Underwater 'lost city' is a natural phenomenon, say scientists

This circular column was thought to belong to an ancient underwater city.

When divers discovered circular columns and paved floors, they thought they had found the ruins of a long-forgotten civilization on the shores of the Greek island Zakynthos.

Research teams investigate the content and texture of the underwater formation.

But what was once thought to be an ancient underwater "lost city" is actually a naturally occurring phenomenon, scientists have found.

 

New research published in the Marine and Petroleum Geology journal today reveals the ancient underwater site was actually created by a natural geological phenomenon around five million years ago.

Underwater myth busters

Lead author of the research, Professor Julian Andrews, from the University of East Anglia's School of Environmental Sciences, told CNN: "The suggestion that they were archaeological remains was brought about by tourists who were swimming around and saw these things and thought they were stone work."

Greek authorities investigated the site, however they found no supporting evidence that this was an ancient city port that was lost to the sea.

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"Mysteriously [there was] no other signs of life -- such as pottery," Andrews said.

After the preliminary analysis, Andrews and Professor Michael Stamatakis from the Department of Geology and Geoenvironment at the University of Athens then investigated the mineral content and texture of the underwater formation.

"We investigated the site, which is between two and five meters (six and sixteen feet) underwater, and found that it is actually a natural geological occurring phenomenon," Andrews said.