mysteries

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Synopsis

In this episode we go in search of the most enduring myth of all The City of Atlantis - lost beneath the waves to a massive natural cataclysm some 11,000 years ago.

We know very little of Atlantis, in fact were it not for the writings of the Greek philosopher Plato we might not have encountered it at all. Plato, recounting a story he heard as a child, described a huge metropolis, rich in fine art, architecture and culture. The city was destroyed in the space of a day and a night, sunk beneath the waves for eternity by a massive natural cataclysm. For thousands of years the tale remained an obscure yet tantalising fable until an American by the name of Ignatius Donnelly reignited the idea, bringing it to worldwide attention and sending archaeologists and trophy hunters alike across the globe in its wake.

Atlantis hunters have been so active in their pursuit of the legend that possible resting places for the Lost City have been suggested almost everywhere. In this episode Atlantis examines the evidence put forward in favour of four of the more likely contenders.

The first is the Greek Island of Santorini, just beyond Platos home town of Athens, where 900 years before Plato wrote his tale, a huge volcanic explosion obliterated every single life form on the island. When a city was found beneath 30 ft volcanic ash in 1966, archaeologists were sure they had found Atlantis.

Next we travel to the Bahamas. Here a bizarre underwater formation found in 1968 known as the Bimini Road has been hailed as the remnants of the Lost City. Many archaeologists dismiss the patterns as the tops of naturally formed underwater caves, but could there be more to them?

Then there is the island of Malta in the Mediterranean Sea. Here a similarly advanced city has been uncovered with temples and artwork far in advance of its time, which, like Atlantis, mysteriously disappeared in the blink of an eye thousands of years ago.

Finally we look to the mid-pacific, where just 4 years ago two marine archaeologists working for the Cuban government found a series of strange triangular structures 2100 ft beneath the ocean, that they believe could be man made.

Is Atlantis just a story, a clever trick of Platos, designed to explain the ills of the past and the evils around him? Or is there actually an incredible ancient land lying dormant beneath the waves, just waiting to be discovered? Here using the worlds foremost Atlantis hunters, historians and archaeologists, we examine the evidence for and against the myth that just will not die away.

ASPECT RATIO 4.3
MAIN SOUNDTRACK English Stereo
DISC FORMAT DVD 5
REGION 1 NTSC
CLASSIFICATION Exempt
NOTE Not available for shipment outside the USA

Runtime: 54 minutes