Naked Science: Atlantis

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What do we really know about the lost city of Atlantis? For thousands of years, the tale remained an obscure yet tantalizing fable until an American named Ignatius Donnelly brought it to worldwide attention.


These treasures are what lure us to Malta's shores. Could this island be the site of Atlantis? Only a few miles from Malta's capital, Valetta, lie some of the most intriguing ruins in Europe. Malta's magnificent megalithic temples were built around 3600 B.C, that's 1000 years before the Great Pyramids in Egypt. Who the temple builders were and what became of their culture is a fascinating mystery.

Adriana Cachiatolo works for the Maltese Tourist Authority. And she studies the history of the island's temple sites. She thinks the early civilization that lived here was so advanced that it could have been the basis for the Atlantis story.

\"At the time of the construction, they were the most sophisticated and advanced architecture anywhere in the world. 5000 years ago, no one else was building structures like this. They are unique. And in terms of architecture, they were very advanced.\"

Some of these stones weigh 20 tons. That's the weight of 3 double-decker buses. It was an incredible feat of engineering to move them across land and raise them into place. And there are other signs here of an advanced civilization at work.

\"We have found very impressive examples of altar pieces with spirals carved in them, also carvings of animals, such as ram, pigs, and sheep and fish.\"

But do the temples have anything to do with Plato's Atlantis? Cachiatolo thinks they do.


Atlantis n.
A legendary island in the Atlantic Ocean west of Gibraltar, said by Plato to have sunk beneath the sea during an earthquake.
亚特兰蒂斯大西洋中一传说岛屿，位于直布罗陀西部，柏拉图声称在一场地震中沉入海底
megalithic adj.
[考古]巨石造成的, 使用巨石的
sophisticated adj.
Very complex or complicated
非常复杂精密或尖瑞的
decker n.
Something having a deck or an indicated number of levels, stories, or tiers. Often used in combination:
有…层面的东西有一层甲板或很多层面的物件。常用以构成复合词
at work
活动着; 运转着; 在起作用
altar n.
An elevated place or structure before which religious ceremonies may be enacted or upon which sacrifices may be offered.
圣坛；祭坛架高的地点或结构，在其前面举行宗教仪式或在其上面摆放祭品