Historical research suggests the Lost City of Atlantis has been under our noses all along….just off the West Coast of Ireland.
A number of maps studied over a one hundred year time frame from 1550 all show an island referred to as ‘Frisland’ in the North Atlantic.
On maps after this period the island appears to vanish, suggesting it was the mythical kingdom of Atlantis.
The view from a geologist
Ancient history writer and geologist, Matt Sibson, told the Daily Star Online, “It was shown in so many maps in the 16th and 17th century and then it disappeared – it can’t be a mistake.
“It is located northwest of Ireland and there are a number of smaller islands around it.
“And it can still be seen on modern mapping tools under the sea, close to the Faroe Islands.
“It ticks a lot of boxes in terms of location, the fact that it is sunk and was above sea-level at one time.”
Plato’s writings
Plato wrote the story of Atlantis around 360 BC. He described it as a Utopia populated with half-god/half-human civilians.
He referred to the Kingdom as existing a further 9,000 years before him, lush with exotic wildlife and precious metals like gold and silver.
But Plato’s story is the only solid evidence to suggest Atlantis was ever real with many historians believing it a mythical land created from the author’s imagination.
The Debate Continues
Others argue the Lost City is now under water while the exact location continues to be debated.
The Mediterranean is one suggested spot while some claim it lies under the frozen waters of Antarctica.
Speaking to National Geographic, Charles Orser, Curator of History at the New York State Museum in Albany, said, “Pick a spot on the map, and someone has said that Atlantis was there.
“Every place you can imagine.”
In a similar study to Sibson, Swedish researcher, Dr Ulf Erlingsson, made an even more radical claim.
After visiting Ireland to study the megalithic tombs of Newgrange in Co. Meath, he suggested that Ireland itself was, in fact, the Kingdom of Atlantis Plato talked about.
He believed the tombs were directly linked to the ancient temples of Poseidon, God of sea, earthquakes, storms and horses.
While the Hill of Tara in Co. Meath, where the legendary high kings of Ireland reportedly gathered, reflects the capital city of the lost continent.
Speaking from the Emerald Isle in 2004, Erlingsson said, “Atlantis has a central plain fringed by mountains which is exactly what I saw at Newgrange today.
“And Plato said that 10 kings met in the Atlantis capital every five years, which would equate with Tara’s historical connection with the high kings.”
But more recent findings suggest the Lost City is not Ireland itself but located off the West Coast.
The name ‘Atlantis’ supports the claim it lies beneath the Atlantic Ocean while aerial pictures show images of a silhouette resembling a small continent under the water.
The actual existence of ‘Atlantis’ has yet to be scientifically proven and remains a source for debate, wonder and romantic ponder.
And where better to place it for now than off the West Coast of our own beautiful land?
