The Phantom Time Hypothesis

[w_ockham]

I'm writing a paper on the "Phantom Time Hypothesis".  You can Google this, or refer to this paper by Niemitz http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/~mgk25/volatile/Niemitz-1997.pdf, or this by Illig http://www.bearfabrique.org/Catastrophism/illig_paper.htm, or this article about it on the BBC website http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/classic/A84012040. Briefly, the

Comments

[syntinen_laulu]

Nobody has yet mentioned archaeology. For this to work you'd have to hypothesise that the Emperor and the Church didn't merely invent and chronicle a vast forged history, but three centuries of archaeology as well. Here are two random examples of what that would have entailed:

- the designing of currencies for almost every ruler in Europe, including multiple mints for each one; the production of huge quantities of silver coinage; distressing the coins to simulate wear; depositing them singly and in groups in hoards, graves, shipwrecks, privies, middens, fields and streets by the million.

- the invention of the entire Viking culture, the development of its art styles, the manufacture of huge quantities of artefacts and their deposition across the world from Constantinople to the east coast of North America.

[w_ockham]

Thanks for the point about archaeology, which I know nothing about. Both Illig and Niemitz base their argument on the absence of buildings from the intervening period. Coins are a different matter. Any sources about these would be appreciated.

PS I found this http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Anglo-Saxon_Chronicle_-_C_-_871.jpg which has a nice date dccclxxi on it. I suppose they could argue that it was forged (it is an 11th c. copy. But the Worcester version dates from 892. Unfortunately I couldn't find on online image for the Worcester. I would love to see this.

[honniballi]

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[ranaorys]

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