Ġebel ġol-Baħar

by Ayla Schwartz

Ġebel ġol-Baħar is an alleged underwater megalithic site in Malta located off the coast of St. George's Bay. ^[1] It was discovered by pseudoarchaeologist and unaccredited academic Hubert Zeitlmair on April 13th, 1999 and announced at a "Paleo-Astronauts" conference later that same year. ^[2]

What is Ġebel ġol-Baħar?

Malta and Pseudoarchaeology

Malta has long been the focus of pseudoarchaeologists and Atlantean conspiracy theorists for the incredible breadth of its archaeological history as well as its location as an island in the western hemisphere, which unfortunately fits the bill for a potential site for the mythical Atlantis as described in the Platonic dialogues. Pseudoarchaeogy's interest in Malta began with a guide to Malta written by British army chaplain Rev. George Nelson Godwin. In this guide, Godwin noted the legitimate scientific fact^[5] that before the melting of the glaciers at the end of the ice age, Malta was part of a larger, now submerged tract of land that was "either a large island or islands, or else formed part of Europe or Africa, if not both."^[6] In 1854, Maltese architect and antiquarian Giorgio Grongnet de Vasse first proposed that the Maltese Islands composed part of the lost continent of Atlantis, citing the platonic dialogues as proof, as Plato describedn of Atlantis being "pro" or in front of the Pillars of Heracles, which he proposed meant an area proximate to the strait of Sicily, or in this case, Malta.^[7] Following de Vasse, Maltese botonist John Borg stated that Atlantis was situated between Malta and North Africa, and R. M. Gattefosse commented that he believed that Malta's legitimate archaeological sites bore an "Atlantean" Character.^[8] However, the idea of Malta as the ancient location for Atlantis didn't take off until 2001, when pseudoarchaeologist Anton Misfud revived the idea in his book "Echoes of Plato's Island."^[9] Misfud, building off of the ideas of Gowin, de Vasse, Borg and Gattefosse, supported his belief with a typological comparison of some of the skulls found in Maltese prehistoric temples and skulls from pre-dynastic egypt.^[9] Additionally, he claims that the high volume of megalithic temples on Malta, as well as the deep, abruptly ending tracts still present on the islands, is evidence that Malta was once home to an advanced, Atlantean civilization.^[8]

Background

Hubert Zeitlmair

Hubert Zeitlmair is by far the most involved player in the Gebel gol-Bahar narrative. Born on May 22nd 1954 in Augsburg, Germany, Zeitlmair is a former real estate investor who now works as an educator and self-proclaimed professor at the University of Quantum Dynamics, a non-for-profit organization that operates largely through in-person workshops and one on one skype tutoring^[10]. Zeitlmair first ventured into pseudoarchaeology while attempting to "search for the primeval roots of [his] ancestors and humanity,"^[11] though no explanation as to what that means or entailed has ever been documented. During this period, Zeitlmair became increasingly more interested in European pre-history and became acquainted with the works of Zecharia Sitchin.^[11] He believes that Malta is the original home of Atlantis and subscribes to Sitchin's postulates about the visitation of Earth by the Nibiru of Planet X, attributing this contact to the Atlanteans advanced knowledge.^[2]

In 1999, Zeitlmair sponsored a dive in the area off the coast of the Maltese town of St. Julian's to look for submerged temples.^[8] On July 13th of that year, Shaun and Kurt Arrigo purportedly discovered an underwater megalithic site that became the basis of Zeitlmair's career, which he named Gebel gol-Bahar - Maltese for "Stones in the Sea."^[12] Zeitlmair reported this find at the 1999 Paleo-Astronauts conference and returned to Malta later that year as well as in 2000 to further "study" the Gebel gol-Bahar site and take detailed measurements of an area he claimed to be a megalithic temple.^[2]

Currently, Zeitlmair offers several workshops and "classes" on the topic of Atlantis, Malta, and Gebel gol-Bahar, as well as several other new-age courses related to overcoming transcience, natural energies, and ancient astronauts.^[10]