Lost lands
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Lost Lands are islands, continents, or even whole planets believed by some to have existed during pre-history, but to have since disappeared as a result of catastrophic geological phenomena. Such continents are generally thought to have subsided into the sea, leaving behind only a few traces or legends by which they may be known.
Legends of lost lands often originated as scholarly or scientific theories, only to be picked up by writers and individuals outside the academy. Occult and New Age writers have made use of Lost Lands, as have subaltern peoples such as the Tamil in India.
Phantom Islands, as opposed to Lost Lands, are land masses formerly believed by cartographers to exist in the current historical age, but to have been discredited as a result of expanding geographic knowledge.
The Lost lands were referred to in the Torchwood Episode "Small Worlds" when discussing the origin of the chosen ones who become fairies. It was commented that many of the chosen ones go back millenia and come from the lost lands.
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[edit] Lost Lands
- Airyana Vaejo
- Agartha
- Atlantis
- Beringia, connecting Asia and North America
- Goodwin Sands (Lomea).
- Hyperborea
- Kumari Kandam
- Lemuria
- Cantref Gwaelod Lowland Hundred
- Lyonesse
- Mu
- Nibiru
- Ogygia
- Phaeton
- Shambhala
- Terra Australis
- Tiamat
- Thule
- Skherya
- Strand with the town Rungholt
- Sundaland, now the submerged Sunda shelf
- Troy
[edit] Origins
The following disciplines have given rise to Lost Lands:
- Mythology
- Philosophy (as with Atlantis)
- Catastrophic theories of Geology
- Occult writings
[edit] Writers of Lost Lands
The following individuals have written extensively on the subject of lost lands:
- H.P. Blavatsky
- James Churchward
- Ignatius Donnelly
- Burak Eldem
- Warren Ellis
- Plato
- Augustus Le Plongeon
- Zecharia Sitchin
H.P. Lovecraft often invoked the names of lost lands of his own invention, a practice which subsequently gave birth to the Cthulhu mythos. Lost lands also figured prominently in the philosophy of the Nazi Thule society.
[edit] Further reading
- Raymond H. Ramsay, No Longer on the Map: Discovering Places that Never Were, Ballantine, 1972.
