Expedition to the Plateau – Lost World Exploration Case
2007
Sold (Private Collection)
July 1912: An expedition to the heart of the Amazon rainforest was arranged by Professor Challenger, a brash gentleman who wished to bring back proof that somewhere, amidst the dense jungle undergrowth – was a land mass, a plateau at least 30 kilometres across, populated by the remnants of a long lost species – the dinosaur. He had been there once before, and would not return until he had proven his discovery.
He embarked on this quest with a few companions, amongst which were noted adventurer John Roxton, professor Summerlee and a news reporter by the name of Ed Malone.
The group ascended the steep cliff face, and low and behold – an oasis in time, a land able to support an abundance of prehistoric life.
The group managed to survive the ordeal, bringing back plentiful proof of their discovery. Much of this was lost in bureaucracy and red tape until further investigations were carried out on the plateau.
Scientific understanding of that time did not allow a detailed explanation of this bizarre anomaly, until later, once the plateau had been protected and quarantined – could sense be made of this place.
A transient wormhole – a hole in time space sits to the west of the island. Opening for days on end, allowing sporadic migrations of species from five or six different time zones. The animals either flourished or died on this plateau, as fodder for the large predators or through disease. This anomaly allowed a very fragile equilibrium to exist on the plateau.
Discovered in 1951 in the attic space of a London townhouse was the remains of Challenger’s initial ascent to the plateau. He had already surmised that Summerlee’s hypothesis of the plateau was incorrect, as the dinosaurs surely could not have survived the catastrophe that ended their reign over the earth. He hinted at time travel in his notes, although his theories are typical of the time. Many of the dinosaurs found on the plateau displayed feathers – and being one of the main advocates for the theory of natural selection and evolutionary biology was one of a handful of scientists and explorers to provide to proof that dinosaurs would eventually evolve into birds.
(it must be mentioned that this was the same year that another dinosaur specimen was discovered that sported proto-feathers. A Doctor Aleksey Zhukovsky of The Royal institute for paleontological research discovered a fully preserved Ornithosaurus in siberia. It was never proven if the animal was indeed from the now legendary plateau or the result of a unique preservation process in a subterranean glacier)
Contained within the box, however, is plentiful proof that the plateau does indeed exist, although since the early 1900’s, no one has been able to locate it.
Contents
• The taxidermied corpse of an infant bipedal carnivore, now identified as the species “Deinonychus”. The creature displays a downy covering of “proto feathers” – dinosaurs being the precursor to modern birds
• A large piece of the egg shell which was found with this specimen
• The wing of an infant Pteranodon – reserved and displayed/labelled in the lid of the box
• The partial skull fragment of a further “avian dinosaur” and two small leg bones
• Six flora samples of various vegetation taken from the plateau – mushrooms, moss, algae etc.
• Two glass specimen presses, displaying and preserving various prehistoric fern samples
• Detailed maps of the plateau
• A leather bound journal, filled with notes and sketches of flora and fauna from the plateau. Also the notes pertaining to the nature of the plateau itself
• A small diary, with lengthy notes on days spent on the island. Contains diagrams and drawings
• Sketches of a mother Allosaur and her infant
• A knife in a leather sheath, an ink pen, scissors, a lighter, matches, needle and thread
• A small tin box containing the teeth of a juvenile Triceratops
• A unique hand held microscope with two lenses
• A multitude of photographs of the fauna of the island – group shots with Triceratops herd, Stegosaur, Deinonychus, Hadrosaurs etc.
… and much more, contained within this beautiful old box, with unique layout of compartments and detailing.