In 1929, a German scientist discovered something surprising while examining documents and antiques in the Topkapi Palace library in Istanbul. The theologian found a map printed on gazelle skin parchment made in the early 16th century. One of the most notable features of the mystery map was that it showed part of South America and the oldest cartographic record of Christopher Columbus’ ocean voyages. But since then, this map has long been at the center of controversy, as there are those who believe it shows things no one should know.
Yes, you guessed right. We are talking about the Piri Reis map. The Piri Reis map was prepared in 1513 by an Ottoman sailor and cartographer named Hacı Ahmed Muhyiddin Piri, commonly known as Piri Reis. It can be said to be a portolan chart used for naval navigation in the Middle Ages, sometimes called harbour-finding charts, compass charts, or rectilinear charts. These drawings specifically show routes from one port to another using radiating rhythm lines. Although the Piri Reis map is extremely detailed, only a third of it has survived as it was damaged.
How was the Piri Reis map drawn?
According to a handwritten note found in the old document, Piri Reis compiled it using numerous other maps and charts as primary sources. These included eight Ptolemaic maps, four Portuguese maps, an Arab map, and a map drawn by Christopher Columbus.
Europe, Africa and the two American continents can be seen on the map. While much of the Atlantic coast of Africa and South America appears correct, there are distortions and errors in the depiction of parts of the Caribbean and North America. For example, some of the Caribbean islands are missing, but a mythical island called Antillia is on the map.
The map has garnered a lot of attention since its discovery, with some other unusual features. The most important of these is the fact that a landmass that some describe as Antarctica, and if it really is Antarctica, mapped by Piri Reis about 300 years before it was actually discovered, appears on the map. Perhaps even more interestingly, if it really shows Antarctica, it depicts the continent as ice-free as it hasn’t been for more than 6,000 years.
Antarctic mystery on Piri Reis map
According to traditional accounts, Antarctica was not discovered until the early 19th century. However, scientists do not agree on who was the first person to notice the continent. So, the fact that the Piri Reis map shows this land mass suggests that its creator had insights that later explorers did not have. For some, this is evidence of the disappearance of an advanced civilization capable of mapping the world in extraordinary detail long before anyone else, while others believe it is a sign that aliens created the map as they surveyed the planet from space.
Piri Reis bustThe idea that it depicted Antarctica was popularized by Professor Charles Hapgood, who studied the map with several of his students, in his 1965 book Maps of the Ancient Sea Kings. For Hapgood, the appearance of Antarctica was a sign that the map was based on something much older than any known map. The idea suggests that a prehistoric civilization had the technological and navigational skills to map the seas in incredibly accurate ways.
Hapgood even believed that this lost civilization should have seen the continent from the air, given the details visible on the map. In other words, there was a hitherto unknown civilization that could roam the seas and also the skies. Of course, many were convinced by this narrative, even though there was no real evidence to support any of these suggestions.
Terra Australis Incognita?
In reality, it seems more likely that the landmass is not Antarctic. One explanation may be that the anomalous continent was actually a continent supposed to exist there, a continent called Terra Australis Incognita. Many maps drawn during the same period are filled with mythical regions that are supposed to actually exist. Many legendary sites are featured on these maps, such as the Garden of Eden, El Dorado, and the land of Prester John.
Critics of the more bizarre theories point out that the representation of South America is pretty good, noting that the mysterious continent Antarctica may once have been connected to South America from Uruguay. What’s more, Argentina doesn’t seem to exist at the time the map was created. This lack alone makes it hard to believe that some ancient civilization or alien influence mapped Antarctica so long ago.
One conclusion we can draw with certainty from this map, however, is that contrary to what is widely accepted, the Ottomans had access to contemporary maritime knowledge and maps and were probably able to explore the seas as well as the Europeans.
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