Researchers think they might have unearthed the ‘origin’ of the legend of Atlantis

Researchers believe they may have discovered ‘the origin of the Atlantis legend’ off the coast of Lanzarote, Spain.

The Lost City of Atlantis is one of the oldest myths in the book. It all started when ancient Greek philosopher Plato (427 – 348 BC) believed there was a super advanced civilisation that existed around 9,000 years before his time.

He claims they had access to never-seen-before technology and were surrounded by state-of-the-art architecture.

Researchers think they have unearthed the ‘origin’ of the legend of Atlantis. (Ann Ronan Pictures/Print Collector/Getty Images)

They apparently lived on a huge island beyond the ‘Pillars of Hercules’, which is now known as Gibraltar.

Plato claimed that tragedy struck when the entire island got swallowed up by the sea in a single day.

At the time people thought the island plunged into the ocean due to its people being immoral.

Since then, no one has got to the bottom of the myth, partly because it could have just been made up.

However, researchers taking part in the IGME-CSIC’s Atlantis project in Spain reckon they’ve unearthed the legend, and now have more of an idea of how it all started.

With the help of an underwater robot submarine, they discovered a series of sunken islands off the east coast of Lanzarote.

Greek philosopher Plato (427 – 348 BC) believed there was a super advanced civilisation that existed around 9,000 years before his time. (Getty Images/iStockphoto)

After heading 2,500m deep into the sea, the robot took samples of the seabed of an island that supposedly sunk millions of years ago.

They have now called the land the ‘Los Atlantes’, referencing the ancient theory.

Marine geologist Luis Somoza, of the Geological Survey of Spain, told Live Science: “This could be the origin of the Atlantis legend.

“We have identified beaches, cliffs and sand dunes at the flat summit of the seamount.”

And in a translated statement, Somoza added: “They were islands in the past and they have sunk, they are still sinking, as the legend of Atlantis tells.”

The geologist said that once the surrounding volcanoes stopped erupting, the lava became more solidified and it caused the islands to sink into the ocean.

He explains that during the last ice age some 25,000 years ago, sea levels were much lower than they are today and inactive volcanoes would have become islands again.

“These islands could, then, be used for inhabiting wildlife,” he added.

The next step for the researchers is to further inspect the samples that were collected to determine when the islands started to sink.

While we will probably never know if the people living in Atlantis had flying cars, at least we might get to learn more about how the legend was originated.