[Dog Gone]

No doubt about it. The Mediterranean shoreline is much further inland than it used to be. But if the tale of Atlantis is true, I think we should be looking for something that ended in cataclysm, not a gradual rise in sea levels.

[blam]

"The Mediterranean shoreline is much further inland than it used to be. But if the tale of Atlantis is true, I think we should be looking for something that ended in cataclysm, not a gradual rise in sea levels."

The Med has completely dried out at least 40 times, the last time was 5 million years ago. My theory along those lines would have the Med blocked at Gibraltar and a lower but stable water level.
The cataclysmic part would occur when the plug at Gibraltar broke, like the Black Sea at the Bosporus. This flooding of the Med could have eventually spilled over and flooded the Black Sea. There are scouring marks (as yet undated) at Gibraltar on the ocean floor that are very similar to the scouring marks at the entrance to the Black Sea.
Noah would have gotten word of the flooding of the Med from all the travellers and refugees from the Med and decided to built the arc on the side of Mt. Ararat. (huh?)

This would also put Atlantis in ancient times where I think it belongs, 7,000-11,000 years ago. Incidently, I think something similar could have happened in the Gulf of Mexico. (The Persian Gulf was completely dry during the Ice Age, potentially more flood stories?)

[aruanan]

No doubt about it. The Mediterranean shoreline is much further inland than it used to be. But if the tale of Atlantis is true, I think we should be looking for something that ended in cataclysm, not a gradual rise in sea levels.

The creation of the Mediterranean Sea may not have been a case of gradual rise in sea level.