In his work Critias, Plato wrote, “This tale of Atlantis, though strange, is certainly true, having been attested by Solon who was the wisest of the Seven Sages.” If you’re not familiar with the myth of Atlantis, let me explain: The greek god Poseidon had five sets of twins. He then gave them ten kingdoms to rule over, one for each, but the entirety of the empire was ruled by Atlas, his oldest son. Atlantis (which literally means the city of Atlas) was a very powerful empire with a fierce navy and plenty of gold, but it disappeared beneath the ocean in one night and has never been seen since. Now, most people wouldn’t buy the stuff about Poseidon, but the possibility of there being an empire called Atlantis is perfectly plausible. Something important to note is that the city of Troy was believed to only be a myth until it was found in Turkey, as was Dwarka until it was discovered in the ocean. The point is, a city cannot be considered mythical because we haven’t found it.
Atlantis is still a well-known tale today thanks to Plato’s works Critias and Timaeus. Plato explains how he came to know of it;through notes of his ancestor, Solon, that had been passed down in the family for hundreds of years. According to Plato, Solon visited Egypt around 580 BC to learn more about the world, since Egypt had a lot of records and historical documents. While there, he met a temple priest named Sonchis of Saïs, who told him about Atlantis. He showed Solon some hieroglyphics that were carved into some of the stones that made up the temple and translated them for him. The writings spoke of the powerful empire and even said that Egypt was once a colony of Atlantis. Solon wrote down everything he learned.
Now to the point of this article; Atlantis may have been found in the Sahara Desert. Out in in Mauritania, there is an odd bit of land called the Richat Structure. Scientists have many explained questions about the structure, but there have never been excavations there. Their best explanation as to how it was formed so far is that it was caused by molten rock being pushed upward. This wouldn’t be new, as Antarctica has been proven to be rising 1.6 inches a year due to molten rock.
Plato said, “There were alternate zones of sea and land, larger and shallower, encircling one another. There were two of land and three of water, which were turned as if with a lathe each having its circumference equidistant every way from the center.”
The website floodmap.net, customizes the water levels around the world. Setting the water levels to 425 shows the Richat Structure having the same zones of sea and land that Atlantis was described to have, as well as making it an island. However, the Richat Structure is 215 miles inland from the ocean and is 1300 ft above sea level, making it unlikely that the ocean would have reached it. This is something many skeptics point out, but there is an explanation; The Younger Dryas period. The Younger Dryas period was happening 11,900 years ago, which is when Atlantis disappeared. This was a time of ice age and global warming. Glaciers were forming and unforming, raising sea levels and causing geographical changes around the world. The molten rock activity below the structure also plays into this. And if the structure were rising 1.3 inches a year, less than the entire continent of Antarctica, for the last 11,900 years, it would’ve been at sea level.
As you can see from this photo above, there is evidence that there were once rivers running through the mountains that are north of the structure.
Another thing from the markings on the sands is that there was once rushing water. When looking at the area on Google Earth, you can see the direction the water went, many believe the marks show there was once a gigantic tsunami, which may be what wiped out Atlantis. Furthermore, the sands of the Sahara Desert actually come from the ocean, and the groundwater around the Richat Structure is saltwater down to 200 meters, despite being so far from the ocean. There have also been unfossilized whale bones found near the structure and many seashells are found there.
Plato said, “A well near the central acropolis provided the city with fresh water.” The exception to the salty groundwater is in the very center of the structure, where the groundwater is fresh. He also said, “The stone which they quarried was white, another black, and a third red.” The rocks found around the Richat Structure are mostly red, but there’s also an abundance of black and white stones. Finally, he also said that “There was an abundance of metals, copper, and gold.” There have also been many artifacts of gold and tools found in the area. Some of Mauritania’s biggest exports are gold, copper, and other metals.
Plato said, “There were a great number of elephants on the island.” There have been many skeletons of elephants found in the area and Mauritania does have an elephant population. Also, as seen in the photo above, there are cave paintings of elephants in nearby caves.
The most interesting part of this is King Atlas. Interestingly enough, there was also a King Atlas of the Mauri people that occupied Mauritania and other areas nearby. Though he’s technically a legend, he is commonly mentioned as the first King of Mauritania. Articles about King Atlas of Mauritania don’t mention King Atlas of Atlantis.
The map above is from the Greek historian Herodotus, who’s credited for having made the most accurate mapping of the known inhabited world as of 450 BC. If you look at the bottom left, he has an area called “Atlantes.” This map is from 450 BC, but Atlantis disappeared in 9,600 BC, so how did he know where it was? One may argue that the location of Atlantis had been written down before and he simply wrote where it used to be, but it’s a bit of a flimsy explanation.
As for the credibility of Solon, Plato, and Herodotus, they were all highly respected men and are commonly thought of as credible sources of information. Solon was a statesman, lawmaker, and poet. Plato was a philosopher and founded the Platonist School of Thought and Academy; the first institution of higher learning in the Western world. Atlantis is virtually the only thing Solon and Plato have been accused of lying about. I’d like to point out, though, that the temple that had the writings of Atlantis wasn’t destroyed until thousands of years after Solon’s death, meaning anyone could have gone to see the writings for themselves.
In addition to all of this evidence, the measurements of the Richat Structure also match the measurements Plato gave for Atlantis. Plato said the outer ring of Atlantis was 127 stadia. One stadia is equal to 607 ft, and 607 times 127 is 77,089, or 23.5 km. The outer ring of the structure is also 23.5 km. So we have a large structure in the middle of a desert that has the same measurements as Atlantis, a King Atlas, and is in the area that was mapped as being Atlantis. If it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it’s a duck.
Also, here are some interesting coordinates you can look at on Google Earth that show what looks like remnants of structures if you’re interested.
21°07’32.3”N 11°23’56.6”W
21°07’22.1”N 11°22’23.3”W
21°01’00.3”N 11°26’02.4”W
21°00’59.8”N 11°25’53.3”W
21°00’49.8”N 11°26’01.1”W
21°00’45.8”N 11°26’04.7”W