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*

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NARRATOR: Lost civilizations.
Mysterious sunken cities.

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And legendary Atlantis itself.

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Vanished beneath the waves.

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PATRICK: There is a
huge amount of unrecorded
human history beneath the

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ocean's surface that we don't
know very much about at all.

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NARRATOR: Imagine if we
could empty the oceans,
letting the water drain away

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to reveal the secrets
of the sea floor.

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Now we can, using the latest
underwater technology.

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Piercing the deep oceans
and turning accurate
data into 3D images.

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Is this a huge
underwater temple carved by a
mysterious lost civilization?

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NARRATOR: Why are these
perfectly circular stones

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lying at the bottom of
a bay in the Aegean Sea?

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SIMON: There are shapes
on the seabed that
just don't make sense.

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NARRATOR: Are these just
rocks, or the remains
of an ancient city?

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JON (over radio): Parts of
this are just beginning to
be revealed for the first time.

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Wow.

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NARRATOR: And is the real
site of Atlantis finally
about to be revealed?

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-People want to believe
in places like Atlantis.

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They want to believe
in other worlds.

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(waves crashing)

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NARRATOR: Stories
of sunken cities have
fascinated for millennia.

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The most tantalizing
of all: Atlantis.

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First described by
ancient philosopher,
Plato, a dazzling civilization

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destroyed by the gods as
punishment for human pride.

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-People connect to that story,
and it's because of this idea
of an ancient civilization,

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a utopia, that
we've evolved from.

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NARRATOR: 2,000 years
later, the idea of Atlantis

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continues to fascinate
A-list archaeologists.

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And the producers
of B-list movies.

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MAN (over TV): Atlantis is the
story of those who, like today,

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would use the
marvels of science to
conquer and enslave.

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Atlantis, a world
that worships strange
gods of science,

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of science, a
science gone berserk.

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-Plato would have
loved this okay?

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He would have
had a great time.

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He would have said, 'at
last, you know, people
are listening to me.

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People are taking
my story seriously.'

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And he would have
enjoyed this immensely.

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NARRATOR: Using science,
not science fiction,
draining the oceans

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exposes new evidence
about Atlantis.

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And other stories of
great sunken cities,
around the world.

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As the waters recede
from around the remote
Japanese island of Yonaguni,

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a mysterious formation
begins to appear.

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Could it be the creation of
an advanced, ancient people?

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Yonaguni lies in
the East China Sea.

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The waters here are perilous.

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Schools of hammerhead
sharks patrol, amid
powerful currents.

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Typhoons frequently
batter the island.

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For divers, it's the
ultimate challenge.

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Kihachiro Aratake is one of
the pioneers of diving here.

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KIHACHIRO: The water
was crystal clear.

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I felt as though I was
looking down from the
seabed from the sky.

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NARRATOR: Searching for
a new dive site, he makes
a startling discovery.

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-I saw a steps-like formation,
like terraced fields.

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I thought for a moment
it was similar to the
Machu Picchu ruins.

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So, I named the spot
the submarine ruins.

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NARRATOR: It's an
extraordinary spectacle.

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The size of five
football fields.

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Smooth-sided walls rise up
to the summit, the height
of an eight-story building.

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Flights of stone steps
climb up from the base.

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And on every side, the
shapes and forms are
strikingly regular.

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-It can't be formed naturally,
without human involvement.

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It couldn't be like that.

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NARRATOR: So,
what could it be?

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It's impossible to investigate
the structure fully by diving.

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The only way is to conduct
a survey using the latest
scanning technology.

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HIRONOBU: Although the shallow
waters around Yonaguni Island
are close to human habitation,

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we don't know much about them.

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It's an unknown frontier.

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NARRATOR: Using sonar scans,
Hironobu Kan records a

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complete digital map
of the sea floor.

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Using this data,
it's possible, for
the very first time,

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to drain away the waters
and reveal what lies
beneath in exact detail.

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The summit of the
mysterious structure
begins to appear.

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(waves crashing)

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Water pours off its smooth
terraced layers, exposing
them once again to the sky.

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And with the monument
left high and dry, its
true scale becomes clear.

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Vast, imposing
and spectacular.

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The incredible discovery
attracts worldwide attention.

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Divers, journalists
and TV crews flock to
Yonaguni, all asking:

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what could this
mysterious structure be?

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And scientists come here too.

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Among them is Professor
Masaaki Kimura, one of
Japan's top marine geologists.

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KIMURA: When I dived
underwater to explore it I
felt right away that it must

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be a man-made structure.

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NARRATOR: He finds several
features that he believes
indicate human activity.

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-Here, you'll see
something that looks like
the front gate of a castle.

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It's like a tunnel,
and you go through it.

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NARRATOR: On the far side
of the tunnel, a road loops
around to a flight of steps.

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Watched over by two
mysterious stone objects.

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-There are mound-like
bulges here and here,
and if you look at them,

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you'll find turtles with their
necks extended, on both sides.

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NARRATOR: According to
ancient Japanese folklore,
the dragon god, Ryujin,

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lives in an underwater palace,
watched over by turtles.

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To Professor Kimura, this
indicates that the monument

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is so important
it needs guarding.

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And that's not all.

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-If you go up this path
you get to this place.

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This portion is triangular.

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That's why it's called
the triangle pool.

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Since this is fairly
big and shallow as well,
you can relax in it.

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Also, the sea surface is
very close to it and it's
warm due to the sunlight.

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You feel chilly after
you come out of the
deeper area down there,

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and you can warm up here.

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NARRATOR: But the monument's
most striking feature
is its wide, flat terraces,

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Large enough to support
thousands of people.

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Professor Kimura believes
the gateway, stairs,
turtles and terraces

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all point towards one purpose.

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-Judging from its
shape, I think they
used it as a castle.

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NARRATOR: But to prove his
theory, Professor Kimura
needs more:

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the artifacts of those
who once lived here.

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He scours the structure
looking for clues, and

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discovers what look
like primitive tools.

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Then, hidden behind one of
the great walls, the most
remarkable find of all.

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-Look at this,
a symbol is inscribed
here and here's a hole.

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Probably, they hung
this article like this.

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And here's something
looking like a letter.

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Maybe it could be a kind
of a talisman to protect
people from evil.

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NARRATOR: For Professor
Kimura, the case is closed.

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The artifacts and
the monument's regular shapes
prove that humans lived here,

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8,000 years ago.

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After that, rising sea levels
claim the territory of this
lost race of master builders.

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But is that the real
story of Yonaguni?

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NARRATOR: Professor
Kimura believes that this
extraordinary structure

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off the coast of Japan is a
gigantic castle, built long
before the pyramids of Egypt

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by a mysterious
lost civilization.

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But is it?

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With the water drained away,
it's possible to scrutinize the
monument in forensic detail.

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The edges appear regular and
straight, as if made from
blocks carved by human hand.

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But closer examination
reveals something else.

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The surfaces are
smooth and unbroken.

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The monument is not assembled
from handmade blocks,

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but is in fact one
solid mass of rock.

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HIRONOBU: The pyramid area
and the headland behind it
are connected with each other.

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The surface of the terrain
has a lot of grooves, so you
may think they are separate,

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but since they consist of
the identical stone, they
are originally connected.

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NARRATOR: The basic
form of the monument
is clearly natural.

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But what about the gateway,
steps, turtles and pool?

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Could it be that an
ancient people carved
into this huge rock,

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transforming it into a
great castle or temple?

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Studying the headland on
shore provides the answer.

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The shapes here are
strikingly similar to
those found on the monument,

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and that's because
they were formed in
exactly the same way.

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Both are made of
sandstone which, when
subjected to stress,

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such as during
an earthquake, can
fracture along vertical faults,

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forming angular shapes
and what look like steps.

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PATRICK: Put something like
that underwater, have the
water wash over the top of it

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and clear away all the debris,
and you've got very, very
fine step-like structures.

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But they're no more
human made than any other
structure down there.

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NARRATOR: The lack of tool
marks is further confirmation.

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The forces which
shaped this remarkable
place are geological.

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But what of the artifacts?

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Perhaps the monument,
if not built by ancient
people, was inhabited by them.

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Walking these steps.

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Crowding these
natural terraces.

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But so far, no other objects
have been found, suggesting
that the talisman and tools

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were dropped from a boat
passing overhead, landing on
the monument simply by chance.

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-The clear thing for Yonaguni
for me is there's no pottery,

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there's no evidence of
actual human occupation.

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There's not a single
wall from the site.

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There's nothing on it, that
indicates human activity.

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NARRATOR: The Yonaguni
Monument is an extraordinary
natural formation,

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created by epic
geological forces.

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But its shapes
appear so regular
that many still believe

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it holds a secret,
ancient purpose.

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JIM: You can take
that leap if you have an
imagination and say yes,

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this could be an ancient
city beneath the sea but
in the case of Yonaguni

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I'm in those ranks
that feel that it's not.

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It's geology.

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-We want to believe
that science doesn't
have all the answers.

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We want to believe innately
that there is something out
there that we can connect with

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spiritually and that hasn't
really been polluted by

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being the subject of
scientific discovery.

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NARRATOR: And still
amongst the believers
is Professor Kimura.

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He remains convinced that the
monument was inhabited by his
ancestors and continues to

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search for evidence to
prove the doubters wrong.

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Beneath the oceans of
the world lie many more

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tantalizing traces of
possible lost civilizations.

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As the water continues
to drain away, in the
Eastern Mediterranean,

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astonishing structures emerge
in a quiet island harbor.

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Is this jumble of shaped
stones the architectural
debris of a once great city?

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Alikanas Bay, a tourist
hotspot on the island
of Zakynthos, Greece.

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Diver, Pavlos Voutos,
sets out to take some
underwater photos.

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NARRATOR: Pavlos swims
farther out into the bay
in search of clearer water.

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Then, out of the gloom,
he sees something that
will change his life.

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NARRATOR: The debris
stretches out for hundreds
of yards in all directions.

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The area is so large that
Pavlos is convinced he's found
the remains of an entire town.

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NARRATOR: The discovery sends
a bolt of electricity through
the world of archaeology.

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Professor Michael Stamatakis,
immediately travels to
Zakynthos to investigate.

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NARRATOR: Stamatakis recalls
seeing similar shapes on land,

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at the site of an
ancient settlement built
over 2,000 years ago.

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NARRATOR: If the same shapes
lie on the sea bed, they could
indicate an ancient settlement

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just offshore concealed
under the bay and forgotten
about for centuries.

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Comparing the images
is not enough.

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The only way to
reveal a complete
picture of the structures

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is a detailed
underwater survey.

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Simon Brown is an
expert in 3D modelling.

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00:21:10,333 --> 00:21:13,400
But the task facing
him is immense.

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SIMON: Right now
we're not quite sure
how big the area is.

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I've estimated it's about
16 acres, which will be

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more than double the
largest subject I've
ever covered to date.

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It's a weird place.

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There is definitely features
here that I have never
seen anywhere else before.

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They look out of place.

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But then I started to see
more regular shapes that
looked that cut stone.

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00:21:53,367 --> 00:21:57,233
So my mind then starts
to think, is it...

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is it manmade?

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NARRATOR: Can draining the
waters of the Mediterranean
provide the answer?

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00:22:12,933 --> 00:22:15,333
NARRATOR: Simon Brown
is mapping mysterious

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underwater structures
discovered in a Greek bay.

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00:22:19,467 --> 00:22:23,000
Could they be the remains
of an ancient town?

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00:22:24,500 --> 00:22:30,500
He takes nearly 4,000 high
resolution photographs of the
sea floor tracking each with

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00:22:31,933 --> 00:22:35,033
pinpoint accuracy through GPS.

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00:22:38,833 --> 00:22:43,300
Using these images, it's now
possible to do something which
has never been done before:

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00:22:45,267 --> 00:22:50,233
drain the waters of
Alikanas Bay and reveal,
for the first time ever,

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00:22:50,267 --> 00:22:53,133
a 3D plan of the
entire sea floor.

218
00:22:57,933 --> 00:23:02,000
As the Mediterranean begins
to recede, a world is exposed

219
00:23:02,033 --> 00:23:05,267
that's been invisible
for thousands of years.

220
00:23:07,433 --> 00:23:11,667
First, the rocky shoreline
is left high and dry.

221
00:23:13,033 --> 00:23:18,200
Then, from the
dark depths, regular
shapes begin to appear,

222
00:23:18,233 --> 00:23:20,033
hidden amongst the rocks.

223
00:23:23,800 --> 00:23:28,900
Could they be the bases of
stone columns which together
once formed a grand colonnade?

224
00:23:33,167 --> 00:23:37,967
The use of colonnades is
a turning point in ancient
Greek architecture.

225
00:23:39,867 --> 00:23:44,967
Builders can now switch
from wood to stone, a
far stronger material,

226
00:23:45,000 --> 00:23:47,867
to create ever larger
temples to the gods.

227
00:23:49,667 --> 00:23:53,533
A colonnade in Alikanas Bay
would prove that an important,

228
00:23:53,567 --> 00:23:56,200
ancient settlement
once stood here.

229
00:23:56,667 --> 00:23:59,700
But some experts
remain skeptical.

230
00:24:00,500 --> 00:24:02,800
PATRICK: There are structures
all over the world that mimic

231
00:24:02,833 --> 00:24:04,567
something that humans
may have created.

232
00:24:04,600 --> 00:24:07,167
Doesn't mean that
humans created them.

233
00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:11,833
NARRATOR: With the water
drained away, it's now
possible to search the

234
00:24:11,867 --> 00:24:15,600
sea bed for evidence
of human occupation.

235
00:24:16,433 --> 00:24:18,933
Fragments of the pots
people cooked with.

236
00:24:20,667 --> 00:24:23,200
Charcoal from their fires.

237
00:24:23,233 --> 00:24:26,767
Tools for farming, and weapons
for defending their homes.

238
00:24:27,967 --> 00:24:32,200
Any objects made of
metal, clay or stone
should have survived.

239
00:24:36,767 --> 00:24:39,533
But there's nothing.

240
00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:44,467
Which means
these extraordinary
remains, whatever they are,

241
00:24:44,500 --> 00:24:47,767
are not the relics
of a lost town.

242
00:24:49,300 --> 00:24:50,767
So, what are they?

243
00:25:22,000 --> 00:25:26,167
NARRATOR: Further analysis
reveals the formations
are what geologists call

244
00:25:26,200 --> 00:25:28,433
'concretions'.

245
00:25:28,467 --> 00:25:34,000
Solid blocks of
sedimentary rock formed by
powerful volcanic activity.

246
00:25:35,800 --> 00:25:39,967
Underwater vents
release methane from
deep within the Earth.

247
00:25:40,000 --> 00:25:42,633
Combining with
microbes and sediment,

248
00:25:42,667 --> 00:25:46,833
the methane causes regular
circular shapes to form.

249
00:25:46,867 --> 00:25:50,133
Far from being a
relic of ancient Greece,

250
00:25:50,167 --> 00:25:55,067
the structures here
pre-date human activities
by five million years!

251
00:25:59,067 --> 00:26:01,800
Despite all the evidence
against his theory,

252
00:26:01,833 --> 00:26:05,533
Pavlos Voutos remains
convinced that the fantastical

253
00:26:05,567 --> 00:26:09,133
landscape he discovered
was shaped by his ancestors.

254
00:26:28,933 --> 00:26:31,067
NARRATOR: Classical
civilizations dominate the

255
00:26:31,100 --> 00:26:34,467
Mediterranean for
over a thousand years.

256
00:26:34,500 --> 00:26:39,100
Today, all around
its coast, people tell
stories of sunken cities.

257
00:26:42,433 --> 00:26:45,967
As the waters around
Greece drain away further,

258
00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:49,667
an extraordinary underwater
vista is exposed.

259
00:26:50,833 --> 00:26:55,233
Could these patterns on the
sea floor be the remnants
of an ancient city?

260
00:27:00,967 --> 00:27:05,167
The village of Elafonisos
sits on a small island
just off the Greek coast.

261
00:27:11,767 --> 00:27:15,367
At first glance, an
ordinary fishing port.

262
00:27:17,000 --> 00:27:22,067
But in 1967, less than 100
yards out to sea, something
attracts the attention of a

263
00:27:23,667 --> 00:27:26,700
visiting maritime
archaeologist.

264
00:27:27,567 --> 00:27:32,167
Snorkeling in 13 feet
of water, Nicholas Fleming
catches a glimpse of

265
00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:34,733
regular shapes
on the sea floor.

266
00:27:37,667 --> 00:27:42,167
Then, exploring deeper,
he sees what he thinks is
evidence of human activity.

267
00:27:44,267 --> 00:27:48,833
FLEMING: I looked at these
rows of stones, and I just
had no idea what it was,

268
00:27:48,867 --> 00:27:53,367
but I realized immediately
that it was manmade, that
we were looking at a

269
00:27:53,400 --> 00:27:57,600
large part of a town, and
I mean I just went crazy.

270
00:27:58,767 --> 00:28:03,300
NARRATOR: Fleming is
convinced he has found
something special.

271
00:28:03,333 --> 00:28:08,200
But could these simply
be natural formations,
mimicking human structures,

272
00:28:08,233 --> 00:28:11,533
like the concretions
of nearby Alikanas Bay?

273
00:28:12,233 --> 00:28:16,200
The following year,
Fleming returns with
a team of surveyors

274
00:28:16,233 --> 00:28:18,300
to discover the truth.

275
00:28:19,733 --> 00:28:23,967
Using tape measures, they
document what they find.

276
00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:27,000
And the results
are astonishing.

277
00:28:28,167 --> 00:28:32,200
The site is strewn with
signs of human activity.

278
00:28:32,667 --> 00:28:39,167
Pots, storage vessels
and tools lie across a
huge area of the sea bed.

279
00:28:39,567 --> 00:28:45,100
There can be no doubt:
Fleming has discovered the
remains of an ancient town.

280
00:28:46,133 --> 00:28:49,900
It's named Pavlopetri
after a nearby island.

281
00:28:50,700 --> 00:28:53,133
But who built it, and when?

282
00:28:56,067 --> 00:28:59,333
These questions inspire a
generation of archaeologists.

283
00:29:00,300 --> 00:29:04,300
JON: Well I've always
been interested in submerged
settlement, submerged towns,

284
00:29:04,333 --> 00:29:06,600
and I'd read about
Pavlopetri as a boy.

285
00:29:06,633 --> 00:29:11,433
And this idea of an intact,
prehistoric town underwater
just seemed you know

286
00:29:11,467 --> 00:29:13,467
incredibly romantic,
incredibly exciting.

287
00:29:21,967 --> 00:29:26,800
NARRATOR: Henderson can now
fulfill a childhood dream
and explore this haunted

288
00:29:26,833 --> 00:29:29,300
underwater world for himself.

289
00:29:29,767 --> 00:29:31,933
-Here we have a quern stone.

290
00:29:31,967 --> 00:29:36,233
-You can see it's
got a very concave,
concave surface there.

291
00:29:36,267 --> 00:29:41,267
That's for grinding grain or
whatever it was that you were
turning into you know flour.

292
00:29:43,000 --> 00:29:44,200
That's quite a clear artifact.

293
00:29:44,233 --> 00:29:46,533
Very nice.

294
00:29:52,433 --> 00:29:54,567
There is a huge amphora.

295
00:29:54,600 --> 00:29:57,933
One, amphora, two amphora,
three, four, five.

296
00:30:00,600 --> 00:30:02,900
This gives you an example of
what's coming out of the sand,

297
00:30:02,933 --> 00:30:05,400
what's eroding out of the sand.

298
00:30:05,433 --> 00:30:08,700
Look, there's the base of an
amphora, there's the amphora
shape there, it's on its side.

299
00:30:10,267 --> 00:30:12,933
There's another one next to
it and another one there.

300
00:30:16,433 --> 00:30:20,900
NARRATOR: And further into
the bay, more evidence
of human life, and death.

301
00:30:22,700 --> 00:30:27,600
-So, here's a cist grave.
Edge set slabs.

302
00:30:29,000 --> 00:30:32,100
A very small one.
Possibly for a baby.

303
00:30:34,000 --> 00:30:36,800
There are about 40
of these on the site.

304
00:30:40,567 --> 00:30:42,633
NARRATOR: Diving gives
intriguing glimpses of

305
00:30:42,667 --> 00:30:45,467
objects lying
upon the sea bed.

306
00:30:46,400 --> 00:30:48,933
But it's impossible to
gain a complete picture.

307
00:30:54,367 --> 00:30:58,667
To do this, it must be mapped
using the latest in underwater
scanning technology.

308
00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:10,367
(waves crashing)

309
00:31:16,967 --> 00:31:22,267
Using this data, it's now
possible to drain away the
waters above Pavlopetri and

310
00:31:23,500 --> 00:31:28,500
bring sunlight back to
a forgotten world and
a true Sunken City.

311
00:31:37,033 --> 00:31:41,933
With the entire
bay drained away,
everything becomes clear.

312
00:31:46,767 --> 00:31:51,800
The lines are the
foundations of buildings,
laid out in clear streets.

313
00:31:54,133 --> 00:31:58,600
At the heart of the town is
a large open area, perhaps
an ancient market place.

314
00:32:04,867 --> 00:32:09,700
And nearby, the remnants
of a huge structure, perhaps
an important civic building.

315
00:32:13,967 --> 00:32:18,600
The remains cover 20
acres and the town could
have housed 4,000 people.

316
00:32:21,300 --> 00:32:24,767
A thriving, ancient
settlement once existed here.

317
00:32:26,667 --> 00:32:30,533
The next challenge is to
discover who built it.

318
00:32:31,167 --> 00:32:33,067
And when.

319
00:32:35,633 --> 00:32:39,533
-We know how old the
occupation of the site is,
because we've got pottery.

320
00:32:39,567 --> 00:32:43,100
And pottery particularly
in this part of the
world is very well dated.

321
00:32:43,967 --> 00:32:46,433
What was really
exciting is we actually found
evicdence of pottery

322
00:32:46,467 --> 00:32:49,133
from the end of the Stone Age.

323
00:32:49,567 --> 00:32:53,867
So, we've actually got
occupation here from
about 5,500 years ago.

324
00:32:53,900 --> 00:32:56,267
And then we've got
every single bit of
pottery you would expect

325
00:32:56,300 --> 00:32:58,033
up until about 1100 BC.

326
00:32:58,067 --> 00:33:00,367
There's no gaps in that.

327
00:33:00,400 --> 00:33:03,033
So, the place seems to have
been continuously occupied
throughout the Bronze Age.

328
00:33:05,300 --> 00:33:09,800
NARRATOR: Pavlopetri was
occupied for 2,400 years during

329
00:33:09,833 --> 00:33:13,200
a revolutionary period
of human development.

330
00:33:14,633 --> 00:33:19,633
At its peak in the bronze age,
around 1700BC, it looked like
this: a perfect example of the

331
00:33:22,933 --> 00:33:27,900
time when Europeans start
to live in stone-built towns
with regular laid out streets.

332
00:33:30,300 --> 00:33:33,067
But one question remains.

333
00:33:33,467 --> 00:33:37,800
Why did the builders of
this town choose this
particular location,

334
00:33:37,833 --> 00:33:40,600
in a remote part
of ancient Greece?

335
00:33:43,167 --> 00:33:46,567
Exploring the
drained landscape
around the ancient city

336
00:33:46,600 --> 00:33:49,300
reveals an all-important clue.

337
00:33:50,633 --> 00:33:55,867
At its edge, a huge sand bank
stretches out into the ocean.

338
00:33:55,900 --> 00:33:59,900
During the Bronze Age,
people don't build
ports out of stone.

339
00:34:00,867 --> 00:34:04,467
They bring ships up to the
shore and then beach them.

340
00:34:05,967 --> 00:34:11,167
And Pavlopetri's location
means it can exploit the trade
routes that boom during the

341
00:34:11,200 --> 00:34:14,067
Bronze Age right across
the Mediterranean.

342
00:34:17,567 --> 00:34:20,800
Evidence of early commercial
activity is everywhere.

343
00:34:21,567 --> 00:34:24,833
-The interesting thing is
we've clearly got a lot
of material coming in.

344
00:34:24,867 --> 00:34:28,033
We found thousands
and thousands of shards of
very large storage vessels,

345
00:34:28,067 --> 00:34:31,200
which have been used for
storing olive oil, wine,

346
00:34:31,233 --> 00:34:33,033
that kind of thing and
generally anything.

347
00:34:33,067 --> 00:34:34,467
They were like the
containers of the day.

348
00:34:35,933 --> 00:34:37,533
NARRATOR: And that's not all.

349
00:34:37,567 --> 00:34:42,133
Pavlopetri is also a
hub for manufactory.

350
00:34:42,167 --> 00:34:46,667
-We've got a lot of
evidence for loom weights,
thousands of loom weights,

351
00:34:46,700 --> 00:34:50,133
way more than you would need
for domestic production so it
seems that maybe textiles were

352
00:34:50,167 --> 00:34:52,433
something that were being
produced on the site
and perhaps exported.

353
00:34:57,000 --> 00:35:00,567
NARRATOR: Pavlopetri is an
extraordinary, bustling,
vibrant port city.

354
00:35:01,767 --> 00:35:04,533
And an important
center of trade.

355
00:35:04,833 --> 00:35:07,767
So how did such an advanced
metropolis meet its end?

356
00:35:16,667 --> 00:35:20,767
NARRATOR: An ancient,
submerged city off
the coast of Greece.

357
00:35:20,800 --> 00:35:24,100
How it came to lie on the
sea floor is a mystery.

358
00:35:25,500 --> 00:35:27,667
JON: One of the interesting
things about Pavlopetri and
its submergence is that

359
00:35:27,700 --> 00:35:30,333
there are no historical
references to it at all.

360
00:35:30,367 --> 00:35:33,267
It sunk under the waves
and then it was out
of sight, out of mind.

361
00:35:33,300 --> 00:35:36,367
And there's certainly no
classical sources that
refer to its sinking.

362
00:35:36,400 --> 00:35:39,533
And there's nothing until
it's discovery really
in the 20th century.

363
00:35:43,167 --> 00:35:48,100
NARRATOR: Scanning
the drained bay could reveal
what happened to Pavlopetri.

364
00:35:49,933 --> 00:35:53,467
At the edge of the town,
it's possible to make out
three mysterious lines.

365
00:35:57,133 --> 00:36:02,100
These are strips of beach
rock, formed by the action
of sunlight on salt water.

366
00:36:03,500 --> 00:36:06,100
They form only
near the shoreline.

367
00:36:07,033 --> 00:36:12,433
It can mean only one thing:
earthquakes caused this land
to subside into the sea.

368
00:36:14,367 --> 00:36:17,633
-So, there was a big
earthquake, perhaps part of
the remains went under the

369
00:36:17,667 --> 00:36:20,867
water, part of them are
still surviving, then there
was another earthquake it was

370
00:36:20,900 --> 00:36:23,233
pushed under then there was
a third, and it was gone.

371
00:36:26,200 --> 00:36:31,200
NARRATOR: Pavlopetri is one
of the most important Bronze
age sites in the world,

372
00:36:31,233 --> 00:36:34,300
and the oldest submerged
town ever discovered.

373
00:36:37,200 --> 00:36:40,433
But it's not alone.

374
00:36:49,533 --> 00:36:53,467
-A lot of the major finds in
the next couple of decades are
going to come from the sea.

375
00:36:53,500 --> 00:36:57,767
I think we have the
potential to rewrite what
we know about human history.

376
00:36:59,833 --> 00:37:05,267
NARRATOR: Pavlopetri is an
extraordinary find, but it is
not the legendary Atlantis.

377
00:37:08,633 --> 00:37:12,633
Various locations for
Plato's dazzling city
have been proposed,

378
00:37:12,667 --> 00:37:14,800
around the world.

379
00:37:15,567 --> 00:37:20,500
But most academic
investigations point to one
place: the Mediterranean.

380
00:37:22,400 --> 00:37:26,433
As its waters continue
to drain away,
at its western end,

381
00:37:26,467 --> 00:37:29,833
new and tantalizing
evidence is revealed.

382
00:37:30,533 --> 00:37:36,133
Could archaeologists
finally have found the site
of Plato's famous lost city?

383
00:37:42,333 --> 00:37:47,333
Marc Gutscher
is a geophysicist, long
fascinated by Plato's story.

384
00:37:47,367 --> 00:37:50,533
MARC: I do think that
becoming interested in
Atlantis can be almost,

385
00:37:50,567 --> 00:37:54,900
like a bug or an infection
or like gambling.

386
00:37:54,933 --> 00:37:58,467
I think one can
become obsessed.

387
00:37:59,567 --> 00:38:05,467
NARRATOR: Plato wrote about
Atlantis in 360BC, describing
an advanced metropolis

388
00:38:05,500 --> 00:38:10,900
9,000 years before his own
time, lost beneath the waves
in a cataclysmic event.

389
00:38:14,433 --> 00:38:20,400
Marc Gutscher has analyzed
Plato's texts, searching
for clues to its location.

390
00:38:20,833 --> 00:38:25,933
-'This power came forth out
of the Atlantic Ocean from an
island situated in front of

391
00:38:25,967 --> 00:38:30,100
the straits which
are by you called the
Pillars of Heracles.'

392
00:38:32,300 --> 00:38:36,933
NARRATOR: The Pillars of
Heracles is the name given by
Plato to the maritime boundary

393
00:38:36,967 --> 00:38:39,600
of the ancient Greek world.

394
00:38:40,000 --> 00:38:42,067
Many locations have
been suggested.

395
00:38:42,100 --> 00:38:46,800
But Marc believes he
has the answer: The
Straits of Gibraltar.

396
00:38:48,267 --> 00:38:53,900
-So here at Cape Spartel we're
at the northern edge of the
Moroccan Atlantic coast and

397
00:38:53,933 --> 00:38:56,933
just at the entrance to
the Straits of Gibraltar.

398
00:38:56,967 --> 00:39:01,467
About 10 to 15 kilometers
off to the north west
there's a submerged bank.

399
00:39:01,500 --> 00:39:04,867
Some people have suggested
that it might have been
inhabited and it might have

400
00:39:04,900 --> 00:39:07,967
formed the origin of
the Atlantis legend.

401
00:39:09,867 --> 00:39:15,500
NARRATOR: Today, this area
sits under the second busiest
shipping route in the world,

402
00:39:15,533 --> 00:39:18,500
a difficult place for
sub-sea investigation.

403
00:39:20,433 --> 00:39:24,700
During a project to study
rising sea levels here,
Marc gets his chance.

404
00:39:28,067 --> 00:39:33,267
Using a remotely operated
vehicle or ROV, he sets
out to map the sea floor.

405
00:39:39,100 --> 00:39:41,733
(waves crashing)

406
00:39:46,700 --> 00:39:48,633
It's challenging work.

407
00:39:50,100 --> 00:39:54,200
-It was very difficult,
both the towing of the
camera was difficult,

408
00:39:54,233 --> 00:39:58,267
keeping the ship in place
was difficult, and especially
trying to keep the ROV

409
00:39:58,300 --> 00:40:00,100
in place was really,
really difficult.

410
00:40:04,500 --> 00:40:08,667
NARRATOR: Finally, Marc
gets the sonar scanning
data that he needs.

411
00:40:14,767 --> 00:40:19,333
Now, combining
this information with the
latest computer graphics,

412
00:40:19,367 --> 00:40:25,267
it's possible to drain away
the sea water from between the
ancient pillars of Heracles,

413
00:40:26,500 --> 00:40:31,967
and attempt to solve one of
the greatest archaeological
mysteries of all time...

414
00:40:33,433 --> 00:40:36,667
Soon, rocks begin
to emerge, and the

415
00:40:36,700 --> 00:40:41,467
unmistakable outline of an
island gradually appears.

416
00:40:42,200 --> 00:40:47,300
Is this the site of
Atlantis, exposed for the
first time in 11,000 years?

417
00:40:50,133 --> 00:40:55,433
Once again, important clues
lie in Plato's own writing.

418
00:40:55,467 --> 00:41:00,167
-Plato says that the city, and
all of its war-like men, were
destroyed in one day and night

419
00:41:02,400 --> 00:41:07,567
of terrible misfortune,
caused by strong
earthquakes and floods.

420
00:41:10,600 --> 00:41:16,133
NARRATOR: The island revealed
by draining the ocean,
sits on a subduction zone,

421
00:41:16,167 --> 00:41:21,767
a boundary between the huge
tectonic plates that make
up the Earth's surface.

422
00:41:21,800 --> 00:41:26,567
The exact point where the
biggest earthquakes strike.

423
00:41:27,000 --> 00:41:32,333
A series of powerful
earthquakes and tsunamis could
have obliterated Atlantis and

424
00:41:32,367 --> 00:41:37,433
sent the island
on which it rests down
into the ocean depths.

425
00:41:37,933 --> 00:41:42,467
-You could imagine that during
great earthquakes there might
have been some subsidence,

426
00:41:42,500 --> 00:41:47,733
so if we were to take into
account maybe 20 or 30 meters
of subsidence due to those

427
00:41:49,000 --> 00:41:53,533
earthquakes, there might
have been a somewhat
larger island there.

428
00:41:54,300 --> 00:41:58,767
NARRATOR: The geology
supports Plato's account of
the destruction of Atlantis.

429
00:41:58,800 --> 00:42:02,600
But one other vital piece
of evidence is still needed.

430
00:42:08,167 --> 00:42:11,333
NARRATOR: Draining
the ocean has revealed
a mysterious island

431
00:42:11,367 --> 00:42:15,167
exactly where Plato
said Atlantis would be.

432
00:42:15,200 --> 00:42:21,167
But one other piece of
evidence must be present for
it actually to be Atlantis:

433
00:42:21,200 --> 00:42:25,200
The remains of substantial
man-made structures.

434
00:42:25,233 --> 00:42:29,667
Using the drained landscape,
it's possible to study
the island's surface

435
00:42:29,700 --> 00:42:32,667
in extraordinary
three-dimensional detail.

436
00:42:33,767 --> 00:42:38,100
Searching carefully for
the remains of walls,
temples, bridges,

437
00:42:38,133 --> 00:42:41,133
and anything constructed
by human hands.

438
00:42:42,333 --> 00:42:44,267
But there are none.

439
00:42:46,300 --> 00:42:49,933
Nowhere on this mysterious
island are there any lines or
geometric shapes which would

440
00:42:49,967 --> 00:42:53,633
indicate the presence of
a great, ancient city.

441
00:42:54,533 --> 00:42:58,567
MARC: Atlantis did not exist
in the tiny island of Spartel.

442
00:42:59,067 --> 00:43:02,600
If it did exist traces of
it have not been found.

443
00:43:04,500 --> 00:43:09,500
NARRATOR: However, the
story of this submerged
island is not over yet.

444
00:43:09,533 --> 00:43:13,567
There may be no trace of
a city built out of stone.

445
00:43:13,600 --> 00:43:18,767
But evidence found on
land nearby suggests that
during the Stone Age,

446
00:43:18,800 --> 00:43:23,067
when sea levels were much
lower, people did live here

447
00:43:23,100 --> 00:43:26,067
and in many other
places just like it.

448
00:43:26,100 --> 00:43:30,600
And during this period,
our human ancestors make
some of the most important

449
00:43:30,633 --> 00:43:33,233
breakthroughs of all time.

450
00:43:33,633 --> 00:43:39,233
They learn how to farm,
keep domesticated animals,
use sophisticated tools,

451
00:43:39,267 --> 00:43:44,000
build wooden houses
and begin to trade.

452
00:43:44,267 --> 00:43:48,167
Then, the last Ice
Age comes to an end.

453
00:43:53,433 --> 00:43:59,600
Over the course of
15,000 years, sea
levels rise by 400 feet.

454
00:44:00,167 --> 00:44:03,200
And the territory of these
early people vanishes.

455
00:44:05,867 --> 00:44:10,200
Their tools, homes and
weapons are washed away.

456
00:44:11,167 --> 00:44:16,533
That elemental human story
may help explain the timeless
appeal of the Atlantis legend.

457
00:44:18,167 --> 00:44:22,433
PATRICK: There are many,
many stories out there in
the world that recall times

458
00:44:22,467 --> 00:44:26,567
when land that was once
inhabited was submerged.

459
00:44:26,600 --> 00:44:30,933
Did that information
inform Plato's fiction
about Atlantis?

460
00:44:32,067 --> 00:44:36,867
JON: I think there's no doubt,
that almost every culture
in the world has a flood myth,

461
00:44:36,900 --> 00:44:39,967
a deluge story, because
we developed, as a species,

462
00:44:40,000 --> 00:44:42,133
within this period
of rising sea level.

463
00:44:42,167 --> 00:44:46,800
So, that for me, is so
fundamental to understanding
ourselves as a species,

464
00:44:46,833 --> 00:44:48,300
that we should be
looking into this.

465
00:44:50,433 --> 00:44:54,333
NARRATOR: Plato's story of
Atlantis is about human folly

466
00:44:54,367 --> 00:44:58,000
and the destructive
power of nature.

467
00:44:59,500 --> 00:45:05,367
Today, the rising level
of the oceans threatens
all coastal communities.

468
00:45:07,033 --> 00:45:12,300
Great port cities like
Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City
and Dhaka are all at risk.

469
00:45:21,567 --> 00:45:26,967
And in North America there's
one of particular concern.

470
00:45:27,367 --> 00:45:29,767
New Orleans.

471
00:45:29,800 --> 00:45:34,333
Sitting on the banks of the
great Mississippi River,
the city's average height

472
00:45:34,367 --> 00:45:37,400
is six feet below sea level.

473
00:45:37,767 --> 00:45:40,867
This makes it highly
vulnerable to flooding.

474
00:45:42,267 --> 00:45:45,600
In 2005, disaster strikes.

475
00:45:47,533 --> 00:45:52,033
Hurricane Katrina
causes a massive storm
surge and the levees,

476
00:45:52,067 --> 00:45:55,133
designed to protect
the city, are breached.

477
00:45:56,833 --> 00:46:00,133
The resulting floods
are catastrophic.

478
00:46:00,500 --> 00:46:05,667
Nearly 2,000 people die and
many more are left homeless.

479
00:46:06,367 --> 00:46:09,633
And the situation in
New Orleans is getting
worse, because the

480
00:46:09,667 --> 00:46:12,733
city itself is sinking.

481
00:46:13,833 --> 00:46:17,967
Due in part to the removal of
groundwater, some districts of

482
00:46:18,000 --> 00:46:21,533
New Orleans are subsiding
by two inches a year.

483
00:46:22,267 --> 00:46:25,100
JIM: Given ongoing
sea level rise, which
is a scientific fact,

484
00:46:25,133 --> 00:46:28,833
the time will come when
some of our settlements in
our time are under water.

485
00:46:28,867 --> 00:46:32,833
Cities like New Orleans,
they all have suffered
incursions of water.

486
00:46:32,867 --> 00:46:36,467
And the time will come when
we will no longer be able
to battle that incursion.

487
00:46:40,333 --> 00:46:44,433
NARRATOR: By the turn of the
next century, New Orleans
could be uninhabitable.

488
00:46:49,467 --> 00:46:54,767
A mysterious underwater
city, studied by
maritime archaeologists.

489
00:46:57,800 --> 00:46:59,800
A modern-day Atlantis.

490
00:47:06,033 --> 00:47:07,033
Captioned by Cotter
Captioning Services.