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In 1995, controversial book 'Fingerprints of the Gods' made waves by claiming a highly advanced civilisation was wiped out by a comet strike in Antarctica 13,000 years ago.
The book was widely panned by academics despite selling three million copies. Now Graham Hancock claims to have found clear evidence to support his theory.
In an upcoming sequel, Hancock says he has outlined the "smoking gun" he lacked 20 years ago.
"In 1995, I wrote a book about all the clues - the fingerprints - that pointed to the existence of this lost civilisation," Hancock told The Sunday Times.
"But what I lacked was a smoking gun. Now we have it.
"A series of papers in geophysics and geological journals have been bringing forward evidence that the Earth was indeed hit by a comet 12,800 years ago, which is exactly what I proposed in my book."
The new 500 page book, titled 'Magicians of the Gods', will be published in September, and will contain geological proof of a comet strike in Antarctica 12,800 years ago, Hancock says.
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Comets
Comet Pan-STARRS Moon(01 of26)
Comet Pan-STARRS is seen over the tower on the left as a 1 day waxing crescent Moon is seen setting in the Western sky on Tuesday, March 12, 2013. The dark side of the Moon is lit by reflected light from the Earth, and is called Earthshine. (AP Photo/Dr. Scott M. Lieberman) (credit:AP)
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Comet Pan-STARRS(04 of26)
Comet Pan-STARRS is seen about 40 minutes after Sunset in the Western sky from Tyler, Texas on Tuesday, March 12, 2013. (AP Photo/Dr. Scott M. Lieberman) (credit:AP)
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Comet PanSTARRS (left) appears to the left of a slim crescent moon in Tuesday March 12, 2013 evening's western sky. The comet rounded the sun on Sunday and is now visible low in the western evening sky. This picture was made shortly after sunset near Harrells, NC. (AP Photo/The Fayetteville Obsever- Johnny Horne) (credit:AP)
US-SCIENCE-SPACE-COMET(06 of26)
Comet PanSTARRS (L) is seen with a one-day old crescent moon as both set over the Very Large Array radio telescope antenna dishes March 12, 2013 near Magdalena, New Mexico. The comet, now just faintly visible in the northern hemisphere, was discovered in June 2011 by the Panoramic Survey Telescope and Rapid Response System (PanSTARRS) in Hawaii. AFP PHOTO/Stan HONDA (Photo credit should read STAN HONDA/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
PanSTARRS Comet Over Las Vegas(07 of26)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 12: The comet PanSTARRS passes over the Stratosphere Casino Hotel on March 12, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Officially known as C/2011 L4, the comet got its name after being discovered by astronomers using the Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) telescope in Hawaii in June 2011. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
PanSTARRS Comet Over Las Vegas(08 of26)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 12: The comet PanSTARRS, above and to the left, passes over the Stratosphere Casino Hotel along with a waxing crescent moon at twilight over the Spring Mountains range on March 12, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Officially known as C/2011 L4, the comet got its name after being discovered by astronomers using the Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) telescope in Hawaii in June 2011. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
PanSTARRS Comet Over Las Vegas(09 of26)
LAS VEGAS, NV - MARCH 12: The comet PanSTARRS, above and to the right, passes over the Stratosphere Casino Hotel along with a waxing crescent moon over the Spring Mountains range on March 12, 2013 in Las Vegas, Nevada. Officially known as C/2011 L4, the comet got its name after being discovered by astronomers using the Panoramic Survey Telescope & Rapid Response System (Pan-STARRS) telescope in Hawaii in June 2011. (Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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This image provided by NASA shoaws the comet PANSTARRS as seen from Mount Dale, Western Australia on March 5, 2013. According to NASA on March 10, it will make its closest approach to the sun about 28 million miles (45 million kilometers) away. As it continues its nightly trek across the sky, the comet may get lost in the sun's glare but should return and be visible to the naked eye by March 12. (AP Photo/NASA) (credit:AP)
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This March 2, 2013 photo made available by spaceweather.com shows the comet, Pan-STARRS, seen from Queenstown, New Zealand. The recently discovered comet is closer than it's ever been to Earth, and stargazers in the Northern Hemisphere finally get to see it. The comet passed within 100 million miles of Earth on Tuesday, March 5, 2013, its closest approach in its first-ever cruise through the inner solar system. The best viewing days should be next Tuesday and Wednesday, March 12 and 13, when Pan-STARRS appears next to a crescent moon at dusk in the western sky. Until then, glare from the sun will obscure the comet. (AP Photo/spaceweather.com, Minoru Yoneto) (credit:AP)
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In this photo provided by Kevin Clifford, a meteor from the annual Perseid meteor shower falls from space over ruins at Fort Churchill State Historic Park on Sunday, Aug. 12, 2012, in Silver Springs, Nev. The Perseid meteors are debris left from the comet Swift-Tuttle. Fort Churchill was built in 1861 by the United States army to protect early settlers. (AP Photo/Kevin Clifford) (credit:AP)
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This photo provided by the journal Science and taken in autumn 2010 by NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft shows a close-up picture of the hyperactive comet, Hartley 2, that seems to be spewing water. Hartley 2 isn't the only such comet, but it's the first to be visited by a spacecraft during a flyby, researchers report in the Friday, June 17, 2011, edition of the journal Science. (AP Photo/NASA via Science) (credit:AP)
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This photo released by NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell shows the Comet Tempel 1 as seen by NASA's Stardust craft. NASA's Chris Jones says all the flyby images are stored on the craft. It'll take another six hours for everything to be downloaded. It's the first time a comet has been visited by two different spacecraft. In 2005, another NASA craft named Deep Impact unleashed a copper bullet that carved a crater on Tempel 1. (AP Photo/NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell) **NO SALES** (credit:AP)
Stardust-NExT Mission Beams Back Comet Photos(15 of26)
IN SPACE - FEBRUARY 14: In this handout from NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell, the comet Tempel 1 is seen from the Stardust spacecraft February 14, 2011in space. NASA's Stardust-NExT mission has begun beaming back images from a comet purposely hit by an earlier probe. Scientists hope to look at the crater and compare it to the comet's other surface features. (Photo by NASA/JPL-Caltech/Cornell via Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
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FILE - This 2005 file rendering by artist Pat Rawlings, released by NASA, shows the Deep Impact spacecraft's encounter with comet Tempel 1. After eyeing a comet for the past four years, a NASA spacecraft will finally make its move. The Stardust craft is expected to fly within 125 miles (200 kilometers) of comet Tempel 1 on Valentine's night, Monday, Feb. 14, 2011, snapping pictures of the surface. Tempel 1 was visited by another NASA probe in 2005 when Deep Impact fired a copper bullet into the comet, excavating a crater. (AP Photo/NASA, Pat Rawlings, File) (credit:AP)
STARDUST ENCOUNTERING A COMET(17 of26)
FILE - This file artist rendering of the Stardust spacecraft encountering the bright halo of dust and gas surrounding a shimmering comet released by NASA. After eyeing a comet for the past four years, a NASA spacecraft will finally make its move. The Stardust craft is expected to fly within 125 miles (200 kilometers) of comet Tempel 1 on Valentine's night, Monday, Feb. 14, 2011, snapping pictures of the surface. Tempel 1 was visited by another NASA probe in 2005 when Deep Impact fired a copper bullet into the comet, excavating a crater. (AP Photo/NASA, File) (credit:AP)
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This artist's conception provided by NASA shows NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft flying past Earth on June 27, 2010, to get a boost from Earths gravity and set to pass within 435 miles of a half-mile-wide comet named Hartley 2, scheduled for Nov. 4. (AP Photo/NASA) (credit:AP)
Comet Pictured At Sunset Over Sydney(19 of26)
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA - JANUARY 16: Comet C/2006 P1 McNaught is pictured at twilight over Sydney Harbour January 16, 2007 in Sydney, Australia. The 31st of 32 comets discovered by astronomer Rob McNaught of the Siding Spring Observatory is the brightest comet in 40 years. The blurred black trails at left and right are silhouettes of bats as they flew across the sky in this slow shutter speed exposure. (Photo by John Pryke/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
URUGUAY-ASTRONOMY-COMET-MCNAUGHT-MONTEVIDEO-CITY(20 of26)
Comet Mc Naught, one of the brightest comets seen from earth in the last 40 years appears, 21 January 2007, over the sky of Montevideo, Uruguay, just after sunset. The comet got its name from the astronomer Robert McNaught and astronomers already believe that it is the brightest comet visible from Earth in 30 years. AFP PHOTO/Mariana SUAREZ (Photo credit should read MARIANA SUAREZ/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
NASA Probe Collides With Comet Tempel 1(21 of26)
IN SPACE - JULY 4: This handout image from NASA shows the initial ejecta that resulted when NASA's Deep Impact probe collided with comet Tempel 1 at 01:52 EST on July 4, 2005. The image was taken by the spacecraft's medium-resolution camera 16 seconds after impact. (Photo by NASA/JPL-Caltech/UMD via Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
NASA Probe Collides With Comet Tempel 1(22 of26)
IN SPACE - JULY 4: This handout image from NASA shows comet Tempel 1 sixty seconds before it ran over NASA's Deep Impact probe at 01:52 EST on July 4, 2005. The picture was taken by the probe's impactor targeting sensor. (Photo by NASA/JPL-Caltech/UMD via Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
500th Comet From SOHO Observations Confirmed(23 of26)
IN SPACE - AUGUST 14: A small object spotted by Rainer Kracht of Elmshorn in Germany, in an image from the Soar and Heliospheric Observatory (SOHO), has been confirmed as the 500th comet discovered in images provided by the satellite, which is in orbit 1 million miles from earth. The $1 billion orbiter, a joint program of NASA and the European Space Agency, trains instruments on the sun (lower left), giving it the opportunity to catch glimpses of the icy bodies as they fly nearby. (Photo by SOHO/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
The Hale-Bopp comet sails through the sky above th(24 of26)
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES: The Hale-Bopp comet sails through the sky above the towers of the World Trade Center in New York 07 April. The comet was discovered 22 July 1995 by astronomers Alan Hale and Thomas Bopp. AFP PHOTO Don EMMERT (Photo credit should read DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
The comet Hale-Bopp appears in the sky over Merrit(25 of26)
KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, FL - MARCH 10: The comet Hale-Bopp appears in the sky over Merrit Island, Florida, early 10 March, south of the Kennedy Space Center. The comet can be seen from late March to the beginning of April, before disappearing for the next 2,400 years. The comet is an occasional visitor from the outer solar system.***THIS AND KSC01 ARE VERTICAL PICTURES. ROTATE 90CW*** (Photo credit should read GEORGE SHELTON/AFP/Getty Images) (credit:Getty Images)
Halley's Comet(26 of26)
385552 01: Halley's Comet in 1985. (Photo by Liaison) (credit:Getty Images)