Is Sardinia Atlantis? A Sensational Theory

Leading scientists from around the world gathered in Rome to discuss the controversial idea that Sardinia may have been the lost city of Atlantis. This theory, developed in a book by Italian journalist Sergio Frau, gained considerable popularity, selling 30,000 copies. However, it was criticized by 250 academics who deemed it sensational. Interest in the topic increased following a UNESCO symposium in Paris and the opening of the "Atlantika" exhibition, which explores the legendary location of Atlantis.

Leading scientists recently met in Rome to discuss the exciting and controversial idea that Sardinia is the lost city of Atlantis. The theory, developed in a book by Italian journalist Sergio Frau, has gained international recognition but also drawn harsh criticism.

Despite the book selling 30,000 copies in Italy, a detailed 20-point document signed by 250 academics discredits the book, calling it a sensational Sardinian story.

Interest in the theory itself, however, increased significantly last year when the United Nations' cultural heritage body, UNESCO, organized a symposium on the topic in Paris, suggesting that the idea was worth exploring. Academics, archaeologists, geologists, and historians from across Italy gathered at Rome's Accademia dei Lincei to take a closer look at the theory and discuss the basis for a possible future study.

The meeting coincides with the opening of an exhibition showcasing Frau's ideas, which was originally shown last year in Paris. The exhibition, titled "Atlantika," uses Frau's book, "The Pillars of Hercules," as a springboard for exploring theories and ideas surrounding the legendary island and its location. To date, the location or even existence of Atlantis has not been confirmed.

The first documented mention of the island comes from the ancient Greek philosopher Plato – who lived around 427-347 BC – who wrote that it was destroyed by a cataclysm, probably a tsunami.Traditional theories placed Atlantis somewhere in the Atlantic Ocean, because Plato wrote that it was located between the Pillars of Hercules, which, according to another ancient writer, Eratosthenes, were located in the Strait of Gibraltar.

Frau, however, claims that Eratosthenes, a librarian and geographer who lived in Alexandria at the turn of the 3rd and 2nd centuries BC, was wrong and that the Pillars of Hercules were located in Sicily.

Frau came up with the idea after seeing two maps depicting Middle-earth in the Bronze Age.

One map showed Tunisia and Sicily almost touching each other, while the other showed a very similar-looking Strait of Gibraltar.

Frau believes that Eratosthenes moved the pillars because in the 120 years between his time and Plato's, the Greek world had changed dramatically, and the strait between Sicily and Africa was no longer within the reach of the Empire.

Moreover, geological changes and rising sea levels increased the distance between Tunisia and Sicily, thus contributing to Eratosthenes' mistake and reinforcing it over time.

If the Pillars of Hercules were indeed located in Sicily, Sardinia would be the obvious location for Atlantis.

Frau's research revealed that the Nuragic civilization – named after the Nuraghe, the stone towers built on the island – appeared in Sardinia between 1400 and 1200 BC.

It is believed that a cataclysm, probably a tsunami, forced the Nuraghes to leave Sardinia during the Bronze Age, around 1778-1775 BC.

Although Plato dated Atlantis to 9,000 years before his birth, many historians believe he actually meant 900 years, based on their assessments of his descriptions and the bronze found on the island.

Furthermore, Frau argues that if the Pillars of Hercules were moved to the Strait of Sicily, then many classical writings would become more geographically accurate.

For example, Herodotus writes about Corsica and the ancient city of Tartessos as if they were side by side. If Tartessos were located between the Pillars of Hercules on Gibraltar, then a boat trip from one to the other would have taken over a month.

Another writer, Dicearch, states that the end of the Adriatic is farther from Greece than the Pillars of Hercules. "Malta and Gozo fit this description, but not Gibraltar," said Frau