The Yonaguni Monument
One of the most mysterious underwater buildings we would like to introduce to you is the Yonaguni Monument. It (Japanese: 与那国島海底地形, "Yonaguni Island Submarine Topography"), also known as the "Yonaguni (Island) Submarine Ruins," is a submerged rock formation off the coast of Yonaguni, Japan's southernmost Ryukyu Islands. It is located about a hundred kilometers east of Taiwan.
Masaaki Kimura, a marine geologist, believes the formations are man-made stepped monoliths. These assertions have been labeled as pseudoarchaeological. Neither the Japanese Agency for Cultural Affairs nor the Okinawa Prefecture government considers the features as important cultural assets, and neither government agency has conducted research or preservation work on the site. Kimura first calculated that the monument was at least 10,000 years old, dating it to a time when it would have been above water, and so concluded that the site could represent a vestige of the mythological lost continent of Mu. He amended this estimate and dated it to 2,000 to 3,000 years ago in a study submitted to the 21st Pacific Science Congress in 2007 because the sea level was near to current levels at the time. He proposed that after construction, tectonic action sank it below sea level. This, according to archaeologist Richard J. Pearson, is implausible. Kimura claims to be able to recognize a pyramid, castles, roads, monuments, and a stadium. He further indicated that he believes the structures are Yamatai cultural relics.
Supporters of artificial origin, such as Graham Hancock, claim that, while many of the traits visible at Yonaguni can be found in natural sandstone formations all over the world, the concentration of so many unusual structures in such a small region is exceedingly implausible. They also point to the lack of loose blocks on the formation's flat parts, which would be expected if they were generated entirely by natural erosion and fracturing. According to Robert M. Schoch, who believes the monument was constructed geologically, the rocks are scoured by strong currents.
Location: Japan
Depth: 26m
Dating: nearly 10,000 years old
