Submerged cities are baffling to behold, calling to mind the romantic legends of lost Atlantis.
But the reality of these amazing archaeological sites is even more incredible than any fantasy.
We don't always know how or why these legendary historic sites vanished beneath the waves,
but we do know that these mysterious underwater cities are incredible.
Cleopatra's Palace
The Egyptian pharaoh, Cleopatra ruled the city of Alexandria for two decades from her
perch in the city's fabled island of Antirhodos, which vanished beneath the sea some 14 centuries
ago during a particularly vicious earthquake series.
In 1996, though, it was rediscovered by a dive team led by archaeological explorer Franck
Goddio, who unearthed vast amounts of ancient artifacts in the long-abandoned ruins.
The impact of the massive discovery is vast, as the site contains a literal treasure trove
of antiquities, many of which have not yet been brought to the surface.
Egypt hopes to capitalize on the international interest in the site by launching an underwater
museum wherein visitors could view its sunken city first-hand without disturbing their ancient
resting place.
Thonis-Heracleion
A few years after Goddio's discovery of Antirhodos, another lost Egyptian city was discovered
by Goddio and his team.
This time, it was Thonis-Heracleion, a city that was fabled by both the Greeks and ancient
Egyptians for its status as a grand port of trade between the Mediterranean and the Nile
River.
The city was home to the Temple of Amun and is thought to have been swallowed by the sea
in the 8th century A.D. due to natural disasters and left to live on in legends alone until
it was rediscovered in the year 2000.
Goddio spoke to The Telegraph about the artifacts his team found.
"It was the port of entry to Egypt, so all trade had to go through the city.
Furthermore, it possessed a temple where every pharaoh had to go in order to receive the
title of their power, as universal sovereign, from the supreme god Amun.
So it was very wealthy."
Pavlopetri
One of the world's oldest sunken cities is Pavlopetri, which lies beneath the Mediterranean
Sea near Laconia in Greece and is estimated to be about 5,000 years old.
The city was discovered in 1967 by Nicholas Fleming and, later, his team of archaeologists
from the University of Cambridge.
It is considered to be a hugely significant finding for researchers of the Stone and Bronze
Ages, as it is preserved almost exactly as it was the day it sunk beneath the waves five
millennia ago.
Dr. Jon Henderson, who used modern sonar technology to map the site, told the BBC,
"The site is unique in that we have almost the complete town plan, the main streets and
domestic buildings, courtyards, rock-cut tombs and what appear to be religious buildings,
clearly visible on the seabed."
Lion City
Commonly known as the Atlantis of the East, the city of Shi cheng was purposefully flooded
by the Chinese government in 1959, during construction of the Xin'an Dam.
It was mostly forgotten about until 2001, when officials funded an underwater exploration
of the site.
The city, which still boasts architecture from the Ming and Qing dynasties from over
600 years ago, is stunningly well-preserved by the very water which destroyed it.
So much so, in fact, that the forgotten drowned town has become a tourist haven for curious
divers interested in learning the secrets of this once-bustling political center, from
within its watery time capsule.
The Yonaguni Monument
Archaeologists can't quite seem to agree on whether the Yonaguni Monument is man-made,
or a coincidentally sophisticated construct of nature.
Discovered off the coast of Japan in 1987, it's believed by some to be the remnants of
a complex society that existed between five and ten thousand years ago.
Others, however, believe it to be a natural phenomenon, as the human communities known
to exist in the area at that point in history didn't have the technology to build such a
city.
For now, though, the truth remains a mystery.
Dwarka
In 2002, scientists found an ancient submerged city in India's Gulf of Cambay.
Divers later recovered human artifacts from the site, including beads and pottery, along
with human teeth that were reportedly carbon-dated to be up to 9,500 years old.
They had found the legendary city of Dwarka, which is considered sacred to several religions,
including Hinduism and Buddhism, as it was believed to have been occupied by the Hindu
god Krishna before it apparently sunk as a result of the last ice cap melt nearly 10,000
years ago.
The importance of the finding cannot be overstated, according to experts.
Per the BBC, one ancient civilization authority said that finding a sunken city of this scale
calls into question the long-lived archaeological holding that cities of this scale weren't
known to exist more than 4,500 years ago.
Baiae
The Roman city of Baiae was once a home away from home for some of Rome's most famous figures,
including Julius Caesar, the emperor Caligula, and the philosopher Marcus Cicero.
The once-vibrant city existed as something of an elitist pleasure resort of the Gulf
of Naples, which included baths and possibly even an ancient variation of a Las Vegas casino.
The city was mostly abandoned in the 8th century A.D., after raiders wrecked the city, and
later completely abandoned before volcanic activity sunk it.
However, the underwater city was rediscovered in the 1950s.
The city is now one of the world's only official underwater parks, and attracts divers who
can get up close and personal with an ancient sunken civilization.
Thanks for watching!
Click the Grunge icon to subscribe to our YouTube channel.
Plus check out all this cool stuff we know you'll love, too!