From Cleopatra’s palace to a mythical city
that turned out to be real, here are 10 incredible lost cities found underwater. 10. Antirhodos Sometime during the 4th century, the Egyptian
city of Alexandria was hit by a huge earthquake followed by a tsunami of epic proportions. An island called Antirhodos was sunk during
the process, taking with it Cleopatra’s Palace and a former wonder of the ancient
world: the Lighthouse of Alexandria. This is reported to have happened a few centuries
after Cleopatra’s death, and her palace is rumored to be buried in a small bay under
10 to 20 feet of murky water. Greek geographers and historians described
the island and its location in texts, helping people remember that it once existed even
though nobody knew where it was. It was also known as Anti-Rhodes because of
its competition with the actual island of Rhodes. The sunken island and its royal contents remained
largely a mystery until the 1990’s, when a French archaeologist named Franck Goddio
studied the ancient writings of the Greek historian Strabo. Intrigued by Strabo’s records and accompanied
by a diving team, a determined Goddio set out to find the lost island. Problem was that Strabo wasn’t very precise
and had actually gotten the location wrong. But after several searches, they found it!! It was a small island, occupied before Alexandria
was founded and excavations revealed a royal house belonging to Cleopatra, along with what
may even be her tomb, and a temple dedicated to Isis, one of the greatest goddesses of
Ancient Egypt. There was also a small port with a Roman wreck
nearby, and Mark Antony’s half finished palace. While some artifacts remain at the site, over
140 of the most valuable and well-preserved pieces have been taken to a museum for people
to enjoy! 9. Olous Home to a population of around 40,000 at its
peak, Olous was a Dorian city of ancient Crete situated along the Aegean Sea. The ruins are so close to shore, they are
visible to the naked eye. Olous was one of around 100 Minoan cities
that flourished between 3000 B.C. and 900 B.C. At the time, it fell along a major trade route
that connected Northern Crete with the Aegean islands and the rest of the Mediterranean. Because the city is conspicuously absent from
historical texts, most of what experts know is gleaned from archaeological evidence. Findings from underwater surveys fall in line
with the suspicion that Olous was a wealthy port city. In addition to basic buildings, the ruins
include roads and the remains of a Hellenistic fortification consisting of a defensive wall
and tower. Archaeologists have also found coins dating
back between 330 and 280 B.C. and inscriptions linking Olous with the ancient city of Knossos
and the island of Rhodes. Remember, the enemy of Anti-rhodes! Cemetery tombs, marble statue fragments, and
an early Byzantine-era basilica indicate that the settlement thrived during Roman times. Researchers have trouble figuring out why
Olous became submerged. Some attribute its sinking to rising sea levels,
while others believe that a volcanic eruption on the nearby island of Santorini or an earthquake
triggered its tragic demise. Any of these scenarios are possible, but sea
level patterns point toward the likelihood that the site was consumed by rising waters. 8. Dwarka Located in the state of Gujarat in northwestern
India, the modern-day city of Dwarka is one of four sacred Hindu pilgrimage sites and
one of the country’s seven most ancient religious cities. But there is another, older legendary version
of the city that was believed to be nothing but myth! But now archaeologists have found submerged
ruins under the sea!! There are rumors that the site represents
the mythical city of Dwarka founded by Lord Krishna, an important character of Hindu mythology. Krishna summoned divine powers to build the
city complete with a massive stone wall to protect it. Also known as Dvaraka, the city had 900,000
royal palaces, all made with pure silver and jewels, with gardens everywhere and the sound
of birds singing and bees humming. When Lord Krishna died, the Kingdom sank into
the sea. Excavations of the underwater sites have been
ongoing for decades, revealing interior and exterior walls and fort bastions, just like
the mythical city. There are also some other unidentified structures,
as well as a stone-built jetty, triangular stone anchors, stone sculptures, terracotta
beads, and bronze, copper, and iron objects. The style of the anchors suggests that Dwarka
was one of the busiest ports on India’s west coast during its Middle Kingdom period,
which lasted from the third century B.C. to the 13th century A.D. Scientists from the Archaeological Survey
of India’s (ASI) Marine Archaeological unit (MAU) also found inscriptions dating back
to 1500 B.C. and pottery from as early as 3528 B.C. Some claim that the site is as much as 9,500
years old based on the last time the land it sits on was allegedly above water, which
would make it older than the Sumerians!!! 7. Phanagoria Founded around 543 B.C. by Ancient Greeks
fleeing from war in Asia Minor (modern-day Turkey), Phanagoria was a coastal settlement
on the Taman Peninsula in what is now Russia. Covering an area of around 190 acres (75 hectares),
it was a bustling trade center and one of the most influential settlements along the
Black Sea. Several times during the course of its history
Phanagoria was attacked by invading armies, especially as its importance increased. But the city managed to maintain its dominance
in the region through its loyalty to the powerful Roman Empire until the Huns sacked and destroyed
it during the fourth century. After all that, Phanagoria managed to regain
its power and continued to flourish until sometime during the 10th century, when it
succumbed to an invasion for a final time. There's only so much a city can take!! The settlement was ultimately abandoned and
a new city was built over its ruins during the Middle Ages, but that city was also deserted,
and the site has not been inhabited since. The ruins of Phanagoria were rediscovered
during the 18th century. Excavations of the vast metropolis yielded
discoveries of marble statue bases dedicated to the goddess Aphrodite, gold and silver
artifacts, an inscription dedicated to the emperor Augustus, and crypts dating as far
back as 1,500 years. About one-third of Phanagoria has sunk beneath
the sea amid rising sea levels. Excavations of the site are ongoing both on
dry land and underwater. That's fun!! The partial sinking of the site serves as
an ominous warning about what will probably eventually happen to the rest of it. 6. Port Royal Once known as “the most wicked and sinful
city in the world,” Port Royal was located on what used to be Jamaica's southeastern
coast. It became one of the New World’s largest
European cities by the late 17th century and was a haven for vice. Las Vegas is nothing compared to Port Royal!! Rife with drunkenness, prostitution, and other
forms of debauchery, the natural harbor was at one point controlled by the notorious pirate
Henry Morgan, who became Lieutenant Governor in 1675. It was basically pirate heaven!! But the sinful city’s glory days would be
short-lived. On June 7, 1692, a massive 7.5-magnitude earthquake
struck Jamaica, instantly liquefying the sand that Port Royal was mostly built on top of
and submerging buildings, roads, and people into the Caribbean Sea. Next came tsunami waves, which wiped out most
of the remaining undestroyed parts of the city. Altogether, 33 acres (13.4 hectares) of Port
Royal plunged into the water, killing around 2,000 people and destroying four of its five
forts. Even after Port Royal was destroyed, its corrupt
culture lived on. According to historical accounts, opportunists
began looting and committing violent acts before the ground even stopped shaking from
the earthquake. Many looked at the city’s demise as a sign
of divine retribution -- God was punishing the people of Port Royal for their wayward
activities. Today, Port Royal’s remains lie beneath
up to 40 feet (12.2 meters) of water. Archaeological excavations have produced rarely-seen
17th-century artifacts, including a pocket watch stopped at 11:43 and dated to 1686. The submerged site has been likened to an
underwater Pompeii, with its remains left “as is” since the fateful moment it sank
without warning. 5. Atlit Yam As sea levels rose after the last ice age,
coastlines around the world shrank, submerging settlements and forcing people to repeatedly
move inland. Of the dozens of these underwater sites that
dot the modern-day Israeli shore, Atlit Yam is among the best-preserved. Situated in the Bay of Atlit along the Haifa
coast between 26 and 36 feet (8-11 meters) below today’s sea levels, this Pre-Pottery
Neolithic village dates back 9,000 years. Marine archaeologists discovered the prehistoric
settlement in the 1980s and excavated it between then and the year 2000. During that time, they found numerous artifacts
revealing how people dealt with the rapidly changing environment and introduced new technologies. Atlit Yam contains the world’s earliest
known freshwater wells, with seven megalithic stones surrounding a spring in the middle
of the site. Additionally, archaeologists found the remains
of around 100 plants, indicating that the inhabitants ate a traditional, well-balanced
Mediterranean diet, enabling some people to live to the ripe old age of 50 years old,
which constituted a long life back then. Remember, its 9000 years ago.. Bones of fish, wild animals and domestic livestock
show that Atlit Yam subsisted on a mixed economy of agriculture and husbandry combined with
hunting, fishing, and gathering. Unlike most settlements of this type, Atlit
Yam yielded numerous human burials, which bear evidence of a population that struggled
with malaria, tuberculosis (TB), and an ear condition related to cold water diving. These findings proved that TB is at least
3,000 years older than scientists previously thought and helped to shed light on the disease’s
bacterial evolution into modern times. Residents also combated the elements amid
a warming climate, dealing with chronic flooding that ultimately caused them to abandon the
site -- an ominous realization that some coastal communities are having to face today. And now for a lost Greek city, but first wanted
to give a quick shout out to Miss Celanious and Andy Christie! Love hanging out with you all and thanks for
spending time over here!! Remember to subscribe if you haven’t already
and let me know which city you wish still existed in real life in the comments below!! 4. Pavlopetri Situated in Vatika Bay off Greece’s Peloponnese
coast, Pavlopetri was a Bronze Age city that was inhabited from the third millennium B.C.
to around 1100 B.C., making it around 5,000 years old. It’s the oldest known submerged ancient
Greek settlement and one of the oldest such sites in the world!! Oceanographer Nicholas Flemming is credited
with discovering Pavlopetri after having visited the site in 1967. He returned the following year with a colleague
and some archaeologists, who went underwater and mapped out the entire freshly discovered
city. They documented buildings, organized streets,
and public squares. Subsequent investigations in recent years
have uncovered thousands of artifacts, including large Minoan jars, tableware, and other everyday
objects, offering an unprecedented glimpse into the everyday lives of Pavlopetri’s
residents. Architectural features such as gardens, temples,
a cemetery, and a water management system have also been found. Researchers believe that the city was a major
Minoan and Mycenaean commerce center that sank into the Mediterranean Sea during the
first of three catastrophic earthquakes to strike the area. The disaster literally stopped life in its
tracks, leaving the underwater site more-or-less frozen in time since the moment it plunged
below the surface. However now Pavlopetri is threatened by tourists,
souvenir hunters, and boats that drag their anchors through the area. 3. Lion City Nicknamed “China’s Atlantis,” Shicheng
-- also called the “Lion City” -- was established around 1300 years ago, and was
an important urban center in the area but now lies hidden underwater. It was deliberately flooded in 1959 and was
soon forgotten about. Situated at the foot of Wu Shi Mountain in
Zhejiang province, roughly 250 miles (400 km) south of Shanghai, it remained inhabited
until the mid-20th century, when nearly 300,000 residents were relocated to make way for a
manmade lake as part of a hydroelectric power plant construction project. A local official was on a mission to make
the lake more attractive to tourists, so he met up with a diving club and they began exploring
the area. To everyone’s surprise, Shicheng was there! After laying undisturbed for over a half-century,
its structures remained perfectly preserved. Underwater explorers discovered five entrance
gates to the city as well as 5 towers, which was extremely unique because most cities have
4 for the 4 cardinal directions. So what was the 5th entrance? They also have found 265 archways featuring
carved lions, dragons, and inscriptions. The structures at Shicheng date as far back
as 1,400 years, although many are newer, having originated during the Ming and Qing dynasties,
which ruled from 1368 to 1912. Experts believe that the walls surrounding
the small, 0.2-square-mile (0.5 km2) site were built during the 16th century. Shicheng sits beneath 85 to 131 feet (26-40
meters) of water, which has protected it from the elements over the last several decades. The site is open to advanced divers, and is
offering tours for people to go exploring. 2. Mahabalipuram When a historically destructive tsunami hit
the Indian coast in 2004, onlookers in the town of Mahabalipuram (also called Mamallapuram)
watched as a long row of granite boulders emerged from the ocean before the massive
wave consumed them once again. What was it?? Years later, a team of scientists from India’s
National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) found the remains of an ancient port settlement
in that exact location 2,624 feet (800 meter) from the shoreline. Sunken beneath 27 feet (8.2 meters) of water
are a 33-foot-long (10 meters) wall, a flight of stairs, and chiseled stone blocks scattered
along the seabed. Unfortunately, the structures were covered
with plant growth, making it difficult for the team to identify them. The head of the marine archaeological unit
said that they could make out that they were part of a building complex. Researchers believe the buildings are between
1,100 and 1,500 years old. Discoveries like this are paving the way for
potential opportunities for archaeologists to further explore India’s submerged history
by increasing the chances of securing government funding for future excavations. 1. Simena Dating back to around 2000 B.C., the ancient
city of Simena was a small fishing village during ancient times. Located near the uninhabited island of Kekova
of modern-day Antalya, Turkey, the Lycian settlement was also an important trading post. The Lycian civilization was unique to the
Mediterranean coast of present-day Turkey, making Simena an important archaeological
site. Made up of a democratic union of cities known
as the Lycian League, Lycia is considered one of the world’s first democratic systems. Simena boasted the smallest Lycian amphitheater,
a necropolis, shipyard, church, temple, walls, and more. Not sure why you want to brag about having
the smallest theatre but it’s cute! Several of these structures and features sank
during the second century when a series of cataclysmic earthquakes gradually submerged
the city, which sat right at the water’s edge until then. Some of Simena’s ruins, including some residential
homes and staircases, still peek up from the water, making them visible to the naked eye. The remains of the city’s public baths can
be found along the shore, with an inscription identifying them as a gift from the people
to the emperor Titus. Unfortunately, if you are hoping to view the
sunken part of the city up close and personal, you’re out of luck. Diving and snorkeling are prohibited at the
site, which is a designated Specially Protected Area, to protect it from damage; meanwhile,
Simena is on the tentative list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites. You can, however, catch a glimpse of the ruins
from above via the occasional tour boats that slow down as they pass through the ancient
harbor. Thanks for watching!! Which ancient city would you want to see?? Any divers out there that already have?? Let us know in the comments below and remember
to subscribe if you haven’t already!! See you next time!!
