At the bottom of Lake Van, Turkey's largest lake, mysterious ruins were found.

Divers found a cemetery and places with signs of an old village at the bottom of Lake Van, Turkey's largest salty soda lake at 3,712 square kilometers.

The largest lake in Turkey and the second largest lake in the Middle East is called Lake Van (Van Gölü in Turkish). Additionally, it is the world's largest lake of sodium water.

By diving, people discovered the ruins at the bottom of Lake Van, and additional ones were added to them.

Following the dive by members of two associations in the provinces of Bitlis and Van, it was reported that cross-shaped sunken ruins believed to be part of an ancient city had been found in Lake Van's depths.

They discovered fresh puzzles that could only be addressed by diving, according to Cumali Birol, president of the Eastern Sea Association, in a statement to Demirören News Agency (DHA).

According to Cumali Birol, after the water levels dropped, reports of several tombstones and ruins found in the water between the Tatvan and Ahlat districts were sent to the appropriate agencies.

"Our divers discovered what appeared to be a hamlet in the area, including streets, tombs, and crosses with the Kayı tribe's markings. By providing the findings to specialists, we are attempting to shed light on the history of the area. Between Ahlat and Tatvan, we found a huge space. At the bottom of the river, there are cemeteries. The graves are marked with crosses.

Since there are remnants of old civilizations all around the lake basin, Birol emphasized that Lake Van is a mysterious location for divers. In recent years, more than 3 meters of water have receded in the lake basin, exposing numerous ruins.

"We sent two English geologists to the session that our organisation hosted. Thus, we have established that the Lake Van Basin was the location of the Noah's Flood. This notion is supported by the latest discoveries, which we made at a depth of 23 meters, said Birol.

While diving to study the lake in 2017, a group of archaeologists and independent divers from Van Yüzüncü Yıl University discovered a 3,000-year-old underwater fortification.

Source: https://arkeonews.net/mysterious-ruins-dis...

Stunning legendary relic discovered in the lagoon's depths by the Romans

An expansive beachfront estate with lavish pools can be found in Italy's Venetian Lagoon region. Its wealthy residents utilize the villa for oyster preservation and farm fishing.

This is the third excavation at “The Roman Villa of Lio Piccolo,” according to archaeologists with the Ca’ Foscari University of Venice. Ca’ Foscari University of Venice

At the very least, that is what you might have observed 1,900 years ago, before the lagoon engulfed the Roman Villa of Lio Piccolo and its buildings.

Archaeologists from the Ca' Foscari institution of Venice are currently investigating the house's underwater remains and its buildings. During their third campaign of digs, they recently unearthed a beautiful relic, the institution announced in a news release on July 24, 2023.

A photograph of the discovery reveals that the ancient oval-shaped agate gem is inscribed with a legendary figure that looks to be standing and holding something over its shoulder. The discovery, according to experts, supports their theory that the location was originally used by affluent Romans.

The agate gem indicates that the site was used by wealthy Romans thousands of years ago, experts from the university said. Ca’ Foscari University of Venice

Carlo Beltrame, a professor at the institution who is directing the study, said in the announcement that the discovery is very unique for a lagoon habitat.

Oyster Preservation in the Past

The university stated in a news release from March 2022 that previous excavations at the location uncovered ponds for aquaculture, including the preservation of oysters.

Ca’ Foscari University of Venice

Experts reported finding rectangular brick basins from the first and second centuries at the location. Oysters were a delicacy in the Roman culture, and it's possible that these were employed to preserve them before consumption.

Additionally, according to archaeologists, brick walkways, countless priceless fresco fragments, and sections of a black-and-white mosaic were discovered.

Less than ten kilometers separate Lio Piccolo from Venice.

Source: https://www.kansascity.com/news/nation-wor...

Divers found a perfectly preserved ancient Chinese underwater city

BY THE ARCHAEOLOGIST EDITOR GROUP

After being flooded in 1959, the Chinese city of Shicheng was left in obscurity. Divers may now explore a 600-year-old metropolis that has been submerged and unseen for decades thanks to its recent rediscovery.

The underwater city of Shicheng, frequently referred to as the "Atlantis of the East" by tourists, is a stunning, enigmatic time capsule of Imperial China. A perfectly preserved piece of stone architecture from the Ming and Qing dynasties, which ruled from 1368 to 1912, is located 40 meters beneath Qiandao Lake in Zhejiang province, 400 kilometers south of Shanghai.

Shicheng, which in Mandarin means "Lion City," was purposefully flooded in 1959 to make room for the Xin'an Dam and its adjacent hydropower facility, unlike the legendary Atlantis. For the project, about 300,000 people were evacuated, some of them had families who had been residing in the city for centuries.

As the Chinese government organized an expedition to see what could be left of the long-lost metropolis, the city was "rediscovered" in 2001. When the Chinese National Geography published some previously unseen images and graphics in 2011 speculating how the small city, which measured approximately half a square kilometer, may have appeared in its heyday, interest and exploration surged even further.

Expeditions and underwater images have shown that the city had five entrance gates instead of the usual four, with gates facing the other cardinal directions as well as two in the west. The city's wide alleys include 265 archways with surviving stonework of lions, dragons, phoenixes, and historical inscriptions; the city walls are said to have been constructed in the 16th century. Some of these inscriptions date as far back as 1777.

Shicheng has been beautifully conserved despite being submerged; in fact, the water shields it from wind, rain, and sun degradation. Advanced divers can now take regular dives between April and November with dive companies like Big Blue and Zi Ao Dive Club to get up close to the ruins. The dive is only available to divers with deep water, night, and buoyancy experience because the ruins have not yet been completely mapped.

Stonehenge-like building discovered beneath Lake Michigan that dates back 9,000 years

Archeologists were looking for shipwrecks in Lake Michigan when they stumbled onto something much more fascinating than they had anticipated.

Archaeologists were looking for shipwrecks in Lake Michigan when they came across something much more remarkable than they had anticipated: a boulder with a mastodon carving on it and a group of stones stacked like Stonehenge.

Οbserving the Water

In contemporary archaeology, remote sensing techniques are frequently used; researchers constantly search lakes and the ground for undiscovered buildings. Archeologists unearthed a prehistoric surprise when searching for shipwrecks in Lake Michigan's Grand Traverse Bay at a depth of roughly 40 feet. A trained eye can identify what it is by looking at the sonar scan photographs in this article. They also found sunken boats, automobiles, and even a pier from the Civil War.

During a news conference in 2007 with images of the boulder on display, Mark Holley, a professor of underwater archaeology at Northwestern Michigan University College who made the find, remarked, "When you see it in the water, you're inclined to say this is totally real." "But, we need the professionals to visit and confirm that.

The marked boulder measures roughly 5 feet in length and 3.5 to 4 feet in height. A surface with multiple fissures is visible in photos. The ones resembling what might be a petroglyph stood out, even though some might be natural and others seem to be human-made, according to Holley.

When taken as a whole, they, according to him, resemble the outline of a mastodon, complete with back, hump, head, trunk, tusk, triangular-shaped ear, and sections of legs.

According to Greg MacMaster, head of the underwater preservation council, "We couldn't believe what we were seeing."

Before certifying the marks are an ancient petroglyph, experts who have seen images of the boulder with the mastodon markings have requested more proof, according to Holley.

He stated, "They want to actually see it. However, he continued, "Petroglyph experts typically don't dive, so we're hitting into a bit of a stumbling block there."

If confirmed, the would-be petroglyph could date back as far as 10,000 years, which would put it in line with the presence of both humans and mastodons in the upper Midwest during the post-Ice Age. If the formation were real, it wouldn't be totally out of the ordinary. There are stone circles and other petroglyph sites nearby.

The discovery was made a few years ago, and surprisingly, there isn't much information online about it. But, I'll make sure to update this piece as soon as I can get my hands on more details. Who is from Michigan, then?

A swimmer discovers 1,800-year-old marble columns from a shipwreck off the coast of Israel

A few weeks ago, Gideon Harris dived into the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Israel. 13 feet below the surface, he discovered marble columns that were 1,800 years old.

One of the marble capitals found by swimmer Gideon Harris Israel Antiquities Authority

The Israel Antiquities Authority said in a statement last week that the Roman-era artifacts that perished with the merchant ship carrying them have been discovered. Despite the agency's knowledge of the shipwreck's existence, its location was previously a mystery.

According to Koby Sharvit, head of the IAA's underwater archaeological team, "recent storms must have exposed the cargo, and thanks to Gideon's vital report, we have been able to register its location.

The rich hoard may have been headed to a port in Ashkelon, Gaza, or Alexandria when it was discovered, according to Sharvit, who believes that it most likely originated in a location adjacent to Greece or Turkey. When the ship was engulfed in a storm, the crew probably let go of the anchor to keep it from grounding on the shoals.

Among the artifacts are partially carved capitals, which are the decorative caps of columns. Some people are huge and heavy, while others are tiny.

It's possible, perhaps even likely, that we have duplicate cargo: one ship carrying goods for two separate constructions or destinations, Sharvit told Haaretz's Ruth Schuster.

The carving on the little capitals hints that they might have been for a more compact structure. Major cities still need a lot of development. The shape is there even though it hasn't been finalized.

Divers measuring one of the columns in the shallow waters off the beach of Beit Yanai, Israel Israel Antiquities Authority

The discovery is remarkable in large part because of the material. Sharvit claims that the objects were presumably intended for a "large-scale, majestic public structure" because they are made of marble.

According to Sharvit in the statement, such architectural elements were created from local stone and plastered in white plaster to mimic marble "even in Roman Caesarea," a nearby ancient port city. Here, we're talking about actual marble.

Additionally, he asserts that the discovery provides an answer to the question of whether architectural components like columns were completed at their final places or at their original locations. This revelation makes clear the latter because numerous columns were lacking.

Roman rule over the region was formally established when Pompey the Great seized and overthrew the king of Judea in 63 BCE. Experts assigned the recently discovered columns a date around the middle of the second century C.E.

Researchers were excited to find that the columns were made from genuine marble. Israel Antiquities Authority

Scientists have long been interested in Israel's Mediterranean Sea shoreline. For instance, in the waters of Caesarea National Park, some 35 miles north of Tel Aviv, divers unintentionally discovered a 1,600-year-old shipwreck crammed with bronze artifacts in 2016. This summer, a 2,000-year-old Roman coin with zodiac signs was found in the waters near Haifa.

In collaboration with students from the University of Rhode Island, the IAA will soon begin an excavation of the site, according to Sharvit, writes Amanda Borschel-Dan for the Times of Israel. He anticipates finding more ancient objects, such as coins. It would be considerably more fascinating to find the boat's actual wreckage, which researchers have not yet discovered.

Harris, who alerted the IAA to the discovery, received a certificate of appreciation for his civic virtue.

At the bottom of the sea, archaeologists unearthed the remains of an ancient temple

Archaeologists have unearthed two altars from a Nabatean temple that were discovered submerged on Pozzuoli's seafloor. It is believed that Puteoli, a commercial port in this region of southern Italy, once had its center at the now submerged temple.

Archaeologists have determined that the submerged temple's remnants date to the first fifty years after its construction. Similar to a larger, huge altar that was found in the same area in 1965, the altars are similar to that altar. The foundation of the altar is claimed to be inscribed with the words DVSARI SACRVM, which translate as "holy to Dusares."

This inscription refers to Dushara, the chief deity of the Nabatean pantheon and a deity unique to this religion. The researchers claim that votive niches on the tops of the altars found in the drowned temple once held betyls, tiny sacred stones used as deity effigies.

The Nabatean pantheon was aniconic, as are all monotheistic religions.

Instead, the submerged temple shows how the pantheon represented the gods that were worshipped there using standing stones and other cultic stelae. With the discovery of this collection of altars, the total number of Nabatean-related discoveries in this area of the buried city now stands at five. There might be other relics dispersed throughout the seafloor.

The existence of this Nabatean temple has long been known. Archaeologists haven't yet been able to locate it precisely, though. Researchers will now be able to locate the exact site of the temple and possibly gain additional insight into how the Nabateans interacted with locals and business owners.

Discovering these kinds of discoveries is always exciting, especially as archaeologists continue their search for the Atlantis passage, which is still believed to exist. Simply simply, this submerged temple acts as another relic of prior human existence.

Archaeologists Discover a 7,000-Year-Old Road and 'Strange Structures' Underwater

Neolithic people, according to researchers, used the 7,000-year-old road that is now submerged under the water.

The drowned remains of a 7,000-year-old road that once connected an ancient artificial landmass to the Croatian island of Korčula have been found by archaeologists. The Hvar, an extinct maritime society that lived in this region during the Neolithic Era, left behind the submerged road and various other artifacts.

According to a statement from the university, Igor Borzić, a researcher at the University of Zadar's Archaeology Department who was looking into sites on land, discovered "strange structures" at a depth of around 15 feet in the Bay of Gradina, on the western coast of Korčula. The university published additional video of the submerged passage, which was formed of stacked stones and was around 12 feet broad, over the weekend.

In a statement published on Facebook on May 8, the University of Zadar stated that researchers shocked themselves by discovering remains at the submerged neolithic site of Soline on the island of Korčula. They specifically found a path connecting the coast of the island of Korčula with the drowned prehistoric settlement of the Hvar culture beneath the layers of sea muck.

The researchers also found fragments of millstones, flint blades, and stone axes among the underwater remains. The relics provided information on the enigmatic Hvar peoples, who arrived in the northeast Adriatic Sea some 7,000 years ago and resided on its islands and beaches.

According to the university, various experts and organizations are working together on the underwater research, which is being directed by archaeologist Mate Parica, who has been studying the location for a while.

Underwater excavations have uncovered numerous Hvar remains and artifacts, including a village built atop a man-made island. The announcement claimed that the recently found route connected this island to the shore of Korčula. In addition to ceramics and decorations, the Hvar people also left behind signs of subsistence farming and burial customs.

Archaeologists are excavating historic sites on land in addition to underwater studies, such as a cave in the adjacent town of Vela Luka that has been inhabited for at least 19,000 years by numerous cultures, including the Hvar.

Archaeologists Uncover 7,000-Year-Old Ancient Neolithic Shipwreck Road on Korcula Island

In underwater archaeological research at the submerged Neolithic site of Soline on the island of Korčula, archaeologists from the University of Zadar have discovered the remains of a road dating back nearly 7,000 years, according to a statement from the university.

Beneath layers of marine sediment, a road connecting a submerged prehistoric settlement with the coast of the island of Korčula has been uncovered, the university adds. The road consisted of carefully laid stone slabs, part of a 4-metre-wide communication route that connected the artificially created island with the shore.

Radiocarbon analysis of preserved wood found in a previous archaeological campaign dated the entire settlement to around 4900 BC. People walked on this road nearly 7,000 years ago, as stated in the University of Zadar's press release. At the same time, on the other side of Korčula, archaeologists from the University of Zadar are conducting terrestrial research near the bay of Gradina, near Vela Luka.

Research leader Igor Borzić noticed peculiar structures in the bay, and the archaeological team diving at the Soline site conducted a survey of the central part of the Gradina bay. To their general excitement, they discovered the presence of an almost identical settlement at a depth of four to five metres, similar to the one found in Soline, the statement highlights.

Neolithic artefacts such as flint blades, stone axes, and fragments of querns have been found at the site.

The Challenges and Triumphs of Digging The Deep Blue in Underwater Archeology

The Challenges and Triumphs of Digging the Deep Blue in Underwater Archaeology

The allure of the ocean has always been intertwined with its mysteries. While explorers have mapped coastlines and sailors have chronicled their adventures on stormy seas, underwater archaeologists dive deeper, quite literally, to unearth tales from the ocean's abyss. This profession, a marriage between archaeology and deep-sea diving, is filled with both challenges and triumphs.

Archaeology, the scientific study of human history and prehistory through the excavation and analysis of artifacts and other physical remains, has greatly evolved over time, providing a window onto the historic development of civilizations.

From its crude beginnings to the current use of advanced technology, archaeology has allowed us to unlock many secrets of our past. However, one branch of archaeology that has been particularly challenging is underwater archaeology.

Underwater archaeology is a difficult and demanding task. It involves the excavation of submerged remains such as shipwrecks, sunken cities, and other ancient artifacts. This branch of archaeology requires specialized equipment and techniques to access and recover artifacts, often in conditions where visibility is limited, currents are strong, and the ocean is a constantly changing environment. Despite the challenges, underwater archaeology has yielded remarkable discoveries that have greatly enriched our understanding of human history.

Challenges:

1. Physical and Technical barriers: The most immediate challenge in underwater archaeology is the physical barrier posed by water. Immense pressures in deep-sea environments, unpredictable currents, and the potential for low visibility conditions can make archaeological efforts challenging. Furthermore, divers can only stay submerged for limited periods due to concerns about decompression sickness.

2. Preservation and Conservation: While the deep-sea environment can often preserve organic materials incredibly well, thanks to cold, oxygen-poor conditions, removing these materials can expose them to rapid decay. Techniques and solutions must be devised to carefully extract and preserve these artifacts.

3. Documentation Difficulties: Documenting findings underwater, especially in low-visibility conditions, is far more challenging than on land. Archaeologists often rely on advanced technologies like 3D mapping and sonar to create detailed records of sites.

Triumphs:

1. Window to Lost Civilizations: Sunken cities and submerged settlements provide a direct window into civilizations from the past. Sites like Egypt's ancient city of Thonis-Heracleion, which was swallowed by the sea, offer invaluable insights into ancient trade, politics, and culture.

2. Maritime Revelations: Shipwrecks, often perfectly preserved in the deep, are time capsules of their era. From the vessels of ancient Greece to sunken Spanish galleons laden with gold, these maritime graves unveil tales of commerce, warfare, and navigation.

3. Advancements in Technology: The challenges of underwater archaeology have spurred significant advancements in diving technology and underwater surveying equipment. The fusion of technology and research has brought previously inaccessible sites within reach.

In essence, while underwater archaeology may be fraught with challenges, the revelations it brings to the surface are unparalleled. Each dive brings with it the possibility of rewriting history, uncovering lost tales, and adding depth to our understanding of ancient civilizations. As we continue to plumb the depths, we bridge the gap between our world and the stories submerged below.

10 Suspicious Underwater Observations

Ancient writings that have remained clearly demonstrate the idea that new territory might appear from the sea while older ones might disappear beneath it, erasing earlier civilizations. Atlantis is the most well-known of the extinct continents, having been extensively described by Plato about 2,500 years ago. As humanity developed flying, sonar, and diving technologies over the previous century, a number of undersea anomalies were discovered.

Not all of the sites are, though, and usually the water's depth limits our research to sonar scans and samples collected by submersibles. Several have explored and studied in-depth places like the Bimini Road.

10 Mound in the Sea of Galilee

In 2003, a massive circular stone structure in the Sea of Galilee filled 30 feet (9 meters) of water, which astounded scientists. The structure, which is composed of basalt boulders that have been placed in a cone shape, is twice as large as Stonehenge in the UK. It could potentially be a ramp or a ceremonial structure, but according to recent archaeologists' discoveries, it shares some traits with ancient communal burial sites found all over the world. They have never seen a building of this size with its distinctive features, so they can only speculate as to the structure's exact construction date, method, and purpose.

9 Google Earth Circular Anomalies

The circular abnormalities that can be seen off the coastlines of Florida, North Carolina, and Belize have been documented by both amateurs and archaeologists. Although they are common, their purpose has not been established; many believe they were prehistoric burial mounds. Moreover, they resemble the stone structures seen in Saudi Arabia that may be seen on this website. It is believed that the underwater structures are older than those on land and may date to 8,000 BC or earlier since they have been better preserved than those on land, which have been dated to roughly 7,000 BC in Saudi Arabia.

8 Structure in Lake Macdonald, Ontario

Divers discovered evidence of Eastern Canada's ancient past in 2005 while taking part in a unique underwater expedition. The truly odd stone structure was found 40 feet (12 meters) below the surface. One massive 1,000-lb (453 kg) elongated rock with a virtually smooth surface and seven stones the size of baseballs make up the structure. This enormous stone, weighing several thousand pounds, is resting on a ledge. It was first thought to be a natural feature before geologists and archaeologists looked at the images. The discovery of the man-made "rock cairn" was deemed to be established when an underwater anthropologist judged that the presence of three shims was sufficient proof that the monument was man-made.

7 Baltic Sea Anomalies

The discovery of the disc-shaped Baltic Sea anomaly (and its following research in 2012) had everyone who was interested on the edge of their seats, regardless of whether it was a UFO, a Nazi anti-submarine defense device, or simply a glacier rock that had been carried over the sea floor.

Despite generally persuading everyone that it is a rock and not a UFO, Swedish explorers' research has generated a lot of questions. First of all, the boulder lacked a silt layer, which is often present on rocks that have remained stationary at the ocean's bottom for any length of time. The 196 feet (60 m) wide rock also looks to be supported by a 26 foot (8 m) high pillar and is covered by construction lines and boxes.

6 Lake Baikal Mystery

Southern Siberia's Lake Baikal is exceptional in many ways. It is the world's largest, oldest, and deepest freshwater lake. The lake's silt deposit is more than 4 miles (7 km) deep, and many of the fish species that survive there are unique to the lake's waters. When they noticed a fairly wide circular region of thinning ice near the southern end of the lake in April 2009, astronauts aboard the International Space Station were frightened. The lake's ice cover typically lasts into June. They were shocked to see yet another feature above the lake's dividing underwater ridge.

The unusual pattern would indicate that warmer water was transported to the surface, albeit the origin of the circles is unknown. Hydrothermal activity has never been seen over the extremely deep water at the southern extremity of the lake.

5 Lake Michigan’s Stonehenge

Despite being one of the most well-known ancient stone monuments in the world, Stonehenge in the UK is not the only one. There are similar stone configurations all throughout the world. A group of underwater archaeologists stumbled upon a circle of stones 40 feet (12 meters) below the surface of Lake Michigan in 2007 while using sonar to map the lake's bottom. A carving of a mastodon, an animal that has been extinct for 10,000 years, also appeared on one of the stones. If the site is authenticated, it wouldn't be wholly out of place because there are nearby stone circles and petroglyph sites.

4 Cuba’s Underwater City

Archaeologists, scholars, and Atlantis-hunters from all over the world were fascinated by a group of submerged structures that were found off the coast of Cuba in 2001. The symmetrical and geometric formations, which cover an area of 200 ha (almost 2 square km) at depths between 2,000 and 2,460 feet ( 700 m), were discovered by a team performing surveying work. Since it would have taken the structures 50,000 years to descend to their current depth, critics contend that the site is too deep to be man-made. The Maya and local Yucateco legends of an ancient island home to their ancestors that sunk beneath the water would be supported if concrete evidence could be produced that these constructions were created by humans.

3 Japan’s Yonaguni Monument

The enormous Yonaguni Monument off the coast of Japan has been the focus of discussion among scientists, archaeologists, and academics ever since it was discovered in 1987. Many proponents assert that although the location is natural, it may have undergone human intervention, similar to Sacsayhuaman's rock-hewn terraces. If confirmed, the site would have undergone modifications approximately 10,000 BC, during the previous ice age. On the other hand, skeptics think the entire building is natural and that the carvings and patterns that have been noticed are simply natural scratches. Despite the fact that Yonaguni's traits may be seen in numerous sandstone formations across the globe, it is implausible that there are so many suspicious formations at one location.

2 Bimini Structures

Using side-scan sonar and sub-bottom profiling, missions in 2006 and 2007 explored the deeper waters to the west of Bimini. A few rectangular features were found at a depth of 30 meters (100 feet). Straight, parallel lines connect them all in the same direction. The buildings, according to the experts, resemble those discovered off the coast of Cuba quite a bit. The formations were more clearly seen at a later dive organized by the History Channel. There are roughly 50 stone heaps, most of which measure 10 by 45 feet and are all located at a depth indicating an antiquity of 10,000 BC.

1 Gulf of Khambhat Discovery

In May 2001, it was announced that ancient city ruins had been found close to the Gulf of Khambhat. The discovery was made using sonar as normal pollution inspections were being carried out. At the announcement, it was noted that the location had residences that are evenly spaced apart, a drainage system, a bath, a granary, and a citadel that predates the Indus Valley Civilization. Further investigations involved dredging the region, where numerous objects were discovered. These were discovered around 7,000 years ago, together with wood, stones that were thought to be hand tools, petrified bones, pottery sherds, and a tooth.

All of the supposed artifacts are stones of natural origin, the "sherds" are natural geofacts, and the dredging could have picked up stray artifacts alongside the site's artefacts, raising suspicion about the discovery.

A massive ancient Greek city was discovered submerged in the Aegean Sea

BY THE ARCHAEOLOGIST EDITOR GROUP

The Aegean Sea has been home to the remains of a sizable Bronze Age city, according to the Greek Ministry of Culture, Education, and Religious Affairs. The settlement, which is 4,500 years old, spans 12 acres and is made up of towers, ceramics, tools, and other artifacts in addition to stone defense constructions, paved surfaces, walkways, and towers.

A group of researchers from the University of Geneva, the Swiss School of Archaeology, and the Ephorate of Underwater Antiquities made the discovery while looking for signs of the oldest community in Europe near Kiladha Bay on the Peloponnese Peninsula, south of Athens. The discovery of the old city is no less noteworthy even though they were hoping to find remnants that go back at least 8,000 years.

historical fortifications

According to Spero News, archaeologists discovered several enormous foundations in the form of a horseshoe near a wall line. These foundations are thought to have been towers used to protect the city. The ruins date back to the Bronze Age, although the construction is distinctive and was unheard of at the time. The foundations, according to Professor Julien Beck of the University of Geneva, are of "huge nature, unseen in Greece till now."

"Our discovery is significant in part because of its size. Over a stone base, there must have been a brick superstructure. The likelihood of discovering such walls underwater is really slim. The facility's exact size is unknown at this time. It is encircled by fortifications, but we don't know why "Beck threw in.

Countless Artifacts

Because of the number and caliber of the objects found, including pottery, red ceramics, stone tools, and obsidian blades from the Helladic Period, Beck indicated that the finding of the ancient city is significant (3200–2050 BC). In fact, they had been practicing at the neighboring Lambayanna beach when they saw pottery fragments, and it was by following the trail of relics that they eventually found the city.

The remains, which Beck has referred to as an "archaeologist's paradise," have yielded a total of more than 6,000 objects. The Cyclades archipelago's island of Milos, which has been inhabited since the third millennium, is thought to have provided the obsidian blades with their volcanic rock source.

According to the International Business Times, the study team is hoping to learn more about trade, seafaring, and daily life during the era thanks to the relics.

The walls that the researchers discovered are contemporaneous with the Giza pyramids, which were constructed between 2600 and 2500 B.C., with the Cycladic civilization (3200 to 2000 B.C.), and with the first Minoans on the island of Crete (2700–1200 B.C.), according to Spero News. They did, however, exist 1,000 years before the Mycenaean culture, which was the first significant Greek civilization (1650–1100 BC).

The team is hoping that additional research at and near Lambayanna will shed light on a complex web of coastal villages spanning the Aegean Sea.

Could the Sunken City of Cuba be Atlantis?

A team of explorers were conducting an exploration and survey mission little over ten years ago when their sonar equipment detected an intriguing group of stone constructions 650 meters below the surface. The constructions looked to reveal neatly ordered stones indicative of an urban development and appeared completely similar to the arid "desert" of the ocean below. Soon after, there was a media frenzy, with news websites running titles like "Atlantis Found in Cuba" and "Lost City of the Caribbean Found." The government, national museum, and national geography were all interested in the discovery as well, and they all pledged to look into the unusual sonar images. The tale has since been forgotten, more than ten years later. What ever happened to Cuba's submerged "ruins"? Were they ever thoroughly looked into? And why hasn't the news stopped talking about this peculiar discovery?

The initial discovery was made in 2001 while marine engineer Pauline Zalitzki and her husband Paul Weinzweig, who run the Canadian business Advanced Digital Communications (ADC), were collaborating with the Cuban government on a survey mission off the coast of the Guanahacabibes Peninsula in the Pinar del Ro Province of Cuba. ADC was one of four companies collaborating with the government of President Fidel Castro to explore the Cuban seas, which are thought to be home to thousands of treasure-laden ships from the Spanish colonial era. The crew discovered a collection of symmetrical and geometric stone structures that resembled an urban complex while utilizing cutting-edge sonar technology to investigate a 2-square-kilometer area of the sea floor.

When Zalitzki examined the sonar images, he noticed what seemed to be strange structures of crests, blocks, and geometric forms. Some of the blocks appeared to be constructed in pyramid shapes, while others were round.

In July 2001, they went back to the location with senior researcher and geologist Manuel Iturralde of the Natural History Museum of Cuba. This time, they used a remotely operated vehicle to look at and record the structures. Large, roughly 8-by-10-foot chunks of stone that resembled hewn granite were visible in the photographs. Some of the blocks appeared to be placed on top of one another on purpose, while others appeared to be left alone. Zalitzki stated that although it appeared that the photographs depicted the ruins of a sunken metropolis, he was hesitant to make any judgments in the absence of more information.

Iturralde, an expert in undersea formations, remarked of these "very unique structures" that they had "caught our imagination." But I would struggle to explain this in terms of geology.

According to an estimate, it would have taken 50,000 years for such structures to submerge to the depth where they were allegedly discovered. Iturralde continued, "With any of the cultures we are aware of 50,000 years ago, there was not the architectural capacity to build elaborate buildings." A Florida State University expert in underwater archaeology commented, "If they were correct, that would be cool, but it would be very advanced compared to what we would have seen in the New World at that time. The buildings are both out of place and out of time."

News outlets quickly drew comparisons between the discovery and the mythical lost city of Atlantis during the media frenzy that followed the announcement of its discovery. Zelitsky and Weinzweig, however, resisted drawing such analogies. Zelitsky claimed that the tale is a myth. What we discovered was most likely originally part of a local culture that existed along a 100-mile "land bridge" that connected Cuba and Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula. Iturralde continued by mentioning local myths about the Maya and indigenous Yucatecos that describe an island home to their ancestors that disappeared beneath the waters. Iturralde does not rule out the possibility that the rock formations could simply be the consequence of Mother Nature's miracles, though. He claimed that nature was capable of producing some truly incredible structures.

Others are less inclined to embrace this viewpoint, despite the fact that hundreds of media outlets have covered submerged ruins, advanced civilizations, the lost city of Atlantis, and sunken cities. The depth of the purported ruins, according to Keith Fitzpatrick-Matthews of the debunking website Bad Archaeology, is the largest issue for advocates of the sunken city theory. Sea levels decreased dramatically during the Pleistocene, which was marked by a series of ice ages with a maximum dip of about 100 meters.

It was never above sea level during the Ice Period unless the area on which they were standing had obviously sunk. Atlantis is said to have been destroyed "by terrible earthquakes and floods," according to Plato's version. It is doubtful that an entire city could have survived dropping more than 600 meters into an abyss, Fitzpatrick-Matthews says, assuming we take Plato at his word, which is what we must do if we think that Atlantis was a real location.

If we assume that he is correct and that these stone structures are simply the result of nature rather than representing an ancient submerged city, geologists and other scientists would undoubtedly be quick to seize upon the discovery and look into what freakish natural event produced such peculiar formations. Curiously, no recorded follow-up inquiries have been made, and media sources have completely stopped reporting on the situation. What happened to all the assurances that the government, National Geographic, the National Museum, and other scientists would conduct additional surveys?

Some have questioned whether there has been a concealment of information surrounding the results as a result of the fast dismissal of the story. Fitzpatrick-Matthews asserts that in the end, experts were not persuaded that Zelitsky had actually uncovered a buried metropolis and that the tale just went dead.

Scientists follow a ‘yellow brick road’ in a never-before-seen spot of the Pacific ocean

The path to the Emerald City might travel along the ocean’s bottom. The crew (researerchers) of the Exploration Vessel Nautilus caught sight of a strange-looking formation while studying an area called Liliʻuokalani Ridge in the Papahānaumokuakea Marine National Monument in the Pacific Ocean.

“The yellow brick road?” a scientist mused in an interview of the discovery in April 2022. Others remarked that the rocks were reminiscent of a very different fictional world: “It’s the road to Atlantis,” one researcher said.

The golden boulders, separated by perfect 90-degree angles, form a small strip that appears to have been chiseled and organized by human hands. The seemingly paved street, however, was merely the natural product of old volcanic activity hundreds of feet below the water’s surface, according to the researchers.

“At the summit of Nootka Seamount, the team spotted a ‘dried lake bed’ formation, now IDed as a fractured flow of hyaloclastite rock (a volcanic rock formed in high-energy eruptions where many rock fragments settle to the seabed),” the researchers said.

“The remarkably brick-like divisions between the rocks are likely the coincidental result of heating and cooling stresses from multiple volcanic eruptions over millions of years”, the team added.

While piloting a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) around the Papahnaumokuakea Marine National Monument, a protected conservation area encompassing approximately 582,578 square miles (1,508,870 square kilometers) of the Pacific Ocean northwest of Hawaii, the researchers took a detour down this eerie undersea road.

The expedition is part of the Ocean Exploration Trust’s Nautilus Exploration Program, and its goal is to examine the ancient seamounts at Liliuokalani Ridge, which is located on the monument’s western boundary.

One of the team’s primary objectives is to gather geological samples from the area’s seamounts, which are underwater mountains generated by volcanic activity, in order to better understand their ages and origins. The crew will also gather microbial samples to see what types of strange creatures have managed to live near the Pacific’s deep, underwater volcanoes.

“Our exploration of this never-before-surveyed area is helping researchers take a deeper look at life on and within the rocky slopes of these deep, ancient seamounts,” the researchers added. Previous expeditions aboard the Nautilus research vessel have unearthed a plethora of eerie aquatic anomalies.

During a trip to the Papahnaumokuakea Marine National Monument in 2018, researchers were taken aback by a wiggling, googly-eyed creature that appeared to change shape in front of the camera.

The species was eventually recognized as a gulper eel (Eurypharynx pelecanoides), a gigantic-mouthed fish that can unhinge its enormous jaw to consume anything larger than itself.

The researchers in command of the ROV during that voyage also made a cultural allusion in response to the unexpected scene in front of them. “Looks like a Muppet,” one researcher said.

Source: https://mysteriesrunsolved.com/2022/06/yel...

Underwater ruins of 3,000-year-old castle discovered in Turkey

Archaeologists in Turkey's eastern Van province discovered the ruins of a 3,000-year-old Urartu castle during underwater excavations in lake Van.

The excavation led by Van Yüzüncü Yıl University and Governorship of Turkey's eastern Bitlis Province revealed that the underwater ruins are supposedly from the Iron Age Urartu civilization, also known as the Kingdom of Van, thought to date back to the eighth to seventh centuries B.C.

"There was a rumor that there might be something under the water but most archaeologists and museum officials told us that we won't find anything," the head of the diving team Tahsin Ceylan said, adding that they proceeded with the research and discovered the ancient castle.

The current water level of Van Lake, which has a history of 6,000 years, is reportedly several hundred meters higher than it was during the Urartu civilization.

Civilizations living around the lake set up large villages and settlements while the water level of the lake was low, but they had to leave the area after it increased again, Ceylan said.

The research couldn't determine how much of the walls of the castle are buried, but about three to four meters are seen above the water.

"We will have to hold underwater excavations to find out about that" he added.

The underwater ruins are expected to attract the interest of thousands of tourists due to its unique historical worth.

Lake Van is the largest lake in Turkey and the second largest in the Middle East. It's also the biggest sodium water lake in the world. The lake lies on the high grounds of Eastern Anatolian region near the border with Iran. It was formed by a crater caused by a volcanic explosion of Mount Nemrut near the province of Van.

Source: https://www.dailysabah.com/history/2017/11...