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story identification - Looking for a book from late 60s to 1972 sold through the Scholastic Book club in schools


I bought this book in the 6th grade in 1972. The story is about a teen and his college brother who are orphans. It starts with them filming a tsunami, or other big wave, hitting the coast where they live. As they climb down the cliff face after the wave, the older one finds a statue of a bipedal alien figure embedded in the cliff face now exposed by the destruction of the wave. The statue appears to be made of a diamond like substance. Their exploring leads them to a chamber under the sea with a coffin like box similar to the statue's material containing a body like the statue. With the help of a professor the box is moved to the university and the body is accidentally revived. The being turns out to be from a civilization millions of years in the past. The story unfolds as they travel with the guy to his city, then on deep into the planet searching for the remnants of his people.




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