Ancient cities that were actually flooded

2024 Author: Seth Attwood | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 15:55

A considerable number of ancient cities are being investigated by archaeologists today. But not all of them are located on land or require excavation. Sometimes cities remain in excellent condition for millennia, but they are not anywhere, but under water.

Earthquakes or tsunamis, changes in the relief or human actions - for various reasons, many ancient settlements ended up at the bottom, and today they are accessible only to divers or hydroarchaeologists. To your attention 6 cities that have sunk under the water, which can be called real analogs of the legendary Atlantis.

1. Heraklion, Egypt

If you try to find a real analogue of the legend about Atlantis, then, perhaps, it is the history of the city of Heraklion that is most suitable for this title. The most important port, as well as a transport and trade center, was built around the 8th century BC, that is, during the reign of the Ptolemaic dynasty in Ancient Egypt.

However, despite the evidence of ancient historians that has come down to us, in subsequent eras, many researchers did not believe at all that this city existed, because there was no material evidence.

And only in 2000, quite by chance, it was possible to find what was left of the once majestic Egyptian city. The remains of buildings and well-preserved sculptures are being investigated by hydroarchaeologists today - Heraklion was at a sea depth of more than 500 meters at a distance of 6.5 kilometers from the coast. Despite the fact that there is still not much information about it, the reasons for the disappearance of this city from the face of the earth are still roughly clarified.

Studies have shown that Heraklion was built on an area where the land was predominantly clay or sandy. Therefore, regular earthquakes and general seismic instability ultimately led to the fact that the city simply went under water.

2. Fanagoria, Russia

In the domestic open spaces, you can also find an ancient settlement, which eventually went into the depths of the sea. We are talking about the Greek city of Phanagoria, which is located on the coast of the modern Taman Peninsula.

In fairness, it should be clarified that part of the territory of the ancient settlement is on land, but part of it ended up at the bottom of the Sea of Azov.

One of the cities, which was built during the era of Greek colonization, existed for a long time after the end of the period of Antiquity. The local population left Phanagoria around the 10th century AD. The reason for this was the rise in the sea level, and this was the reason for its partial flooding.

Today, archaeologists are conducting excavations on the territory of the ancient city, and the ruins preserved on land have been assigned the status of a museum-reserve.

3. Palace of Cleopatra, Egypt

The ancient Egyptian city of Alexandria, as it turned out, also has areas that sank about one and a half thousand years ago after an earthquake. So, archaeologists at the bottom of the Mediterranean Sea are actively studying multiple objects of architecture of the so-called royal quarter - there you can see statues, columns, temple complexes and other structures.

In addition, a number of submerged ships are located near the sunken part of Alexandria. Today, artifacts raised from the bottom form part of the exposition of the National Museum of Alexandria.

4. Shicheng, China

Unlike most ancient places where people lived, which were hidden under the water column hundreds, or even thousands of years ago, the Chinese Shicheng sank to the bottom only fifty years ago - in 1959. And the reason for this was not natural disasters, but man-made flooding as part of the construction of a hydroelectric power station.

That is why the ancient city found itself at a depth of 40 meters at the bottom of Qiandaohu Lake.

Shicheng is literally replete with masterpieces of sculpture and architecture, and other artifacts from the reign of the Qing and Ming dynasties. At the same time, the state of the buildings remains at a fairly high level - so high that the Chinese government does not exclude the possibility that one day the city will be able to revive.

5. Pavlopetri, Greece

Among the ancient ancient cities, several today can boast of being at the bottom of the sea. However, the most ancient of them at the moment is Pavlopetri. The reason for giving him such a title is not only that he sank a long time ago, judging by his condition.

The thing is that no information has been preserved about such a settlement.

Pavlopetri was found relatively recently - in the sixties of the last century. Studies have shown that the city belongs to the Minoan civilization, and sank at least five thousand years ago, which makes it one of the most ancient settlements, which not only survived to this day, but even existed in general.

But the reason why he went under water is believed to be a natural disaster - an earthquake, as in the case of most ancient cities.

6. Dwarka, India

Another city that claims to be the most ancient is the Indian city of Dwarka. Archaeologists determine its age - about five thousand years, judging by the results of analyzes of the surviving structures. But the shards, statues and human remains, also found on the territory of the sunken city, are even older, they are at least nine thousand years old, and some believe that the age is as much as twelve thousand years.

In fairness, it should be noted that the latter statement is unlikely, because at that time there was no civilization in India at all. To date, active research is being carried out on Dwark, because its secrets have yet to be unraveled. However, historians have already identified one reason for the flooding - in this case, it was a huge wave that covered the city and carried it to the bottom of the ocean.