In a remarkable discovery, researchers have uncovered a lost continent submerged beneath the vast ocean waters off the coast of Australia. This extraordinary landmass, believed to have once been home to up to half a million people, is nearly twice the size of the United Kingdom and has been affectionately dubbed 'Lost Atlantis.'
Taking into account sonar mapping and evidence of freshwater lakes, scientists from the Quaternary Science Reviews have concluded that this sunken world could have been habitable for human beings. However, it is estimated that this submerged land has been under the sea for an astonishing 70,000 years.
The Lost Atlantis lies between the regions of Kimberley and Arnhem Land, and according to Kasih Norman, an archaeologist at Griffith University in Queensland and the lead author of the study, the landscape transformation caused by rising sea levels would have been a dramatic sight for the inhabitants living there. As the encroaching coastlines advanced, people would have been quickly pushed further inland, witnessing the swift changes occurring in front of their eyes. Today, this hidden landscape is more than 100 meters (330 feet) below sea level.
Norman emphasized that despite previous assumptions in Australia that continental margins were unproductive and uninhabited, evidence from various parts of the world has shown that people thrived on these continental shelves in the past. She stated, 'There's been an underlying assumption in Australia that our continental margins were probably unproductive and weren't really used by people, despite the fact that we have evidence from many parts of the world that people were definitely out on these continental shelves in the past.'
It is important to note, however, that the estimated population numbers suggested by the researchers are projections based on the carrying capacity of the landscape. Norman clarified, 'It's important to bear in mind these aren't real population numbers we're talking about, it's just a matter of projecting the carrying capacity of our landscape. We're basically saying it could have had that many people.'
This incredible find follows another recent revelation where geoscientists uncovered a previously unnoticed continent that had been hiding in plain sight for nearly 375 years. Such discoveries remind us of the infinite wonders that exist beneath the oceans' depths and unveil secrets from our planet's ancient past.
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