  We show there exist smooth asymptotically anti-de Sitter initial data which
evolve to a big crunch singularity in a low energy supergravity limit of string
theory. This opens up the possibility of using the dual conformal field theory
to obtain a fully quantum description of the cosmological singularity. A
preliminary study of this dual theory suggests that the big crunch is an
endpoint of evolution even in the full string theory. We also show that any
theory with scalar solitons must have negative energy solutions. The results
presented here clarify our earlier work on cosmic censorship violation in N=8
supergravity.
