Sucked into the sea by earthquakes or intentionally flooded to create dams, ancient and contemporary cities lurk just beneath the surface in bodies of water all over the world. Some, like Alexandria in Egypt, represent some of the most significant archaeological findings in recent history; others are more mysterious in origin. The eerie remains of these 7 submerged cities will reveal their secrets only to those who can swim through their underwater streets in scuba suits.
1. Cleopatra’s Alexandria, Egypt
Images via: smithsonian, archdaily
The Alexandria of ancient Egyptian ruler Cleopatra was lost for 1,600 years, with tales of its existence seeming like no more than legends. But a team of marine archaeologists stumbled across the ruins off the shores of the modern-day Alexandria in 1998, unearthing vast monuments still standing after all this time. The city was likely taken by the sea as a result of earthquakes. Historians have found columns, sphinxes, statues, temples and the foundations of a palace that likely belonged to Cleopatra herself.
Alexandria is considered one of the richest archaeological sites in the world. In addition to these vast stone monuments, coins and everyday objects have been discovered, painting a picture of a city described more than 2,000 years ago by Greek geographers and historians. Recent dives have unearthed some of the major scenes from the lives of Cleopatra and Marc Antony as well as statues of the queen’s son and father.
2. Pavlopetri, Greece
Images via: university of nottingham
Believed to have been submerged off the coast of Greece by a series of earthquakes around 1,000 BCE, Pavlopetri is the oldest-known underwater archaeological town site in the world. Unlike other underwater ruins, which are incomplete or difficult to verify as actual man-made structures, Pavlopetri has a complete town plan, including streets, architecture and tombs. It consists of about 15 structures, submerged about 10-13 feet underwater.
Discovered in 1967, the site has been routinely explored by the University of Cambridge and the University of Nottingham, the latter of which has an on-going excavation project to find and date artefacts found on the ocean floor.
3. Port Royal, Jamaica
Images via: wikimedia commons, nautilarch.org
Tranquil tropical seas have silenced what was once “the most wicked and sinful city in the world,” according to those who travelled there during its heyday as pirates’ favourite party city. Port Royal, Jamaica was famous for its booze, its prostitutes and its raging all-night entertainment. As one of the largest European cities in the New World, it was also home to a number of very wealthy plantation owners. It was devastated by an estimated 7.5-magnitude earthquake in June of 1692, which sucked it into the ground on its unstable sand foundations and killed about 2,000 people. Its ruin was seen by the pious as retribution for all that had occurred there.
Forty feet of water now separate the remains of Port Royal from the surface of the sea; though it was still visible from above until the early 20th century, it has continued to sink and much of it is now covered with sand. It, too, has been an incredible site for archaeological exploration, revealing artefacts in near-perfect condition, like a pocket watch from 1686 stopped at 11:46.
4. Dwarka, Gulf of Cambay, India
Images via: city of dwaraka
Could the undeniably geometric ruins in India’s Gulf of Cambay be the lost city of Lord Krishna? Many Indians believe so, designating Dwarka as an important site for Hindu pilgrimage. The ruins are located just off the coast of modern-day Dwarka, one of the seven oldest cities in India. The ancient Dwarka was a planned city built on the banks of the Gomati river but was eventually deserted and submerged into the sea, as documented in texts like the Mahabharata and Purana, though some experts maintain that it was mythological.
As the story goes, Lord Krishna had a beautiful and prosperous city built, with 70,000 palaces made of gold, silver and other precious metals. It was his death that supposedly sent Dwarka sinking into the sea.
The ruins, discovered in 2000 and investigated with acoustic techniques, are known as the Gulf of Khambat Cultural Complex. They’re 131 feet beneath the surface. One of the artefacts dredged up by scientists was dated around 7500 BCE, which could support the theories that it is, in fact, the ancient Dwarka.
5. The Pyramids of Yonaguni-Jima, Japan
Images via: wikimedia commons, living moon
Experts can’t seem to agree whether the Yonaguni Monument, a strange geometric formation found off the Ryukyu Islands of Japan, is natural or man-made. But looking at photos of the terraced stone, cut into triangle shapes in some areas, it’s difficult to imagine how it could have been created by nature. The site is a popular diving location despite strong currents, especially because it tends to be a congregation point for hammerhead sharks.
Rising 250 feet from the sea floor, the Yonaguni Monument is not a series of stacked stones; rather, it’s a single construct connected to the underlying rock mass. Some divers believe they have found traces of drawings and other markings upon it. If this structure really is man-made, it would had to have been constructed during the last ice age, around 10,000 BCE, when the sea level was 130 feet lower than it is today. Geologists, however, argue that the geometric shapes could have been formed by fractures caused by earthquakes.
6. The Lost Villages of Ontario, Canada
Images via: lostvillages.ca
Though the ancient ruins tend to get more attention, they’re not the only vestiges of civilization to be found under bodies of water throughout the world. More recently, many towns have been submerged for the creation of artificial lakes or re-routing of rivers. Ten communities in the Canadian province of Ontario are now permanently submerged under the Saint Lawrence River, after the creation of the Saint Lawrence Seaway in 1958. These ‘Lost Villages of Ontario’ are likely still mostly intact underwater, and in some parts, sidewalks and building foundations can be seen.
Some components of the towns were salvaged before the submersion and are on display at a nearby museum, including tombstones from a cemetery - though the bodies are still in the ground where they were buried before the water was allowed to pour through the streets.
7. Lion City of Quiandao Lake, China
Images via: love these pics
China’s submerged Lion City may be the most spectacular underwater ruins of the world, at least until more of Alexandria is explored. It’s located about 85-131 feet beneath the surface of Thousand Island Lake (Qiandao Lake), in an area that was intentionally flooded in the 1950s to create a dam. Lion City (Shi Cheng) was built during the Eastern Han Dynasty (25-200 CE) and measures about 62 football fields in area. It’s unclear why the Chinese would have flooded such spectacular historical structures, which are covered in dramatic relief sculptures.
In 2001, divers discovered 265 arches in the nearly perfectly preserved ruins, which have since become a tourist attraction. A dive operator based in Shanghai offers weekend trips to explore the submerged city, and several concepts have been submitted to make it more accessible, including transparent floating tunnels.
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1. 12 of the World’s Most Mysterious Monuments and Ruins
2. 21 Unknown Wonders of the World
3. 10 Infamous Wonders of the World
4. World Wonders: 10 Lesser Known Jewels
5. 13 Intriguing Natural Wonders of the Middle East
6. 7 Feats of Underwater Engineering
7. 10 Architectural Wonders of the World
8. 11 Magnificent Wonders of the Ice World
9. Top 10 Unique Places Around the World
10. 10 Awesome Underwater Structures That Could Exist
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