Often indicated as “Atlantis of the Giapponand ”for its position on the seabed, the Yonaguni monument It is an imposing rock formation submerged inPacific Oceanabout 40 meters long and 27 meters high, discovered in 1986 by the Kihachiro Aratake diver. His morphology a steps And terraces parallelthe flat topography and the walls almost vertical They were frequently used to support unconventional theories, according to which the monument would be the result of the work of ancient lost civilizations dating back to the last glacial era. These hypotheses, however, have been systematically refutes by the experts. On the contrary, numerous geological evidence indicate a natural origin, attributable to slow but constant Marina erosive action.
The submerged monument
The Yonaguni monument It is a massive underwater rock structure located about 100 meters off the coast of the homonymous Yonaguni islandthe southernmost of the archipelago of RyūkyūIn the Sea of the Philippinesin Japan. Training is mainly composed of sandstones And clayey dating back to about 20 million years agoand is part of the geological formation of Yaeyama.
What makes this site particularly fascinating is the presence of a complex series of terraces And stepsfrom the forms generally rectangular and with almost vertical wallswhich together recall the ancient buildings of the central-southern civilizations, or even the Ziggurat Mesopotamian. However, the rock is a One with the substrate belowwhich suggests that it is not a assembled construction, but rather of natural training. The main structure measures about 40 meters in length, it is about 27 meters And it is found to 5 meters below the surface of the sea.
The Yonaguni monument was discovered in 1986 From a local tourist guide and since then it has been the subject of numerous studies and theories aimed at identifying their origin. Although the experts have identified numerous evidence to support on thenatural origin of his morphology, several other researchers, enthusiasts of archeology, as well as pseudo -archaeologists continue to support one ‘artificial origincoming to evoke the work of Ancient lost civilizations.
Theories on the artificial origin of the Yonaguni monument
The theories on the artificial origin of the submerged structure, sometimes called “pyramid” by Yonaguni They are based almost exclusively on the morphology of the steps and terraces, characterized by almost flat and parallel surfaces, net edges and mainly straight angles. According to supporters of these theories, such a geometric precision would have requested man’s action. In support of this hypothesis, other details are also mentioned, such as the presence of holes circular in the rock, interpreted by some as attempts to fracture controlled via cunei, in a similar way to what happened in the ancient stone quarries. Still others claim to have identified traces of engravings or statues depicting animals, Although there are no clear or verifiable images to support these sightings.
One of the main theories is that proposed by Professor Masaki Kimura, of the University of Ryūkyū, according to which the submerged structure of Yonaguni was built about 10 000 years agothat is, during the last eraglacialwhen the sea level was significantly lower and the area was located emerged. On this base, some claim that Yonaguni was part of the mythical lost continent of Mu And the “pyramid” would have been built by an ancient population whose other traces today has been lost. Earthquakes And floods They were then evoked countless times to explain the sinking of the structure. Archaeologists and geologists, however, confused these theories, considering them without scientific evidence.
Another hypothesis instead associates the structure with the populations Jōmon, hunters-cacogliers who lived the Japanese archipelago already in 3000 In this case, the structure would not have been built from scratch, but partially modified or carved by these populations, in a similar way to how our ancestors affected symbols or cave paintings on the walls of prehistoric caves. Also in this case, however, there are no concrete evidence in support of the hypothesis.
The natural origin of Yonaguni’s formations
If on the one hand the hypothesis of the intervention of ancient lost civilizations adds a fascinating aura of mystery to the monument of Yonaguni, the scientific community is largely agreed in attributing to him anatural origin. The first to propose a geological interpretation was the American geologist Robert Milton Schochwhich attributed the morphology of the site to the slow but constant erosive action of the marine currents. The sandstones that make up Yaeyama’s formation are characterized by numerous parallel stratification surfaces and well defined, along which the layers tend to separate easily. In addition, the rocks are crossed by different series of fractures perpendicular to the stratification surfaces, probably trained in response to the intense seismic activity of the area. Over the millennia, marine currents have progressively modeled rockcausing the separation of rocky layers along the Weakness surfaces (like the fractures and stratification plans), thus giving rise to a morphology with terraces and steps which, although fascinating, is rather common in the geological record. Similar formations, for example, have been identified along the north-eastern coast of the same island of Yonaguni.
In addition, some of the elements mentioned in support of the artificial origin seem to lose strength if analyzed critically. For example, several researchers have highlighted how the steps and terraces are not so geometrically perfect as previously reported, and, as already mentioned, the structure appears as a single rock bodyinstead of a set of separate blocks, thus excluding the possibility that it has been assembled. Furthermore, the alleged engravings would seem to be actually natural abrasions and signs left by bodies Mariniand the height of the steps would be too large to allow functional use by human beings.
In conclusion, although the debate is still alive, the tests available today converge towards a natural origin of the submerged formation of Yonaguni, convincingly denying the hypothesis of an artificial construction.
