Among the great buildings known since ancient times, the cities have survived in almost their original form, thanks to their flooding.
Throughout the history of mankind, people have constantly conquered living space from the elements. But the opposite situation also happened: the elements took him back. The mythical Atlantis, the legendary city of Tire and many others. In this article we will tell you about the ancient cities that were under water.
Suian and Chun'an, China
These ancient cities were submerged only recently during the construction of a hydroelectric power plant. Their first mentions date back to the 1st-2nd centuries AD. As a result of blocking by a dam, these ancient cities were under water in just one night.
Pavlopetri, Greece
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In the past, Pavlopetri was a wealthy trading city in the south of the Peloponnese. It is known that the period of its heyday fell on the Mycenaean period of the Bronze Age (the era of the Trojan War, the legendary king Minos and Homer). It is unknown how the city ended up under water. Now it is located off the coast at a depth of 3-4 meters.
Tire, Phenicia
The richest city, a stronghold of culture and art, is partially located at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea. His remains are located on the territory of modern Lebanon and are better known as Sur.
Dwarka, India
The legendary city of Dwarka, the capital of the Kingdom of Krishna, is considered the oldest city in India. There is a hypothesis that its modern version stands in place of six cities that have sunk to the seabed. Now underwater archaeologists are excavating the ruins of six ancient cities.
Port Royal, Jamaica
The city, built in Jamaica, was resolved by the strongest earthquake and tsunami in 1692. Entire city blocks, markets, churches, warehouses and utility rooms were under the water of the Caribbean Sea. Now it is a favorite place for diving and research for underwater archaeologists.
Dioscuria, Black Sea (modern territory of Abkhazia)
The oldest Greek colony located near the capital of Abkhazia, Sukhumi. Archaeologists have established that the city flourished until about the 3rd century AD, after which it fell into decay and ended up on the seabed.
Cuban underwater city, Cuba
Presumably, the most ancient city of the Aztecs or Maya, it has no name yet. These are regular geometric formations of stone, with an area of two square kilometers. The reasons why he went under water are still unknown.
Palace of Cleopatra, Egypt
Near Alexandria, the ruins of an ancient palace rest under the waters of the Mediterranean Sea. Presumably, this was the palace of Cleopatra, the last queen of Egypt. Presumably, it went under water more than 1600 years ago due to an earthquake along with the seventh wonder of the world, the Pharos lighthouse.
Temples Mahabalipuram, India
A complex of seven temples, sunk under the water as a result of a strong earthquake. According to legend, they were not the only building, but a whole city. Currently, an active search for the lost city is underway.
Yonaguni-jima, Japan
This giant structure was found by an amateur diver in 1995 off the coast of Okinawa. According to research, the giant boulders are human-made. The age of the buildings is impressive - over 8000 years. According to the hypothesis, these are the remains of the disappeared continent of Mu.
Heraklion, Egypt
Discovered in 1930 in the eastern bay of Alexandria. Even the historian Herodotus wrote about the beautiful prosperous city of Egypt, but to this day it did not live because of the earthquake.
Ruins of Atli Yam, Israel
These ruins date back to the seventh millennium BC. These are the oldest remains of sunken settlements ever found by archaeologists. The ruins were found in 1984 but are still poorly understood. It remains a mystery why the city was flooded: the fault could be a tsunami or rising sea levels.