# Atlantis found? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 11, 2002, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlantis-found/103095 "2002-04-11T20:23:00Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlantis-found/103095/1 "2002-04-11T20:23:00Z")
From this BBC News report, [Lost City Found Off Indian Coast](http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/south_asia/newsid_1923000/1923794.stm) > [@](#): > > An ancient underwater city has been discovered off the coast of south-eastern India. > > Divers from India and England made the discovery based on the statements of local fishermen and the old Indian legend of the Seven Pagodas. > > The ruins, which are off the coast of Mahabalipuram, cover many square miles and seem to prove that a major city once stood there. > > A further expedition to the region is now being arranged which will take place at the beginning of 2003. Okay, they never said anything about Atlantis, but it sounds like a similar sort of legend may be proved true. It’s kind of amazing anything of this size can just up and disappear for 5,000 years. ---
**Author:** ![bernse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a9a28c/32.png) [@bernse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bernse)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 8:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlantis-found/103095/2 "2002-04-11T20:40:01Z")
From what I have read/seen, archeologists expect there to be many, many underwater, yet to be discovered ancient cities. I wouldn’t give this as vendication to good 'ol Plato, just yet. (It _was_ Plato, wasn’t it?? 🙂 ) ---
**Author:** ![saepiroth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@saepiroth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/saepiroth)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlantis-found/103095/3 "2002-04-11T20:58:49Z")
what, aside from being in the entirely wrong cardinal direction from where atlantis was supposed to be? ---
**Author:** ![bouv](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bc8723/32.png) [@bouv](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bouv)\ **Post date:** [April 11, 2002, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlantis-found/103095/4 "2002-04-11T21:01:25Z")
I thoght that there was some small island city that sunk in the middle of the Medditerranian that various people have decided upon to be the Atlantis of which Plato spoke of? (of course, I could be wrong. But I defientely remember learning about a sunken city in the Medditerranian.) ---
**Author:** ![trishdish](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/d2c977/32.png) [@trishdish](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/trishdish)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlantis-found/103095/5 "2002-04-12T01:02:49Z")
Yeah, Graham Hancock never really wants to say “Atlantis” because he’s been burned before by making such analogies to the discoveries. And BOUV, you might be thinking of Malta where some of the earliest signs of civilization in “Europe” have been found archaeologically. And there seems to be evidence of under water structures near the coastline. This stuff is very fasinating. I worked on a series for TLC (giving away my REAL job - which is not checking in to SDMB contrary to popular opinion) exactly about Hancock’s findings which will air in the US in the Fall. ---
**Author:** ![Tinkertoy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f19dbf/32.png) [@Tinkertoy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tinkertoy)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlantis-found/103095/6 "2002-04-12T01:50:27Z")
> [@](#): > > I thoght that there was some small island city that sunk in the middle of the Medditerranian that various people have decided upon to be the Atlantis of which Plato spoke of? Thera ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 2:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlantis-found/103095/7 "2002-04-12T02:33:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by trishdish \* > \*\* > This stuff is very fasinating. I worked on a series for TLC (giving away my REAL job - which is not checking in to SDMB contrary to popular opinion) exactly about Hancock’s findings which will air in the US in the Fall. \*\* Cool. We’ll want inside dish on this as it comes to air. FWIW, I did say that this really wasn’t about Atlantis, just a similar sort of situation. Guess I should have put the Legend of the Seven Pagodas in the title. Sorry. ---
**Author:** ![Orual](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/779978/32.png) [@Orual](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Orual)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 2:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlantis-found/103095/8 "2002-04-12T02:38:56Z")
Ack. Plato was a philosopher, not a historian. There is **no** reason to believe that his story about Atlantis being any more than a useful device to talk about philosophy. Thera was a Minoan (Bronze Age) city that was destroyed when the volcano/island went active. It is possible (though IMHO not terribly likely) that stories of this event were passed down through 700-800 odd years between that time and Plato’s, and that Plato based his story of Atlantis on them. Finding an underwater city is still mightily cool. ---
**Author:** ![Dagny](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9f8e36/32.png) [@Dagny](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dagny)\ **Post date:** [April 12, 2002, 4:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/atlantis-found/103095/9 "2002-04-12T04:18:12Z")
If you would like to read more about this try [Graham Hancock’s offical website.](http://www.grahamhancock.com/news/index.php?node=411) You might want to get loaded before reading. If you are really feeling brave try the messageboard. Hancock is not an archeologist, but a reporter with a degree in sociology. And yes, he has been burned before. His [science has been questioned](http://www.maat.paradoxdesigns.com/maat/article.php?sid=8&page=1) before. And will continued to be questioned. It does not help matters when Hancock becomes combattive over his work. If it the sites are as old as Hancock believes he should be given credit. If they are not as old he should admit he is wrong. Hancock was on Art Bell not too long ago promoting his book and the underwater findings. He was quick to say the sites off India weren’t Atlantis, but they could have been created by former inhabitants of Atlantis. Bell was putting Atlantis into almost all of Hancocok’s statements, so everything became Atlantis. At one point Bell (Mr. Conspiracy) made the statement: “maybe when all the archeologists are dead we will learn the truth”. Sadly, I was mot made a fan of Hancock. I ended up disliking him even more. [Here](http://www.maat.paradoxdesigns.com/maat/read.php?f=1&i=35885&t=35885) is a long debate on the “lost cities”. Grab a drink and read away. The messages get juvenile. It really is amazing what people argue about.