newarch sampler

8/2/2019 Newarch Sampler

1/3

T H E N E W A R C H A E O L O G Y R E V I E W M a r c h 2 0 0 6 P A G E 8

On March 25, the chief researcher of a large sunken

structure in Japanese waters presented his findings at a

special conference sponsored by the Japan Petrograph

Society. Masaaki Kimura, Ph.D., one of Japans fore-most geologists with a world-class reputation, has been

investigating the site over the last four years.

He was one of three speakers at the Fukuoka conference describing

recent discoveries in underwater archaeology. Other presenters

including Professor Nobuhiro Yoshida, who discussed another

Japanese sub-surface find near the small island of Okinoshima, in the

Korean Sea, and Frank Joseph, Ancient American editor; who spoke

of his dive experiences at the so-called "Bimini Road," in the

Bahamas.

Dr. Kimuras researching is outlined in his new

book, Submarine Ruins of Yonaguni. It featuressome of the most commonly asked questions

about the site, and excerpts appear below to

may be the most important discovery of this

kind. Its significance notwithstanding, virtually

nothing about Yonaguni has appeared in the

U.S. News media.

As Professor Kimura makes clear, the man-made

character of the drowned structure is no longer

questionable. Precisely who built it, however, is

still debated. However, a growing number of investigators, both in

Japan and elsewhere, conclude that Yonaguni is at least related tostories of a formerly great kingdom known as Mu or Lemuria, which

was engulfed by a natural catastrophe in the

ancient past.

Lemuria was supposed to have been the

homeland of Asian, Polynesian and

pre-Columbian American civilizations.

In any case, the underwater find promis-

es to make its impact on our under-

standing of civilized origins.

Where is thestructure located?

Its in Okinawa Prefecture,

near the island of

Yonaguni, in the sea

about 100 meters off

Arakawabana. Yonaguni

is an almond-shaped

island at the southwest

tip of the Ryukyu chain, approximately ten kilometers long from east

to west and four kilometers from north to south. Some 1,800 per-

sons live there, making a living mainly from farming fishing and the

tourist business.

When was it discovered and by

whom?Local fisherman knew of rumors that there was

a curious rock structure submerged in the sea

for the past half-century or so, but it wasnt rec-

ognized as a relic. In 1986, while conducting a

diving survey to map diving spots in the

Yonaguni area, Kihachiro Aratake started call-

ing it "Iseki Point," based on his impression that

somehow, it didnt seem to be a natural object

Then when an underwater survey team of the

University of the Ryukyus began to study it, it became widely known

What makes you believe thatthis structure is man-made,that it was made by peoplelong ago?

There are many indications of human

involvement. There is something like a

road carved around it. In the level

rock faces, there are a large number

of tool marks. There is a feature that

seems to be a drainage canal

extending from top to bottom.

There are walls angled at a fairly

THE LOSTUNDERWATER CITY

OFYONAGUNI

THE LOSTUNDERWATER CITY

OFYONAGUNIAN INTERVIEW WITH JAPANESE GEOLOGISTDR. MASAAKI KIMURA(Originally published in Ancient American MagazineVol. 6 Issue. 39)

YonaguniisatlerelatedtostoriesoformerlygreatkingdknownasMuorLemuria,whichwaengulfedbyanaturacatastropheintheancientpast.


2/3

accurate 90 degrees, or

right angles, that

extend over distances of

some tens of meters

at several loca-

tions. It is sur-

rounded by a stairway-like structure, not just onthe south side, but all around. The north side

structure shows the strongest indication of having

been man-made. Furthermore, one part of it is a stonework

stairway.

Why is it underwater?

It was built on land, and then, because of global warming, the level

of the oceans

rose and left is

s u b m e r g e d .

Another factor

to consider is

crustal move-

ments, but no

concrete evi-

dence of that

has been discov-

ered yet.

When was it built?

It was probably built somewhere between six thousand and eight

thousand years ago, probably even ten thousand or more years ago.

At that time, sea-level was as much as forty meters lower than it isnow.

What shape is it?

It looks like a stepped pyramid with the top part removed, rather like

a pedestal. At the base, the dimensions are about 250 meters along

the north-south axis. Its a rectangular shape, and the height from

the base to the apex is 26 meters. The based is submerged 25 meters

below sea level, leaving the tip exposed about one meter above sea-

level.

How was it made?

Using tools made from stone that doesnt fracture easily, holes couldbe drilled into the rock, and a wooden or stone wedge, like an arrow

head, could be put in the hole to chip off the rock. This is one idea.

We tend to think that people of that era, lacking metal tools, would

be unable to cut

stone. However,

if you know the

characteristics

of the rock you

are working, it

can be compar-

atively easy to

cut, or process.

Are there any other submerged archaeologicarelics in the world like that one at Yonaguni?

There arent any just like it, in the sense of being carved out of an

entire knoll or rocky out-crop. However, in bays and lakes through-

out the world, there are many submerged archaeological artifacts

One good example is found at the Alexandria site, in the

Mediterranean Sea. The Alexandria ruins date from a large scale

earthquake that occurred some 1,200 years ago, when a whole citysank below the sea. Such sinking occurs because of either crusta

movement or earthquake, as in the Alexandria case, or a rise in sea-

level. Regarding Yonagunis relics, its quite likely that a rise in sea-

level was the key element.

How about elsewhere on Yonaguni Island? Isthere anything that might be related to theunderwater structure such as legends or records?

Yes, there is. On the northern part of the island in the area fronting

the sea, there is an oral memo-

ry that "Long, long ago an

island sank." Also, in thesouth west, there is a tradi-

tional belief, or cult, known

as the Niraikanai, and in that

tradition, stories are told of

ancient continent sunk

beneath the sea."

Is there any defini-tive proof thatthis structure isman-made?

Conclusive proof is

being discovered in

rapid succession. By

this, I mean things

that show human

beings were active

there. Among the evidence are

traces of marks that show that men worked the stone

There are holes made by wedge-like tools still called kusabi in many

locations throughout the Ryukyu Islands. Around the outside of the

loop road there is a row of neatly stacked rocks as a stone wall, each

rock about twice the size of a person, in a straight line.

T H E N E W A R C H A E O L O G Y R E V I E W M a r c h 2 0 0 6 P A G E 9


3/3

There are traces

carved along the

roadway that show

some form of

repairs were under-

taken. The structure

is continuous fromunder the water to

land, and evidence of the use of fire is present. Stone tools are

among the artifacts found under water and on land. Stone tablets

with carving that appear to be letters or symbols, such as what we

know as the "plus-sign" and a V-shape were retrieved from the

sunken structure. From the

waters nearby, stone tools

were found. Two are for

known purposes, but the

majority are not.

At the bottom of the sea,a relief carving of an ani-

mal figure was discovered

on a huge stone. In two

locations, implements that were

conceivably used by people who

lived there, such as tools struck

from stone, very important evi-

dence, have turned up one after

the other. And the most convinc-

ing evidence is the next piece.Inscribed into Sanninu-dai,

there is a large relief carving of a

bird.

Suppose that the structure is

acknowledged

as a submerged

artifact. What

significance would that recognition have?

Human history, the history of civilization, would

probably have to be rewritten to account for the

existence of such stone construction on that large of

a scale in East Asia, 10,000 years ago.

Photo

courtesy

ofRobertSchoc

h

Photo

courtesyofR

obertSchoch

C O U N T E R P O I N T

Comments on Yonaguni

Robert M. Schoch

I have visited the small island of Yonaguni on threeseparate occasions, making numerous dives eachtime, and also having an opportunity to explore thesurface of the island thoroughly. Additionally, Ihave dived some of the other reputed man-madeunderwater ruins in the Okinawa area. In sum, Iremain unconvinced that these underwater struc-tures are primarily artificial or man-made; I thinkthey are due primarily to natural geologicalprocesses. However,as I have elaborate in mybook Voices of the Rocks(R. M. Schoch with R. A.McNally, 1999) and elsewhere, the choice between

natural and man-made is not nec-essarily a simpleeither/or issue.On YonaguniIsland are a num-ber of very oldtombs, artifacts,and other man-made structuresthat indicateancient human

habitation of theisland. The archi-tecture of some ofthe tombs is verysimilar to the natural structures, both above waterand below the waves, found at Yonaguni. It is possi-ble that humans were imitating nature in designingtheir tombs, and it is equally possible that the so-called Yonaguni Monument is a primarily naturalfeature that itself was somewhat modified by humanhands. The ancient inhabitants may have partiallyreshaped or enhanced a natural structure to give itmore the form they wished, perhaps as a structureunto itself or as the foundation for timber, mud, orstone structures that have since been destroyed.

T H E N E W A R C H A E O L O G Y R E V I E W M a r c h 2 0 0 6 P A G E 1 0

newarch sampler

Documents