Lost underwater 'city' discovered in India could rewrite the history of civilisation

[Judi Lynn]

Harriet Brewis
2h

The vestiges of what many believe to be a lost, ancient civilisation have been discovered off the coast of western India.

What has been described as a vast city, stretching more than five miles (8km) long and two miles (3km) wide, was discovered 36 metres (120 feet) underwater in the Gulf of Khambhat (previously known as the Gulf of Cambay).

The most exciting part of the discovery, which was made by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) back in December 2000, is that it could rewrite human history as we know it.

However, more than two decades since the landmark find, experts are still at loggerheads over the age and significance of the archaeological site, which has come to be known as the Gulf of Khambhat Cultural Complex (GKCC).

The city-like structures were uncovered by NIOT by chance as they performed routine pollution surveys in the region.

Using sonar technology, the team identified huge geometrical structures deep down on the seafloor.

. . .

- click for image -

https://tinyurl.com/2557tz4v

Sidescan sonar can produce incredibly high-resolution images of objects on the sea floor(lcocean)

More:
https://www.indy100.com/science-tech/lost-civilization-india-harappan

[Barry Markson]

1. Who would build a city 120 ft underwater?

How did they live there?
Doesn't make any sense.

[Bayard]

3. You're just joshing, right?

[JoseBalow]

5. Well played, good sir!

[twodogsbarking]

7. The House will investigate, led by MTG.

[RipVanWinkle]

9. Up until12,000 years ago, during the late Pleistocene, sea levels were lower.

Sea level fluctuated almost continuously between interglacial levels and levels during times of maximum glaciation, such as 18,000 years ago when sea level was more than 100 meters lower. Coastal environments during the Pleistocene were controlled in large part by the fluctuating level of the sea, as well as by local tectonic and environmental conditions. During the Pleistocene, sea levels dropped to levels at least 100 meters below modern sea level on at least four occasions during the last 600,000 years. These lowstands concur with glacial maxima, which demarcates the boundary between the Pleistocene and Holocene Epoch.

Summary of https://www.britannica.com/science/Pleistocene-Epoch/Fluvial-environments and https://serc.carleton.edu/integrate/teaching_materials/coastlines/student_materials/901

[Bayard]

2. Thanks, Judy Lynn!

[brewens]

4. 9500 years old. One of these days they may discover where the Sumerians came from. They seem to have moved into the

region that is southern Iraq now from elsewhere. Something like this could be under the Persian Gulf. it will be fascinating if they find any writing.

[soldierant]

6. Not in my lifetime - I'm 78 - but some day

that could be San Francisco. Or New Orleans. Or Mobile. Or New York.Or London. Or half of Florida.

Atlantis is looking less and less like a myth.

[LT Barclay]

10. I don't think Atlantis is a myth. I think it was based on the Minoan civilization that was at its height about 1600 BC

and was destroyed when a near-by volcano blew and set off a tidal wave that was estimated to have traveled at about 400 mph and was about 100 ft high (details aren't in this article and I'm going on what I remember).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Minoan_eruption#:~:text=The%20Minoan%20eruption%20was%20a%20catastrophic%20volcanic%20eruption,of%20Crete%20with%20subsequent%20earthquakes%20and%20paleotsunamis.%20

Often the tales from ancient times are not interpreted well. I read a book called "In Search of the Odysee" by Tim Severin. He believes the events in the story occurred entirely in the eastern Mediterranean (and he found many sites that match the descriptions in the story) but the timelines were all multiplied by 7. It may be the same type of misinterpretation that has placed "Atlantis" in the middle of the Atlantic.

[soldierant]

11. IIRC

that same eruption is thought to have created some Greek Islands, including Santorini
Yes, I have seen the Minoan theory, and it's certainly a possibility.

[Gore1FL]

8. My best guess is Bikini Bottom. nt

[Judi Lynn]

12. Earlier article: Discovery Of Submerged 'City' In India Could Revolutionize Civilization's History

Last edited Thu Apr 18, 2024, 07:59 AM - Edit history (1)

April 11, 2024

Archaeological findings off the coast of western India have unveiled what appears to be a sprawling underwater city, spanning over eight kilometers in length and three kilometers in width. Nestled 120 feet beneath the surface in the Gulf of Khambhat, these remnants could potentially reshape our understanding of ancient civilizations.

Unearthed by the National Institute of Ocean Technology (NIOT) during routine pollution surveys in December 2000, this submerged complex, now dubbed the Gulf of Khambhat Cultural Complex (GKCC), has stirred significant scholarly debate over its age and significance.



The Indus Valley civilisation flourished in the northern region of the Indian subcontinent between c.7000 and c.600 BCE.(Andrzej Nowojewski via World History Encyclopedia)

Utilizing sonar technology, the NIOT team stumbled upon vast geometrical structures on the ocean floor. Subsequent exploration yielded a trove of artifacts, including pottery, beads, sculptures, and even human remains, carbon-dated to nearly 9,500 years old, as reported by BBC News.



Sidescan sonar can produce incredibly high-resolution images of objects on the sea floor(lcocean)

Former Indian science and technology minister Murli Manohar Joshi, announcing the discovery in 2001, proposed that this ancient metropolis predates even the renowned Bronze Age Indus Valley civilization, positioning it as a potential cradle of human urbanization.

Badrinaryan Badrinaryan, the chief geologist of NIOT's scientific team, asserts in Archaeology Online that these findings challenge conventional timelines, suggesting a sophisticated prehistoric society submerged by rising sea levels at the close of the last Ice Age.

However, skepticism persists among experts. Iravatham Mahadevan, a leading authority on the Indus script, acknowledges the man-made structures but raises doubts about some artifacts potentially washed in from elsewhere. Similarly, questions arise regarding the reliability of carbon dating methods and the stability of the underwater site's context, as noted by Akso Parpola of the University of Helsinki.

More:
https://www.thearchaeologist.org/blog/discovery-of-submerged-city-in-india-could-revolutionize-civilizations-history