Duane: Well, some fifteen years ago, Project Eureka was a name I gave to a visionary expedition of unique research vessels to search the offshore area of southern Belize for archeological evidence of a prehistoric seaport that would fit Plato's descriptive layout of the lost capital seaport city of Atlantis. I put the project on the "back burner" since then because the archeological perimeters of the site area shifted further westward into Guatemala under tons of swamp mud - which required a different set of searching tools. Essentially, Project Eureka is now the aeronautical expedition to Central America in search of visual evidence that would verify the historical data I've collected over the years.
Reporter 2: Why did you name this expeditionary project
after the word "eureka"?
Duane: The word "eureka" means "I found it" - as in when the Greek mathematician Archimedes discovered the means of measuring the purity of a gold crown. And since I felt like I found the general location of history's most famous missing seaport, I named the expeditionary project "eureka".
Reporter 1: What kind of "aeronautical
expedition" would be necessary to find your famous
prehistoric seaport?
Duane: The expedition would use a ship - or ships, that would be capable of collecting and documenting archeological evidence which could then be shared with the public. The design of such vessels would have the ability to search for visual clues of the lost seaport from high above the swampy site area in question. One vessel design was capable of flight itself but is still years from construction because of cost and flight testing. A second design could be a shallow draft multi-hull vessel, capable of crossing the shallow entrance of the Rio Dulce in Guatemala that leads to Lake Izabal. This vessel design would carry a small foldable seaplane or two on deck which could be used to visually document the expedition from above.
Reporter 1: Couldn't you just visit the site area in
question by employing a conventional airplane? Small native boats
could be rented in the area to search the swamp for clues of
prehistoric works. Have you thought of these simple options?
Duane: Yes - and your suggestions would be an early part of the greater project design. In fact, satellite imagery of the site area may already exist that could prove my theory of a prehistoric seaport. Perhaps the latest 3D mapping project conducted by the space shuttle Atlantis may yield visual evidence of history's greatest mystery. However, a unique research base vessel could help in collecting information and update any findings to, say, a website so that others could share in the expedition.
Reporter 1: A website in which to share in the
discovery of history's greatest mystery. That sounds interesting.
Good luck in finding your "group of visionary scholars"
you'll need to accomplish the project.
Duane: Thank you - and yes, qualified help from others would be appreciated. Even if no visual evidence of a prehistoric seaport was found, the expeditionary project would document the unique biosphere of the Lake Izabal area and should still reveal scientific treasures that would have value as a special program for some corporate network like the Discovery Channel or the National Geographic Society.
Reporter 2: While browsing the Internet, I found that
the Disney Corporation is developing an animated movie called
"Atlantis" wherein a expeditionary group of heroes
attempt to find the lost seaport of Atlantis. Do you have any
comment regarding this animated movie and your "visionary
expedition" you named Project Eureka?
Duane: At this time, I know little about Disney's animated movie called "Atlantis". And other than just a coincidence, the two "projects" are unrelated. I hope they don't layer another fantasy view on the subject like other writers have. It seems that every time Atlantis surfaces in the media or is used for entertainment reasons the subject is pushed further into the fictional realm which hides the truth behind the reality of mankind's most enduring legend.
Reporter 2: I've noticed that you have dropped the
visitor counter from your website. Why?
Duane: Just before the last Christmas, I removed the HTML visitor counter code from my main home page because it seemed to be not linking with the Spry network counter sometimes. Besides, what really counts is the email contacts from online visitors rather than website "hits". At over 22,000 visitors in two years was enough "hits" for me to see that others know about my SPIRIT OF ATLANTIS website.
Reporter 2: How have your online contacts been going
lately?
Duane: I'm sorry to say - very slow. In fact, my email seems to have stopped entirely. It's been several months since any online feedback has taken place. The first year of posting my website, I received several contacts a week or so. Now nothing. Either my research work is just to overwhelming to understand and believe in - or competition from other websites that also use the subject of Atlantis is burying easy access to my website. The words "spirit of atlantis", when placed in most major Internet search engines, will link with my website - but not the word "Atlantis". Apparently, I need to be more aggressive in marketing my website - and I would if I had more time to do so.
Reporter 2: I've also notice you have another email
address with CompuServe. Why is that?
Duane: My latest computer came with CompuServe 2000 - which requires new email addresses of its members if using the new interface. The new email address is "duanekmccullough@cs.com". My old CompuServe email address of "duanemccullough@compuserve.com" should still work I'm told - as long as I keep that account alive.
Reporter 3: Have you considered the idea that the
online contacts from your website have tapered off because of
your radical views regarding the true annual account of Western
History? In other words, could people be ignoring your historical
research because it seems to them your new radical views of the
A.D. timeline is so wrong, they consider it a waste of time in
trying to understand your other historical concepts about
Atlantis?
Duane: When I decided to believe in a new annual accountability of Western History some years ago, I knew I would consistently confront the idea that other people would think I'm crazy to believe in a timeline much smaller than the conventional A.D. timeline... Yes, I have considered the idea that my website is being ignored because my radical timeline views of ancient history and the Middle Ages seems wrong - however, because I also believe that my radical theories will be verified by other researchers in time, the subject of Atlantis and when it once existed should make major news someday soon. So, perhaps the recent slowdown of online contacts from my website is just the "calm before the storm" I need to give me time to prepare a for stronger attempt in contacting the media industry. Moreover, recent attempts to contact the media industry about my SPIRIT OF ATLANTIS book project have been put on hold because I've been working on LOST FOUNTAIN book project.
Reporter 2: How is that book project going? According
to the Introduction link from your main SPIRIT OF ATLANTIS
homepage, LOST FOUNTAIN was to be available this Spring. Is it?
Duane: LOST FOUNTAIN / Researching the Legend should be ready later this month. I have several beta versions now being reviewed. Price and availability is pending the review process. More information about the LOST FOUNTAIN book project can be found in the aforementioned Introduction link from my main SPIRIT OF ATLANTIS homepage.
Reporter 3: Since the conventional A.D. timeline seems
to be "scientifically supported" by such methods as the
Carbon-14 isotope rate decay formula, why should other historians
abandon the conventional five-thousand year count of Western
History in favor of your much smaller one-thousand year count? In
other words, how do you explain away artifacts that have been
Carbon dated to dates beyond your new thousand year annual
accountability of recorded time?
Duane: Without going into great detail as to how the Carbon-14 isotope rate decay formula can be compared to the annual rate of time on this planet, let me first say that before this popular method was first used for archeological purposes some five decades ago, much of the conventional A.D. timeline was already established in print. All scientist needed was to find a somewhat variable formula to trace historical artifacts that closely matched recorded history. When compared to dendrochronology - or tree ring dating, the Carbon-14 isotope rate decay formula can be cross referenced. However, because the average oldest living trees on Earth contain ring counts of less than a thousand, the person attempting to find comparative dates beyond a thousand annual rings of a tree has to rely on similar dead trees or dead portions of the living tree in question to match the living tree ring pattern. In other words, the process of matching live tree ring patterns with dead tree ring patterns of over about a thousand years ago can subject the dating formula to interpretive errors - thus, the Carbon-14 isotope rate decay formula can only be cross referenced with living tree rings of less than a thousand count. Although many believe some living trees are dated far beyond a thousand years ago, such trees do not contain thousands of "living rings" made of Carbon in which to compare with the Carbon-14 isotope rate decay formula.
Reporter 3: So what you are trying to suggest is that
the Carbon-14 isotope rate decay formula is unreliable beyond
about a thousand years ago because it can not be clearly cross
referenced with the tree ring dating formula - which in itself is
subject to interpretive errors beyond a thousand years ago. Are
these views correct?
Duane: Yes. From what I understand, any Carbon-14 dates beyond about a thousand years ago are based on the assumed trends of the isotope decay from before about a thousand years ago. However, many physical and chemical factors can skew the data and result in false data. Modern scientist, together with help from historians and the conventional A.D. timeline, have created "corrective sub formulas" to the primary Carbon-14 isotope decay formula so that the data fits conventional history. These "corrective sub formulas" are based on complex cosmic ray data that create "anomalies" in the normal Carbon-14 to Carbon-12 decay rate.
Reporter 3: So again, what you are suggesting is that
the Carbon-14 isotope rate formula is only good for dating
artifacts less than a thousand years old. That radical view
should go over well with other historical scientist. Do you
realize how many scientific books suggest otherwise? Whether your
new historical theories are right or wrong, getting other
historical scientist to even consider them - let alone believe
them, will be challenging.
Duane: Yes, it's all a challenge - the whole book project is an endeavor to change what needs to be changed. When I realized that the Carbon-14 isotope rate formula dated the Shroud of Turin - otherwise known as the cloth in which Christ was wrapped in, to only about seven-hundered plus years ago, I also realized that the most popular dating formula used by scientist today verified my new timeline of Western History. Although many would assume that the Shroud of Turin is a fake artifact dated to the thirteenth century A.D., I have chosen to believe in the option that the popular conventional A.D. timeline is the real fake in the dating formula. Removing over a thousand years from within the conventional A.D. timeline seems impossible until one realizes that the "thousand year" Middle Ages lasted only about a century instead because of numerical errors created by influential publishers during the Renaissance.
END NINTH INTERVIEW 4/00
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