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Atlantis Drain
Atlantis Drain the Oceans. Lost civilizations. Mysterious sunken cities. And legendary Atlantis itself. Vanished beneath the waves. PATRICK. Atlantis Drain the Oceans
Atlantis Drain the Oceans There is a huge amount of unrecorded human history beneath the ocean’s surface. That we don’t know very much about at all. NARRATOR Imagine if we could empty the oceans.
letting the water drain away to reveal the secrets of the sea floor. Now we can, using the latest underwater technology.
Piercing the deep oceans and turning accurate data into 3D images. Is this a huge underwater temple carved by a mysterious lost civilization? NARRATOR: Why are these perfectly circular stones lying at the bottom of a bay in the Aegean Sea? SIMON
There are shapes on the seabed that just don’t make sense. NARRATOR: Are these just rocks, or the remains of an ancient city? JON (over radio): Parts of this are just beginning.
To be revealed for the first time. Wow. NARRATOR: And is the real site of Atlantis finally about to be revealed? -People want to believe in places like Atlantis. They want to believe in other worlds. (waves crashing) NARRATOR.
Stories of sunken cities have fascinated for millennia. The most tantalizing of all: Atlantis. First described by ancient philosopher, Plato, a dazzling civilization destroyed by the gods as punishment for human pride. -People connect to that story, and it’s because of this idea of an ancient civilization, a utopia.
Science to Conquer
That we’ve evolved from. NARRATOR: 2,000 years later, the idea of Atlantis continues to fascinate A-list archaeologists. And the producers of B-list movies. MAN (over TV): Atlantis is the story of those who, like today, would use the marvels of science to conquer and enslave.
Atlantis, a world that worships strange gods of science, of science, a science gone berserk. -Plato would have loved this okay? He would have had a great time. He would have said, ‘at last, you know, people are listening to me. People are taking my story seriously.’ And he would have enjoyed this immensely.
NARRATOR: Using science, not science fiction, draining the oceans exposes new evidence about Atlantis. And other stories of great sunken cities, around the world. As the waters recede from around the remote Japanese island of Yonaguni, a mysterious formation begins to appear. Could it be the creation of an advanced, ancient people? Yonaguni lies in the East China Sea. The waters here are perilous. Schools of hammerhead sharks patrol, amid powerful currents.
Typhoons frequently batter the island. For divers, it’s the ultimate challenge. Kihachiro Aratake is one of the pioneers of diving here. KIHACHIRO: The water was crystal clear. I felt as though I was looking down from the seabed from the sky. NARRATOR: Searching for a new dive site, he makes a startling discovery. -I saw a steps-like formation, like terraced fields. I thought for a moment.
Machu Picchu
It was similar to the Machu Picchu ruins. So, I named the spot the submarine ruins. NARRATOR: It’s an extraordinary spectacle. The size of five football fields. Smooth-sided walls rise up to the summit, the height of an eight-story building.
Flights of stone steps climb up from the base. And on every side, the shapes and forms are strikingly regular. -It can’t be formed naturally, without human involvement. It couldn’t be like that. NARRATOR: So, what could it be? It’s impossible to investigate the structure fully by diving.
The only way is to conduct a survey using the latest scanning technology. HIRONOBU: Although the shallow waters around Yonaguni Island are close to human habitation, we don’t know much about them. It’s an unknown frontier. NARRATOR: Using sonar scans, Hironobu Kan records a complete digital map of the sea floor. Using this data, it’s possible, for the very first time, to drain away the waters and reveal what lies beneath in exact detail.
Mysterious Structure
The summit of the mysterious structure begins to appear. (waves crashing) Water pours off its smooth terraced layers, exposing them once again to the sky. And with the monument left high and dry, its true scale becomes clear. Vast, imposing and spectacular.
The incredible discovery attracts worldwide attention. Divers, journalists and TV crews flock to Yonaguni, all asking: what could this mysterious structure be? And scientists come here too. Among them is Professor Masaaki Kimura.
One of Japan’s top marine geologists. NARRATOR: He finds several features that he believes indicate human activity. -Here, you’ll see something that looks like the front gate of a castle.
It’s like a tunnel, and you go through it. NARRATOR: On the far side of the tunnel, a road loops around to a flight of steps. Watched over by two mysterious stone objects. -There are mound-like bulges here and here, and if you look at them, you’ll find turtles with their necks extended, on both sides.
NARRATOR. According to ancient Japanese folklore, the dragon god, Ryujin, lives in an underwater palace, watched over by turtles. To Professor Kimura, this indicates that the monument is so important it needs guarding. And that’s not all. -If you go up this path you get to this place.
This portion is triangular. Since this is fairly big and shallow as well, you can relax in it. Also, the sea surface is very close to it and it’s warm due to the sunlight. You feel chilly after you come out of the deeper area down there, and you can warm up here.
Striking Feature
NARRATOR But the monument’s most striking feature is its wide, flat terraces, Large enough to support thousands of people. Professor Kimura believes the gateway, stairs, turtles and terraces all point towards one purpose. -Judging from its shape, I think they used it as a castle. NARRATOR: But to prove his theory, Professor Kimura needs more: the artifacts of those who once lived here. He scours the structure looking for clues, and discovers what look like primitive tools.
Then, hidden behind one of the great walls, the most remarkable find of all. -Look at this, a symbol is inscribed here and here’s a hole.
Probably, they hung this article like this. And here’s something looking like a letter. Maybe it could be a kind of a talisman to protect people from evil.
The artifacts and the monument’s regular shapes prove that humans lived here, 8,000 years ago. After that, rising sea levels claim the territory of this lost race of master builders. But is that the real story of Yonaguni? NARRATOR: Professor Kimura believes that this extraordinary structure off the coast of Japan is a gigantic castle, built long before.
The pyramids of Egypt by a mysterious lost civilization. But is it? With the water drained away, it’s possible to scrutinize the monument in forensic detail. The edges appear regular and straight, as if made from blocks carved by human hand. But closer examination reveals something else.
The surfaces are smooth and unbroken. The monument is not assembled from handmade blocks, but is in fact one solid mass of rock. HIRONOBU: The pyramid area and the headland behind it are connected with each other. The surface of the terrain has a lot of grooves, so you may think they are separate, but since they consist of the identical stone, they are originally connected.
Clearly Natural
NARRATOR: The basic form of the monument is clearly natural. But what about the gateway, steps, turtles and pool? Could it be that an ancient people carved into this huge rock, transforming it into a great castle or temple? Studying the headland on shore provides the answer.
The shapes here are strikingly similar to those found on the monument, and that’s because they were formed in exactly the same way. Both are made of sandstone which, when subjected to stress, such as during an earthquake, can fracture along vertical faults, forming angular shapes and what look like steps.
PATRICK: Put something like that underwater, have the water wash over the top of it and clear away all the debris, and you’ve got very, very fine step-like structures. But they’re no more human made than any other structure down there. NARRATOR: The lack of tool marks is further confirmation. The forces which shaped this remarkable place are geological. But what of the artifacts? Perhaps the monument, if not built by ancient people, was inhabited by them. Walking these steps.
