Chapter 8. Atlantis: Fiction or Reality About beautiful country Atlantis and its amazing death were told to the world by the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. Plato heard this mysterious story from his uncle, a disciple of Socrates, who, in turn, learned it in childhood from his grandfather,

The stories of the mysterious disappearance of ships and aircraft in the Bermuda Triangle, supported by the legends of the sunken Atlantis, still excite the minds of many people today. The fate of our highly civilized predecessors, whose existence has not yet been proven, according to Charles Berlitz, was the reason for writing more than twenty-five thousand books and articles. Atlantologists to this day argue about whether Atlantis existed. Many of them believe that she was not in the Atlantic Ocean or even on Earth. Others rely on the meager information that has come down to us from time immemorial.

Most theories about the existence of Atlantis are based on biblical legends and the works of the ancient Greek philosopher Plato. In his dialogues “Timaeus” and “Critias”, he refers to the impressions of the Athenian legislator Solon, who visited the ancient Egyptian city of Sais. During a meeting with the Egyptian priests, he was shown the written monuments of Atlantis and told the story of its existence, which he later told to Plato's great-grandfather.

In Plato's Dialogues, it is said that “... in Atlantis there was a large and wonderful empire that ruled over almost the entire island and several others (islands in the Atlantic Ocean), as well as part of the continent. They owned riches that kings and lords never had before, and which they probably never will.

They lined their temples with silver, and the belvederes with gold ... The roofs were of ivory, decorated with gold, silver and origalcum (maybe a bronze alloy). Everything around was densely populated, the canals and the largest ports were full of ships and merchants sailing from all over the world ... In addition, there were many elephants on the island. "

According to Plato, the end of the beautiful empire came suddenly: "... After that, terrible earthquakes and floods appeared, in one - only day and night of rains ... the island of Atlantis disappeared and sank into the sea ..."

Where was Atlantis and when did it disappear? Plato writes: “… these days (9000 years before Plato), ie 11,500 years ago, ships sailed in the Atlantic Ocean because there was an island located opposite the strait, which you call the Pillars of Hercules. The island was larger than Libya (North Africa) and Asia (Asia Minor) combined, and served as a route to other islands, and from the islands it was possible to cross the entire opposite continent that surrounded the real ocean, since the sea between the Strait of Hercules ( Mediterranean Sea), - only a bay with a narrow passage, but the other is a real sea and the surrounding land can with confidence be called a continent ... ".

From the writings of Plato, it is not clear whether some of the inhabitants of Atlantis survived and what their further fate was. Does the disappearance of Atlantis have something in common with the global flood or, perhaps, the biblical legends about Noah's ark, the stories of the Mahabharata and the Babylonian legends - different versions of stories about the same cataclysm? And if we ask this question on the pages of our book, it is because modern interpreters of the problems of Atlantis associate the "mysterious" disappearance of ships and aircraft in the Bermuda Triangle with the return of the descendants of the mythical Atlanteans to their native places.

But let's go back to the geological history of our planet. Is it possible that the cases described by ancient legends, myths, biblical traditions and Plato were valid? Is it possible that an ancient continent existed in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean? These questions also affect the history of the formation of the oceans.

Modern geophysical research reveals significant differences in the structure of the earth's crust of continents and oceans. With the help of seismic methods, geophysicists have proved that the thickness of the continental type of the earth's crust is about 30-40 km under high mountain ranges... And the thickness of the oceanic crust is only 5-15 km. The border between the two types of the earth's crust runs around the 2000 m isobath, where some significant differences arise in their structure.

These data support the initial assumptions that the coastal areas of the sea were once vast plains. Sound location, a powerful means of measuring the depth of the sea, offers us an excellent opportunity to map the relief of the seabed. Such maps clearly show the mouths and canyons of ancient rivers that have sunk under the water, the coastline that existed tens of thousands of years ago, the former terraces, as well as other features of the modern coastal regions. With the help of such data, we can today reconstruct the position of the ocean surface over a period of tens of thousands of years.

Ocean level deviation from the current level in meters. On the abscissa - time in millennia. 1 - across Fairbridge - 1961; 2 - according to Carrey - 1968

It is generally accepted that in the last 12 thousand years, after the end of the Wurm Ice Age, the contours of the continents have not undergone significant changes. This means that a change in the ocean level can be a consequence of the natural internal oscillations of the ocean-atmosphere system. As a result of the warming that began 15 thousand years ago, the ocean level, which was then 110 m lower than the current one, began to rise at a rate of 2 cm per year. This increase continued until the period that existed 5–6 millennia ago, after which the rate of increase dropped to 1–2 mm per year.

These processes have apparently led to the flooding of vast coastal areas and many island systems. But is it possible to refer to them in the case of Atlantis? Obviously not, for Plato believes, and the same follows from other legends, that this happened suddenly, and the speed of climatic processes is extremely low. Then we will have to look for an explanation in the tectonic activity of the Earth.

Today there are two main theories about the formation of the ocean - the theory of neomobilism (global plate tectonics) and the theory of oceanization of the continental crust. The first theory is based on the hypothesis of the German geophysicist Alfred Wegener about continental drift. Wegener suggested that about 230 million years ago there was only one continent on Earth - Pangea and one ocean - Pantalas. The rotation of the Earth led to the fragmentation of the macrocontinent and the horizontal movement of the continents. As a result, the Atlantic and Indian Oceans were formed.

Supposed configurations of Pangea and Pantalas 200 million years ago.

The location of the continents by the end of the Triassic - 180 million years ago.

One of Wegener's strongest arguments in favor of his proposed mechanism for the formation of continents and oceans was the similarity of coastlines on opposite shores of the Atlantic and other oceans. His theory, however, experienced a crisis until the sixties of our century, when it was revived again, this time as a theory of neomobilism. The adherents of this theory argue that the Earth is covered with hard plates, moving under the influence of convective movements that occur at a depth of more than one hundred kilometers below the earth's surface. The boundaries between the two plates, according to this theory, coincide with seismically active zones, and not with the boundaries between continents and oceans, as Wegener argued.

According to the theory of neomobilism, by the end of the Triassic period (about 180 million years ago) the formation of the basins of the Atlantic and Indian oceans began. The Tethys Sea divided Pangea into two practical continents - Gondwana and Laurasia. In the same period, South America and Africa are separated, as well as Hindustan, which begins to rapidly move to the north. Today this is evidenced by the traces left by the drift of Hindustan at the bottom. Indian Ocean... Later, as a result of the movement of Africa counterclockwise, and Asia - in the opposite direction, the Tethys Sea disappeared.

Based on information about the geological evolution of the Earth, one can make assumptions about its future structure. Geologists suggest that the Atlantic Ocean will continue to expand, especially in its southern part, and the Pacific Ocean will shrink. Australia will move north and join the Eurasian Plate, while Asia and North America will join in the Aleutian Islands.

There is reason to believe that the Red Sea, one of the most active seismic zones, will continue to expand, Africa will shift to the north, and a future ocean will emerge in place of the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden. This is also evidenced by the data of geophysical measurements showing that today the African and Indian plates are moving away from each other at a speed of about 2 cm per year. In addition, the temperature and salinity in the deep-water areas of the Red Sea reach extraordinary values \u200b\u200b- 64.8 ° C and 313% o, that is, ten times higher than normal. This anomaly is explained by the rise of molten earth masses through cracks in the earth's crust.

But enough about the geological future of the Earth. Let's go back to her past again. Obviously, the theory of neomobilism does not allow to prove the existence of Atlantis, because the movement of the plates is extremely slow. It remains to turn to the theory of oceanization of the earth's crust.

The location of the continents by the end of the Cretaceous period - 65 million years ago.

In contrast to the theory of neomobilism, the theory of oceanization assumes that the oceans were formed due to the vertical movement of the earth's crust. The continents themselves are horizontally immobile, and the powerful continental crust may, under certain conditions, sink into the liquid asthenosphere. This is due to local overheating of the asthenosphere, a decrease in its density and an increase in its mobility. Moreover, after the subsidence of the continental crust, part of it melts in the asthenosphere and it becomes thinner, forming an oceanic type of the earth's crust.

And yet, when did the earth's crust sink? By answering this question, we can find a clue to the disappearance of Atlantis and many other above-water regions of the Earth. Today it is generally accepted that the formation of the oceans proceeded fairly quickly, and over large areas. But the last stage of the formation of the oceans lasted tens of millions of years in the last phase of the geological history of the Earth - in the Cenozoic era. And Plato wrote about a catastrophe that happened about 10 thousand years ago (?).

Today, many Atlantean experts believe that it was in the interior of the Atlantic Ocean, and some even argue that its location coincides with the so-called Bermuda Triangle. Let us then consider a part of the shelf strip in the Florida Peninsula and the Blake Terrace, located at a depth of 800-1000 m under water. The data of seismic studies and soundings carried out by the vessel "Glomar Challenger" confirm that the subsidence of the continental shelf began in the Cretaceous period about 100 million years ago and proceeded very slowly. Later, about 30-50 million years ago, the sinking rate began to increase.

All these are processes of the distant geological past. As for the "relatively recent" sinking of Atlantis, this could have happened as a result of a delayed stage in the process of ocean formation. And yet, if Atlantis existed, then it was a large island, not a continent. Today there is strong tectonic activity on the ocean floor. So, for example, it is assumed that the rupture of the transatlantic cable in 1898 occurred precisely as a result of underwater earthquakes. During its repair, rocks were extracted, the formation of which, according to some scientists, is possible only when it cools down on the surface of the earth. In this case, when then these rocks were above the sea surface.

The attention of atlantologists was also attracted by the results obtained when measuring the level of the ocean using artificial earth satellites. The first radar altimeter was installed aboard the American space laboratory Skylab. During the flight, more than one hundred and fifty series of measurements were carried out from an orbit of 440 km. The results were surprising. It turned out that in the Blake Plateau area there is a decrease in ocean level by almost 4 m, and over the Puerto Rican depression, the ocean level drops to 15 m. The width of the displacement in the Puerto Rico area is about 100 km. The most interesting, however, is that these measurements in the topography of the ocean surface are closely related to measurements of the bottom topography.

The surface of the ocean, although we used to think of it as horizontal, has its own topography. For example, the difference in sea level on both sides of the Gulf Stream is about 1 m per 100 km and persists throughout most of the North American coast. A direct consequence of this slope is the speed with which the stream moves ... A simple arithmetic calculation shows that a displacement of 15 m per 100 km will lead to the formation of currents that will be 15 times faster than the Gulf Stream! With a Gulf Stream speed of 1 m / s, this would mean that in the Puerto Rican anomaly, the current speed would be 15 m / s! But only the wind blows at this speed in the atmosphere, in the ocean it is ten times less.

The sea surface reaches its lowest point in the Puerto Rican depression.

Skylab trajectory projection on June 4, 1973 (a); ocean level measured with satellite altimeter (6); seabed relief under the satellite trajectory (c).

Soon after this discovery, some of the interpreters of the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle were inclined to explain the disappearance of ships by falling into "holes" in which the water rotates at a terrible speed and "sucks" them into the depths of the sea. This interpretation is completely inconsistent, since all these effects may not be associated with sea currents. According to many scientists, in areas with a sharp increase in ocean depth, significant amounts of compacted earth masses lie. As a result, the gravity in them is stronger, the water is compressed more, and therefore the sea level is lower. Calculations show that in the Puerto Rico area, the sea surface should not be horizontal at all. If it were horizontal, then in this case one would expect the appearance of giant whirlpools.

But let's, all the same, listen to the assumption of gravitational anomalies, say some modern researchers of the Bermuda Triangle. Then the conclusion involuntarily suggests itself that the Bermuda Triangle and Atlantis are two sides of the same problem. The ancient civilization, for reasons unknown to us, disappeared under water, and its "high-energy" sources led to this compaction, or they still function and are the cause of gravitational and electromagnetic phenomena in this area.

However, ocean surface anomalies are not an isolated phenomenon that is characteristic only of the Puerto Rican Basin. Altimetry measurements show that similar anomalies are also noted east of Brazil, in the southern parts of the Atlantic Ocean, which are associated with the underwater peaks existing in these areas. Moreover, a close connection between the underwater peaks and the position of the ocean level is also open over the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, the Cape Verde Islands and in a number of other places in the World Ocean.

At the end of July 1979, in the Soviet weekly Za Bogorodnom, the headline caught my eye: “ New expedition looking for traces of an ancient civilization in the Bermuda Triangle ”. The message was reprinted from Pöpl in Brussels. This information, among other things, said: “A joint Franco - Italian - American scientific expedition set off for the area of \u200b\u200bthe notorious Bermuda Triangle. The purpose of the new trip to this part of the World Ocean, which the rumor called the "Enchanted Sea", is an attempt to discover the remains of an ancient civilization that existed before the civilization of Maya and Ancient Egypt. "

It was also said here that some of the most popular researchers of the mysteries of the Bermuda Triangle took part in the expedition: the Americans Manson Valentine, a biologist, paleontologist and archaeologist from Miami, Charles Berlitz, one of the largest propagandists of sensations about the Bermuda Triangle and unidentified flying objects, French archaeologist Jacques Mayol other.

In his book "Without a trace" C. Berlitz placed an image of a pyramid allegedly discovered at the bottom of the ocean.

Jacques Maillol believes that this region of the Atlantic Ocean was once a landmass, sunk under water by the melting of glaciers. Flying on an airplane over the Bahamas Bank, Mayol saw "artificial changes in the topography" of the bottom, similar to those observed in Peru. Therefore, the main focus of the expedition will be on the search for artificial structures on the ocean floor.

Recently, there have been many reports about the walls of ancient buildings open on the ocean floor, former roads covered with huge stone blocks, and various other structures - “business human hands". Their origin and essence are still unclear, so most archaeologists have so far refrained from any conclusions.

In early 1977, the echo sounders of a fishing vessel recorded a pyramid-like unevenness at the bottom of the ocean, somewhat away from Bermuda. This was the reason for Charles Berlitz to organize a special expedition. In his bestselling book No Trace, he describes this pyramid, located at a depth of about 400 m below the surface of the ocean, claiming that the height of the pyramid is almost 150 m, the base is about 200 m, and the slope is the same as that of the Cheops pyramid. One of its sides is longer than the others, but Berlitz believes that this is a consequence of the uneven deposition of sedimentary material. If underwater research shows that the pyramid is built of stone blocks, this will dispel doubts about its geometric correctness. And from here, according to the author, a bridge will be thrown linking Ancient Egypt with the lands of maya ...

But so far all this is just one more guess ...

Pangea (gr.) - the whole Earth, Pantalas - the whole ocean.

An altimeter is a device for measuring altitude.

The mystery of Atlantis is described in many works, both adventure novels and serious scientific research. To date, scientists and enthusiastic researchers have put forward more than 1,700 hypotheses about the location of this mysterious continent and the reasons for its disappearance without a trace. However, not so and without a trace.

One of the most prominent scientists of Ancient Greece, Plato, in the works "Critias" and "Timaeus", mentions Atlantis, referring to data from the diaries of his great-grandfather, no less famous Athenian poet and statesman Solon. An Egyptian priest told him about the existence of a large Atlantean country, which had fought with the Greeks for another 9,000. According to this fragmentary information, the land of the Atlanteans was somewhere on the other side of the Pillars of Hercules. According to Plato, according to Solon, Atlantis was a large and rich country with large cities and a very developed economy at that time. Scenic country territory, covered with dense forests, was cut by numerous irrigation canals. Atlantis was a federation of ten kingdoms. The Atlanteans hoped to expand their territory and tried to enslave Athens and Egypt, however, in the fight against the Athenian army, they suffered a crushing defeat. According to the same data, as a result of a terrible earthquake within a day, the mighty Atlantis disappeared forever under water.

Scientists to this day have not come to a consensus regarding Plato's story about this mysterious country. Perhaps Atlantis was just a product of one of the ancient Greek legends? This assumption is supported by the fact that not all of Plato's stories were believed even by his contemporaries. According to these scientists, in such ancient times, 9000 years before the birth of Plato, such a highly developed culture could not exist. I could not, for the simple reason that the end of the ice age had just come. Many scientists agree that cavemen and highly developed Atlanteans could live at the same time. And can it be so that an entire country suddenly disappeared without a trace? Nevertheless, most scientists argue that Atlantis could well exist in reality, because the legends had to have at least some basis, and most of the myths reflected events that took place in reality.

After all, archaeologists have found the ruins of the once mythical ancient Troy, which was also considered a product of the imagination of blind Homer. And not so long ago, the fact was scientifically proven that the ancient Greeks could make rather long distant voyages on their ships, and, like Odysseus, reach the shores of Colchis, the country of the golden fleece. As for the enormous and destructive force of earthquakes, then, according to geologists, it is indeed capable of burying a huge territory in a short time.

However, if we assume that Atlantis really existed, another rather important question appears. Where should researchers go, where should they look for this mythical land? Scientists from different times and countries have never been able to come to a common opinion. Some of them believed that the mysterious Atlantis sank to the bottom of the central Atlantic Ocean - somewhere between two continents, Europe and North America. This statement is based on the words of Plato, who noted that the mysterious land was located in front of the strait, called the Pillars of Hercules (framed by the rocks of Abilik and Calpe), which was located near the Strait of Gibraltar. In addition, many of the same species of animals and plants live in these lands. In addition, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, located in the depths of the Atlantic Ocean, was recently discovered. The ridge adjoins a vast plateau with a number of ridges, the tops of which form the Azores.

It is likely that this area was once land and about 12 thousand years ago, during a geological catastrophe, sank to the ocean floor. This period just coincides with the supposed time of the existence of Atlantis. After that, the warm current of the Gulf Stream finally reached the shores of Northern Europe, and as a result of this, the Ice Age ended in our part of the world. This version of the warming in Europe was put forward by the Russian scientist N.F.Zhirov, as well as some other researchers. It is likely that Azores and the island of Madeira, and there are the very remnants of the lost mainland. According to some scientists, not all the inhabitants of Atlantis died during the collapse of their mainland - some survivors reached shores of Americawhile others made it to Europe. It was they who laid the foundation for the greatest civilizations of Mexico and Peru, as well as Egypt and Mesopotamia. This explains the striking similarities in their architecture, traditions and religions, all the more surprising because the countries were far from each other.

Indeed, the inhabitants of both shores of the Atlantic equally worshiped the Sun, and believed in the myth of the worldwide flood, which was widespread both in Mesopotamia and among the Indian tribes inhabiting South and North America. It is amazing that the language of the Basques living in the north of Spain in the Pyrenees mountains is absolutely different from other European languages, but at the same time it is very similar to the languages \u200b\u200bof some Indian tribes. And the ancient pyramids created by our ancestors in Mexico and Egypt have a lot in common.

In addition, in both countries there is a custom of mummification of the dead, moreover, the same objects are placed in their graves. But the main thing is that the places where the burials of the Maya tribes are located, archaeologists find jewelry made of green jade, the deposits of which are simply not in America. Maybe he got there from Atlantis?

According to the legend widespread among the Indians of Peru and Mexico, which tells of the white god Quetzacoatl, he arrived on the mainland on a sailing ship from the edge of the early sun - that is, from the east. God taught the Indian tribes construction and crafts, revealed laws and religion to them, and then mysteriously disappeared. The Peruvians, who did not know about the existence of the Aztecs, believed in the same legend, except with one amendment - their god was called Viracocha. Perhaps these people came from Atlantis? It is believed that their images are found on the walls of the cities of Chichen Itza and Tiguanacu.

Scientists refer to the evidence of the existence of Atlantis and the ruins of ancient Indian cities, the remains of which are located in the Peruvian Andes and the impenetrable jungle of the Yucatan Peninsula.

In the fall of 1970, while inspecting the coastal waters of the Bahamas in the Atlantic Ocean from a seaplane, D. Rebikov, a French archaeologist and aquanaut, noticed strange ruins of some buildings on the ocean floor near the island of North Bimini. Divers who descended under the water found giant walls more than a hundred meters long. They were built from giant blocks, each weighing about 25 tons. Who were they built by? Perhaps the Atlanteans? True, it was soon discovered that these "walls" arose as a result of cracking of coastal rocks, which went under water due to a gradual sinking to the bottom. Bahamas.

They are looking for Atlantis also in the Mediterranean. The most plausible is the opinion of the Russian scientist A.S. Norov, who considered the island of Crete and many small Greek islands to the north of it as the remains of a continent that has sunk into oblivion. The well-known Soviet geographer L. S. Berg agreed with this opinion. Today, the vast majority of scientists adhere to this theory. This version is supported by recent studies in this area and in the Atlantic Ocean.

When studying the area of \u200b\u200bthe alleged death of Atlantis at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, scientists have found that the average thickness of sedimentary rocks in this zone is about 4 meters. At the same time, at the current rate of accumulation of such rocks, which is 10-15 mm per thousand years, this will take at least 300 thousand years, and certainly not 12 thousand, as the supporters of the Atlantic origin of the mysterious Atlantis claim.

In addition, according to evidence oceanographic research Recently, the Mid-Atlantic Ridge is the result of a geological event, during which the continents of Africa and South America were "torn apart". Scientists separately noted the features of the coastline pattern: the western line of the African continent and the eastern line of the South American one.

Accordingly, for Atlantis to be located in the Atlantic Ocean, there is simply no place in it. But then what to do with Plato's message about where the disappeared country is located, supposedly located in front of the Pillars of Hercules, that is, the Strait of Gibraltar? Before Plato, the name "Pillars of Hercules" could mean a completely different place. What is it? The controversy of the researchers still continues.

Regarding the Mediterranean location of Atlantis, assumed by most scientists, they provide a number of sufficiently strong evidence.

For example, it was established that on the island of Thira (Santorini), located in the Aegean Sea, about 3.5 thousand years ago, a volcanic explosion of destructive power took place, similar to the one that was noted in 1883 on the island of Krakatoa in south-East Asia, among the islands of Indonesia. Apparently, this was the greatest geological disaster in the entire history of our planet.

In terms of its strength, the explosion of the Santorini volcano was equal to the explosion of about 200 thousand atomic bombs, identical to those that were once dropped on Hiroshima.

Scientist Garun Taziev calls the approximate date of the explosion - 1470 BC and claims that as a result, about 80 billion cubic meters rose into the air. m of crushed rock, and the waves that arose in the process reached 260 m. Danish scientists reasonably believe that the explosion took place in 1645 BC. e., - almost 150 years earlier.

It was at that time that the islands located in this part of the Aegean Sea were ruled by the Minoans, who achieved great success in science and craft. As a result of a powerful volcanic explosion, it was found that one of the developed cities on the island of Thira and the center of the Minoan civilization, located in Crete, Knosos, perished.

Most of the state's territory was absorbed by the Aegean Sea. Probably, it was this event, the echo of which reached Plato through the centuries, and was reflected in his story about the country of the Atlanteans. True, in Plato's interpretation, the dimensions of the sunken continent are much larger, and the time of the catastrophe has been shifted many thousands of years ago.

In other words, according to the opinion of fans of this hypothesis, in the descriptions of Plato it is just about the state of the Minoans. Indeed, according to his data, Atlantis was a developed maritime power, and the same could be said about the Minoan country, which had an impressive naval fleet. Plato said that fat herds of sacred bulls grazed on the island of the Atlanteans, of which there were a lot just among the Minoans, and even they were considered sacred. On seabed near Tire, a moat was discovered, similar to the one with which, according to Plato, the fortress in the capital of Atlantis was protected. Now the island of Tira is a fragment left after the explosion of a giant volcano. The ruins of the Minoan city, excavated in 1967, lay under a thick layer of volcanic ash and, like Pompeii, are perfectly preserved. Archaeologists have found many colored frescoes and even objects made of wood here.

In 1976, the famous French scientist and aquanaut Jacques Yves Cousteau at the bottom of the Aegean Sea near the island of Crete discovered the remains of an ancient minoan civilization... According to his calculations, it was destroyed during the devastating eruption of the Santorini volcano, which occurred in 1450 BC. e. Nevertheless, Cousteau always considered Atlantis to be a beautiful fairy tale of Plato.

The authority of Cousteau's opinion forced many scientists to "return" again to the hypothesis of the Atlantic Atlantis. The impetus for this decision was the discovery to the west of Gibraltar of a group of seamounts with table-like peaks located only 100-200 meters below sea level. Many scientists consider these mountains to be the remains of a vast archipelago that sank in ancient times.

The pictures taken by a researcher of the Institute of Oceanology of the Academy of Sciences of the USSR in 1973 became a sensation. At that time he took part in the expedition on the ship "Akademik Kurchatov". Taking a look at eight underwater photos taken by him, you can see the ruins of the fortress wall and other structures on top of one of the seamounts.

As a result, carried out in 1983-1984. Investigations, the scientists of the research vessels "Akademik Vernadsky" and "Vityaz" with the help of the underwater vehicles "Paysis" and "Argus", confirmed that Mount Amper is an extinct volcano that once sank to the ocean floor. Well, the notorious ruins are far from the creations of human hands, but ordinary natural formations.

This means that the unsuccessful search for Atlantis in the waters of the Atlantic Ocean only confirms the conclusions of scientists looking for traces of its stay in the Aegean Sea. True, some disagreements arose in their slender ranks. The reason for this in 1987 was the Russian scientist I. Mashnikov. He logically rethought the works of Plato and put forward a new hypothesis.

First of all, he disputes the time of the death of Atlantis, as well as some other data of Plato. For example, the number of land and sea forces of the Atlanteans. Judging by the words of Plato, the Atlanteans possessed a huge armada - 1200 ships, as well as an army, according to experts, more than a million soldiers. Accordingly, the army of the Greeks, which defeated the Atlanteans, should have been no less numerous. According to the completely logical reasoning of Mashnikov, in the ice age such a huge army simply had nowhere to come from, given that at that time the population of the entire planet was no more than 3-4 million people, while being at a rather low level of development.

Accordingly, we are most likely talking about a different, much later time. Mashnikov says that ancient people recorded nine thousand as ten thousand minus a thousand, and, accordingly, nine hundred as a thousand minus one hundred. In the system of numbering adopted in Egypt, a thousand was designated by the sign "M", and in the ancient Greek system, "M" meant ten thousand. Apparently, Solon simply rewrote Egyptian signs from ancient Egyptian documents, and Plato understood them in ancient Greek. Thus, 9000 appeared instead of 900 ".

Considering the fact that Solon was "visiting" in Egypt (560 BC) 900 years after the death of Atlantis, the approximate date of the catastrophe is 1460 BC. e. plus a possible error of 100-150 years.

Scientists, searching for Atlantis in the Atlantic, according to Mashnikov, took a false trail, because they did not doubt that the Plato's Pillars of Hercules, behind which this land was located, was the Strait of Gibraltar. But, under the Pillars of Hercules, apparently, they meant some other place. At the same time, Plato has direct indications that make it possible to determine the location of Atlantis. Plato says that on the Pillars of Hercules was laid sea \u200b\u200bborder between the country of Atlantis and the Athenian state. This means that these pillars could only be in the Aegean Sea. In another place in his story, Plato directly points out that Athens opposed the Atlantean state, which can be interpreted not only as a war, but also as a geographical one, that is, they were on the other side - on the peninsula of Asia Minor. At that time there was the land of the Hittites. In addition, according to the author, only here cities were built according to a circular plan, creating canals, as if outlined by a compass.

But Plato spoke of Atlantis as big islandthat sank to the bottom of the sea. It can be assumed that part of this state was really located on an island, though not as large as Plato claimed. Probably, it was this island, and not the whole country, perished as a result of a volcanic eruption or an earthquake, as a result of which only a chain of islands remained, which is now called Sporades. It turns out that Atlantis is actually Hettia or its insular part. In addition, Plato, when retelling Solon, argued that Atlantis was at war with Athens. And from the sources known, the fact that in the XIV century. BC e. Egypt waged war with Hitt, and after a while Athens entered the war, according to the historian Herodotus, inflicted a heavy defeat on the Hittites and captured 13 of their cities. Subsequently, the Hittite empire collapsed.

According to I. Mashnikov, the war between the Hittites and Athens is the key to solving another mystery. Obviously, "Atlanteans" is not a nationality, but a contemptuous name for an enslaved people. The sculpture of an enemy who became a slave and propped up the cornice was a symbol of the courage of the victors and the submission of the vanquished. The defeated Hittites were turned into slaves and became Atlanteans, their fallen state began to be called Atlantis. ”Perhaps this reasoning is not far from the truth.

An unusual version of the origin of Atlantis was put forward in 1992 by the German scientist Zangger. Some researchers consider his book on the secrets of Atlantis to be simply brilliant. According to Zangger, Plato's narrative is a distorted memory of the once fallen Troy. This antique city, which was located at the Dardanelles and was described by Homer in the XII century. BC e. as fallen under the onslaught of the Greeks, was considered a myth. But, in 1871, the ruins of Troy were found by the German scientist G. Schliemann. At the same time, Zangger provides quite a lot of weighty evidence of this hypothesis, especially if we take into account the coincidences in the descriptions of Homer and Plato of the area in which Troy was located.

But what about the fact that Plato is not talking about the plain, but about the large island of Zangger, he believes that Solon is to blame. When reading the hieroglyphic inscriptions on the pillar when visiting the main temple in the residence of the Egyptian pharaohs, located in Saisi, he made a mistake. Allegedly, these hieroglyphs denoted a sandy strip or coast. A serious mistake was also made in the designation of the place in which Atlantis was located on the other side of the Pillars of Hercules. It is possible that this name was borne by the Dardanelles.

According to the author of this version, another serious error crept into Plato's story, which consisted in the incorrect determination of the time of the catastrophe. Indeed, on the column of an Egyptian temple, a story is written that nine thousand years ago the Greeks overthrew a powerful power - Atlantis. This hypothesis also has weak side - discrepancies, which the author explains by the mistakes of ancient sages. In addition, the rationale for determining the date of the war is rather unconvincing.

In general, each of the hypotheses has a certain rational kernel, and which of them will turn out to be true in the end, only time will tell. Or a new hypothesis - after all, the riddle of Atlantis has not yet been solved.