Submerged cities have always fascinated everyone as they present an insight into a now extinct civilization. Through hunches and accidents, researchers have discovered several cities with bizarre origins.
Let us look at 5 submerged cities that were discovered and the details that make them fascinating. These enchanting old ruins are beautiful and haunting, and we cannot get enough of them.
1.Heracleion, the star struck city
The ancient submerged city of Egypt has surprising connections with Greece! Herodotus, the ancient Greek historian reported that the city was visited by Paris and Helen of Troy before the beginning of the Trojan War. Both wanted to escape King Menelaus and hence sought refuge in the city. However, they were turned away by Thonis, who was the watchmen to the entrance of the river Nile. Additionally, the name Heracleion comes from Hercules! Hercules visited this city about 1200 years ago and the locals have said to have built a temple in his honor.
2. Dvaraka, a city where it may have all begun
A sunken city with a strong connection to the famous Indus valley civilization, the discovery of this city was purely accidental! In 2001, the National Institute of Ocean Technology, India was performing its routine pollution studies using sonar when they discovered an area with regularly shaped geometric structures. A further investigation ensued and a city was discovered 20 kilometers off the coast of Gujrat, spread over 9 kilometers on the ocean bed. The Indian epic, the Mahabharata was written around 8th or 9th century BC mentions the existence of the city named Dvaraka in the same location. Dvaraka is the kingdom of Krishna, one of the most important gods of the Hindu pantheon. The Mahabharata also contains a detailed description of the sinking of the city. Furthermore, a few items from the site were carbon dated and were reportedly 9,500 years old! If this is proven right, then Dvaraka would pre-date the Mesopotamian empire.
3. Shi Cheng, a city that was forced underwater
Unlike the other cities on the list, Shi Cheng or The Lion City in China was purposefully sunk. The historical city was built during the Han dynasty and dates between 25-200 ADE. The city which is located at the bottom of the Wu Shi mountain was flooded in 1959 to create a lake for the Xin’an hydro-electricity project. Interestingly, experienced scuba divers can actually explore this city which has surprisingly remained well preserved with the stone roads tidily lined with pebbles and beautiful intricately carved buildings still visible.
4. Pavlopetri, city with an epic past
The city of Pavlopetri is located off the coast of southern Laconia, Greece, and is about 5000 years old. This makes it the oldest submerged city in the world! It was discovered by Nicholas Flemming and a team of Cambridge archeologists. The city is so old that it existed in the period that the famous Greek poem ‘Illiad’ was created. Scientists believe that the city sunk due to earthquakes that shifted the land.
5. Wanaku, a city with mysterious origins
The city is located on the bed of the world’s highest lake Titicaca in Bolivia. The lake had always fascinated researchers due to the several legends surrounding it regarding the city of Wanaku or even supposed Inca gold lost by the Spanish. The lake was also considered to be the birthplace of the Inca civilization: the belief is that the submerged city of Wanaku originated from the lake itself when the Children of the Sun emerged from its waters. With such rich folklore surrounding the place imagine the surprise when international archeologists discovered a temple that measures 200m by 50 m on the lake bed. That is twice the size of an average football pitch. Along with that, archeologists also found the traces of a paved road and stone terrace. Scientists are still deliberating what led to this city being submerged and there are many theories that attempt to explain the reasons. The speculations range from earthquakes to alien involvement.
