10 Cities That Literally Sunk! - Mysteries of the Sunken Cities!

Hello Kids! Welcome back to KidsCast! We are here with an amazing, must-read article on the top 10 ancient cities that literally sunk into the ocean many years back! These cities have now been recovered whose architectures and art of city planning have left us spellbound. 

Before we start, we would like you to know how these cities sunk. So, these cities sunk due to severe natural calamities like Tsunamis, Earthquakes, and Floods. They were so severe, that the entire city sank underwater. Below given are some and the most famous of them. To know more about such calamities and disasters, check out our article on Natural Disasters. Click here to check out our article on: Natural Disasters!

10. Ancient Villages of Ontario, Canada

The villages of Ontario that sunk underwater date back to the 18th century. They were discovered underwater in 1959 after the completion of the St. Lawrence seaway in Canada. There was an unusual thing while building this seaway, so the divers went deep into the Great lakes of the Atlantic and found 10 villages underwater with old buildings, warships, boats, and others. Woodlands, Santa Cruz, Wales, Aultsville, Dickinson’s Landing, Maple Grove, Mille Roches, Moulinette, Farran’s Point, and Sheek’s Island were the names of the villages. 

9. Port Royal, Jamaica

In June 1692, it seemed like nature's wrath was on the town. An earthquake of 7.5 magnitudes shook the whole island and killed over 5,000 people. After the earthquake was over, a major tsunami and a landslide made things even worse. Port Royal sank quickly into the sea because it was built on loose sediments of silt rather than a foundation of hard rocks. In 1981, Texas A&M University found the ruins underwater. Port Royal was believed to be an extremely wealthy and flourishing port city in terms of trade and commerce in the entire Caribbean. 

8. Saeftinghe, Netherlands

A marshland in the early centuries, a saint with the help of his powers turned the land into a wealthy village with rich harvests. But the villagers could not enjoy their richness for long. There was frequent flooding in the village when the All Saint's flood in the 1570s sank the village underwater. It is still preserved and has been made a nature reserve where you can find varieties of birds!

7. Atlit Yam, Israel

 It was a village and is now one of the oldest sites that have sunk underwater. Historians and archaeologists believe that this village is from the period of the neolithic age. Archaeologists have found various remains of the underwater city like old buildings, burial goods, animal and plant remains, etc. Most people believe that the rising sea levels of that period were the cause of the sinking of this piece of land. 

6. Shicheng, China

It is a magnificent city underwater also called the lion city. It was one of the wealthiest cities in the whole of China in the 15th century. Its power and wealth are visible in the remains of the city with beautiful arches, walls, gates, and statues that depict Chinese mythology. Surprisingly, this city was not sunken until 1959 when the Chinese government started a major hydroelectricity project which sunk this city into water. But it is one of the most popular diving sites in the world, thanks to the Chinese government's the then decision!

5. Villa Epecuén, Argentina

The FIFA winner also has a sunken city named Villa Epecuén. It was supposed to be a tourist village, known by carbon dating. In Buenos Aires province, it was discovered underwater in the 1920s. This city then faced a crisis when there was a rare weather pattern. There was heavy rainfall which broke out in a nearby dam. There was a severe flood which achieved a water level of 10m. This made the village uninhabitable because it was sunk underwater!

4. Yonaguni Jima, Japan

Yonaguni, is an inhabited island of Japan, lying between the East China Sea and the Pacific Ocean.  Yonaguni Jima is a submerged stone structure lying below the waters. The beautiful ancient city is believed to have sunk due to a massive earthquake about 2,000 years ago. It was discovered in 1985. The biggest structure found is an 82-ft, monolithic, pyramid with steps.

3. Pavlopetri, Greece

The ancient city of Pavlopetri is located in the south of Greece and is believed to have sunk underwater around 2 thousand years back due to a massive earthquake. People believe that the city is about 5000 years old and is a well-planned city. The area of this city is about 0.08 sq km with well-designed roads, houses, gardens, temples, drainage systems, and monuments. An open square has also been discovered.

2. Heracleion, Egypt

Heracleion was built around the 8th century BC on the Nile River banks. It was named after Hercules who once visited it according to the legends. This city of Heracleion sank deep underwater. It was discovered by French archaeologist Franck Goddio which is 6.5 kilometers from Alexandria’s coast. Many things were recovered from the site, with 64 ships, 700 anchors, statues of Isis, and the remains of massive temples of the god Amun-Gereb.

1. Dwarka, India

This metropolis is believed to be built by Lord Krishna 5000 years ago. It is an important and sacred landmark in the historical relevance of Mahabharata. Many people still visit the temples here on the above coast. Its ruins are recently discovered in the Gulf of Khambhat. The researchers have used carbon-dating methods to determine that this ancient city is more than 9,000 years old, even older than Harappan and Mohenjodaro civilizations. Marine archaeological explorations to Dwarka have shown us the ancient art and science of sculpture and architecture which is quite even ahead of our times.

So Kids, finally we have come to the end of this long yet informative article. See you all in our next amazing articles! Till then, Happy Learning!