The Piri Reis Map
The Piri Reis map is a piece of gazelle skin depicting a world map compiled in 1513 by the Ottoman admiral and cartographer Piri Reis.
The map was discovered on 9 October 1929, by the German theologian Gustav Adolf Deissmann (1866–1937). It represented the only then known copy of a world map of Christopher Columbus (1451–1506), and was the only 16th-century map showing South America in its proper longitudinal position in relation to Africa.
The interesting and highly controversial aspect of this map, is that it appears to show Antarctica almost 300 years before it was discovered (in 1820). Not only does it show Antarctica, but the continent is drawn without its ice cap - namely as a land mass as it would have appeared before it was covered with ice over 6,000 years ago.
The accuracy of the map is contested, also the sources of the compiling work by Piri are debated. It is unclear whether the 20 charts and mappae mundi in Piri's inscriptions includes the eight Ptolemaic maps, the four Portuguese maps, the Arabic map and the Columbus map. From one perspective, the number of charts and mappae mundi used by Piri equals 20, while in the other, it could mean a total of 34. Some have claimed that the source maps were found in the ancient Library of Alexandria, because Piri mentioned Ptolemea.
Most likely, a part of the sources used by Piri are very ancient, and have been lost - this would explain why the Antarctica is depicted as it would be prior its ice cap, and the minor differences - considered as mistakes by modern cartographers - in the outlines of South American continent such as we know it today.
Who could draw the sources (maps) used by Piri? Certainly people who have known Antarctica before it became an ice capped land, and very able to navigate. Evidence accumulate that demonstrate trans Atlantic travel and trade by Ancient Egyptians. See my (upcoming) post of the 23rd June 2021 for further details.
