An A-Z Guide To The Search For Plato's Atlantis

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  • NEWS October 2024

    NEWS October 2024

    OCTOBER 2024 The recent cyber attack on the Internet Archive is deplorable and can be reasonably compared with the repeated burning of the Great Library of Alexandria. I have used the Wayback Machine extensively, but, until the full extent of the permanent damage is clear, I am unable to assess its effect on Atlantipedia. At […]Read More »
  • Joining The Dots

    Joining The Dots

    I have now published my new book, Joining The Dots, which offers a fresh look at the Atlantis mystery. I have addressed the critical questions of when, where and who, using Plato’s own words, tempered with some critical thinking and a modicum of common sense.Read More »
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Khet

The Khet was an ancient Egyptian unit of linear measurement that has been given different values but most generally accepted as 100 royal cubits which is equivalent to 52.4 metres. The apparently exaggerated dimensions of the city of Atlantis’ features given by Plato can be removed if we accept the probability that the unit of measurement originally given to Solon was not the Greek stades, then an explanation such as Ulf Richter’s suggestion that the original data was noted in Egyptian khets, becomes very attractive to those seeking a rational explanation for the obviously unrealistic figures given by Plato. This idea would reduce Plato’s figures by a factor of approximately of 3.5, making his topographical descriptions more credible. R. McQuillen is also convinced that Solon changed the unit of measurement from khet to stade, leading to the difficulties we have had identifying the location of Atlantis.

Richter’s interpretation not only gives us a more probable 105 x 157 km dimension instead of 555 x 370 km for the Plain of Atlantis. This makes more sense of Plato’s description of the plain being surrounded by mountains on three sides, as this would not have been perceptible from the centre of a plain with the large dimensions.

Furthermore, Richter points out that the use of the khet gives a more sensible area for the city itself, not to mention the measurements for the canals, bridges and racecourse.