
Bronze Age Greek city found underwater - happyscrappy
http://www.speroforum.com/a/TJGTRQPMJA31/76356-Bronze-Age-Greek-city-found-underwater#.VeBmtWeFMoA
======
cossatot
This site, like many others on the northeastern Mediterranean coast, is most
likely submerged due to earthquake activity in the region. The site here is on
the coast of the Argolic Gulf, which is a graben (down-dropped tectonic
block). The main fault is on land, on the southern shore[1].

I want to say some of the temples where Paul lectured to the Corinthians are
also underwater due to faulting (the Gulf of Corinth is tectonically
subsiding) but I can't find the reference. (I'm not actually sure that he gave
lectures, either; I think I heard this in a geology class).

[1]: [http://eqgeogr.weebly.com/blog/active-faults-of-greece-
map-a...](http://eqgeogr.weebly.com/blog/active-faults-of-greece-map-
available-for-downloading)

~~~
PhantomGremlin
_most likely submerged due to earthquake activity in the region_

It's shoddy journalism that the word "earthquake" appears nowhere in that
article. Nor did I see an alternate explanation proffered.

That's the very first question I had: "how did it become submerged?".

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SloopJon
The picture of the photovoltaic deck led me to a page describing a catamaran
powered exclusively by 512 square meters of solar panels:

[http://www.planetsolar.org/boat/sections/the_boat](http://www.planetsolar.org/boat/sections/the_boat)

~~~
adwf
Yeah, it's very cool! Sadly it doesn't seem to have great performance for a
multihull. The spec sheet says 14kn top speed and 5kn average, which is rather
poor for a 115' cat! A sailing cat of that size should be able to get 15-16
knots running and even more on a reach. An average speed of 7-8 is not unheard
of even for 40-50' cats, let alone twice that. Must be very heavy in the
water.

I've read of a number of sailboat people who've replaced their old diesels
with electric motor/solar panel combos and done quite well out of it. Whilst,
for example, a motor can do 8kw at top speed, you usually only cruise at 3kw
in and out of harbour and use the sails for the rest. Fitting enough solar for
that is very doable on even a modestly sized boat. Then you can use batteries
for any prolonged becalmings.

~~~
phkahler
I worked for a company that did a cat electrification project circa 2008. 90ft
mast 1300 sq feet of living space. Replaced a diesel in each hull with 16kw
motor, inverter, and batteries. Main diesel generator remained but was only
for backup. You could run the props as generators while under sail for a cost
of 1/2 knot you could run all electric loads including air conditioning while
charging the batteries. I guess solar could be useful at the dock...

~~~
toomuchtodo
I'm purchasing a cat for a circumnavigation. Where could I have such a
conversion done?

~~~
phkahler
>> I'm purchasing a cat for a circumnavigation. Where could I have such a
conversion done?

That company does not exist any more - it got bought and ultimately disbanded.
The boat did cross the Atlantic BTW and IIRC used no fuel to do so. I always
thought it was a really good use of the technology. There are independents and
small companies out there that can do that type of work - search for electric
aircraft projects and find the people behind those. For a single boat you'll
want an industrial drives and controls guy who can also deal with the battery
and system issues.

~~~
toomuchtodo
Thanks! I'm pretty familiar with energy management, having designed stand-
alone power systems (renewables + inverters + battery storage + generators)
previously. I may give it a go alone, but I'll definitely start looking for
the folks you mentioned if (most likely, when) I get stuck.

Thank you for taking the time to reply; I really appreciate it!

------
arca_vorago
This really reinforce something I have thought for some time now, mainly that
due to sea level changes, many ancient sites are now underwater.

I even have a pet theory about Atlantis, which I will repost from
/r/AskHistorians:

"Though it is probably confirmation bias due to my particular interest in
Sumer, there is much evidence that what is now the Persian Gulf was flooded
quite suddenly, With evidence that many of the settlements post-flood were
quickly setup, in places where formerly only nomad hunter/gatherers lived.

What you have to consider is the origin of the myth when compared to the
archeology. The myth starts with Plato, who cites Solon visiting Sais, Egypt
and learning of Atlantis. Plato says Atlantis existed about 9600 BC.

My theory goes like this:

What Plato/Solon called Atlantis is actually the civilization that once
existed in the unflooded persian gulf, from which refuges of the flood fled to
surrounding areas (and further) and brought with them the knowledge of
civilization they possessed. When I say civilization, I mean the transition
from hunter/gatherer society to agricultural society, and possibly
writing/proto-writing. (Not the super civilization myth many imagine it as)

Allow me to explain and support this assertion as best I can.

The Egyptian town Solon visited was the home town of the goddess Neith as far
back as 3000 BC, and it was the priests of Neith which gave him the
information about Atlantis. Neith is likely to be associated with the god
Tanit, who in turn may be associated with the Akkadian god Ishtar, which is
actually the counterpart of the Sumerian Inanna.

That's a lot of connections to make, but what does it matter relevant to this?
Well, it matters in two main ways. First, the greek Athena (and hence Athens)
is actually derived from, if the above connection is true, the Sumerian
Inanna. Plato/Solon placed too much importance on this connection, and in
seeking to tie their Athens to the myth of Atlantis, fouled the myth up a bit.
(The part about Atlantis and a war with Athens) This is why for so long before
the good science of plate tectonics and geology Atlantis was sought in places
it could never have been, such as the Atlantic and Mediterranean. The real
connection is Sumeria and before.

The second part about why the Sumerian connection is so important is purely
about timelines. If indeed there was a flood in the Persian Gulf as some of
the recent science suggests, at around 8000 BC, it could possibly match the
Sumerian King's list, which states there was a flood roughly that long ago.
(the oldest king on the list verified is back to about 2600 BC, past that the
list itself is the only source, which is why I say roughly) So I find it
highly likely that much of the ancient history known by the priests of Sais
that told Solon about Atlantis is actually the slightly adopted and modified
version of the Sumerian flood myth, and this is supported by the study of the
evolution of Egyptian religion/history as supported by archaeology.

So there you have it. My theory that the flooded southern tip of the fertile
crescent at about 8000 BC is the true "Atlantis". Feel free to poke holes in
it or make corrections for any sloppiness on my part. This is something I have
thought about for a while but just now put into words.

The key thing I would focus on to expand this would be the writings of Plato
regarding Solon. I have heard that it was a mistranslation that Plato said
9000 years and that it really reads 900 years, but I have not yet been able to
find out where the original text is to ask to for a picture in order
confirm/deny this."

[http://phys.org/news/2010-12-lost-civilization-persian-
gulf....](http://phys.org/news/2010-12-lost-civilization-persian-gulf.html)

[http://www.livescience.com/10340-lost-civilization-
existed-b...](http://www.livescience.com/10340-lost-civilization-existed-
beneath-persian-gulf.html)

[http://www.amazon.com/Recovering-Sarepta-Phoenician-City-
Exc...](http://www.amazon.com/Recovering-Sarepta-Phoenician-City-
Excavations/dp/0691002134)

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumerian_King_List](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumerian_King_List)

[http://www.academia.edu/386944/New_Light_on_Human_Prehistory...](http://www.academia.edu/386944/New_Light_on_Human_Prehistory_in_the_Arabo-
Persian_Gulf_Oasis)

~~~
tootie
Didn't Plato specifically place Atlantis West of Gibraltar placing it squarely
in the Atlantic Ocean?

~~~
jboydyhacker
He Said beyond the pillars of Hercules which could be referring to Gibraltar
or it could be the edge of the Blacksea or somewhere else entirely.

~~~
yread
Black Sea also got flooded and in similar time (although how catastrophic and
sudden that was is under debate).
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sea_deluge_hypothesis](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Sea_deluge_hypothesis)

edit: oh and apparently some of these floods were caused by draining of a
glacial lake in the middle of North America
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Agassiz](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lake_Agassiz)

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hcrisp
It's always the last place you look. (If you had to look further, then _that_
would be the last.)

