Lost city found off Indian coast

4/12/02 5:32:31 AM Pacific Daylight Time

11 April, 2002, 15:54 GMT 16:54 UK

Lost city found off Indian coast

An ancient underwater city has been discovered off the coast
of south-eastern India.

Divers from India and England made the discovery based on
the statements of local fishermen and the old Indian legend
of the Seven Pagodas.

The ruins, which are off the coast of Mahabalipuram, cover
many square miles and seem to prove that a major city once
stood there.

A further expedition to the region is now being arranged
which will take place at the beginning of 2003.

'International significance'

The discovery was made on 1 April by a joint team of divers
from the Indian National Institute of Oceanography and the
Scientific Exploration Society based in Dorset.

Expedition leader Monty Halls said: "Our divers were
presented with a series of structures that clearly showed
man-made attributes.

"The scale of the site appears to be extremely extensive,
with 50 dives conducted over a three-day period covering
only a small area of the overall ruin field.

"This is plainly a discovery of international significance
that demands further exploration and detailed
investigation."

During the expedition to the site, divers came across
structures believed to be man-made.

One of the buildings appears to be a place of worship,
although they could only view part of what is a huge area
suggesting a major city.

Jealous Gods

The myths of Mahabalipuram were first set down in writing by
British traveller J. Goldingham who visited the South Indian
coastal town in 1798, at which time it was known to sailors
as the Seven Pagodas.

The myths speak of six temples submerged beneath the waves
with the seventh temple still standing on the seashore.

The myths also state that a large city once stood here which
was so beautiful the gods became jealous and sent a flood
that swallowed it up entirely in a single day.

One of the expedition team, Graham Hancock, said: "I have
argued for many years that the world's flood myths deserve
to be taken seriously, a view that most Western academics
reject.

"But here in Mahabalipuram we have proved the myths right
and the academics wrong."

Scientists now want to explore the possibility that the city
was submerged following the last Ice Age.

If this proves correct, it would date the discovery at more
than 5,000 years old.

NOTES