UNDERWATER ARCHITECTURE usually made in underwater habitats are structures in which people can live for extended periods and carry out most of the basic human functions of a 24-hour day, such as working, resting, eating, attending to personal hygiene, and sleeping. In this context 'habitat' is generally used in a narrow sense to mean the interior and immediate exterior of the structure and its fixtures, but not its surrounding marine environment.
Most early underwater habitats lacked regenerative systems for air, water, food, electricity, and other resources. However, recently some new underwater habitats allow for these resources to be delivered using pipes, or generated within the habitat, rather than manually delivered.
Lets take a look at some of these ruins of ancient civilisation found underwater:
Yonaguni ruins, Japan
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On the southern coast of Yonaguni, Japan, lie submerged ruins estimated to be around 10,000 years old. The origin of the site is hotly debated - many experts argue that is man-made, while more conservative scientists insist it was carved by natural phenomena. The unique and awe-inspiring site was discovered in 1995 by a diver who strayed too far off the Okinawa shore and was dumb-struck when he stumbled upon the sunken arrangement of monolithic blocks "as if terraced into the side of a mountain".
Many scientists are persisting in their search for further evidence of their man-made nature with the belief that the stone structures are the remnants of an old city that must have existed around 10,000 years ago when the sea level was much lower than it is today since it does not appear that the site ‘fell’ into the sea.
The sunken city of Pavlopetri
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Pavlopetri (or “Paulopetri”) is a small islet off the coast of Laconia in the southern Peloponnese, where ancient history meets the endless blue of the Mediterranean Sea.
This lovely place, which hides one of the most amazing stories in Greek history. Since it is the oldest ancient Greek city that has ever been discovered underwater. Its name, which literally translates to ”Paul’s Stone,” is directly related to St. Peter and St. Paul, the two greatest Christian apostles and martyrs, who travelled far and wide spreading Christianity during the first century AD. Discovered in 1967 by Nicholas Flemming, this ancient Greek town is now the oldest underwater “lost city” in the Mediterranean Sea — and one of the oldest such cities anywhere on the globe. Researchers believe that the city was submerged after a series of three cataclysmic earthquakes occurred in the area around 1000 BC.
Heracleion, Egypt. The Lost City of Cleopatra
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Appearing in a few rare inscriptions and ancient texts, the city of Thonis-Heracleion was hidden away for thousands of years, submerged deep under the sea. After searching for years by screening the vast area of the Abu Qir Bay off the coast of Egypt, French archaeologist Franck Goddio and his team saw a colossal face emerge from the watery shadows. Goddio had finally encountered Thonis-Heracleion, completely submerged 6.5 kilometres off Alexandria’s coast. Among the underwater ruins were 64 ships, 700 anchors, a treasure trove of gold coins, statues standing at 16 feet, and most notably the remains of a massive temple to the god Amun-Gereb, and the tiny sarcophagi for the animals that were brought there as offerings.
TALES AND MYTHS of lost civilisations have been told since the dawn of time. The most famous is the story of Atlantis: a quasi-mythical city that sunk beneath the waters of the Atlantic Ocean. Whether the story is true or not, it fills people with intrigue.
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