by Sophie Roberts: When divers went looking for hammerhead sharks in the Pacific Ocean they never expected to stumble across these incredible underwater ruins…
All manner of theories have been used to try and explain how the massive slabs got there, from them forming naturally to being man-made or even put there by aliens.
A mixture of sandstone and mudstone makes up the mysterious Yonaguni Monument, which is 490ft by 130ft and around 90ft high.
The location, sometimes described as Japan’s Atlantis, lies in the Pacific Ocean… but no one quite knows how the wreckage got there.
Since the site was uncovered in 1987, scholars have argued about how the ruins were created.
Some believe the rocks naturally formed on the site, before being modified at some point by humans.
Boston University geologist Robert Schoch is one of the researchers that agrees with this theory.
He noted that the layers of the monument are well-defined and were likely to have formed as a result of Yonaguni lying in an earthquake-prone region.
Schoch argues: “The rocks of this group are also crisscrossed by numerous sets of parallel, vertically oriented joints in the rock.
“These joints are natural, parallel fractures by which the rectangular formations seen in the monument likely formed.
“Yonaguni lies in an earthquake-prone region; such earthquakes tend to fracture the rocks in a regular manner.”
Theorists claim the parallel faces, sharp edges and holes by the triangle pool all suggest they are ruins of a former human civilisation.
Professor Masaaki Kimura, from the University of the Ryukyu, believes the remains date back to 8,000 BC.
He believes that tectonic activity led a former community to become submerged underwater over time.
Source: The Sun
