The search for the legendary lost city of Atlantis has been humanity’s quest since Plato first mentioned it in the philosophical musings of his work, “Antiquity.” The elegant, utopian society romanticized by poets and playwrights has propelled the underwater archaeological efforts of scientists and explorers for centuries. Generation after generation has clung to the hopes of discovering proof of its existence and, once again, another team of researchers has come forth with what they claim to be evidence of Atlantis.
Recently, a large mass of granite was discovered at the bottom of the sea near Rio de Janeiro by a manned Shinkai 6500 Japanese submersible. Granite only forms on the surface of the Earth. Thus, the formation would have been above water at some point in history, giving rise to the theory that there was once a continent in the area, which eventually broke apart and sank into the ocean. The Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology and the Brazilian government have since confirmed that the granite mass has actually been submersed for nearly ten million years. There has been no evidence of manmade structures located on or near the formation.
Regardless, the discovery is an interesting archaeological find and gives a further insight into the Earth’s history. A large volume of quartz sand and basalt rock, both of which could not have been formed below sea-level, have been detected in the formation linking it to the Rio Grande Rise, which would have been the only plausible location from which the segment could have been attached.
Shinichi Kawakami, a professor at Gifu University, theorizes, “South America and Africa used to be a huge, unified continent. The area in question may have been left in water as the continent was separated in line with the movements of plates.”
The search for the lost city of Atlantis continues.