'The real Atlantis' discovered off the coast of Greece
That significantly predates its mythological equivalent.
It's estimated that the underwater archaeological site of Pavlopetri is around 5,000 years old, yet it wasn't until the 20th Century that its existence came to light, and researchers are still unearthing its mysteries and finding its valuables.
The site was discovered in 1904 by a Greek geologist named Folkion Negris in the southern part of the Peloponnese region.
However, it remained largely unvisited until 1967, when Nicholas Flemming of Southampton University's Oceanography Institute stumbled upon it once more.
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Researchers subsequently charted out the ancient town, which comprised at least 15 distinct structures, along with courtyards, thoroughfares and burial sites.
They also recovered a range of items from the ocean floor, which included pottery, knives and a small bronze statue, which they thought dated back to between 2800 and 1180 BC. Unfortunately, the buildings of the city itself were discovered to have originated around 1650 to 1180 BC.
It's only natural to assume that finding a sunken city hidden beneath the surface would have been a massive news sensation - yet, surprisingly, the site of Pavlopetri had to wait a further 40 years for people to take a closer look.
In 2009, a worldwide team of specialists including experts from the Greek Ministry of Culture's Underwater Antiquities Department, the Greek Centre for Maritime Research, and the University of Nottingham embarked on a five-year mission to thoroughly unearth and examine the entire town.
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They discovered evidence that suggests the city flourished in the final phase of the Bronze Age in ancient Greece, which is known as the Mycenaean period, around 3000 BCE to 1100 BC. During this time, historians believe the city had a population of approximately 500 to 2,000 people.
Despite this, the exact reason for Pavlopetri's abandonment remains a mystery. Although some historians think it may have been submerged due to a significant earthquake around 1000 BC or 375 AD.
It's been enthusiastically proposed that the "lost" continent craving our collective imagination remains inspired by the historic Pavlopetri.
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