The legendary island nation Atlantis, the existence of which has sparked debate for thousands of years, was actually Ireland, according to a new theory by a Swedish scientist.
Atlantis, the Greek philosopher Plato wrote in 360BC, was an island in the Atlantic Ocean where an advanced civilisation developed about 11,500 years ago until it was hit by a natural disaster and sank beneath the waves.
Geographer Ulf Erlingsson, whose book explaining his theory will be published next month, said the measurements, geography and landscape of Atlantis as described by Plato match Ireland almost exactly.
"I am amazed no one has come up with this before; it's incredible," he said. "Just like Atlantis, Ireland is 300 miles (480 kilometres) long, 200 miles wide, and widest across the middle. They both have a central plain surrounded by mountains.
"I've looked at geographical data from the rest of the world and of the 50 largest islands there is only one that has a plain in the middle - Ireland."
Dr Erlingsson believes the idea that Atlantis sank came from the fate of Dogger Bank, an isolated shoal in the North Sea about 100 kilometres off the north-eastern coast of England, which sank after being hit by a huge floodwave around 6100BC.
Dr Erlingsson's book, Atlantis from a Geographer's Perspective: Mapping the Fairy Land, calculates the probability Plato would have had access to geographical data about Ireland as 99.98 per cent. Other Atlantis theories suggest it may have been around the Azores islands or in the Aegean Sea. Others locate it solely in the brain of Plato.
Ireland may be lost city of Atlantis - Science - www.theage.com.au
Atlantis, the Greek philosopher Plato wrote in 360BC, was an island in the Atlantic Ocean where an advanced civilisation developed about 11,500 years ago until it was hit by a natural disaster and sank beneath the waves.
Geographer Ulf Erlingsson, whose book explaining his theory will be published next month, said the measurements, geography and landscape of Atlantis as described by Plato match Ireland almost exactly.
"I am amazed no one has come up with this before; it's incredible," he said. "Just like Atlantis, Ireland is 300 miles (480 kilometres) long, 200 miles wide, and widest across the middle. They both have a central plain surrounded by mountains.
"I've looked at geographical data from the rest of the world and of the 50 largest islands there is only one that has a plain in the middle - Ireland."
Dr Erlingsson believes the idea that Atlantis sank came from the fate of Dogger Bank, an isolated shoal in the North Sea about 100 kilometres off the north-eastern coast of England, which sank after being hit by a huge floodwave around 6100BC.
Dr Erlingsson's book, Atlantis from a Geographer's Perspective: Mapping the Fairy Land, calculates the probability Plato would have had access to geographical data about Ireland as 99.98 per cent. Other Atlantis theories suggest it may have been around the Azores islands or in the Aegean Sea. Others locate it solely in the brain of Plato.
Ireland may be lost city of Atlantis - Science - www.theage.com.au
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