In the western part of Japan in the East China Sea there is a group of islands called Ryukyu. One of the islands of the archipelago is Yonaguni, which is located 125 kilometers from Taiwan. Not far from this island in 1986, divers accidentally discovered a large underwater formation resembling a pyramid. The study of the mysterious find did not start immediately - after 12 years. But even such a detailed study did not give scientists an answer to the question of the origin of the underwater pyramids. Until now, there are active debates over who created the marine formations: nature or man.
In general, the pyramids were found due to the fact that a large number of hammerhead sharks live near the island of Yonaguni. It is for this reason that divers from all over the world constantly come here. In search of the perfect spot to watch sharks, the head of the Japan Island Tourist Association came here. But instead, at a depth of about 30 meters, he discovered several single underwater objects. They seemed to have been combined into one common architectural composition, and to some extent looked like stepped pyramids. One of the tallest pyramids was 182 meters wide and 27 meters high.
Despite the uniqueness of the find and the extreme interest of the public, its study had to wait for 12 years. Then it only became clear that the material of which the sea pyramids are composed is sandstone, which has the ability to crack along the planes. Thanks to this, such smooth surfaces and sharp corners were formed. Geologist Robert Schoch, who was a member of this research group, was confident in the natural origin of the pyramids. He believed that underwater Japanese formations appeared more than 10 thousand years ago due to frequent earthquakes and other types of seismic activity in the area. However, during the research, some artifacts were found that testified to the presence of people here: wall hieroglyphs, primitive construction tools and even a bas-relief of an unknown animal resembling a modern bull.
After some time, the island of Yonaguni and the sea depths around it was visited by another group of researchers, led by another geologist, Masaaki Kimura. He came to the opposite point of view, and insisted that the pyramids were created by human hands. Kimura then suggested that the age of the formations is 5000 years. Later, about 2000 years ago, the pyramids were flooded, the scientist believed. After his conclusions, the pyramids became a real attraction among divers, books were written about them, popular science films were shot and they continued to study further. So later, scientists were able to more accurately establish the approximate time of flooding of this area - it happened about 10 thousand years ago. That is, the age of the underwater monument is from 10 to 16 thousand years.
Then there was a meeting of two geologists and their joint discussion of the theory of the creation of the pyramids. After this meeting, both of them came to a compromise and settled on the point of view that the monument was originally formed under the influence of natural phenomena, but was later processed by man. Near the pyramids they found a human head carved from stone, which was completely covered with hieroglyphs.
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The specific arrangement of stone blocks, the varied landscape, the existence of such elements as a sharp-edged face, perfectly round holes and the same perfectly straight narrow trench - all these features also indicate changes in the Yonaguni marine formations by human hands.
It is interesting that even now, after the find was recognized as ancient and not yet fully studied, the Japanese government does not recognize it as a cultural heritage site, does not protect and study it. However, in 2001, a similar structure was found and also in Japan - on another island of the Ryukyu archipelago - Okinawa. In other parts of Japan, underwater "labyrinths", cylindrical depressions and other underwater structures that look like roads and walls have been discovered.
In 2004, a popular science film was released entitled “The Underwater World of Andrei Makarevich. The Secret of Yonaguni. In the documentary, you can see one of the mysteries of the ancient world, which is much older than the pyramids in Egypt. Divers have long dubbed the monument the Japanese Atlantis.