Quake theory shakes Nessie legend

Hoax, real, or earthquake? A new theory explains the legend of the Loch Ness monster

LOCH NESS, Scotland -- Earthquakes may explain the legend of the Loch Ness monster, an expert has claimed.

Italian geologist Dr Luigi Piccardi believes something has been stirring at the bottom of the Scottish loch -- but it is not Nessie.

Piccardi says Loch Ness lies along the Great Glen Fault, a major fault line in the Earth's crust which is still active.

He said: "The Great Glen Fault is a very big fault which is still active, and Loch Ness lies directly above it.

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"The most seismically active end of the loch is the north end. This corresponds to the site where many witnesses claim to have had experiences.

"In these reports people don't usually describe seeing the beast itself. They talk of seeing a lot of commotion on the water and hearing loud noises. They assume it to be the monster but it could be a small shock and gas emission."

He is convinced that shocks along this fault lie behind both ancient and modern reports of the monster.

The tremors would cause the ground to shake, produce a "roaring" sound, and release bubbles of gas to churn up the calm surface of the loch.

In what is thought to be the first recorded report of the monster, dating back to the 7th century, a water beast is said to have appeared "with strong shaking" before St Columba, the founder of Christianity in Scotland.

The encounter, described in Adomnan's Life of St Columba, happened at the north end of the loch, as did two sightings in the 1930s, in which witnesses reported violent disturbances in the water.

Picardi says seismic activity is strongest at the northen end of the loch -- and is also where most of the Nessie sightings occur.

Eyewitness accounts of the monster's humps emerging from the water could be "anomalous waves" produced by gas bubbling up to the surface.

Piccardi, from the Italian National Research Council's Centre for the Study of Geology in Florence, will present his Loch Ness theory on Wednesday at a scientific meeting in Edinburgh.

He has previously argued that many ancient Greek myths originate from earthquakes.

He believes the Oracle of Delphi had her visions as a result of hallucinogenic vapours rising along a fault line.

Poseidon, the Greek god of the sea, had a reputation for violence and was known as the "Earthshaker," which Piccardi believes may also have an earthquake connection.