Do you think that by the time I finish college to become an archaeologist they will have technology for better excavating of Atlantis? What are some theories for "The Lost City of Atlantis"? Are there any new artifacts found?

Dr. dig responds:
No one has yet proved that Atlantis really exists. Perhaps when you finish college, you will be the one that enlightens the world to the truth about such a marvellous lost city!

According to the ancient Greek philosopher, Plato, Atlantis was located "on the other side of the Pillars of Hercules," two huge outcroppings of rock in the Strait of gibraltar, (that narrow body of water between Spain and Morocco where the Atlantic and the Mediterranean meet). For Plato and the Greeks who lived by the Mediterranean Sea, "the other side" of the straight meant the Atlantic Ocean.

Plato also said that Atlantis was destroyed 9,000 years before the Greeks first told the story, or around 9,500 B.C. Plato explains that the people of Atlantis became complacent, greedy and lazy. As punishment, the god Zeus punished Atlantis by destroying the city with earthquakes and floods and that Atlantis sank into the sea and vanished forever.

While some scholars believe that the tale of Atlantis is an allegory, used to teach the ancients a lesson about the evils of greed and power, others believe that the legend of Atlantis is based on people's memory or a real island, that Plato may have got his dates mixed up and that the island was located not in the Atlantic, but somewhere closer to home in the Mediterranean Sea.

In 1967, the Greek archaeologist, Spyridon Marinatos began excavating Thera, a volcanic island 60 miles north of Crete in the Mediterranean. There he discovered a city, Akrotiri, buried 15 feet deep beneath volcanic ash. The ash preserved buildings, streets and beautiful wall paintings. He determined that There was destroyed by one of the world's biggest volcanic eruptions in around 1500 B.C.

Some people believe that Thera could be the island of Atlantis. There are of course many probles with this interpretation - principally that Thera is not out in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean.

But people still dream and long to discover this lost city. There is still no archaeological proof of the existence of Atlantis.

You can find loads of great information about the Lost City of Atlantis in the April/May 2000 issue of dig, available at your local library. For more recent archaeological discoveries at Akrotiri, log on to Archaeology Magazine's website and use the search tool by typing in the key word: Akrotiri.

The best of luck in your search for Atlantis.