In the mists of time, mankind has buried a great many legendary cities. Whole cultures, majestic and powerful civilizations disappeared from the face of the planet overnight: earlier this was considered a legend, but today archaeologists are finding new evidence of this state of affairs. For a long time, no one believed in the existence of the great palace city of Sigiriya, for example, and now UNESCO has officially recognized it as the eighth wonder of the world. Here are a few more mystical cities that were really discovered only by a miracle. Who knows, maybe Atlantis will be found someday!
Dvaraka
According to legend, Krishna himself commanded the Hindus to build Dvaraka. The city was supposed to glorify the deity in 16 108 silver temples (that is how many wives the loving god had). The real Dvaraka actually appeared in the place described by legends, only deep under water. Archaeologists today suggest that the deep sea engulfed Dvaraka in the second millennium BC.
Sibmao
The stone fortress was built by an ancient civilization in the nine hundredth year of our era. Archaeologists, however, have no idea how the ancient inhabitants of the black continent managed to build such a modern castle-city, because then people did not even know writing. Scientists discovered Simbao only in the 19th century, until that moment the "devil's city" was considered just a legend.
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Xanadu
The fortified city of Kublai Khan's great empire was first described by Marco Polo. But historians did not really trust the stories of the famous traveler - among other things, Polo spoke of ten thousand white horses guarded by real dragons. However, modern archaeologists have indeed managed to find Xanada. It turned out that the city had a huge zoo of animals collected from all over the world. And on the pillars in front of him sat golden dragons!
Sigiriya
The palace on a rock two hundred meters high was erected by the King of Sri Lanka Kassapa. It could only be accessed by a huge staircase passing through the mouth of a sculpted lion. Information about the mysterious city disappeared in the depths of centuries, and only in the last century did archaeologists manage to rediscover Sigiriya almost by accident.
Leptis Magna
Long ago, Leptis Magna was erected in Libya by the Romans. Here was one of the largest trade centers of the empire. But the fall of Rome was the end of this city too: it was plundered, and the ruins were consigned to oblivion. Over the long centuries, sandstorms almost completely buried the remains of Leptis Magna and discovered it only in the 19th century.
Vinland
For centuries, the story that the Vikings were the first to reach North America was considered just a legend. True, historians found indirect written evidence: for example, in 1073, Adam of Bremen wrote to the Danish king Sven Estridson that the Jomsvikings swam across the Atlantic Ocean. Confirmation of the story was found in 1960, when archaeologists excavated a settlement of northern warriors on the island of Newfoundland.
Heraklion
Paris and Helen hid here from Menelaus, and Hercules began his journey to the African shores from Heraklion. So, at least, the ancient myths said. But historians could not find even a trace of the ancient city, although even Troy was discovered by Schliemann. In the early 2000s, a group of divers came across a sunken city: it turned out that the legendary Heraklion went under water two and a half thousand years ago.
La Ciudad Perdida
For eight hundred years, the ancient people of Tayrona lived on the peaks of the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Even the conquistadors could not get into such a wilderness, but they brought European diseases here, due to which an entire civilization perished. The robbers were the first to discover the city lost in the jungle in 1970. They brought so many gold and jade figurines to the black market that they attracted the attention of archaeologists.
Ciudad Blanca
Cortez himself tried in vain to make his way through the jungle to the legendary City of the Monkey God. The myths about the lost settlement of a civilization sunk into oblivion have long worried archaeologists, and in 1965 Ares Shlomi's group (who, by the way, was guided by completely unreliable rumors) miraculously managed to discover La Ciudad Blanca.
Helike
Researchers have discovered information about Helika in ancient Greek mythology. According to legends, the powerful seaport was destroyed at one time by Poseidon himself, angry with the debauchery reigning here. Only in the late 1980s did archaeological enthusiasts manage to discover the remains of Helike.