In this gripping sequel to Atlantis: The Antediluvian World, 19th-century iconoclast Ignatius Donnelly sets his sights on Earth’s forgotten disasters. Ragnarok: The Age of Fire and Gravel argues that a comet struck the Earth thousands of years ago, unleashing firestorms, floods, and a dark age that buried civilizations in myth and rubble. Drawing from geology, mythology, archaeology, and sacred texts, Donnelly proposes that the great legends of Ragnarok, the Deluge, and the fall of ancient man are rooted in a single, global catastrophe. This disaster—far from myth—left behind a literal age of fire and gravel, scattered across continents, recorded in fragmented memory. Dismissed by orthodox science but embraced by independent thinkers, Ragnarok is a foundational text of catastrophism and alternative history. This unabridged edition, newly revived by Adultbrain Publishing, offers a dramatic retelling of Earth’s most violent secret—and its implications for our future.
CHAPTERS
PART I. THE DRIFT.
00:00 – I. The Characteristics of the Drift
10:24 – II. The Origin of the Drift not known
13:13 – III. The Action of Waves
17:07 – IV. Was it caused by Icebergs?
23:01 – V. Was it caused by Glaciers ?
31:51 – VI. Was it caused by a Continental Ice-Sheet?
1:04:35 – VII. The Drift a Gigantic Catastrophe
1:28:44 – VIII. Great Heat a Prerequisite
PART II. THE COMET.
1:36:25 – I. A COMET CAUSED THE DRIFT
1:38:42 – II. What is a Comet?
2:08:41 – III. Could a Comet strike the Earth?
2:18:56 – IV. The Consequences to the Earth
PART III. THE LEGENDS.
2:53:33 – I. The Nature of Myths
3:07:07 – II. Did Man exist before the Drift?
3:24:43 – III. Legends of the Coming of the Comet
3:40:54 – IV. Ragnarok
4:01:32 – V. The Conflagration of Phaeton
4:24:33 – VI. Other Legends of the Conflagration
5:20:56 – VII. Legends of the Cave-Life
5:44:01 – VIII. Legends of the Age of Darkness
6:27:59 – IX. The Triumph of the Sun
7:01:03 – X. The Fall of the Clay and Gravel
7:30:40 – XI. The Arabian Myths
7:43:17 – XII. The Book of Job
8:57:59 – XIII. Genesis read by the Light of the Comet
PART IV. CONCLUSIONS.
9:43:17 – I. Was Pre-glacial Man civilized?
10:23:10 – II. The Scene of Man’s Survival
10:40:23 – III. The Bridge
11:03:20 – IV. Objections considered
11:38:28 – V. Biela’s Comet
12:08:04 – VI. The Universal Belief of Mankind
12:20:34 – VII. The Earth struck by Comets many Times
12:30-42 – VIII. The After-Word