Are there underwater cities

Where the hero walked is long gone, as archaeologists think the city has been underwater since the 8th Century. Researchers using sonar to detect what lies beneath the sea bed have identified dozens of boats and hundreds of anchors , and managed to dredge up incense burners, jewelry and supplies needed for temple worship. Even foot granite statues of Egyptian gods have come up out of the water. Though researchers are still learning more about what Heracleion and the neighboring city of Canopus held, archaeologists and geologists have an idea of why the two bustling centers sank.

The ground both were built on held a lot of clay, and tidal flooding or earthquakes — both of which happened in the area — could compress the soil and shift it fast, allowing the heavy stone buildings to slowly slide into the water.

In a way, you can still act like an ancient Roman and take a trip to Baiae. Baiae drew the wealthiest visitors to the coast for the 2, years the city had operated. Several emperors added palaces and pools , while at least one Roman philosopher warned others of the gossip, drunken beach wanderers and loud sailing parties other visitors had to contend with.

Remains that dodged the aquatic fate as well as those bathing in the Gulf of Naples are open to tourists. As part of broader efforts in Italy to preserve underwater archaeology and open a Virtual Museum for the Underwater Archaeology, researchers are working on 3D surveys of two parts of Baiae so dry-land visitors can have a sense of the opulence the former inhabitants enjoyed. Let's explore some of these amazing underwater cities.

Thonis-Heracleion was once one of the most important port cities of the Mediterranean. Now what was once the official port of entry for Egypt lies beneath the sea. Dug up after 1, years, artifacts have been found that show the city was once an important port and trading centre: 60 shipwrecks, coins, tablets, as well as many large stone statues and temples. These places aren't like your traditional tourist spots.

You can't take a flight ticket and set off to witness them. But none the less, the knowledge of the existence of these places is enough to make you stand apart in the crowd. Port Royal - Jamaica. Pyramids of Yonaguni Jima - Japan. Lion City - China. Take a look at the world's most mysterious stone circles. It hid there, in plain sight, until a marine biologist from the University of Southampton, UK, rediscovered it when diving in the bay in Nicholas Flemming returned with a group of students to further investigate the site, finding a grid of streets, courtyards and gardens, stone houses, graves, and shards of pottery dating from the Mycenaean period to BC.

Sunken ancient ruins were the stuff of legend in southeast India. Until a sunken town was unearthed at the shore of Mahabalipuram, also known as Mamallapuram. Eyewitnesses claimed to have spotted boulders and walls as the tide receded immediately before the devastating tsunami that hit much of Asia in December Excavations revealed they had been right — and what they saw was actually the remains of an ancient port city.

The submarine city was all but forgotten until a government expedition in rediscovered a well-preserved city with broad streets, stone walls, ornate gates and statues of lions, dragons and phoenixes. A series of stone formations, from vertiginous monoliths to stacks of slabs and a pyramid, were spotted close to the remote Japanese island of Yonaguni in the mids by a local diver.

Historians and scientists have been puzzling over their origins ever since — and often arguing about it. Some believe the structures, sometimes known as Iseki stones, are the remains of the legendary lost civilisation of Mu , said to have disappeared under the waves due to an earthquake around 2, years ago.

If the structures are man-made, research at the site suggests this Japanese Atlantis is at least 5, years old — meaning the submerged monuments would pre-date the Egyptian pyramids by several centuries. This theory is supported by the level of detail and intricacy in some of the structures.