Cyprus-Forum.com

[Panos]

Cyprus is Atlantis, says American researcher
By Martyn Henry
AN AMERICAN researcher claims this week that Cyprus is the site of the lost island of Atlantis.
After nearly a decade of research, author Robert Sarmast claims that the fabled ancient island is located on the sea floor between Cyprus and Syria, and that the present Cyprus is merely what remains of the mountainous region of Atlantis.
He also believes that Atlantis - and therefore Cyprus - was the source of what the Bible calls the Garden of Eden
Now he wants to launch an expedition to explore the sea bed.
"It's one mile down, the Titanic was two miles down in cold water and that was done 20 years ago," he said this week from his office in Los Angeles.
He said that he believes he may find the remains of a city, "containing buildings, roads and tunnels."
He has kept his research secret over the last decade, with everyone involved having to sign secrecy pledges but now says that, despite not yet finding funds for an expedition "I can't just keep sitting on this discovery."

Bonanza
The discovery could mean a tourism bonanza for Cyprus once word gets out, says Sarmast.
He says the site he has been investigating matches Plato's account of Atlantis with astonishing accuracy. Plato based his description on an account by Solon, who is said to have got his information directly from the Egyptians.
His book, Discovery of Atlantis, The Startling Case For the Island of Cyprus, is published this week in the US.
Sarmast says his findings match almost every clue in Plato's description of the legendary city state.
It shows what he says is the location of the rectangular plain of Atlantis, as well as all the other key geographic features that Plato cites-including the precise location of its capital-Atlantis City.
The book goes on to provide a link between this data and the biblical legend of the Garden of Eden.
"Scholars in this field know that any credible claim to have located Atlantis must use Plato's famed account found in his Timaeus and Critias. these classic ancient dialogues remain the sole source for the Atlantis legend," he says.

Technology
The book utilises state-of-the-art oceanographic research and display technology to depict what he says is the actual underwater site of Atlantis. The maps show the Levantine basin and the Cyprus Arc in high-resolution detail for the first time.
The data was obtained in 1987 during a scientific survey of the north-eastern Mediterranean by a Russian survey vessel.
While matching all the clues of the physical site, Sarmast claims to achieve a match with nearly every other clue that Plato lists.
The nearly 50 matches he has made with Plato's clues extend from the philosopher's claim that elephants once lived on Atlantis, to the mineral composition of the island, to mythological figures associated with the legend.
Among his claims are that Sarmast lends new credibility to Plato's account of Atlantis. Crucial here is the recent scientific proof of a catastrophic flood of the entire Mediterranean basin due to the destruction of the Gibraltar 'dam' that closed off the Med from the Atlantic.
This accepted fact of natural history substantiates Plato's claim that an epochal flood "swallowed up" the mountainous island of Atlantis. It lends credence to Sarmast's contention that Plato's overall presentation is historically accurate.

AS IT WAS: Using a Russian survey, Sarmast has mapped the sea bed to ascertain the shape of Atlantis before much of it - exculding the present island of Cyprus - was engulfed by the waters of the Med.

CYPRUS THEORY: Sarmast's book, published this week.

http://www.cyprusweekly.com.cy/

[Noname75]

Interesting theory
I've heard at least 3-4 theories about Atlantis already.

I believe that 90% of the Atlantis story is a mith. Maybe there was a place like this that went underground after an earthquake, but it is way too exaggerated.

[Rikos]

Personal summation: don't waste your money. If you're interested in the bathymetric maps, go to the web site www.discoveryofatlantis.com.

I read this book 3 times. The last 2 times I took notes, marked the text, and compared with 3 translations of Plato's Timaeus and Critias. The supposed "scientific evidence," other than some aspects of the submarine plane off Kypros, just doesn't hold together. For that matter, the book is written in a style that wouldn't even spark the interest or imagination of a young boy who might like to dream about the glory of an ancient people.

The author purports to correlate 50 "key facts" between Plato and his bathymetric findings. Yes, some of them do fit quite well. Some don't, and he either disregards them or dismisses the difference as being a translation error or something. For example, the ditches surrounding the plane of Atlantis were said to be rectangular, covering 3000x2000 stadia. This is about 10 times the size of the submarine plane off Kypros. The author suggests this was an error of adding an extra 0 to the end of the real measurements, which would reflect the actual size of the plane.

This is an interesting point to dismiss. Shortly after Plato gives the lengths of the sides of this ditch, he also tells us that the total length is 10.000 stadia. So according to the author, Plato got every measurement right except the length of the sides of the ditch, and also implies that Plato could not add (since Plato himself provided the 4 sides and the total, which in fact do add-up correctly, I have to wonder who it is that cannot add). Furthermore, attributing the error to adding an extra 0 to the actual lengths is a relatively modern kind of error. I would give more credence to his claims had the "error" been a factor of 12 or 16, which were the predominant numeric counting bases in the Mediterranean at Plato's time. Assuming a base-10 error would have been more likely after the Roman conquests.

There are many other "facts" that the author ignores. To list but 2:

1. Whichever straights you choose (Gibralter or Istanbul), the account of Atlantis places it beyond. In fact, the Mediterranean is clearly described as being "only a bay" whereas the real sea was beyond the straights. In addition, Plato tells us that due to the sinking of the island, the sea in that area is unnavigable because of the muddy flats just below the water. Certainly Kypros is not beyond either straights, and its waters are quite navigable.

2. The author has presumed that the 3 circular rings of water around the city were interconnected with 4 lateral canals, thus forming something like a plus sign (+) superimposed over 3 concentric rings. The author, for some reason I cannot determine, goes to great (and boring) lengths to persuade me this was a universal symbol of the creation of Man, from Egyptian, Assyrian, and Babylonian origins. Well, perhaps it is, but that has little to do with the architecture of Atlantis City. Plato clearly tells us that there was a canal to connect the OUTER ring to the sea, and this was quite large. Plato also tells us that the outer and middle, as well as the middle and inner rings of water, were connected by a very narrow canal and they were located next to the bridge over each ring. The design, then, one of 3 concentric rings of water, with one and only one lateral canal connecting each. We are not even told if these 2 canals were in a straight line or not, just that there was 1 connecting each ring of water. The author seems to have gotten this "fact" from previous authors on the subject, which is pure speculation and cannot be deduced from Plato's account.

It is also disheartening to see the author "prove" his "facts" be comparing them to imaginative works of non-scientific people. For example, he likens some of his "facts" to be "proven" by science-fiction authors. Supposedly we are to say to ourselves, "Hey, if this fits with some day-dream of an author who wrote an entertainment story, then it MUST be true!" Another obvious example is his comparison of the 3D model of the Kypros submarine plane with a sketch by an earlier author of Atlantis theory. I'll give him credit in that the plane does resemble that sketch, but why THAT sketch? Why not all the other THOUSANDS of sketches that boys and dreamers have drawn over the centuries? To top it off, the sketch he compares the Kypros plane to is positioned in the ATLANTIC OCEAN, clearly showing the Gulf Stream and North America. So he accepts that artist's image as proof of what the Kypros plane should look like, but ignores the fact that the artist placed Atlantis in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

I would have been inclined to be more accepting of this material had the author just published about 20 pages of bathymetric models, known and established geologic history, and a public-domain translation of Plato's dialogs. Instead, whatever evidence may have been worth looking at, he destroys his credibility by comparing his "facts" with idle fantasies of individuals over the centuries. He tries too hard to establish his "facts" as truth, and in doing so, destroys the veracity of his bathymetric models.

Of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.

[eracles]

Hey, thanks for the detailed reply you gave this, I was interested in this and I think that was of course because I wanted to believe that Cyprus was Atlantis But I always thought if he was so sure Atlantis was there, surely he'd have been down there instead of writing a book about how he'd found Atlantis

[Noname75]

Thanks for the detailed review Riko!

As I said before I believe that most things about Atlantis are exaggerations. On the other hand I don't think this theory is worst than others. Plus is good for Cyprus tourism. So if I had to choose one of the theories I would choose this one

[spitfire]

Hey wats the latest on our atlantis discovery?

[Noname75]

I haven't heared anything, which means they didn't find anything yet. Actually I am not sure anybody is looking for it right now.

[PhanosP]

The excpetition is set for September. Lets wait and see.

[dj606]

Hi I thought you all might be interested in the latest expedition update of the Atlantis project of the coast of Cyprus.

http://www.discoveryofatlantis.com


Update
We have created new maps and models of the eastern Mediterranean seafloor using brand new data gathered last year, providing us with a close-up look at the target area (Acropolis Hill). These new 3D models show a three-kilometer-long wall running at the base of the hill (a mile under water!), as well as canals and ditches on and around the hill itself, fitting the description of Atlantis with uncanny precision. The scientists are stumped as the anomalies do not appear to be natural formations. These new images will be released only after the expedition sets out.

The terrorism in Russia has caused slight problems with the dates for the expedition and the September 20th date will probably have to be changed. Stay tuned for details...

Enjoy, It looks very interesting and exciting.]

dj

[dj606]

Scientists still have no explanation for the strange anomalies on the newly created maps and models of the purported Acropolis Hill area. "There must be something wrong with the data" has been the only basis for skepticism so far. Others, including a world renowned geophysicist and heretofore skeptic, have extensively studied the models and the data they were created from and have uniformly concluded that "it appears to be man-made."

Due to extensive problems with security issues in Russia and the Ukraine, the research vessel from the Black Sea has been rejected in light of a far more reliable and experienced team from the US. The vessel, sonar and ROV has been secured and the team is ready. The expedition will commence no later than October.