with the GPS coordinates. Two huge circles were found within seven miles of each other with one of them clearly resembling the circles photographed by Brush and Adams. In addition, underwater planes (which had crashed) and a few wrecks were seen.

Visiting the Circles.

Journeying to the circles proved to be extremely difficult. But it also proved to be one of the most beautiful and exhilerating experiences Lora and I have ever had. The weather was literally perfect every day we were there. Journeying to and from western Andros took about nine and a half hours each day. We went to central west Andros one day, and southwest Andros the next day. Because the waters are very shallow in places, reaching only inches deep for miles, a small boat had to be used. One sponge fisherman, a 15-year veteran of spongeing, was willing to take us. He related that he had been on the far southwestern side of Andros only once, 7 years ago. But he knew the narrow passages that led to the open water. It would have been impossible otherwise. Our small boat carried all three of us, our cameras, videos, snorkeling gear, and about 70 gallons of gas which was nearly all consumed by the end of the trip. At times the trip was like moving through the Amazon through narrow passages of mangroves on both sides. Then the water would open up to what seemed to be a turquoise ocean only to be enclosed by land again in 20 minutes or so. Then another narrow passage was encountered, and this went on and on. Through the use of the GPS coordinates, we were able to land right on top of three of the most important circles.

Explaining the Mystery.

After the first day and first circle was investigated, our guide explained the circle we had seen. His explanation was drawn in the sand for us and will be shown on the video. In addition, later that night, after returning to our accommodations (the Seascape Inn), we found the same explanation in a Bahamian marine biology textbook. Without going into great detail, it is a natural phenomenon explained by turtlegrass or seagrass and aquatic life. Our video and book will go into more detail, but the circles are clearly natural and explainable. The second day we had no trouble locating the two largest circles with GPS that we earlier spotted from the air (one of which is in Cuban airspace). Both of these circles, one a perfect 2000 feet in diameter and the other measured by GPS as a perfect 325 feet in diameter, were not formed by the same process. But both were clearly natural formations involving rock. More detail on the process of their formation as well as their exact location will be released on the video and in the book at the conference. One of these circles, the 325 foot one, almost exactly matched the 1968 photo.

Possible Temple Found.

One of the most unexpected finds was shown to us by a 94-year old Bahamian who had come to the Bahamas as a child from Africa. He had extensive land at a high point on the island. Over a three hour period he led us to what appeared to be the ruins of a stone temple atop a high overlook. Decades ago he sold truckloads of limestone building blocks from the site to various builders. Measurements and alignments taken at the location appear to support the idea that a large stone structure once stood on the location. The foundation floor stones remained along with stone tiers resembling a multileveled pyramid or temple. All of this was also photographed and videotaped. The site has never been archaeologically examined.

Caves.

Immediately under the possible temple site a series of caves exist. Some of them were completely inaccessible because of impenetrable jungle vegetation. In fact, Greg is still covered with "poisonwood" — the Bahamanian equivalent to poision ivy—except that the plant looks nothing like poision ivy and is a tree. In addition, we were led to other caves by longtime residents who reported on pottery and remains that had been recovered from them. One fascinating cave opened to a huge cavern accessed only by crawling through a narrow passageway. Further investigation revealed that Andros is literally honeycombed with caves, virtually none of them excavated by archaeologists. Petroglyphs have been reported in some caves, but we were unable to find them.

Other Notes.

There are several other interesting facts uncovered about Andros indicating that it was inhabited before the last Ice Age (10,000 B.C.). We are still gathering this information and corresponding with professionals in the military who have access to this information. We are not yet at liberty to discuss these details, but hope to be able to do so soon. In addition, Greg dove two times on the eastern side of Andros going only to 45 feet. A shelf between the shallow banks of Andros and the Tongue of the Ocean ranges between 150 to 300 feet in depth. There are extensive underwater caves in this area including blue holes, one of which we snorkeled. There may well be pre-Ice Age structures in this location.

What's Next.

The preliminary expedition to Andros appears to have provided an explanation for underwater circles as well as many rectangular structures. The rectangular structures will be explained in detail later. However, several other specific enigmatic features remain unvisited and unexplained. We hope to conclusively know the details on these "structures" soon. This will be accomplished by a focused visit on March 13.