6 Enchanting Underwater Ruins in the World
Remember in History, we have learnt about lost civilisations. Civilisations were hidden underground and miraculously discovered by Archaeologists and Historians. But have you ever thought there are lost civilisations underwater too? I was amazed and astonished when I came to know about them. These underwater ruins speak immensely about lost cities, the people, their habitat, culture and interests. The more I read about them, I drift into those ancient eras when people set up their livelihood in the cities with the hope of permanent settlement. Yet fate proved to be something else. The cities were buried underwater due to either some natural phenomena or some man-made artificial errors. Excavating the underwater ruins are tough and challenging since you need expert divers to inspect the area and capture the artefacts cautiously.
Pavlopetri in Greece
Pavlopetri in Greece is one of the oldest underwater ruins. The name is not the original one, it's essentially given after its discovery since no one is aware of it. The city was sunk almost 5000 years ago, expected to be existing approximately during 2800 BC. Dr Jon Henderson, an underwater archaeologist, received official access to the site after seeking permission from the Greek government. The ruins of buildings, streets, tombs, courtyards and graves were studied and analyzed. It is believed that Pavlopetri was once a place for flourishing trade and thriving merchandise operations. The city is said to belong to the Minoan dynasty, though there is no concrete evidence for it. It was ultimately destroyed by an earthquake.
Cleopatra's Palace in Egypt
History says Queen Cleopatra was the last ruler of Egypt. It is believed that her royal palace was submerged more than 1600 years ago near the shores of the city of Alexandria. Franck Goddio, a French archaeologist, led the project for the excavation of the ancient city. During the study, he discovered the submerged palace. Tidal waves and earthquakes were termed as the reason for their submersion. The other artefacts discovered from the site was that of images representing Cleopatra's father, a priest and spiritual guardians of the temples. It's one of the fascinating underwater ruins, located exactly below the Antirhodus island in the city. Many ancient pillars and potteries were discovered at the place.
Dwarka Port in India
Dwarka is a holy and divine place in India. It's the residence and hometown of the Hindu God, Lord Krishna. He had his kingdom in Dwarka. The underwater ruins in Dwarka are one of the most exciting and thrilling discoveries by Indian archaeologists. The excavations at this place were initiated in the year 1983. The archaeologists were eager to decipher the mystery hidden underwater of the modern-day Dwarka. And truly they were successful. The city had been submerged in water almost 6 times due to the natural erosions caused by the Arabian sea. Among the several findings at the site, the key ones were the bastions, pillars, walls, stone structures, objects made of terracotta, bronze, copper and iron, pottery and most significantly seals and inscriptions belonging to 1500 BC.
Yonaguni in Japan
Yonaguni is a group of islands in Japan, about 68 miles beyond the east coast of Taiwan. It is a well-known tourist spot especially because of its phenomenal landscape. But the key attraction of the place is its underwater ruins about 8000 to 10,000 years old. Several debates and discussions have since been undergone regarding the reason behind the submersion and the civilizations to which the ruins belonged. Some archaeologists attribute the ruins to a Continent of Mu that went missing, some argue it to be a geological process, some say the ruins belonged to the Inca civilization or the legendary Jomon civilization of Japan. Due to the rough ocean currents, it had been quite tough to study the ruins in details and hence lots of speculations on its origin.
Port Royal in Jamaica
Port Royal in Jamaica was a notorious place for hosting pirates. A massive earthquake in 1692 had submerged parts of the city along with its houses, buildings and streets. It's one of the underwater ruins which is still accessible if you know diving. The excavations at the site started in 1981 which lead to discoveries of several organic and perishable artefacts. The artefacts were intact and well preserved underwater. The total area of the underwater ruins in Port Royal is now approximately 13 acres.
Fuxian Lake in China
Fuxian Lake in China is one of the most alluring underwater ruins in the world. There is no firm conclusion on the lost civilisation at the lake. Based on the pyramid like structures and objects made of stones, archaeologists claim that the artefacts belong to the Dian Kingdom. The history of the Dian dynasty dates to more than 2000 years old. The site needs further research and analysis to determine its year of origin and the reason behind its submersion.
Author
Kuntala
A travel enthusiast craving to explore the exotic destinations in the world, deciphering the mysteries and the thrill concealed in them.
OMG! How magical – underwater ruins! There is much history that lies in these depths that we have yet to uncover. This was such a fun read!
Thank you so much and glad you liked reading
These are such beautiful sites! I’d want to see the one in Egypt.
Sure please visit.
New adventure to explore. I never really like underwater adventure but with these cool places maybe I will try it out.
I am sure you will enjoy
These look like some of the most beautiful places to visit! I’ll be looking into them more and possibly adding them to my travel list, so thank you!
Please do so if you are interested in diving adventures
“Cleopatra’s Palace in Egypt” means everything to me. I am always fascinated by it. Cleo’s story needs to be told more!
Ya I love history specially the Egyptian civilization
These are all so amazing. It’s been a dream of mine to go scuba diving in some of these places for a while now. I was going to get my certification, but then COVID hit. =(
Oh wow is it. Thats great. Covid will be over that’s my hope and you can try again
It’s really amazing to know about these underwater sites. Atleast I would love to explore the one in India.
You know India more such interesting ruins. I will post one soon
This is so fascinating! I didn’t know there were so many underwater ruins and I’m sure there’s more we haven’t discovered yet! Can you imagine being a fish in one of them and just casually swimming around an artifact from Cleopatra’s palace? So crazy!
Yes I so agree with you
Oh wow. This is the first time I have read about these ruins. It is just mind boggling that people were able to build such structures during that time! Sadly it can only be seen by divers. Thanks for the photos.
Ya they preferred to keep them underwater for creating museums.
All captivating and so mysterious. These underwater ruins look like otherworldly kingdoms that are not really meant for ordinary mortals to discover (but the curious ones eventually did).
Those are really cool ruins. My husband would love to see these — he is the one in our family who looks for things that this. I will ask him if he visited the one in Jamaica. He’s been there before.
Underwater ruins, WOW! We always dream about traveling to these countries to visit the on land sites, but I personally seem to overlook what the local waters might have to offer! Thanks for sharing!
Japan looks like such an amazing place to be able to see in-person! I can’t wait until everyone is fully vaccinated and we can all start to travel again.
This is something right up my street! It would freak me out but in a good way! Plus the history is a bonus.
These sites look great! I know that there are also underwater exhibitions – one is somewhere off the shores of Granada. My problem is that I cannot go scuba diving – I can only go snorkeling since I need to have the option to lift my head and take out the mouth piece. Therefore, I enjoy your wonderful pictures even more 🙂
This is mind blowing…It is like reading the childhood adventure fantasies. Thanks
Definitely taking note of this post. I would love to try underwater activities and visiting such would be part of my bucket list.
These are cool artifacts! I want to learn more about each one. So nice!
Wow! I think it would be so cool to go exploring for other things besides fish in the ocean.
Those are all wonderful selection of underwater ruins to check out. I would love to go diving to those places with my husband someday when things are all better.