Yonaguni is an underwater city. Japan

Ancient quadrangular pyramids of various sizes are found not only in Egypt or South America; they are also known in Burma, China and Korea. But probably the most interesting discovery of this kind should be considered a pyramid and an amazing temple complex discovered on the seabed off the small island of Yonaguni in the westernmost part of the Japanese archipelago.

The complex was accidentally discovered in the spring of 1985 by local diving instructor Kihachiro Aratake. Not far from the shore, literally under the surface of the waves, he saw a huge stone monument that extended to the limits of visibility. Wide, level platforms, covered with patterns of rectangles and diamonds, turned into intricate terraces running down large steps. The edge of the object breaks vertically down the wall to the very bottom to a depth of 27 meters, forming one of the walls of the trench running along the entire monument.

The elements of the structure seemed to have a very definite architectural scheme, somewhat reminiscent of the stepped pyramids of Ancient Sumer.

Even if this turned out to be just a trick of nature, Arataka would already be lucky - he found an object worthy of surprise even the most picky tourist. But the abundance of regular geometric shapes made us think about the possibility of their man-made nature, and Aratake decided to report his discovery to specialists. Japanese newspapers were full of sensational headlines.

Artifacts of Yonaguni

Alas... The scientific community almost completely ignored these messages. The main reason for this is quite simple: according to the roughest estimates, this complex could have risen above the surface of the water at least 10 thousand years ago, when the water level in the World Ocean was 40 meters lower than today. Approximately the same antiquity is evidenced by the dating of the remains of vegetation found nearby, characteristic of dry soil, and not the seabed. Historians have no information about the culture that could create such a structure here. Therefore, they preferred to declare the hypothesis of the artificial origin of the underwater monument of Yonaguni a simple speculation and attribute everything to a bizarre game of nature. And quite quickly, discussion of the find became the property of only esoteric publications, ignored by official science.

Only Masaaki Kimura, a professor at the University of the Ryukyu, took the discovery seriously. And in this, the Monument was very lucky, since Kimura is a recognized specialist in the field of marine geology and seismology. He has been studying the underwater surroundings of Yonaguni for more than 10 years, during which time he has completed more than a hundred dives and become the main expert on the object. As a result of his research, Professor Kimura decided to go against the vast majority of historians and risk his reputation by defending the artificial origin of the Monument.

But, as often happens in such cases, his opinion for a long time remained a voice crying in the wilderness...

It is unknown how long the “conspiracy of silence” around the Aratake find would have lasted if Graham Hancock, a staunch supporter of the hypothesis of the existence of a highly developed civilization in ancient times and the author of a number of books on this topic, had not learned about it.

In September 1997, he arrived in Yonaguni with a film crew. He managed to interest and attract to the trip Robert Schoch, a professor at Boston University, a geologist, known primarily for his conclusion that the real age of the famous Egyptian Sphinx is much greater than official Egyptology believes. And Hancock hoped that Schoch would use his authority to confirm the artificial nature of Aratake’s find. But it was not there...

On his first trip in 1997, Schoch did not find clear evidence of the man-made nature of the object. Quite the contrary...

The fact is that the Monument consists of sandstone and sedimentary rocks, outcrops of which are still visible on the coast of the island. Under the influence of sea waves, rain and winds, they are destroyed in such a way that forms like steps and terraces appear. Nature is not capable of such “whims,” but here, in addition, the very structure of the deposits leads to the appearance of almost perfectly straight cracks. Moreover, at angles of 90 and 60 degrees to each other, which contributes to the formation of strict geometric shapes: rectangular steps, triangles and rhombuses..

Nature of Yonaguni - island, Nature Yonaguni - monument

Everything seems to indicate that the Monument is of natural origin.

This was Schoch’s first conclusion, although he took into account that in several dives it is impossible to observe absolutely everything and it is quite possible to miss some important details. Therefore, Shoch decided to meet with Kimura.

The arguments of Kimura, who was more familiar with the details of the object, greatly undermined Shocha's opinion. Moreover, the arguments were supported by photographs of details that Shoch simply did not see during his dives.

Despite all the similarities between the rocks on the island and the Monument, there are very strong differences between them. In a limited area of ​​the Monument, elements of completely different types appear very close to each other. For example: a face with sharp edges, round holes, a stepped descent, a perfectly straight narrow trench. If the reason was only natural erosion, then it would be logical to expect the same shapes throughout the entire piece of rock. The fact that such different elements are found side by side is a strong argument in favor of their artificial origin.

Yonaguni - can nature do this?

Moreover, very close by, literally a few tens of meters away on the same rock made of the same rock, there is a completely different landscape. There is no doubt that it was created by nature. But even with the naked eye one can see its sharp difference from the processed part of the rock.

The next argument: blocks separated from the rock do not lie where they should fall under the influence of gravity. Instead, they either end up clustered in one place or are missing altogether. Like on the “ring road”, where the debris is 6 meters or more away from the foot of the Monument. If the object was created by erosion, then there would be a lot of debris on the bottom next to it, like on the modern shores of the island. But this is not here...

Yonaguni Ring Road

And finally, on the Monument there are quite deep symmetrical trenches and other elements, the formation of which cannot be explained at all by known natural processes.

“After meeting with Professor Kimura,” Schoch later wrote, “I cannot completely exclude the possibility that the Yonaguni monument was at least partially processed and modified by human hands. Professor Kimura pointed out a number of important elements that I did not see at the time my first, short visit..."

Upper terrace of the Yonaguni Monument

The meeting of two professional geologists was literally of epoch-making significance for the Yonaguni monument. If earlier Shoch adhered to the version of the natural nature of the object, then Kimura insisted on its completely artificial origin. As a result of taking into account all the available facts, both experts agreed on a kind of “compromise”, both of them abandoning extreme points of view. They came to the conclusion that the Monument belongs to the so-called “terra-formations”, that is, the original natural “blank” was later changed and modified by human hands. Such "terra-formations" are not something completely unusual, but were quite common in the ancient world...

Materials from the 1997 expedition were included in the documentary "Search for the Lost Civilization", shown on British television and accompanying the release of Hancock's next book, "Mirror of Heaven". The film and book received wide response. The information blockade around the Yonaguni megalith was broken, and the scientific community was forced to respond.

13 years after the opening of the Monument, in July 1998, a decision was finally made on its interdisciplinary scientific research. Led by diver and certified archaeologist Michael Arbuthnot, a team of specialists tried to uncover the mystery of the object. The group included geologists, underwater archaeologists, experienced divers, and even anthropologists and linguists. Shoch was also invited to join the expedition, who had the opportunity to satisfy his desire to re-inspect the Monument and be convinced of the fruitfulness of his “compromise” approach with Kimura.

The group spent 3 weeks diving and exploring. And, perhaps, the opinion of its leader speaks very eloquently about the results of the expedition.

At first, Arbuthnot was skeptical of Kimura's theory about the artificiality of the Monument, but during the course of research he was forced to abandon his skepticism.

“I was convinced that the Yonaguni object was processed by human hands,” he concluded. “We examined the natural geology around the find, but there are no such uniform external forms, and therefore the likelihood of human processing of the monument is very high. There are also many details that exclude the version of the formation of the object naturally."

A kind of intermediate result of the research that continued after the expedition was Kimura’s report at a conference in Japan in 2001. The general conclusion that the Yonaguni megalith is a trace of an ancient civilization has received the support of most Japanese scientists.

It would seem that the question about the nature of the Monument is closed. However, the scientific community is very inert, and even conservative in matters of ancient history. And despite the conclusions of the conference, despite the numerous eyewitness accounts, including geologists, writers, journalists and simply amateur divers, the fact of the artificiality of the Yonaguni Monument is still either simply ignored or tried to be refuted in the world scientific literature. And as often happens, the most active “refutators” themselves have never seen it with their own eyes...

It was found in 1985 in the Pacific Ocean. It was the sunken underwater city of Yonaguni Island, presumably caused by the constant tsunamis that Japan experiences. There is also a hypothesis about the extraterrestrial origin of the underwater ruins.

The find was discovered by a scuba diver who accidentally dived to a six-meter depth near the archipelago. As it turned out later, the giant stone blocks with smooth rectangular edges he found were nothing more than the underwater city of Yonaguni; Japan immediately published information in newspapers about the great discovery - the pyramids located on the ocean floor.

The huge ruins were located on an area of ​​45,000 square meters. m. The height of the largest pyramid-shaped building was 25 m. Scientists are still arguing about the origin of the unusual city: some believe that the pyramids are of natural origin, others are sure that the underwater buildings were once inhabited by an ancient civilization that sank more than 5,000 years ago . Professor Kimura spent several years creating an accurate picture of the flooding until he found similarities with archaeological artifacts found on land. He also explained that the strong current in the place where the Yonaguni pyramids are located prevented the structures from becoming overgrown with marine organisms and helped preserve the original appearance of the buildings.

Pyramids of Yonaguni: what do they look like?

Anyone can see the underwater beauty. The city welcomes its guests with a special design - arched gates located between huge boulders.

Next is a huge monument, decorated with triangular structures, in front of which one can see a terrace with hollowed-out steps. Around them you can see a road cleared of stones and boulders. Nature is unable to create such an unusual and at the same time strict architecture. What kind of great building this is, we have not yet been able to finally find out.

Japanese pyramids

Underwater structures are located at a depth of 30 meters. They are a kind of fence in the form of pyramids with sharp, even edges. On their walls one can see round holes 1.5 - 2 m deep, traces of carving and welding work. Some of the pyramids are made of rock, others of limestone. The process of constructing the giants remains a mystery, as does the origin of the pyramids in Egypt.

Scientists claim that limestone is a rock not found in these places, therefore, the material was brought from another place. This fact gives every right to assert that the monument and pyramids were created by man.

Evidence of the man-made origin of buildings

Mysterious underwater structures are strikingly reminiscent of stairs, houses, roads, pools and temples. Numerous research expeditions have found much evidence that the underwater city of Yonaguni was built by human hands:

1. At a depth of 15 m, Professor Kimura discovered Tostone sculpture with a headdress and long arms like the Egyptian Sphinx. The scientist suggested that the figure depicts the king of Okinawa.
2. Engraved hieroglyphs were found on the rocks of the platform, images of animals and tables with symbols . Presumably, these are ancient writings that have not yet been deciphered.
3. Many sunken structures are very similar to historical buildings found on land . They have the same semicircular terraces and vaults, reminiscent of the entrance to Nakagusuku Castle, which belonged to the ancient emperor in Okinawa.
4. Stone roads have clear, even branches , which can be turned out with water.

Scientists' assumptions about the appearance of underwater structures

The debate about the appearance of the city is still not over. There are the following opinions about its origin:

1. Japanese scientist Kimura believes that the age of the city is 5000 years . As a result of a powerful earthquake and tsunami that occurred approximately 2,000 years ago, the buildings were flooded with water. Indeed, the settlement is located in a place of increased seismic activity.
2. Boston professor Robert Schoch suggested that the city appeared naturally about 10,000 years ago . Titanic activity caused the cracking of huge blocks of sandstone. This explains the smooth edges of the slabs. The holes in them are nothing more than natural erosion.
3. Some scientists believe that the remains of the city belong to ancient civilization , who inhabited these regions not thousands, but millions of years ago . There were no Japanese islands then, and the sunken city was part of the mainland. However, at this time, technology had not yet been developed by people to such an extent that they could build structures from stone.

After a meeting between two scientists, another assumption emerged: the monument and pyramids were formed naturally, and were subsequently processed by human hands. As proof, Kimura showed the Boston professor the smooth edges of the steps and perfectly processed trenches around the pyramids, since at the first inspection Schoch simply did not pay attention to them.

Both versions have not yet been 100% confirmed, and the Japanese authorities are in no hurry to include the underwater city in the list of historical heritage sites.

Yonaguni today

Yonaguni Island is located 100 km from Taiwan. This is a small island with an area of ​​30 square meters. km. with a population of about 2000 people. It can only be reached by air. The island has been a favorite destination for divers for many years. The clearest water, bright colors on the pedestals and the mystery found at the bottom attracts scuba diving enthusiasts from all over the world, despite the strong currents in this part of the ocean.

XX century. It became the underwater city of Fr. Yonaguni, Japan often calls its archaeological find "Japanese Atlantis."

The mystery of the underwater city off Yonaguni Island. The history of outstanding archaeological finds takes different forms. Sometimes experts spend decades searching for some treasure or civilization that disappeared from the face of the earth several thousand years ago. And other times, a lucky diver just needs to go underwater with scuba gear and - here you go - the remains of an ancient city appear before his eyes.

This is exactly what happened in the spring of 1985, when scuba diving instructor Kihachiro Aratake dived in the coastal waters off the small Japanese island of Yonaguni. Not far from the shore at a depth of 15 meters, he noticed a huge stone plateau. Wide, level platforms, covered with patterns of rectangles and diamonds, turned into intricate terraces running down large steps. The edge of the object ended vertically down the wall to the very bottom to a depth of 27 meters. The diver reported his discovery to Professor Masaaki Kimura, a specialist in marine geology and seismology at the University of the Ryukyu. The professor was interested in the find, but most of his colleagues were skeptical about it. Kimura put on a wetsuit, plunged into the sea and personally examined the object. Since then, he has made more than a hundred dives and has become the primary expert on the site.

Soon the professor held a press conference, at which the reporter authoritatively declared: an ancient city unknown to science had been found. Kimura presented photographs of the find, diagrams, and drawings to the attention of the general public. The scientist understood: he was going against the overwhelming majority of historians and risking his own reputation by defending the artificial origin of underwater structures. According to him, this is a huge complex of buildings, which includes castles, monuments and even a stadium, connected by a complex system of roads and waterways. The massive stone blocks, he argued, were part of a huge man-made complex carved directly into the rock. Kimura also found numerous tunnels, wells, stairs, terraces and even one pool.

Since then, scientific passions have not subsided around the underwater city off the coast of Yonaguni. On the one hand, these ruins are very reminiscent of megalithic structures in other parts of the planet, ranging from Stonehenge in England and the Cyclopean structures remaining in Greece after the collapse of the Minoan civilization, and ending with the pyramids of Egypt, Mexico and the temple complex of Machu Picchu in the Peruvian Andes. It is related to the latter by both a characteristic terraced landscape and a mysterious sculpture resembling a human head in a feather headdress, similar to those worn by the inhabitants of pre-Columbian America. Even the technological features of the structures of the underwater complex are similar to the design solutions that the ancient Incas used to build their cities. This is quite consistent with today's ideas that the ancient population of the New World, which gave rise to the highly developed cultures of the Mayans, Incas and Aztecs, came from Asia. But why do scientists argue so fiercely about the Yonaguni complex and there is no end in sight to the discussions? The whole problem is in the estimated date of construction of the mysterious city.

It does not fit into modern historical theories in any way. Research has shown that the rock in which it was carved went under water no later than 10,000 years ago, that is, much earlier than the construction of the Egyptian pyramids and Cyclopean structures of the Minoan era, not to mention the monuments of the ancient Indians. According to modern ideas, in that distant era people huddled in caves and only knew how to collect edible roots and hunt wild animals. And the hypothetical creators of the Yonaguni complex at that time could already process stone, owned the appropriate set of tools, knew geometry, and this runs counter to ideas of adherents of traditional historical science. Indeed, it somehow boggles the mind that the same Egyptians reached a comparable technological level only 5,000 years later! If we accept as truth the arguments of supporters of Professor Kimura’s version, then we will have to greatly rewrite history.

Therefore, until now, most representatives of academic science prefer to explain the incredible relief of the underwater rock off the coast of Yonaguni by the whim of natural elements. According to skeptics, the bizarre rock landscape is due to the physical characteristics of the rock that makes up the rock formation. This is a type of sandstone that tends to crack along planes, which may well explain the terraced arrangement of the complex and the geometric shapes of the massive stone blocks. But the trouble is that the numerous regular circles found there, as well as the symmetry characteristic of the stone blocks, cannot be explained by this property of sandstone, as well as the strange binding of all these forms to one place. Skeptics have no answers to these questions, and therefore the mysterious underwater city off the coast of the Japanese island of Yonaguni has long become a stumbling block for historians and archaeologists. The only thing that both supporters and opponents of the artificial origin of the rock complex agree on is that it ended up under water as a result of some monstrous natural disaster, of which there were many in the history of the Japanese Islands.

The world's largest tsunami hit Yonaguni Island on April 24, 1771. The waves reached a height of more than 40 meters. Then the disaster killed 13,486 people and destroyed 3,237 houses. The tsunami is considered one of the worst natural disasters to hit Japan. Perhaps a similar catastrophe destroyed the ancient civilization that built the city off the island of Yonaguni. Professor Kimura presented his computer model of underwater ruins at a scientific conference in Japan in 2007. According to his assumptions, there are ten underwater structures near Yonaguni Island, and another five similar structures are located off the main island of Okinawa. The massive ruins cover an area of ​​more than 45,000 square meters. Kimura believes the ruins are at least 5,000 years old. His calculations are based on the age of stalactites found in underwater caves, which Kimura believes sank with the city. Stalactites and stalagmites form only above water through an extremely slow process. Underwater stalactite caves found around Okinawa indicate that much of the area was once on land. “The largest structure looks like a complex stepped monolithic pyramid rising from a depth of 25 meters,” Kimura said in an interview. Over the years, he created a detailed picture of these ancient ruins until he discovered similarities between the underwater structures and those found in archaeological sites on land.

The history of outstanding archaeological finds takes different forms. Sometimes experts spend decades searching for some treasure or civilization that disappeared from the face of the earth several thousand years ago. And other times, a lucky diver just needs to go underwater with scuba gear and - here you go - the remains of an ancient city appear before his eyes. This is exactly what happened in the spring of 1985, when scuba diving instructor Kihachiro Aratake dived in the coastal waters off the small Japanese island of Yonaguni.

Yonaguni complex - mysterious underwater ruins near Okinawa April 11th, 2013

The Okinawa archipelago stretches with a scattering of small islands hundreds of kilometers south from Japan, all the way to the island of Taiwan. 100 km east of the island of Taiwan is the last islet of the Okinawa archipelago - the Japanese islet of Yonaguni, which is popular among diving enthusiasts.

In the spring of 1985, in the coastal waters of the small Japanese island of Yonaguni, local diving instructor Kihachiro Aratake accidentally stumbled upon a strange object. Not far from the shore, literally under the surface of the waves, he saw a huge stone monument that extended to the limits of visibility. Wide, level platforms, covered with patterns of rectangles and diamonds, turned into intricate terraces running down large steps. The edge of the object breaks vertically down the wall to the very bottom to a depth of 27 meters, forming one of the walls of the trench running along the entire Monument.

Even if this turned out to be just a trick of nature, Arataka would have been lucky - he had found an object worthy of surprise even the most picky tourist. But the abundance of regular geometric shapes made us think about the possibility of their man-made nature, and Aratake decided to report his discovery to specialists. Japanese newspapers were full of sensational headlines.

Alas... The scientific community almost completely ignored these messages. Historians have no information about the culture that could create such a structure here. Therefore, they preferred to declare the hypothesis of the artificial origin of the underwater monument of Yonaguni a simple speculation and attribute everything to a bizarre game of nature. And quite quickly, discussion of the find became the property of only esoteric publications, ignored by official science.

Only Masaaki Kimura, a professor at the University of the Ryukyu, took the discovery seriously. And in this, the Monument was very lucky, since Kimura is a recognized expert in the field of marine geology and seismology. He has been studying the underwater surroundings of Yonaguni for more than 10 years, during which time he has completed more than a hundred dives and become the main expert on the object. As a result of his research, Professor Kimura decided to go against the vast majority of historians and risk his reputation by defending the artificial origin of the Monument.

But, as often happens in such cases, his opinion for a long time remained a voice crying in the wilderness...

It is unknown how long the “conspiracy of silence” around the Aratake find would have lasted if Graham Hancock, a staunch supporter of the hypothesis of the existence of a highly developed civilization in ancient times and the author of a number of books on this topic, had not learned about it.

In September 1997, he arrived in Yonaguni with a film crew. He managed to interest and attract to the trip Robert Schoch, a professor at Boston University, a geologist, best known for his conclusion that the real age of the famous Egyptian Sphinx is much greater than official Egyptology believes. And Hancock hoped that Schoch would use his authority to confirm the artificial nature of Aratake’s find. But it was not there…

On his first trip in 1997, Schoch did not find clear evidence of the man-made nature of the object. Quite the contrary...

The fact is that the Monument consists of sandstone and sedimentary rocks, outcrops of which are still visible on the coast of the island. Under the influence of sea waves, rain and winds, they are destroyed in such a way that forms like steps and terraces appear. Nature is not capable of such “whims,” but here, in addition, the very structure of the deposits leads to the appearance of almost perfectly straight cracks. Moreover, at angles of 90 and 60 degrees to each other, which contributes to the formation of strict geometric shapes: rectangular steps, triangles and rhombuses...

Everything seems to indicate that the Monument is of natural origin. This was Shoch’s first conclusion.

It is characteristic that in several films - including one from the BBC - this opinion of Schoch was cited as arguments against Hancock's theory. Unfortunately, the authors of these films “forgot” to mention that this story had a direct continuation...

Schoch understood perfectly well that in just a few dives it is impossible to see absolutely everything and it is quite possible to miss some important details. Therefore, he and Hancock’s group flew to Okinawa to meet with Kimura, whose arguments significantly undermined his position. Moreover, these arguments were supported by photographs and diagrams of parts that Shoch simply did not see during his dives.

From the point of view of Massaki Kimura, the following facts speak in favor of the artificial origin of the Yonaguni megalith:

Firstly, the blocks separated from the rock during the formation of the Monument do not lie where they should have fallen under the influence of gravity and other natural forces. Instead, they often end up clustered in one place, or sometimes missing altogether. If the structure was created by erosion, then there would be quite a lot of debris on the bottom next to it, as is the case, say, on the modern shores of the island. But the Monument does not have such an abundance of fragmentary material.

Secondly, often within a limited area of ​​the monument there are several elements of completely different types very close to each other, for example, a face with sharp edges, round holes two meters deep, a stepped descent, a perfectly straight narrow trench. If the reason were only natural erosion, then it would be logical to expect that it would manifest itself equally throughout the entire piece of rock. The fact that such different forms are found side by side is a strong argument in favor of artificial origin.

Thirdly, in some upper sections, steeply descending to the south, there are deep symmetrical trenches, the formation of which cannot be explained at all by known natural processes.

Fourthly, on the southern side of the monument there are steps rising at regular intervals from a depth of 27 meters to the very top, located at a depth of 6 meters.

And fifthly, the western part of the monument is covered by a clearly defined “wall”, the presence of which is difficult to explain by the action of natural processes, since it is made of limestone blocks, which are not typical for the Yonaguni area.

Upper terrace of the Monument:

Ring road:

Sun Stone (now fallen from the site):

A very remarkable and obviously artificial element is the two colossal megaliths at the western edge of the Monument. Their appearance and position evokes associations with the famous Stonehenge. These megaliths are sometimes called "twin pillars". Looking at their strict geometric shape, it is difficult to doubt their artificial origin. Moreover, Kimura’s research leads to the same conclusion: the “twins” are not made of the same material as the monument itself, but of limestone. But where did they come from then? Who and why dragged these blocks here, reaching, according to some estimates, two hundred tons each!?

And another question: why are they here?.. Their position seems simply meaningless. Masaaki Kimura considers the “twins” to be a symbolic gateway to the Monument. But why do we need such efforts as moving such blocks requires, for the sake of some kind of symbolism?.. Conventional logic suggests a completely different option: the “twins” seem to have simply fallen from the top of the Monument...

“After meeting with Professor Kimura,” Schoch later wrote, “I cannot completely exclude the possibility that the Yonaguni monument was at least partially processed and modified by human hands. Professor Kimura pointed out a number of important elements that I did not see during my first, short visit...”

The meeting of two professional geologists was literally of epoch-making significance for the Yonaguni monument. If earlier Shoch adhered to the version of the natural nature of the object, then Kimura insisted on its completely artificial origin. As a result of taking into account all the available facts, both experts agreed on a kind of “compromise”, both of them abandoning extreme points of view. They came to the conclusion that the Monument belongs to the so-called “terra-formations”, that is, the original natural “blank” was later changed and modified by human hands. Such “terra-formations” are not something completely unusual, but were quite common in the ancient world...

Materials from the 1997 expedition were included in the documentary film “The Search for the Lost Civilization,” shown on British television and accompanying the release of Hancock’s next book, “Mirror of Heaven.” The film and book received wide response. The information blockade around the Yonaguni megalith was broken, and the scientific community was forced to respond.

13 years after the opening of the Monument, in July 1998, a decision was finally made on its interdisciplinary scientific research. Led by diver and certified archaeologist Michael Arbuthnot, a team of specialists tried to uncover the mystery of the object. The group included geologists, underwater archaeologists, experienced divers, and even anthropologists and linguists. Shoch was also invited to join the expedition, who had the opportunity to satisfy his desire to re-inspect the Monument and be convinced of the fruitfulness of his “compromise” approach with Kimura.

The group spent 3 weeks diving and exploring. And, perhaps, the opinion of its leader speaks very eloquently about the results of the expedition. At first, Arbuthnot was skeptical of Kimura's theory about the artificiality of the Monument, but during the course of research he was forced to abandon his skepticism.

“I was convinced of the man-made processing of the Yonaguni object,” he concluded. “We examined the natural geology around the find, but there are no such uniform external forms there, and therefore the likelihood of human processing of the monument is very high. There are also many details that exclude the possibility that the object formed naturally.”

A kind of intermediate result of the research that continued after the expedition was Kimura’s report at a conference in Japan in 2001. The general conclusion that the Yonaguni megalith is a trace of an ancient civilization has received the support of most Japanese scientists.

It would seem that the question about the nature of the Monument is closed. However, the scientific community is very inert, and even conservative in matters of ancient history. And despite the conclusions of the conference, despite the numerous eyewitness accounts, including geologists, writers, journalists and simply amateur divers, the fact of the artificiality of the Yonaguni Monument is still either simply ignored or tried to be refuted in the world scientific literature. And as often happens, the most active “refutators” themselves have never seen it with their own eyes...

While there were disputes between supporters and opponents of the artificial origin of the Monument, the search in the coastal waters of Yonaguni continued. It soon became clear that this was far from the only contender for the title of ruins of an ancient civilization.

200 meters southeast of the Monument there is an object called the “Stadium”. It really looks like a kind of stadium, representing a clear area about 80 meters in size surrounded by stepped structures reminiscent of spectator stands. Although the “tribunes” themselves are very similar to purely natural formations, they also contain cut gutters and “paths”.

In the end, an object was found that resolved all questions. From a distance it somewhat resembles the control room of a large submarine. But as you approach this “conning tower”, it turns into... a 7-meter human head!!! It is sometimes called a "moai-like figure" in allusion to the statues of distant Easter Island. And if desired, a certain similarity can be found, although very separate.

In principle, the “head” itself could well be a purely natural formation. But what is absolutely indisputable is that the recesses forming the mouth and eyes have signs, if not of artificial origin, then of obvious modification. In addition, the remains of a bas-relief can be seen on the side of the head, in which some perceive a distinct resemblance to an Indian headdress made of feathers. To be honest, the “resemblance” is so-so... Unless you turn on your unlimited imagination...

If anyone else might have any doubts about the presence of evidence of an ancient civilization in the coastal waters of Yonaguni, then with the discovery of this statue, skeptics find themselves in a very unenviable position...

Head:

However, the problem is not at all limited to adding another civilization to the list of ancient civilizations. The fact is that although the megaliths were found below sea level, they clearly had to be created on land. Then, in order to determine the time of their creation, you must first answer the question of how the structures ended up in the sea: very quickly during the catastrophe, how, for example, during an earthquake or volcanic eruption, or slowly during gradual geological or climatic changes. As, say, this is happening now, when, as a result of global warming, the ice of the polar caps and mountain glaciers is melting, the water of which flows into the sea, causing the level of the World Ocean to rise. Some of the small island states even fear for their continued existence...

The option of a rapid change in the position of Yonaguni objects is supported by the fact that the area is located in a very active tectonic zone. This is not surprising, since the island is located directly on the so-called fault line; here the Pacific and Eurasian plates collide, supported in addition by the Philippine plate, which wedges between them from the south.

But if the area near Yonaguni were to sink under water during some catastrophe, then a miracle would have to happen for the Monument not only to maintain its horizontal position on the seabed, but also to survive without any signs of destruction, inevitable in such an impressive earthquake. which is accompanied by a change in heights of several tens of meters. In such catastrophic events, the Monument would not only be covered with cracks, but would almost inevitably split into pieces. And certainly at least small fragments of it should have remained next to him. But there is nothing like that at all! And the same is the case with other underwater objects near the island. Everything indicates that water covered the structures gradually as a result of a slow rise in the level of the World Ocean. However, the slow sinking of the Yonaguni objects (given their size and depth) means that they could only have been created when the sea level was several tens of meters below the current one. That is, no later than 8-10 thousand years ago!!! This is what shocks historians!..

But the arguments of geologists are inexorable. The facts directly pointing to such a distant time are also inexorable. For example, in the immediate vicinity of the Yonaguni monument, diver Chouhachiro Izumi discovered a “stalactite cave” on the seabed. But in nature, stalactite caves are formed only on land, when slightly acidic rain or river water seeps into a limestone layer. Water dissolves limestone salts and, encountering a cavity or cave on its way down, drips from its ceiling onto the floor. Slowly, over many centuries, these salt-rich droplets create stalactites on the ceiling and stalagmites below. This is the only way the “stalactite cave” found near Yonaguni could have formed.

Radioisotope dating (no matter what the degree of its reliability) carried out for this cave indicated that the process of formation of stalactite and stalagmite in it was completed no later than 10 thousand years ago!.. Just when the cave was absorbed by sea waters during changes in the level of the World Ocean. Although many researchers give much earlier dates for the creation of the Yonaguni underwater objects. Up to 16 thousand years ago!..

Who created the Monument at such a distant time? If an entire civilization existed here, then there should have been something else left that would allow us to lift the veil of secrecy about the builders of giant structures. There really are other finds.

Researchers, for example, recovered from the bottom several stone exhibits with simple symbols such as dashes, crosses and hooks carved on them. Similar symbols can be found on stones that still lie under water. The most interesting exhibit is a stone with a relief in the shape of a four-legged animal resembling a bull. And at the bottom around Yonaguni, several parts of stone tools were also found - primitive scrapers.

On the “upper terrace” of the Monument, researchers also discovered traces of wedges that ancient people used to split rocks - the wedges driven into the recesses were poured with water, the wood swelled from the water and split the monolith. The same traces were found on separate blocks in other places in the coastal waters and on the island itself...

The simplest symbols, primitive tools and equally primitive technologies... Somehow all this does not fit with the strict grace of the straight lines and geometric shapes of the Monument. And this is even less compatible with its size and the scale of work that was required to create not only the Monument, but also other underwater objects. The megalithic structures of Yonaguni are more consistent with a very highly developed rather than primitive civilization. However, the main expert, Dr. Kimura, agrees with this, and believes that the creation of the Monument required a high level of technology and the use of machines. How to be?..

In fact, there are clearly two periods in the history of the monument. At the first stage - in a very long time, somewhere from 10 to 16 thousand years ago, the Monument was created by a highly developed civilization that had quite complex technologies that made it easy to handle multi-ton blocks. At the second stage, after many thousands of years, this civilization was replaced by another, primitive one, which did not find (and could not find) anything better than to dig a certain number of holes in the heritage it inherited and use it only as a convenient berth and, perhaps a burial ground, until the Monument was completely covered with water...

At a 2001 conference, it was reported that a giant stepped structure similar to the Yonaguni Monument had been discovered off Chatan Island in Okinawa; mysterious underwater “labyrinths” are located near the island of Kerama; and near Aguni Island, cylindrical depressions similar to those found in the “triangular basin” of the Monument were found. On the other side of Yonaguni, in the strait between Taiwan and China, underwater structures resembling walls and roads were discovered...

At the moment, these listed objects, unfortunately, lack scientific data. Their research has not yet really begun. But one can hope that it will still take place without such long interruptions, as was the case with the Yonaguni Monument, which remains the most exciting discovery in the region.

However, there is something interesting on the island itself...

One of the ancient Japanese legends, which even Okinawa schoolchildren know, tells about a fisherman named Urashima-Taro, who lived in ancient times on the seashore. One day Urashima went on a boat to buy fish. But that day he was clearly unlucky, and instead of a fish, the same turtle was caught on the hook three times, which the fisherman each time, regretting it, released back into the sea. Having caught nothing, he had already sent his boat to the shore, but then, out of nowhere, a large ship appeared with a messenger from Otohime, the daughter of the Lord of the Seas, who invited Urashima to visit her. Urashima boarded a ship, which suddenly plunged into the depths of the sea and sailed to such a magnificent palace, the beauty of which cannot be seen on earth...

Otohime arranged a sumptuous feast in honor of the young fisherman. And he liked it so much in the underwater palace that three years flew by like one day. But finally he became homesick, and as a farewell, Otohime gave him a casket, which Urashima was supposed to open in case of insurmountable trouble.

When the fisherman returned to his village, he discovered that everything around him had changed a lot, since during this time not three years, but three hundred years had passed on earth. Feeling upset, Urashima opened the casket, instantly grew old, turned into a crane and flew away. And Otohime turned into a turtle and climbed ashore to meet Urashima...

There is an interesting detail in the legend about the fisherman that we briefly retold. When Urashima returned and went to look at the ruins of his house, he saw that all that remained was the slabs in the courtyard and stone bowls for washing hands. Slabs and stone bowls, as it turns out, have a very real embodiment - they are found throughout the island. But some of the bowls are so large that you can not only rinse your hands in them, but also wash your entire body. Not a jacuzzi, but still... Local residents, however, prefer to grow flowers in them... The true initial purpose of the bowls and information about those who made them has long been covered by the darkness of time. And only their presence in one of the most ancient legends gives at least one clue: slabs and bowls already existed in those immemorial times when this legend was composed...

During the expedition, it turned out that some photographs of Yonaguni objects published on the Internet were clearly retouched in order to give greater “authenticity” to the artificiality of their origin: the gutter on the upper platform of the Monument has excessively sharpened edges; the bas-relief on the underwater head is painted on to give it a greater resemblance to an Indian headdress made of bright feathers and the like. Such techniques do not help supporters of the ancient history of the underwater objects of Yonaguni, but only discredit their arguments and mislead the uninitiated.

We also had to abandon the version of the artificial origin of the “arched gate”. Photos of them are most often published on the Internet only from one side and from an advantageous angle - so that one gets the impression that they were hand-made by someone from huge stones. However, the view from the other side of the “gate” makes me very, very doubtful: nature is capable of something other than that...

However, no matter how many arguments are given in favor of the human, one might say, highly developed human origin of the structures, there are those who dispute this idea. If you try to accept their point of view, it turns out that all these blocks and even sculptures received their shape only thanks to the random play of nature - the peculiarities of water flow, fluctuations in its temperature and composition.

One of the most famous skeptics is Robert Schoch, a professor at Boston University. He visited these ruins, carefully studied them and did not find anything “human” in them. He points out that the monolith is made of a type of sandstone, and this stone tends to crack along its planes. Hence the straight lines, sharp corners, brick-like surfaces, and the like. And if we take into account such a factor as the increased seismic activity of the area, then the greater “cracking” of the rock is not at all surprising.

It seems that, unfortunately, representatives of the Japanese authorities also adhere to a similar point of view. They do not recognize any cultural value in the ancient monument. And, naturally, they refuse to engage in any support for researchers of the heritage of an unknown people who founded an amazing stone city.

Because of this, the study of underwater structures is very slow. It is still unknown how the city ended up under water. Obviously, the reason is some kind of cataclysm - apparently, some kind of tsunami that happened, according to Kimura, about 2 thousand years ago. But how severe the disaster was is still unclear.

We can only hope that these mysteries will be resolved sooner or later, and some interesting facts of the past will become known to us. And maybe the future... Who knows what the heavy silent stones of a mysterious civilization store?

Three professional geologists - Masaaki Kimura, Robert Schnoch and Wolf Wichmann - dived off Yonaguni, gaining first-hand impressions of the underwater formations, and publicly commented on what they saw. As far as is known, at the time of writing these lines, they are the only geologists who have ever carried out underwater research there. Therefore, when we talk about the "geologists' opinion" regarding the Yonaguni anomalies, it is very important to consider that we are relying on the work and ideas of only three people who also do not agree with each other, and thus there is no consensus of opinion. Other geologists who expressed their opinions without having dived at Yonaguni were unlikely to be able to participate in the debate professionally enough.