"Drowned cities: Myths and secrets of the deep"

New Scientist presents a list of some of the world's lost civilizations and habitations. I thought it was a cool set of articles for those, like me, who are interested in the topic of ancient and lost civilizations but have little knowledge of them. While the list is not necessarily comprised of those with the most unusual nature it is, IMHO, a good primer.

One thing I find really fascinating and telling about this set of articles is the presence of actual remains that prove without a doubt the presence of humans in places that are now submerged. This, for me highlights two things. First, the questionable nature of stories of places such as Atlantis and Mu that have no physical evidence to back them up. Second, The fact that although some places of legend that have supposedly sunk below the Earth's waters have not yet been found there is plenty of evidence to support that theory and it is not a stretch of the imagination to think a civilization may have sunk below the waves.

So here is the list of stories from New Scientist for you all to have a gander at!

#1) Herakleion and Eastern Canopus, Egypt Link

On Egypt's northern coast, where the Nile delta meets the sea, there once stood two cities of such wealth and grandeur that they were famous throughout the ancient world. Today, their remains lie buried beneath a shallow bay.

#2) Port Royal, Jamaica Link

The tiny Japanese island of Yonaguni, near Taiwan, has become famous for the huge submerged rock structures found near its shores - the ancient city of a lost civilisation, some claim.

Notorious as a hotbed of piracy and prostitution, the 17th-century Caribbean town of Port Royal was known as "the wickedest city on Earth". Then, one day, it was swallowed up by the sea.

#3) Atlit-Yam, Israel Link

One kilometre out in the Mediterranean Sea, near Haifa, Israel, an ancient village lies hidden beneath the waves. It has been so well preserved by the sandy seabed that weevils sit in the grain stores, human skeletons lie undisturbed in their graves, and a mysterious stone circle still stands as it was first erected.

#4) Yonaguni, Japan Link

The tiny Japanese island of Yonaguni, near Taiwan, has become famous for the huge submerged rock structures found near its shores - the ancient city of a lost civilisation, some claim.

#5)Pavlopetri, Greece Link

When fleets of ships carrying warriors from all over Greece set off to do battle with the great fortress city of Troy, perhaps some of them sailed from Pavlopetri, the oldest known submerged town. "It was perfectly situated to have been a major stopover," says Nicholas Flemming, a marine geologist at the University of Southampton, UK, who discovered the settlement when diving in the area in 1967.

#6) Dunwich, UK Link

The water was so black that Stuart Bacon couldn't see the watch on his wrist no matter how bright his diver's lamp. Then the sediment cleared just enough for him to catch a glimpse of a stone church tower, crawling with hermit crabs, lying on the sea bed.

#7) Atlantis Link

Everyone has heard of the lost city of Atlantis. The myth began with the Greek philosopher Plato. In 360 BC, he wrote a book whose characters describe Atlantis as an island bigger than "Libya" and "Asia" together, which existed 9000 years earlier "in front of the Pillars of Hercules" that flank the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea.

[edit on 30-11-2009 by Animal]

Thanks for the list.
They made a nice selection, although far from complete, of course...
But, some are new to me, so I'm enjoying the read..

So out of 7 "myths and secrets", we have:

6 archeological sites (of which 1 may be a geological oddity)
1 complete myth.

Somehow Atlantis stands a little... alone...

What these sunken ruins do seem to show though, is that mankind was building city sized constructions long before the likes of those found in ancient Babylon and other land based locations.
Given that many of these places were likely inundated after the icecap melts at the end of the last ice age, about 12 - 13,000 years ago, then it stands to reason that they were built quite some time before the melt happened, by long established cultures. All very fascinating really.

Lovely thread, my favourite topic.

S&F for you!

That these places do not get investigated will the full power and resources of the scientific and governmental communities is a real shame.

We have the technology to explore these worlds from our past but it receives no media coverage whatsoever and enjoys almost no visibility in the public domain.

You are not taught about these places in school and the whole thing stinks.

How can we move forward as a species and learn from our mistakes if we do not even admit and observe them. There is an old and wise saying: "Those who do not try to understand their mistakes are destined to repeat them".

I believe it is a global cover-up of monumental proportions (the very meaning of the word conspiracy); and what we have to learn from these places is the most important thing the Human race should be doing right now.

Exactly the OPPOSITE of what we are doing!

It's a FU***NG DISGRACE that so many facts are hidden from us. I HATE IT and I AM SICK OF IT!



[edit on 30-11-2009 by NibiruWarrior]

I was encouraged by Sunday's 60 Minutes show featuring Bob Ballard. Bob was the one who found the Titanic.

In this episode he talks about finding sea life that had never been discovered before as well as totally preserved wooden ships 1,500 years old in the Black Sea.

He now has a NASA like control room for underwater research. He mentions that their budget is $18.7 million budget compared to $18.7 Billion budget for NASA.

Hopefully we can see some more funding being directed his way as he is making startling discoveries under sea.

Good episode, take a look.

60 Minutes with Bob Ballard

We know more about the Moon than whats in the ocean depths....fascinating list.

reply to post by Hic sunt dracones


And yet we don't even know that much about the moon either, they are still making discoveries by each day.

S&F

Originally posted by Britguy
What these sunken ruins do seem to show though, is that mankind was building city sized constructions long before the likes of those found in ancient Babylon and other land based locations.

No sunken ruin mentioned around here predates the earliest city-sized constructions found on land.
In this light, can you explain further what you mean by the above?

Given that many of these places were likely inundated after the icecap melts at the end of the last ice age, about 12 - 13,000 years ago, then it stands to reason that they were built quite some time before the melt happened, by long established cultures. All very fascinating really.

AFAIK, all these places were inundated by subduction caused by tectonic activity. Which do you propose to be inundated by meltwater?

Harte

Here's an article & link to whats claimed is a underwater city
in the shallow Carribean.... found 9 Dec 2009


www.heralddeparis.com...

WASHINGTON, DC (Herald de Paris) - EXCLUSIVE - Researchers have revealed the first images from the Caribbean sea floor of what they believe are the archaeological remains of an ancient civilization. Guarding the location’s coordinates carefully, the project’s leader, who wishes to remain anonymous at this time, says the city could be thousands of years old; possibly even pre-dating the ancient Egyptian pyramids, at Giza.

The site was found using advanced satellite imagery, and is not in any way associated with the alleged site found by Russian explorers near Cuba in 2001, at a depth of 2300 feet.

“To be seen on satellite, our site is much shallower.” ...

There's a slide-show of 6 images on the linked page.

imho, the images are a fluke where the camera got behind a microscope and photo'ed a microchip...



anyhow for any 'debunkers' out there which are alleged to have invaded ATS enmasse'.... here's an item to scourge & debunk relentlessly.
~or not~