http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3766863.stm
Satellite images 'show Atlantis'
By Paul Rincon
BBC News Online science staff
The imagery may show the former locations of major buildings and rings
A scientist says he may have found remains of the lost city of Atlantis.
Satellite photos of southern Spain reveal features on the ground appearing to
match descriptions made by Greek scholar Plato of the fabled utopia.
Dr Rainer Kuehne thinks the "island" of Atlantis simply referred to a region of
the southern Spanish coast destroyed by a flood between 800 BC and 500 BC.
The research has been reported as an ongoing project in the online edition of
the journal Antiquity.
We have in the photos concentric rings just as Plato described
Dr Rainer Kuehne, University of Wuppertal
Satellite photos of a salt marsh region known as Marisma de Hinojos near the
city of Cadiz show two rectangular structures in the mud and parts of
concentric rings that may once have surrounded them.
"Plato wrote of an island of five stades (925m) diameter that was surrounded by
several circular structures - concentric rings - some consisting of Earth and
the others of water. We have in the photos concentric rings just as Plato
described," Dr Kuehne told BBC News Online.
Dr Kuehne, of the University of Wuppertal in Germany, believes the rectangular
features could be the remains of a "silver" temple devoted to the sea god
Poseidon and a "golden" temple devoted to Cleito and Poseidon - all described
in Plato's dialogue Critias.
Temples of the sea god
The sizes of the "island" and its rings in the satellite image are slightly
larger than those described by Plato. There are two possible explanations for
this, says Dr Kuehne.
First, Plato may have underplayed the size of Atlantis. Secondly, the ancient
unit of measurement used by Plato - the stade - may have been 20% larger than
traditionally assumed.
It is claimed that concentric rings surround the temple site
If the latter is true, one of the rectangular features on the "island" matches
almost exactly the dimensions given by Plato for the temple of Poseidon.
The features were originally spotted by Werner Wickboldt, a lecturer and
Atlantis enthusiast who studied photographs from across the Mediterranean for
signs of the city described by Plato.
"This is the only place that seems to fit [Plato's] description," he told BBC
News Online.
Mr Wickboldt added that the Greeks might have confused an Egyptian word
referring to a coastline with one meaning "island" during transmission of the
Atlantis story.
Commenting on the satellite image showing the two "temples", Tony Wilkinson, an
expert in the use of remote sensing in archaeology at the University of
Edinburgh, UK, told BBC News Online: "A lot of the problems come with
interpretations. I can see something there and I could imagine that one could
interpret it in various ways. But you've got several leaps of faith here.
Metal trading
"We use the imagery to recognise certain types of imprint on the ground and
then do [in the field] verification on them. Based on what we see on the ground
we make an interpretation.
"What we need here is a date range. Otherwise, you're just dealing with
morphology. But the [features] are interesting."
The fabled utopia of Atlantis has captured the imagination of scholars for
centuries. The earliest known records of this mythical land appear in Plato's
dialogues Critias and Timaios.
This reconstruction of the city of Atlantis is based on Plato's description
His depiction of a land of fabulous wealth, advanced civilisation and natural
beauty has spurred many adventurers to seek out its location.
One recent theory equates Atlantis with Spartel Island, a mud shoal in the
straits of Gibraltar that sank into the sea 11,000 years ago.
Plato described Atlantis as having a "plain". Dr Kuehne said this might be the
plain that extends today from Spain's southern coast up to the city of Seville.
The high mountains described by the Greek scholar could be the Sierra Morena
and Sierra Nevada.
"Plato also wrote that Atlantis is rich in copper and other metals. Copper is
found in abundance in the mines of the Sierra Morena," Dr Kuehne explained.
The rectangles: What interpretation can be put on the satellite images?
Dr Kuehne noticed that the war between Atlantis and the eastern Mediterranean
described in Plato's writings closely resembled attacks on Egypt, Cyprus and
the Levant during the 12th Century BC by mysterious raiders known as the Sea
People.
As a result, he proposes that the Atlanteans and the Sea People were in fact
one and the same.
This dating would equate the city and society of Atlantis with either the Iron
Age Tartessos culture of southern Spain or another, unknown, Bronze Age
culture. A link between Atlantis and Tartessos was first proposed in the early
20th Century.
Dr Kuehne said he hoped to attract interest from archaeologists to excavate the
site. But this may be tricky. The features in the satellite photo are located
within Spain's Donana national park.
.
|
|
| User: "Michael Johnathan McDonald" |
|
| Title: Re: Satellite images 'show Atlantis' |
07 Jun 2004 10:23:18 AM |
|
|
(TonyZ2001) wrote in message news:<20040607061352.00660.00000661@mb-m01.aol.com>...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3766863.stm
Satellite images 'show Atlantis'
By Paul Rincon
BBC News Online science staff
The imagery may show the former locations of major buildings and rings
A scientist says he may have found remains of the lost city of Atlantis.
Satellite photos of southern Spain reveal features on the ground appearing to
match descriptions made by Greek scholar Plato of the fabled utopia.
Dr Rainer Kuehne thinks the "island" of Atlantis simply referred to a region of
the southern Spanish coast destroyed by a flood between 800 BC and 500 BC.
The research has been reported as an ongoing project in the online edition of
the journal Antiquity.
We have in the photos concentric rings just as Plato described
Cool!
I say lets investigate it.
Also, about the ringed cities. These were the way of the Mesopotamian
cities. They built them this way from many reasons. Yet, Plato is
talking about a place much earlier in time.
Dr Rainer Kuehne, University of Wuppertal
Satellite photos of a salt marsh region known as Marisma de Hinojos near the
city of Cadiz show two rectangular structures in the mud and parts of
concentric rings that may once have surrounded them.
"Plato wrote of an island of five stades (925m) diameter that was surrounded by
several circular structures - concentric rings - some consisting of Earth and
the others of water. We have in the photos concentric rings just as Plato
described," Dr Kuehne told BBC News Online.
Dr Kuehne, of the University of Wuppertal in Germany, believes the rectangular
features could be the remains of a "silver" temple devoted to the sea god
Poseidon and a "golden" temple devoted to Cleito and Poseidon - all described
in Plato's dialogue Critias.
Temples of the sea god
The sizes of the "island" and its rings in the satellite image are slightly
larger than those described by Plato. There are two possible explanations for
this, says Dr Kuehne.
First, Plato may have underplayed the size of Atlantis. Secondly, the ancient
unit of measurement used by Plato - the stade - may have been 20% larger than
traditionally assumed.
It is claimed that concentric rings surround the temple site
If the latter is true, one of the rectangular features on the "island" matches
almost exactly the dimensions given by Plato for the temple of Poseidon.
The features were originally spotted by Werner Wickboldt, a lecturer and
Atlantis enthusiast who studied photographs from across the Mediterranean for
signs of the city described by Plato.
"This is the only place that seems to fit [Plato's] description," he told BBC
News Online.
Mr Wickboldt added that the Greeks might have confused an Egyptian word
referring to a coastline with one meaning "island" during transmission of the
Atlantis story.
Commenting on the satellite image showing the two "temples", Tony Wilkinson, an
expert in the use of remote sensing in archaeology at the University of
Edinburgh, UK, told BBC News Online: "A lot of the problems come with
interpretations. I can see something there and I could imagine that one could
interpret it in various ways. But you've got several leaps of faith here.
Metal trading
"We use the imagery to recognise certain types of imprint on the ground and
then do [in the field] verification on them. Based on what we see on the ground
we make an interpretation.
"What we need here is a date range. Otherwise, you're just dealing with
morphology. But the [features] are interesting."
The fabled utopia of Atlantis has captured the imagination of scholars for
centuries. The earliest known records of this mythical land appear in Plato's
dialogues Critias and Timaios.
This reconstruction of the city of Atlantis is based on Plato's description
His depiction of a land of fabulous wealth, advanced civilisation and natural
beauty has spurred many adventurers to seek out its location.
One recent theory equates Atlantis with Spartel Island, a mud shoal in the
straits of Gibraltar that sank into the sea 11,000 years ago.
I think Plato said 10,500 years ago when he was alive about 370 BC.
Plato described Atlantis as having a "plain". Dr Kuehne said this might be the
plain that extends today from Spain's southern coast up to the city of Seville.
The high mountains described by the Greek scholar could be the Sierra Morena
and Sierra Nevada.
"Plato also wrote that Atlantis is rich in copper and other metals. Copper is
found in abundance in the mines of the Sierra Morena," Dr Kuehne explained.
The rectangles: What interpretation can be put on the satellite images?
Dr Kuehne noticed that the war between Atlantis and the eastern Mediterranean
described in Plato's writings closely resembled attacks on Egypt, Cyprus and
the Levant during the 12th Century BC by mysterious raiders known as the Sea
People.
As a result, he proposes that the Atlanteans and the Sea People were in fact
one and the same.
This dating would equate the city and society of Atlantis with either the Iron
Age Tartessos culture of southern Spain or another, unknown, Bronze Age
culture. A link between Atlantis and Tartessos was first proposed in the early
20th Century.
Dr Kuehne said he hoped to attract interest from archaeologists to excavate the
site. But this may be tricky. The features in the satellite photo are located
within Spain's Donana national park.
.
|
|
|
|
| User: "ex" |
|
| Title: Re: Satellite images 'show Atlantis' |
07 Jun 2004 12:20:20 PM |
|
|
Atlantis was a city onto itself built by, and for, homosexuals I believe.
Interesting your fascination in finding this city.
:-)
-ex
"TonyZ2001" <tonyz2001@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20040607061352.00660.00000661@mb-m01.aol.com...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3766863.stm
Satellite images 'show Atlantis'
By Paul Rincon
BBC News Online science staff
The imagery may show the former locations of major buildings and rings
A scientist says he may have found remains of the lost city of Atlantis.
Satellite photos of southern Spain reveal features on the ground appearing
to
match descriptions made by Greek scholar Plato of the fabled utopia.
Dr Rainer Kuehne thinks the "island" of Atlantis simply referred to a
region of
the southern Spanish coast destroyed by a flood between 800 BC and 500 BC.
The research has been reported as an ongoing project in the online edition
of
the journal Antiquity.
We have in the photos concentric rings just as Plato described
Dr Rainer Kuehne, University of Wuppertal
Satellite photos of a salt marsh region known as Marisma de Hinojos near
the
city of Cadiz show two rectangular structures in the mud and parts of
concentric rings that may once have surrounded them.
"Plato wrote of an island of five stades (925m) diameter that was
surrounded by
several circular structures - concentric rings - some consisting of Earth
and
the others of water. We have in the photos concentric rings just as Plato
described," Dr Kuehne told BBC News Online.
Dr Kuehne, of the University of Wuppertal in Germany, believes the
rectangular
features could be the remains of a "silver" temple devoted to the sea god
Poseidon and a "golden" temple devoted to Cleito and Poseidon - all
described
in Plato's dialogue Critias.
Temples of the sea god
The sizes of the "island" and its rings in the satellite image are
slightly
larger than those described by Plato. There are two possible explanations
for
this, says Dr Kuehne.
First, Plato may have underplayed the size of Atlantis. Secondly, the
ancient
unit of measurement used by Plato - the stade - may have been 20% larger
than
traditionally assumed.
It is claimed that concentric rings surround the temple site
If the latter is true, one of the rectangular features on the "island"
matches
almost exactly the dimensions given by Plato for the temple of Poseidon.
The features were originally spotted by Werner Wickboldt, a lecturer and
Atlantis enthusiast who studied photographs from across the Mediterranean
for
signs of the city described by Plato.
"This is the only place that seems to fit [Plato's] description," he told
BBC
News Online.
Mr Wickboldt added that the Greeks might have confused an Egyptian word
referring to a coastline with one meaning "island" during transmission of
the
Atlantis story.
Commenting on the satellite image showing the two "temples", Tony
Wilkinson, an
expert in the use of remote sensing in archaeology at the University of
Edinburgh, UK, told BBC News Online: "A lot of the problems come with
interpretations. I can see something there and I could imagine that one
could
interpret it in various ways. But you've got several leaps of faith here.
Metal trading
"We use the imagery to recognise certain types of imprint on the ground
and
then do [in the field] verification on them. Based on what we see on the
ground
we make an interpretation.
"What we need here is a date range. Otherwise, you're just dealing with
morphology. But the [features] are interesting."
The fabled utopia of Atlantis has captured the imagination of scholars for
centuries. The earliest known records of this mythical land appear in
Plato's
dialogues Critias and Timaios.
This reconstruction of the city of Atlantis is based on Plato's
description
His depiction of a land of fabulous wealth, advanced civilisation and
natural
beauty has spurred many adventurers to seek out its location.
One recent theory equates Atlantis with Spartel Island, a mud shoal in the
straits of Gibraltar that sank into the sea 11,000 years ago.
Plato described Atlantis as having a "plain". Dr Kuehne said this might be
the
plain that extends today from Spain's southern coast up to the city of
Seville.
The high mountains described by the Greek scholar could be the Sierra
Morena
and Sierra Nevada.
"Plato also wrote that Atlantis is rich in copper and other metals. Copper
is
found in abundance in the mines of the Sierra Morena," Dr Kuehne
explained.
The rectangles: What interpretation can be put on the satellite images?
Dr Kuehne noticed that the war between Atlantis and the eastern
Mediterranean
described in Plato's writings closely resembled attacks on Egypt, Cyprus
and
the Levant during the 12th Century BC by mysterious raiders known as the
Sea
People.
As a result, he proposes that the Atlanteans and the Sea People were in
fact
one and the same.
This dating would equate the city and society of Atlantis with either the
Iron
Age Tartessos culture of southern Spain or another, unknown, Bronze Age
culture. A link between Atlantis and Tartessos was first proposed in the
early
20th Century.
Dr Kuehne said he hoped to attract interest from archaeologists to
excavate the
site. But this may be tricky. The features in the satellite photo are
located
within Spain's Donana national park.
---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.693 / Virus Database: 454 - Release Date: 5/31/04
.
|
|
|
| User: "Michael Johnathan McDonald" |
|
| Title: Re: Satellite images 'show Atlantis' |
07 Jun 2004 07:19:24 PM |
|
|
"ex" <ex@ex.com> wrote in message news:<Nt1xc.7764$8k4.278097@news20.bellglobal.com>...
Atlantis was a city onto itself built by, and for, homosexuals I believe.
You and KKK with your homo talk. Ya really need to visit each other ya know?
.
|
|
|
| User: "ex" |
|
| Title: Re: Satellite images 'show Atlantis' |
07 Jun 2004 07:39:41 PM |
|
|
"Michael Johnathan McDonald" <abookoflife@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:dd3256f0.0406071619.68cfa9e2@posting.google.com...
"ex" <ex@ex.com> wrote in message
news:<Nt1xc.7764$8k4.278097@news20.bellglobal.com>...
Atlantis was a city onto itself built by, and for, homosexuals I
believe.
You and KKK with your homo talk. Ya really need to visit each other ya
know?
Golden Shower Ranger,
Your sidekick, TontoZ2000, is the one fixated on homosexuality ... I just
enjoy baiting him when I get bored. It's fun to watch dogs bark like maniacs
at the end of their leash.
-ex
---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.693 / Virus Database: 454 - Release Date: 5/31/04
.
|
|
|
| User: "TonyZ2001" |
|
| Title: Re: Satellite images 'show Atlantis' |
08 Jun 2004 06:29:03 AM |
|
|
"ex"
wrote:
Your sidekick, TontoZ2000, is the one >fixated on homosexuality
Wrong.
I have posted articles to prove a point in response to something another perosn
posted; you and Kirb bring up all types of Homosexual and cross dressing ideas
out of the blue.
Big difference.
Tony
.
|
|
|
|
| User: "ex" |
|
| Title: Re: Satellite images 'show Atlantis' |
07 Jun 2004 07:44:38 PM |
|
|
BTW, where is ChickenHawk??
His replys are a little more entertaining then yours ...
-ex
"ex" <ex@ex.com> wrote in message
news:fV7xc.18062$sS2.603627@news20.bellglobal.com...
"Michael Johnathan McDonald" <abookoflife@yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:dd3256f0.0406071619.68cfa9e2@posting.google.com...
"ex" <ex@ex.com> wrote in message
news:<Nt1xc.7764$8k4.278097@news20.bellglobal.com>...
Atlantis was a city onto itself built by, and for, homosexuals I
believe.
You and KKK with your homo talk. Ya really need to visit each other ya
know?
Golden Shower Ranger,
Your sidekick, TontoZ2000, is the one fixated on homosexuality ... I just
enjoy baiting him when I get bored. It's fun to watch dogs bark like
maniacs
at the end of their leash.
-ex
---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.693 / Virus Database: 454 - Release Date: 5/31/04
---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.693 / Virus Database: 454 - Release Date: 5/31/04
.
|
|
|
|
|
| User: "TonyZ2001" |
|
| Title: Re: Satellite images 'show Atlantis' |
08 Jun 2004 06:27:31 AM |
|
|
"ex" <ex@ex.com> wrote in message
news:<Nt1xc.7764$8k4.278097@news20.bellglobal.com>...
Atlantis was a city onto itself built by, >>and for, homosexuals I believe.
And you want to accuse others of an obsession?
Tony
.
|
|
|
| User: "ex" |
|
| Title: Re: Satellite images 'show Atlantis' |
08 Jun 2004 07:10:47 AM |
|
|
"TonyZ2001" <tonyz2001@aol.com> wrote in message
news:20040608072731.27551.00000723@mb-m05.aol.com...
"ex" <ex@ex.com> wrote in message
news:<Nt1xc.7764$8k4.278097@news20.bellglobal.com>...
Atlantis was a city onto itself built by, >>and for, homosexuals I
believe.
And you want to accuse others of an obsession?
Tony
Fish.
-ex
---
Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free.
Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com).
Version: 6.0.693 / Virus Database: 454 - Release Date: 5/31/04
.
|
|
|
|
|
| User: "Cuan" |
|
| Title: Re: Satellite images 'show Atlantis' |
09 Jun 2004 03:13:04 AM |
|
|
On 7 Jun 2004 17:19:24 -0700, (Michael Johnathan
McDonald) wrote:
"ex" <ex@ex.com> wrote in message news:<Nt1xc.7764$8k4.278097@news20.bellglobal.com>...
Atlantis was a city onto itself built by, and for, homosexuals I believe.
You and KKK with your homo talk. Ya really need to visit each other ya know?
would they get along like you and Tony do?
.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| User: "Woodswun" |
|
| Title: Re: Satellite images 'show Atlantis' |
07 Jun 2004 09:07:09 PM |
|
|
In article <20040607061352.00660.00000661@mb-m01.aol.com>, (TonyZ2001) wrote:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3766863.stm
Satellite images 'show Atlantis'
Interesting, thanks for posting this.
I find it annoying when people claim that some island or other in the
Mediterranean is Atlantis, as Plato clearly stated it was beyond the Pillars of
Hercules (Rock of Gibraltar).
Woods
.
|
|
|
| User: "Cuan" |
|
| Title: Re: Satellite images 'show Atlantis' |
09 Jun 2004 04:39:45 AM |
|
|
On Tue, 08 Jun 2004 02:07:09 GMT, (Woodswun)
wrote:
In article <20040607061352.00660.00000661@mb-m01.aol.com>, (TonyZ2001) wrote:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3766863.stm
Satellite images 'show Atlantis'
Interesting, thanks for posting this.
I find it annoying when people claim that some island or other in the
Mediterranean is Atlantis, as Plato clearly stated it was beyond the Pillars of
Hercules (Rock of Gibraltar).
Woods
It still raises the question, though: What is off the coast of Bimini
according to Cayce?
and this...
http://www.crystalinks.com/below.html
http://www.lost-civilizations.net/possible-physical-evidence-atlantis-2.html
http://www.meta-religion.com/Paranormale/Bermuda_triangle/atlantis_and_the_bermuda_triangl.htm
.
|
|
|
| User: "Woodswun" |
|
| Title: Re: Satellite images 'show Atlantis' |
09 Jun 2004 06:21:27 PM |
|
|
In article <i6idc0lq0u5eft7fv0n3k18m0rs9vd75l3@4ax.com>, Cuan <an@nymous.co.za> wrote:
On Tue, 08 Jun 2004 02:07:09 GMT, (Woodswun)
wrote:
In article <20040607061352.00660.00000661@mb-m01.aol.com>,
(TonyZ2001) wrote:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3766863.stm
Satellite images 'show Atlantis'
Interesting, thanks for posting this.
I find it annoying when people claim that some island or other in the
Mediterranean is Atlantis, as Plato clearly stated it was beyond the Pillars
of
Hercules (Rock of Gibraltar).
Woods
It still raises the question, though: What is off the coast of Bimini
according to Cayce?
The third set of records, which duplicates the records at Giza and Yucatan.
Woods
.
|
|
|
|
|
| User: "sonya" |
|
| Title: Re: Satellite images 'show Atlantis' |
08 Jun 2004 02:56:04 PM |
|
|
Well, Bimini *is* kind of 'beyond' Gibraltar, isn't it? ;-D This other
site they are looking at though, I don't think it's atlantis, unless
there's a long rock road leading from there to the Bimmini Road.
Sonya
woodswun@tepidmail.com (Woodswun) wrote in message news:<hb9xc.129354$hY.70276@twister.nyroc.rr.com>...
In article <20040607061352.00660.00000661@mb-m01.aol.com>, (TonyZ2001) wrote:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3766863.stm
Satellite images 'show Atlantis'
Interesting, thanks for posting this.
I find it annoying when people claim that some island or other in the
Mediterranean is Atlantis, as Plato clearly stated it was beyond the Pillars of
Hercules (Rock of Gibraltar).
Woods
.
|
|
|
| User: "Woodswun" |
|
| Title: Re: Satellite images 'show Atlantis' |
08 Jun 2004 06:37:59 PM |
|
|
In article <7bf6888e.0406081156.6d033b77@posting.google.com>, (sonya) wrote:
Well, Bimini *is* kind of 'beyond' Gibraltar, isn't it? ;-D This other
site they are looking at though, I don't think it's atlantis, unless
there's a long rock road leading from there to the Bimmini Road.
I'm assuming you're referring to the Cayce readings on Atlantis. According to
Cayce, Bimini was part of the last remaining portion of Atlantis, which at the
end was just a series of islands, which disappeared with the third inundation.
There were (supposedly) 2 previous upheavals to the continent - one of which
shifted things around quite a bit, another which submerged most of it and left
behind a series of islands (the larges of which, IIRC, was Poseidia), and the
final one which finished it off.
Woods
.
|
|
|
|
|
|
| User: "Jean Guernon" |
|
| Title: Re: Satellite images 'show Atlantis' |
09 Jun 2004 04:40:30 AM |
|
|
TonyZ2001 a écrit:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/3766863.stm
Oups, you already had seen it!
Almost the same link too.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/3766863.stm
Must be identical. Same article number.
J.
Satellite images 'show Atlantis'
By Paul Rincon
BBC News Online science staff
The imagery may show the former locations of major buildings and rings
A scientist says he may have found remains of the lost city of Atlantis.
Satellite photos of southern Spain reveal features on the ground appearing to
match descriptions made by Greek scholar Plato of the fabled utopia.
Dr Rainer Kuehne thinks the "island" of Atlantis simply referred to a region of
the southern Spanish coast destroyed by a flood between 800 BC and 500 BC.
The research has been reported as an ongoing project in the online edition of
the journal Antiquity.
We have in the photos concentric rings just as Plato described
Dr Rainer Kuehne, University of Wuppertal
Satellite photos of a salt marsh region known as Marisma de Hinojos near the
city of Cadiz show two rectangular structures in the mud and parts of
concentric rings that may once have surrounded them.
"Plato wrote of an island of five stades (925m) diameter that was surrounded by
several circular structures - concentric rings - some consisting of Earth and
the others of water. We have in the photos concentric rings just as Plato
described," Dr Kuehne told BBC News Online.
Dr Kuehne, of the University of Wuppertal in Germany, believes the rectangular
features could be the remains of a "silver" temple devoted to the sea god
Poseidon and a "golden" temple devoted to Cleito and Poseidon - all described
in Plato's dialogue Critias.
Temples of the sea god
The sizes of the "island" and its rings in the satellite image are slightly
larger than those described by Plato. There are two possible explanations for
this, says Dr Kuehne.
First, Plato may have underplayed the size of Atlantis. Secondly, the ancient
unit of measurement used by Plato - the stade - may have been 20% larger than
traditionally assumed.
It is claimed that concentric rings surround the temple site
If the latter is true, one of the rectangular features on the "island" matches
almost exactly the dimensions given by Plato for the temple of Poseidon.
The features were originally spotted by Werner Wickboldt, a lecturer and
Atlantis enthusiast who studied photographs from across the Mediterranean for
signs of the city described by Plato.
"This is the only place that seems to fit [Plato's] description," he told BBC
News Online.
Mr Wickboldt added that the Greeks might have confused an Egyptian word
referring to a coastline with one meaning "island" during transmission of the
Atlantis story.
Commenting on the satellite image showing the two "temples", Tony Wilkinson, an
expert in the use of remote sensing in archaeology at the University of
Edinburgh, UK, told BBC News Online: "A lot of the problems come with
interpretations. I can see something there and I could imagine that one could
interpret it in various ways. But you've got several leaps of faith here.
Metal trading
"We use the imagery to recognise certain types of imprint on the ground and
then do [in the field] verification on them. Based on what we see on the ground
we make an interpretation.
"What we need here is a date range. Otherwise, you're just dealing with
morphology. But the [features] are interesting."
The fabled utopia of Atlantis has captured the imagination of scholars for
centuries. The earliest known records of this mythical land appear in Plato's
dialogues Critias and Timaios.
This reconstruction of the city of Atlantis is based on Plato's description
His depiction of a land of fabulous wealth, advanced civilisation and natural
beauty has spurred many adventurers to seek out its location.
One recent theory equates Atlantis with Spartel Island, a mud shoal in the
straits of Gibraltar that sank into the sea 11,000 years ago.
Plato described Atlantis as having a "plain". Dr Kuehne said this might be the
plain that extends today from Spain's southern coast up to the city of Seville.
The high mountains described by the Greek scholar could be the Sierra Morena
and Sierra Nevada.
"Plato also wrote that Atlantis is rich in copper and other metals. Copper is
found in abundance in the mines of the Sierra Morena," Dr Kuehne explained.
The rectangles: What interpretation can be put on the satellite images?
Dr Kuehne noticed that the war between Atlantis and the eastern Mediterranean
described in Plato's writings closely resembled attacks on Egypt, Cyprus and
the Levant during the 12th Century BC by mysterious raiders known as the Sea
People.
As a result, he proposes that the Atlanteans and the Sea People were in fact
one and the same.
This dating would equate the city and society of Atlantis with either the Iron
Age Tartessos culture of southern Spain or another, unknown, Bronze Age
culture. A link between Atlantis and Tartessos was first proposed in the early
20th Century.
Dr Kuehne said he hoped to attract interest from archaeologists to excavate the
site. But this may be tricky. The features in the satellite photo are located
within Spain's Donana national park.
.
|
|
|
|
|
Related Articles |
|
|
