The history of outstanding archaeological finds develops in different ways. Sometimes experts spend decades looking for some kind of treasure or civilization that disappeared from the face of the earth several millennia ago. And another time, it is enough for a lucky diver to go down with scuba gear under the water and - here you are, please - 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 of a small Japanese island Yonaguni.
Not far from the coast at a depth of 15 meters, he noticed a huge stone plateau. Wide flat platforms, covered with an ornament of rectangles and rhombuses, turned into intricate terraces running down large steps. The edge of the object was cut vertically down by a wall to the very bottom to a depth of 27 meters.
The diver spoke about his find to Professor Masaaki Kimura, a specialist in marine geology and seismology from Ryukyu University. 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 explored the object. Since then, he has made over a hundred dives and has become the site's primary expert.
Soon the professor held a press conference, at which he authoritatively declared to the reporter: an unknown to science was found ancient city. Kimura presented photographs of the find, diagrams, and drawings to the attention of the general public. The scientist understood that he was going against the vast majority of historians and was risking his own reputation by defending the artificial origin of underwater structures.
According to him, this huge complex buildings, which includes castles, monuments and even a stadium, connected by a complex system of roads and waterways. Massive stone blocks, he argued, are part of a huge man-made complex, cut right 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 world, starting from Stonehenge in England and the cyclopean buildings that remained in Greece after the collapse of the Minoan civilization, and ending with the pyramids of Egypt, Mexico and temple complex Machu Picchu in the Peruvian Andes.
It is related to the latter both by the characteristic terraced landscape and the mysterious statue 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 those constructive solutions that the ancient Incas used in the construction of their cities. This is quite consistent with today's ideas that the most ancient population of the New World, which gave rise to the highly developed cultures of the Maya, 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 snag is in the estimated date of construction of the mysterious city.
It does not fit into modern historical theories. Studies have 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 were already able to process stone, owned the appropriate set of tools, knew geometry, and this runs counter to the ideas of adherents of traditional historical science. Indeed, it somehow does not fit in my head that the same Egyptians reached a comparable technological level only 5,000 years later! If we accept the arguments of the supporters of the version of Professor Kimura as true, then we will have to rewrite history great.
Therefore, until now, most representatives of academic science prefer to explain the incredible relief of the underwater rock off the coast of Yonaguni as a whim of natural elements. According to skeptics, the bizarre stone landscape arose due to the physical characteristics of the rock that makes up the rock formation.
This is a kind of sandstone, which tends to crack along the planes, which can fully explain the terraced arrangement of the complex and the geometric shapes of massive stone blocks. But the trouble is that the numerous regular circles found there, as well as the symmetry characteristic of 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 been 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 the island of Yonaguni on April 24, 1771. The waves reached a height of over 40 meters. Then, 13,486 people died from the disaster, 3,237 houses were destroyed.
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 near the island of Yonaguni. Professor Kimura in 2007 presented his computer model of underwater ruins at a scientific conference in Japan. According to his assumptions, there are ten underwater structures near the island of Yonaguni, and five more such buildings 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 in an extremely slow process. Underwater caves with stalactites found around Okinawa indicate that at one time most of this area was on land. "Most large building 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 the similarity between underwater structures and those found in archaeological excavations on the land.
For example, a semi-circular cutout on a rocky platform corresponds to the entrance to the castle, which is located on land. Nakagusuku Castle in Okinawa has a perfect semi-circular entrance, typical of Ryukyu castles in the 13th century. The two underwater megaliths—huge, six-meter-high, vertically placed rocks side by side—also bear a resemblance to twin megaliths in other parts of Japan, such as Mount Nabeyama in Gifu Prefecture. What does it say? It seems, underground city near the island of Yonaguni was a continuation of a whole complex of ground structures. In other words, in ancient times, the ancestors of the modern Japanese built the islands at their own discretion, but a natural disaster, most likely a giant tsunami, destroyed the fruits of their labors.
One way or another, the underwater city of Yonaguni turns our ideas about historical science upside down. Most archaeologists believe that human civilization arose about 5,000 years ago, but few scientists believe that "advanced" civilizations may have existed as early as 10,000 years ago and were wiped off the face of the earth as a result of some kind of catastrophe. And the underwater city of Yonaguni testifies to this.
Yonaguni Island is the westernmost territory of Japan. It is located on the southwestern edge of the Ryukyu Islands in Okinawa Prefecture, about hundreds of kilometers from Taiwan. direct flight no way from Tokyo. To get to Yonaguni, you need to fly 1,500 kilometers south to the capital of Okinawa Prefecture - the city of Naha, then transfer to a local airline plane and cover another 500 kilometers. The island is not large, its area is about 30 square kilometers, the population is about 1800 people. The main occupations of the inhabitants are breeding of endemic breeds of horses and agriculture, fishing and tourism. The island produces quite strong "flower" sake for Japan - " hana-zake", the usual strength of which is 43 degrees, but sometimes reaches 60 degrees.
Palace of legend
In Okinawa, all the inhabitants know the old legend about a fisherman named Urashima Taro, who, having caught a strange turtle with nets, released it back into the water. In gratitude, the turtle, who turned out to be the daughter of the lord of the seas, the beautiful Otohime, invited the fisherman to visit her underwater palace Ryugyu-jo, where Urashima stayed for several days. When he decided to return home, Otohime gave him a paper box with instructions never to open it. Intrigued, the fisherman accepted the gift and returned to the village to find that he had been gone for 300 years. During this time, everyone he knew and loved died, and time erased all traces of their stay in this world. In desperation, Urushima opened the gift, and smoke escaped from the box, which instantly aged the fisherman by three centuries. His bones instantly decayed, and the wind scattered his ashes around the island. Today, this legend is often associated with the Yonaguni monument: maybe Otohime Ryugyu-jo Palace - it was a castle in the Ryukyu kingdom, and only time slightly changed its name?In 1985, the Japanese diver Kihakiro Aratake discovered near the island of Yonaguni, the western island Ryukyu archipelago, at a depth of 25 meters, a giant rock formation. At first, he simply called this place the "Ruins" dive point, but very soon disputes began to flare up because of the "ruins". In the area where the monument is located, lovers of diving in several places to contemplate the games of marine predators, but for decades the mysterious structure remained out of sight of divers. wanted the monument to be discovered by people.The find had a very impressive size: more than 40 meters high, 150 meters wide, 180 meters long.But this is not the main thing.The geometric shapes of the "ruins" are straight lines, wide "streets" with applied markings in the form of strange symbols, even terraces, round holes, a gutter crossing the monument - everything indicated that the mysterious structure, soon all of it is of artificial origin. Recent studies of the "Yonaguni Ruins" have shown that the sunken "city" is at least 10,000 years old. It is older than the Sphinx, which, in turn, is older than the Great Pyramids of Giza in Egypt. Official science refuses to consider the Yonaguni monument as man-made. Indeed, in this case, everything that we know about the history of mankind will have to be reviewed and adjusted: it turns out that on our planet there existed more ancient civilization than all cultures known today, whose representatives could process stone - very skillfully and on a fantastic scale. The Japanese government also does not consider this rock formation to be man-made, and therefore no special funds are allocated for its research and only enthusiasts study the monolith. Suffice it to say that the first serious studies of the Yonaguni monument were carried out only in 1998 (13 years after the discovery) and the experts who took part in the dives sharply disagreed. A diver's acquaintance with the monument begins with the "arched gate" in the southwest complex, through which only one person can swim. Behind them, a fantastic picture opens up before the diver: two seven-meter rectangular stone blocks with perfectly even edges and corners, as if they were cut by a laser on a giant machine tool. Studies have shown that these two blocks consist of a different rock than the Yonaguni monument itself. This means only one thing: the blocks, each of which weigh at least a hundred tons, were brought here from another place. And therefore, these blocks prove the artificial origin of the "ruins", as well as the area on the upper terrace, where almost 70 identical holes seem to be drilled into the stone in one row. The path to the upper terrace leads through the so-called main terrace more than 40 meters long. Its perfectly flat surface and equally geometrically correct steps leading to it also raise suspicions that someone else, besides nature, had a hand in their creation. On the upper terrace there is another object that could hardly have arisen by itself. This is something like a pool, a triangular recess with stepped walls, in one of which two round holes with a diameter of 40 cm and a depth of 2 meters are hollowed out. thanks to which the rocks appear in all their beauty and severity of forms. The world learned about the underwater ruins of Yonaguni thanks to the writer Graham Hancock, author of the novel "Traces of the Gods", in which he tried to prove that in different parts of the Earth in prehistoric times there was highly developed civilization, which gave rise to the cultures we know. By a strange coincidence, this book was published at about the same time that the first mention of the mysterious underwater facility on the western tip of the Ryukyu archipelago. Graham Hancock visited Yonaguni. Having made several dives, the writer gave his assessment of what he saw: the monument was clearly created by man.
Yonaguni Island is located in the west of Japan - it is the most Western part country. The area of Yonaguni is only 28.88 km?, and the population is about 2 thousand people. Yonaguni became famous in the mid-80s, when divers discovered mysterious rock terraces and pyramids with sharp corners underwater. There are still disputes, but no one knows what secrets the island holds. Scientists are inclined to believe that these pyramids were created artificially many millennia ago by an unknown civilization that disappeared from the face of the earth. I suggest you take a trip to underwater world Yonaguni, full of secrets and mysteries
The mysterious underwater pyramids of Yonaguni Island off the coast of Japan still cause controversy - is this a natural phenomenon, or a human creation? If the monument to Yonaguni is man-made, it will radically change the history of mankind. The history of these underwater pyramids dates back to 1986, when divers discovered an unusual rock formation at a depth of 25 meters underwater. These were rocks in the form of even stepped terraces, pyramids and platforms. One of the tallest pyramids was 600 feet wide and 90 feet high. 
There were traces of processing and carving on the stone blocks, which confirms the theory of scientists that the Yonaguni monument is not a natural formation, but was created artificially. Masaki Kimura, a marine geologist at the University of Japan, has been studying underwater pyramids for over 15 years. The scientist believes that this place is more than five thousand years old, but it was flooded 2 thousand years ago during an earthquake. 
Other scientists believe the structure is much older, including Teruaki Ishi, a professor of geology at the University of Tokyo. He determined that the immersion of the terraces under water occurred at the end of the last ice age - about 10 thousand years ago. In this case, the age of the Yonaguni pyramids is twice as old as Egyptian pyramids. Interestingly, the number of artifacts found was about the same on land and under water. Not far from the pyramids, a man's head carved from stone was discovered, on which many unknown hieroglyphs were carved. It is hard to imagine that this is a natural formation 
“There is a land of the Gods called Nirai-Kanai, where the ancient gods live – this unknown distant place is the source of happiness for the whole world”
The opposite point of view was held by Robert Schoch, professor of mathematics at Boston University. He believed that the pyramids of Yonaguni were formed naturally - this is how nature tried. According to him, this is natural tectonic activity, as evidenced by the photograph below, which shows a similar formation on land created by nature. There is also a possibility that the monument was formed naturally, but then was processed by people. Shoch was of this mind until he met Kimura. The arguments of Kimura, who was more familiar with the features of the monument, strongly influenced Shoch's opinion. Moreover, the arguments were supported by photographs of details that Schoch simply did not see during his dives, since he dived only a few times 
With all the similarities of the Yonaguni rocks, there are very strong differences between them. In a limited area of the Monument, elements of completely different type. For example: edge with sharp edges, round holes, stepped descent, perfectly straight narrow trench. If the reason was only in natural erosion, then it would be logical to expect the same forms in the entire piece of rock. The fact that there are such different elements side by side is a strong argument in favor of their artificial origin. Here is an example of one of these formations called Turtle 
Moreover, very close, literally a few tens of meters away on the same rock of the same rock, there is a radically different landscape. There is no doubt that he was created by nature. But even with the naked eye you can see its sharp difference from the processed part of the rock. 
The next argument is that the blocks separated from the rock do not at all lie where they should fall under the influence of gravity. Instead, they are either collected in one place or absent altogether. If the object were created by erosion, then there would be a lot of debris on the bottom next to it, as on the modern shores of the island. And here it is not...
The meeting of two professional geologists was literally epoch-making 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 specialists agreed on a kind of "compromise", both of them refusing to extreme points vision. 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 finalized by human hands. Such formations are not unusual, they were very common in ancient world…
"After meeting with Professor Kimura," Shoch wrote later, "I cannot completely rule out the possibility that the Yonaguni monument was at least partially processed and altered by human hands. Professor Kimura pointed to a number of important elements which I did not see during my first, brief visit…".
However, the Yonaguni Monument has not been recognized as a site by the Japanese government. cultural heritage, which must be protected and preserved, although the existence of a stone processing industry on the island has been proven. This is confirmed by the ancient catacombs of indeterminate age. 
Official information
Country Japan
The westernmost (southern) island of the Ryukyu Islands
General information about the island of Yonaguni and the underwater ruins of Yonaguni
Yonaguni Island - the westernmost territory of Japan. The island is located 125 kilometers from east coast Taiwan at the end of the Ryukyu group of islands. The area of the island is 28.88 km² and the population is 1581 (2011). According to the administrative-territorial division, the island belongs to Okinawa Prefecture.
Yonaguni is a popular divers destination due to the large number of hammerhead sharks that congregate in the surrounding waters during the winter.
In 1985, divers discovered a striking underwater rock formation at the very southern point islands. This so-called Yonaguni monument has stair-like terraces with flat, straight sides and sharp corners. Because of these features, some scientists believe that this is an artificially created (or artificially processed) structure that is thousands of years old.
Terraced formations off the Ryukyu Islands(according to published sources)
"Monument to Yo Naguni" - a massive underwater formation discovered near the Japanese island of Yonaguni, the westernmost of the Ryukyu group of islands. On the this moment the origin of these formations is a matter of dispute, there is no agreement on whether they are completely natural formations, or whether they are of partial or complete artificial origin.
Detection
A large population of hammerhead sharks lives in the sea off Yonaguni Island, so you can see divers from all over the world here. In 1986, Kihachiro Aratake (Director of the Yonaguni Tourism Association), looking for a good place to observe sharks, noticed a number of single marine formations. In appearance, they resembled architectural structures and seemed to have a very specific architectural scheme, somewhat reminiscent of the stepped pyramids of Ancient Sumer.
The center was an architectural structure with a height of 42.43 meters and sides of 183 by 150 m. The structure looked outwardly built of L-shaped rectangular rocks. It consisted of 5 floors. Near the central object there were also small "pyramids" with a height of 10 and a width of 2 meters.
Even if it turned out to be only a game of nature, Aratake was already lucky - he found an object worthy of surprise even for the most picky tourist. But the abundance of regular geometric shapes made us think about the possibility and man-made nature, and Aratake decided to report his find to specialists.
Research
The pyramid was studied in detail only 12 years after its discovery, in 1997, when the Japanese industrialist Yasuo Watanabe sponsored a research expedition. It was led by famous antiquities researcher and writer Graham Hancock, who accidentally learned about this object, who invited the geologist Robert Schoch (English), a professor at Boston University, with him, writer John Anthony West, photographer Santha Faiia, several professional divers and instructors, and also British Channel 4 and Discovery Channel film crew.
Off the coast of the westernmost of the Ryukyu Islands, there is a rock mass that is equally popular among both divers and scientists of various fields. In the world, the mysterious object is known as the Yonaguni Monument. What's so special about it?
The underwater world of the Japanese island of Yonaguni is quite picturesque. Diving enthusiasts are attracted by coral reefs and the diversity of local fauna. Therefore, it is not surprising that the discovery of mysterious formations off the coast of the island belongs to the experienced diver Kihachiro Arataka.
In the spring of 1985, while exploring new places, Kihachiro accidentally discovered stone objects of an unusual shape and size. Outwardly, they resembled stepped pyramids. He was so amazed by the find that he immediately reported it to the authorities and the press. And I didn't guess. Since its opening, the Yonaguni complex has become a real sensation. The study of formations continues to this day.
General information about the Yonaguni complex
The stone formations at Yonaguni occupy a vast area near south coast islands. They are located at a depth of 30 m. Most of all, a stone mass with a complex structure stands out, the basis for which is a platform 183 m long, 150 m wide and 42 m high. The object has flat terraces descending in steps. Guided by the latter characteristic, some researchers compare this monument with the pyramids of the ancient Incas and Sumerians.
At the very top of the massif, you can see a small "pool", and next to it - a formation that scuba divers call "turtle". At the base of the object, you can see a stone-paved path. The latter leads to a rounded 2-ton megalith.
Near the monument, a stone “fence” of huge rock blocks was found, as well as small “pyramids” with a height of 10 m. The age of terraced formations near the Ryukyu Islands ranges from 10-16 thousand years.
The origin of the Yonaguni monument continues to be controversial. Some scientists believe that this object is of natural origin, while others provide evidence in favor of its creation by man. In addition, there is an assumption that this is an ancient city.
Assumptions of scientists about the origin of mysterious stone formations
Hypothesis of Robert Schoch. This is a geologist from Boston University who participated in the study of the complex in 1997. In his opinion, we are talking about a miraculous structure.
Schoch notes that the smooth lines and sharp corners of the monument are due to the fact that the monolith consists of sandstone, which tends to crack along the planes. The named feature of the sandstone is enhanced by the high seismic activity of the area. Later, the German geologist Wolf Wichmann agreed with Schoch's conclusions.
At the same time, the American geologist noted that the formations are not devoid of partial manual processing. So, in ancient times it could be a quarry, a quarry or a natural boat dock. Despite the fact that at first Schoch rejected the possibility that it was an underwater city, he later made very unexpected suggestions.
In one of the publications, Professor Schoch noted that there are a number of ancient graves on the island of Yonaguni, the architecture of which in some places resembles the underwater monument under study. Perhaps, when constructing burials, people imitated it, or maybe the monument itself was rebuilt by people. Thus, Schoch admits that the people who inhabited the island could partially change the natural structure of the massif.
Hypothesis of Masaaki Kimura. The named scientist works at Ryukyu University. Professor of marine geology Kimura, together with his students, made more than a dozen dives in the study area. As a result, he came to the conclusion that the Yonaguni monument is a man-made structure. In his opinion, the object was carved into the rock during the period when it was still above the water. Kimura offers the following arguments in favor of his hypothesis:
- on the northern corners of the monument, symmetrical trenches are visible, which could not have been formed as a result of natural processes;
- traces of markings;
- continuity of the array structure from the underwater part to the ground;
- traces of the use of fire;
- stone tools found underwater and on land;
- one of the stones is decorated with a relief depicting an animal;
Kimur's hypothesis was generally supported by the Indian archaeologist Sundaresh. According to him, the terrace formations at Yonaguni are undoubtedly man-made. Sundaresh believes that before sinking to modern depths, the structure could have served as a pier for loading and unloading operations.
Stone massifs similar to the Yonaguni monument were found near Chatan Island in Okinawa, which causes additional questions and new assumptions. Who knows, maybe we are talking about a secret that will cross out existing ideas about ancient history Japan.
December 13, 2017
