Why places like Atlantis may not be myths.

We all know the myth about Atlantis.

We all want to believe that it is, or was, indeed real. Recent discoveries are pointing to the reason why it just might be an actual, lost site. We just haven't located it yet.

Sonar images first recorded in 2001 showed symmetrical and geometric stone structures. Sitting at well over 700 meters on the seabed floor, the lost city off the coast of Cuba is stirring the archaeological world. Other cities discovered flooded sit close to 120 meters, roughly 395 feet below the surface. These sites are easily explainable with the changes in ocean levels over thousands of years. The site off the coast of Cuba, not so much. In order for the city to sit at 700 meters down, that means we are talking about sea levels from.... nearly 50,000 years ago. The reconstructed images from the sonar scan show something pretty remarkable, a complex that resembles both Aztec and Mayan, as well as Egyptian structures. Some scholars believe we are simply looking at 'structures from when the land bridge existed'. I find that hard to believe, personally. When you look at scientific fact concerning oceanic levels at the time the city off Cuba would've been above ground being 50,000 years ago, that rewrites everything we know about history and the supposed dates of the construction of other great pyramids of the world in both South America and Egypt. This is not the only site off the coast of Cuba. There are others, though none that date to this period. This city is not the only sunken city causing archaeologists to question what we know.

Dwarka India, according to lore it is the home of the God Krishna. It was thought to be an old wive's tale until it was discovered resting 131 feet below the ocean. Findings at the Gulf of Khambat contain artifacts dating back to at least 7500 BC. A well preserved piece of wood from the site was carbon dated to an age of over 9,500 years old.

Pyramids of Yonaguni Jima - Japan- Submerged stone structures off Yonagumi Submerged stone structures lying just below the waters off Yonaguni Jima are actually the ruins of a Japanese Atlantis—an ancient city sunk by an earthquake about 2,000 years ago, at least according to Masaaki Kimura who is more convinced than ever that there rest the remains of a 5,000-year-old city. It is interesting to note that initially he claimed it was at least 10,000 years old but revised his statements. Unfortunately, Japan does not recognize the remains off Yonaguni as an important cultural property. Neither of the government groups has carried out research or preservation work on the site, which is disheartening.

The Ruins of Lake Titicaca- the Uru people have long handed down stories of that deep beneath the waters of the lake is a ruined city filled with gold. The story was dismissed until some very large statue remnants were found in the lake. The waters of Titicaca are brackish on a good day so exploring the lake will take time, but the tales of the Uru should not be so easily dismissed. When the Spanish arrived on the continent, they stripped the cities of gold, silver, and copper relics, jewelry, and other items. Costeau did a small amount of mapping, discovering the remains of interlocking masonry walls but the vehicles stirred the mud so badly, the pictures are not clear. Modern technology has allowed us to explore the are further. To date, 24 submerged sites rest under the lake. The Bolivian Government recently agreed to build a museum to house the artifacts as well as preserve the ruins. To date, more than 10,000 items have been found including gold, ceramic pieces, vessels and bowls as well as a gold mask that is truly stunning.

All of these places beg us to question what we have been told about the history of man and how long we have existed as 'civilized'. The Parthenon and the majority of the structures in Turkey, built by what we believed to be the Greeks, do not face the entrances of their doors true north, which does not match what followed later that corresponds with religious beliefs. The reason for this is now believed by many scientist to be for a single reason. The polar north was not where it was during the time in which the Parthenon and many of the structures were built. It was closer to Greenland, which means the original structures at these locations also could be as old as 50,000 years.

Maybe what happened was the loss of technology, the great libraries lost when the ocean levels rose, and as those who knew the knowledge passed on, those that followed didn't strive to keep it. We may never know, but discoveries are showing the human race that everything we once thought we knew is questionable at best and truth sometimes is stranger than fiction.