THE MYSTERY OF ATLANTIS - PART TWO

For centuries, Atlantis was dismissed as a philosophical allegory, a cautionary tale about hubris. Yet modern science and archaeology are uncovering clues that suggest Plato’s account may have roots in reality. The most compelling evidence lies beneath the waters off southern Spain, near Cádiz—a region long associated with the ancient Tartessos culture. Here, sonar and LiDAR scans have revealed three submerged concentric walls carved into the seabed, eerily similar to the layout Plato described. At the center of these rings lies a rectangular monument, possibly the Temple of Poseidon, surrounded by sculpted canals and massive stone blocks displaced by what appears to have been a violent cataclysm. Geological analysis dates these formations to roughly 11,600 years ago, aligning with Plato’s timeline and the end of the last Ice Age—a period marked by rising seas and catastrophic floods.

Additional discoveries strengthen the case. In 2015, marine archaeologists recovered 39 ingots of orichalcum from a shipwreck off Sicily—the very metal Plato claimed adorned Atlantis’s walls and temples. This rare alloy, once thought mythical, now exists as tangible proof of advanced metallurgy in antiquity. Satellite imagery near Cádiz has revealed rectangular structures and concentric rings in a salt marsh, while rock carvings in Iberia depict boats and horses overwhelmed by waves, alongside illustrations of a circular city. These carvings suggest cultural memory of a great flood and a lost civilization.

Underwater ruins near Salmedina Island add another layer to the mystery. Massive stone structures, some walls towering over twenty feet high, lie buried beneath the sea. Researchers estimate these ruins are more than 11,000 years old, predating known civilizations in Europe. Recent studies even point to a submerged mountain range off the Canary Islands, named Mount Los Atlantes, which could mark the western edge of Plato’s fabled island.

Theories abound. Some scholars argue Atlantis was Tartessos, an advanced culture in Andalusia that thrived before being wiped out by floods. Others link it to the Minoan civilization, devastated by the eruption of Thera around 1600 BCE—a disaster that echoes Plato’s description of sudden destruction. Still others speculate that Atlantis was a memory of multiple events: rising seas, volcanic eruptions, and earthquakes during the chaotic transition from the Ice Age to the modern climate.

What makes these findings so compelling is their convergence. Plato’s timeline coincides with the Younger Dryas—a period of abrupt climate change and massive flooding. His description of Atlantis’s engineering marvels mirrors what sonar and satellite imagery now reveal beneath Spanish waters. And the discovery of orichalcum, once thought mythical, suggests that ancient metallurgy was far more advanced than previously believed.

Perhaps Atlantis was real—a thriving society erased by nature’s fury. Or perhaps it remains a cautionary tale, reminding us that even the greatest civilizations can fall when arrogance overshadows wisdom. Until the ocean gives up its secrets, Atlantis will remain a shimmering phantom—a dream of perfection, a warning of downfall, and a mystery that binds the past to the present...