Magicians of the Gods: The Forgotten Wisdom of Earth's Lost Civilisation by Graham Hancock

Magicians of the Gods: The Forgotten Wisdom of Earth's Lost Civilisation is a book by Graham Hancock. It follows on from Hancock’s multi-million bestseller Fingerprints of the Gods and presents new scientific and archaeological evidence that has only recently come to light.

Key details

• Written by Graham Hancock
• Described as a wide-ranging investigation into mysteries of the past
• Draws on scientific and archaeological evidence referenced as newly available
• Links its argument to events dated between 12,800 and 11,600 years ago

Synopsis

The book sets out evidence for an advanced civilisation said to have flourished during the Ice Age and to have been destroyed in global cataclysms between 12,800 and 11,600 years ago. It describes a giant comet breaking into multiple fragments, with impacts in North America and northern Europe that generated intense heat, rapidly melted vast areas of ice, and contributed to catastrophic flooding.

A further series of impacts is placed at 11,600 years ago, a date linked here to Plato’s account of the destruction and submergence of Atlantis. The narrative also describes survivors remembered by later cultures under names such as “the Sages” and “the Mystery Teachers of Heaven”, and connects them with sites including Gobekli Tepe, Baalbek, Giza, ancient Sumer, Mexico, Peru and a recently discovered pyramid in Indonesia, alongside a warning about a possible remaining comet fragment.