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Cyprus Update
This story updates this prior story

NICOSIA (Reuters) - An American researcher on the trail of the lost city of Atlantis has discovered evidence of man-made structures submerged in the sea between Cyprus and Syria, a member of his team said Saturday.

Robert Sarmast, who is convinced the fabled city lurks in the watery depths off Cyprus, will give details of his findings Sunday.

"Something has been found to indicate very strongly that there are man-made structures somewhere between Cyprus and Syria," a spokesperson for the mission told Reuters. The mystery of Atlantis, both whether it existed and why it disappeared, has fired the imagination of explorers for decades.

Many believe the ancient civilization was destroyed in a massive flood, a cataclysm which many ancient cultures believe occurred around 9,000 BC.

Greek mythology says Atlantis was a powerful nation whose residents were so corrupted by greed and power that Zeus destroyed it.

Theories place Atlantis either somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, or the Greek island of Santorini, or off the Celtic Ridge of Britain or even further afield in the South China Sea.

Sarmast's theory is that Cyprus is the pinnacle of Atlantis, with the rest of it about a mile below sea level.

His expedition took place some 70 miles off the eastern coast of Cyprus toward Syria.© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.

2nd Story: Atlantis Definitely Found

We've definitely found Atlantis, researcher says.

A US researcher says he has "definitely" found the lost civilisation of Atlantis in the watery deep off Cyprus, adding his theory to a mystery which has baffled explorers for centuries.

Robert Sarmast says a Mediterranean basin was flooded in a deluge about 9,000 BC, submerging a rectangular land mass he believes was Atlantis.

The land mass now lies 1.5 kilometres beneath sea level between Cyprus and Syria.

"We have definitely found it," said Mr Sarmast, who led a team of explorers 80 kilometres off the south-east coast of Cyprus this month.

He says deep water sonar scanning has indicated man-made structures - including a three-kilometre-long wall, a walled hill summit and deep trenches - on a submerged hill.

Mr Sarmast says further explorations are needed.

"We cannot yet provide tangible proof in the form of bricks and mortar as the artefacts are still buried under several metres of sediment but the circumstantial and other evidence is irrefutable," he said.

At a news conference in the port city of Limassol, Mr Sarmast provided only animated simulations of the "hill".

Whether and where Atlantis existed has captured imaginations for centuries.

According to ancient Greek philosopher Plato, Atlantis was an island nation where an advanced civilisation developed about 11,500 years ago.

Theories abound as to why it disappeared, from Atlantis being hit by a cataclysmic natural disaster to Greek mythology which describes the civilisation as being so corrupted by greed and power that it was destroyed by God.

Sceptics believe Atlantis was a figment of Plato's imagination.

Mr Sarmast says he was led to Cyprus by clues in Plato's dialogues.

Plato's reference to Atlantis lying opposite the Pillars of Hercules - believed to be the Straits of Gibraltar - have often led explorers to focus on either the Atlantic Ocean, Ireland or the Azores off Portugal.

"People who dismiss this have not really done their homework, sceptics don't really understand," Mr Sarmast said.

"To understand the enigma of Atlantis you have to have good knowledge of ancient history, Biblical references, the Sumerian culture and their tablets and so on."

Although the most prevailing story of a world cataclysm is listed in the Biblical Old Testament, several ancient cultures do list accounts of civilisations being destroyed in floods.

-Reuters