Posted on 08/28/2007 2:18:21 PM PDT by BGHater
A researcher investigating underwater rock formations off the coast of Japan believes they are the remnants of an Asian equivalent of Atlantis — an ancient civilisation swallowed up by the ocean.
Marine geologist Masaaki Kimura says he has identified the ruins of a city off the coast of Yonaguni Island on the southwestern tip of Japan.
He has worked for decades to prove the rocks found by scuba diving tourists in 1985 are from an ancient city, which he says may have sparked the fable of Mu — a Pacific equivalent of the tale of the lost city of Atlantis.
"Judging by the design and the disposition of the ruins, the city must have looked just like an ancient Roman city," said Kimura, a professor at Ryukyu University and the chairman of the non-profit Marine Science and Culture Heritage Research Association. "I can envisage a triumphal arch-like statue stood on the left side of the Colosseum and a shrine over the hill," he said.
Some of the initial divers noticed that the rocks were unnaturally smooth and formed a sort of staircase near the island’s shores. Subsequent dives by Kimura revealed irregular rock outcrops over 1 square km and mounds of rubble.
Kimura says he believes the city had a castle, a shrine, an arch, statues and a colosseum.
"In my estimation, the castle was situated right in the middle of the city. And though not as big as the castle, a lot of ruins of shrine-like structures too have been discovered," he said at his research room. Kimura believes the city was sunk in an earthquake 3,000 years ago.
However, many scientists dispute his claim, saying the ruins can be accounted for by natural phenomena such as tidal and volcanic activity. They also say that very few artifacts such as clay pots or weapons have been found to prove humans lived among the rock formation at all.
Kimura, however, remains convinced. "I am getting close to a conviction that this is a mysterious civilisation lost in a tectonic deformation in the Pacific Ocean," he said.
The first recorded mention of Atlantis is by Plato. According to him, Atlantis, lying "beyond the pillars of Heracles", was a naval power that conquered many parts of Western Europe and Africa, over 9,000 years before Plato’s own time. After a failed attempt to invade Athens, Atlantis sank into the ocean "in a single day and night of misfortune".
ping
I was a big fan of the whole “Lost Continent of Mu” thing as a teenager. There was a series of books by one Colonel James Churchward (I think he was called) purporting to lay out the evidence for one global antedeluvian civilization that inspired all subsequent cultures. I guess it’s possible.
He believes it was sunk only 3,000 years ago? 1,000 BC?
This date surprises me.
It sounds like Kimura is determined to see what he wants to see. He needs a lot more evidence to even begin to back him up.
Oh, great! Pretty soon Rodan will show up , then Mothra and Godzilla will have to get in on the act. This is the way these things always start.
Natural formations, re: Dr Robert Schoch, geologist/geophysist. I’ve seen the video of Dr Schoch scuba diving among the ‘ruins.’
To me, it looks impressive.
I wander if the people who built it were similar to the Ainu.
He found this more than 20 years ago. It’s been disputed strongly the whole time.
Wonder why it’s being recycled?
Was this caused by global warming?
Looks like a drowned city to me. I’m sold, barring evidence to the contrary.
Time to call up Captain Jinguji and ATRAGON, I guess. Better safe than sorry.
Could be:
If I recall correctly the rocks on surrounding cliffs are weathered and eroded in similar shapes.
I’ve seen film of the site before as well. The edges aren’t as sharp as they appear. Combine that with similar rock formations above the waterline it looks like a unique natural process to me.
If you look at climate history, sea level went way up about 12,000 years ago as the last ice age ended.
If there were any cities or towns near the coast, they’d be (soggy) toast now.
I don’t know about this one, but some of the “sunken cities” could be due to rapidly rising sea.
Seen it many times. Might be an ancient quarry that sank in an earthquake, but ruins, it ain’t.
That is not built-up as by separate blocks. It would not be carved in those nearly useless shapes. The horizontal surfaces are impressive but the fracture planes at odd angles are entirely natural. Partly sedementary, partly mineralized. What happened to the pieces that broke off?
I remember reading that the history of Mu was written as a part of the Greek alphabet (or something along those lines). It’s been a looong time...
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