Survey Team Works With Fidel Castro
More than 20 years ago, researchers from Advanced Digital Communications (ADC), a Canadian company, were scanning the waters off the tip of the Guanahacabibes Peninsula close to Cuba when they came across a fascinating discovery.
Source: Wikimedia
The team was headed by marine engineer Pauline Zalitzki and her husband Paul Weinzweigl, owners of ADC. Their company was working alongside four other firms on behalf of Fidel Castro’s Cuban government to explore the treasure-laden shipwrecks, many of which date back to the Spanish colonial era.
Discovery of an Urban Settlement Beneath the Waves
The results of their sonar scans revealed the remains of what appeared to be an urban settlement, complete with smooth and aligned stone blocks, many of which were placed in a geometric formation.
Source: Wikimedia
Zalitzki returned to the site the following year to conduct further investigations alongside her husband and expert geologist Manuel Iturralde, who was a senior researcher at Cuba’s Natural History Museum, per Ancient Origins.
Further Investigations at the Underwater Site
During their second visit to the site, the researchers brought a Remotely Operated Vehicle with them, which allowed them to get close to the structure and photograph it. The images later released to the public show what appear to be enormous blocks of granite.
Source: Wikimedia
The largest of the blocks measured 8 feet by 10 feet and appeared to have been carefully placed atop one another. At the time, Zalitzki suggested the images could be evidence of an ancient submerged city; however, she claimed more evidence was necessary.
Ruins of a 50,000 Year Old City
Iturralde, a geologist who had spent considerable time studying underwater rock formations, said, “These are extremely peculiar structures, and they have captured our imagination. But if I had to explain this geologically, I would have a hard time.”
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According to Iturralde, it would have taken as much as 50,000 years for such a structure to sink to this depth. He added, “50,000 years ago, there wasn’t the architectural capacity in any of the cultures we know of to build complex buildings.”
Extensive Urban Settlement
Speaking with the Florida Sun-Sentinel in 2022, Weinzweig said, “The structures we found on the side scan sonar simply are not explicable from a geological point of view.”
Source: Freepik
According to the researcher, it may have once been an extensive urban settlement. He added, “It’s a really wonderful structure which really looks like it could have been a large urban center. However, it would be totally irresponsible to say what it was before we have evidence.”
The Discovery Sparked Debate
The discovery of the formation led to a controversial debate. Some people claimed it was the remains of the mythical city of Atlantis first mentioned by Plato in his work Timaeus and Critias. However, several experts from the archaeological community remained skeptical.
Source: Freepik
Iturralde later suggested the volcanic rocks, which make up the bulk of the site, were once above water at a distant part in the past. However, he was completely sold on the idea that it was the product of an ancient civilization, stating, “Nature is much richer than we think.”
Remnants of a Local Culture
Despite the interest in the site and media companies pushing the Atlantis theory, Zelitsky and Weinzweig steered clear of making similar assumptions.
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Zelitsky said the Atlantis story is a myth. “What we have found is more likely remnants of a local culture,” once located on a 100-mile “land bridge” that connected Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula to Cuba.
Local Legends
Iturralde said local legends of the Maya and groups native to the Yucatan region speak of an island where their ancestors once thrived before it was swallowed by the year.
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It’s quite possible the sunken settlement may have once been the home to one of these groups before some natural calamity sent it to the bottom of the ocean. However, not everyone agrees with their theory, which suggests the formation is anything more than natural rocks.
Bad Archaeology
Keith Fitzpatrick-Matthews, who worked for the debunking website Bad Archaeology, suggested there were several problems with the settlement theory, the largest of which was the depth at which it was found.
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According to the researcher, this supposed settlement could not have been the capital city of Atlantis, as it hasn’t been above sea level since well before the ice age.
The Sunken City is Not Atlantis, Says Researcher
According to Fitzpatrick-Matthews. “At no point during the Ice Age would it have been above sea level unless, of course, the land on which they stand has sunk. This is the claim made for Atlantis: according to Plato’s account, it was destroyed “by violent earthquakes and floods”.
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He continued, “However if we take Plato at his word—as we must if we assume Atlantis to have been a historical place—the violence of its sinking makes it improbable that an entire city could have survived plunging more than 600 m into an abyss.”
No Modern Investigations at Underwater Site
Despite all of the attention the site garnered over two decades ago, it has received little to no follow-up investigations, leaving many to wonder what really lies beneath the waves close to Cuba.
Source: Wikimedia
However, if the stones were merely the product of nature, it should have been fairly easy to explain what natural process led to their creation. As things stand, the story went cold after experts dismissed Zelitsky’s theory.