Naked Science - Atlantis

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A disaster is looming. A fabulous city, rich in culture, and technological advances, is about to be destroyed. Buildings, people, an entire civilisation, swept away by an overwhelming natural disaster. The legend has entranced scientists and scholars for centuries.

In this episode Naked Science goes in search of the most enduring myth of all - The City of Atlantis - lost beneath the waves to a massive natural cataclysm some 11,000 years ago. We know very little of Atlantis, in fact were it not for the writings of the Greek philosopher Plato we might not have encountered it at all. Plato, recounting a story he heard as a child, described a huge metropolis, rich in fine art, architecture and culture. The city was destroyed in the space of a day and a night, sunk beneath the waves for eternity by a massive natural cataclysm. For thousands of years the tale remained an obscure yet tantalising fable until an American by the name of Ignatius Donnelly reignited the idea, bringing it to worldwide attention and sending archaeologists and trophy hunters alike across the globe in its wake.