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Welcome to the Underwater Archaeology Homepage from UnderwaterArchaeology.com! |
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Ancient Civilizations Much can be learned about ancient civilizations from the artifacts they have left behind,- on ancient sea beds, along the banks of ancient river systems, and along the edges of ancient shorelines.
Our globe is covered with nearly two-thirds water, and the distribution of that water is constantly changing. After the last ice-age, prehistoric shorelines may have changed,- leaving ancient cities covered in water. In the Pleistocene era, ancient peoples may have built dug-out canoes for navigating the streams and rivers of North America. Other cultures constructed sophisticated rafts made of wood and reeds. Early seafaring people like the Vikings may have explored much more of the globe than was previously thought. But an examination of shipwrecks and shipwreck artifacts is only one way in which underwater archaeologists learn about our past. Indeed, our globe is covered with nearly two-thirds water, and the distribution of that water is constantly changing. After the last ice-age, prehistoric shorelines may have been rearranged. This is a time when ancient people depended on water, for transportation, trade, and food. It is not surprising that they often lived right next to it. Villages located on the edge of water may have been swallowed up by the seas, ancient harbors inundated with water. Ancient writings tell us that at times entire cities have disappeared following cataclysmic earthquakes, facilitating the rise and fall of great empires. The list goes on. It is the job of Underwater Archaeologists to study all of these possibilities, and many more. The Lost City of Atlantis In the legends of lost cities, few stories have inspired the imaginations as much as the story of the lost city of Atlantis. It is a tale of an advanced civilization, with advanced architecture, a system of canals, and an empire that ruled over surrounding areas with a vast military might and system of laws. What we know about Atlantis comes handed down to us from the writings of Plato. In his "dialogues" Timaeus and Critias , (circa 360 B.C.), Plato described this empire to us as a vast, awe-inspiring island nation located off of the "Pillars of Hercules." He tells us that one day it was swallowed up by the ocean, in a natural cataclysmic disaster. A punishment from the gods for too much sin? Like many great legends, researchers and scientists have speculated that this story may have a basis in fact. It could have been an island that collapsed during an earthquake, destroyed in a volcanic eruption, or inundated with water during a great flood. Today, theories about Atlantis are so plentiful one can find literature and research to implicate just about every region on the globe as the possible location of Atlantis. The Canopic Region Announced in the summer of 2000, the discoveries of the two ancient cities Heracleion and Canopus caused an immediate stir. Located in the Bay of Aboukir, Egypt, 6 to 8 miles off the current coastline, these cities were thriving after the foundation of Alexandria in 331 B.C., only to become inundated with water some 1200 years ago. The cities were well known to us through the descriptions of ancient writers, including Hecateus, Aeschylus, Herodotus, as well as Callimachus, Poseidippos, Nicander, Strabo, Aelius, Aristides, Pausanias, Rfinus, Eunapius, Saint Jerome, Zachary the Rhetoric, and Saint Sophronius, just to name a few. But while the existence of these cities was known to us, until recently their discovery remained beyond the limits of scientific study. Some theories hold that they became submerged during a period of intense earthquakes, while others have suggested they became victims of repeated Nile flooding. Current ongoing investigations of these sites are yet another example of how modern technological advances, including the use of radar and enriched oxygen mixes has made the discovery, mapping, and study of this region possible. The Mysterious Underwater Pyramids of Yonaguni Researchers have discovered the remains of what may have been an advanced ancient civilization, located under the seas around Okinawa. The most spectacular of these discoveries are the mysterious underwater pyramids of Yonaguni. Located just off the southern coast of Yonaguni Island, these structures were probably covered with water during the last ice-age, at the end of the Pleistocene era. If that is correct, it would mean the last time these structures were on dry land was about 8,000 to 10,000 years ago,- making them the oldest man-made structures ever known. The problem is proving that the structures are man-made. Determining the authenticity of this find has not been easy. The structures are covered in algae's, corals, and sponges. If they were composed of a number of different rocks that had been carved, moved, and fitted together, it would be easy to prove they are of human creation. But these structures are all apparently composed of living bedrock, and it could be argued that their jagged surfaces are natural formations. If they are man-made, the most likely scenerio is that they are formations humans carved into an existing rock hillside. Could this be evidence of an early civilization that pre-dates the legend of Atlantis? Examining these structures for evidence that early humans carved these hillsides out will be an object of study for researchers and underwater archaeologists for years to come.
Interesting links for further reading: The Canopic Region
-& the Franck Goddio Society An interpretation of
the Canopic Region Discovery - Al-Ahram Weekly Online Search the National
Geographic for The Lost City of Atlantis Mysterious
Underwater Pyramids at Yonaguni & Dr. Robert Schoch
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