Part of the Casswiki article series Books
Exodus to Arthur: Catastrophic Encounters With Comets is a book by Mike Baillie, published in 1999. This book presents the author’s findings, based on the study of tree ring records, of what happened during a series of global environmental catastrophes over the past 4,400 years.
Mike Baillie is a dendrochronologist and an authority on tree ring records, and his research brings new evidence of what happened in the past. In the first part of the book, he discusses what dendrochronology is, and he helps the reader to understand tree ring and ice core records.
From his study of tree ring records, the author discovered patterns which seem to explain the origins of various myths and legends. The records reveal global environmental disturbances in specific time periods, such as 2354-2345 BC, 1628-1623 BC, 1159-1141 BC, 208-204 BC, and AD 536-545. These periods coincide with those attributed to the Biblical flood, the Exodus event, the plagues during King David’s reign and the Ch’in dynasty, and the death of the legendary King Arthur.
The author discusses the evidence for cometary events – similar to the Tunguska event of 1908 – as a cause of such disasters. They cause great environmental upheaval, including earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions, and outgassing from the ocean floor. The growth of trees is affected by the environmental impact, leaving evidence of the events in the tree rings.
This 270-page work provides strong evidence for significant cometary events having occurred in the past. They were both recorded in tree rings and passed down through the ages as myths and legends. The book is aimed at a general audience rather than specialists, and is not written in a technical style.