Wissenschaftler entdecken riesige Unterwasserruinen, bei denen es sich möglicherweise um eine verlorene sagenumwobene Stadt handelt

Scientists have discovered the underwater ruins of huge stone structures erected by humans at least 7,000 years ago in the coastal waters of France, according to [a new study published](https://hal.science/hal-05406477?ref=404media.co) in the *International Journal of Nautical Archaeology*.

The submerged granite ruins near Sein Island, a Breton island in the Atlantic Ocean, are among the oldest large stone structures ever found in France, and may have inspired an ancient local legend about a city called Ys that vanished under the waves.

The structures vary in size from small stone dams, which were probably fish traps, to large monoliths and slabs that protrude six feet from the seafloor and extend 400 feet in length, which perhaps once served as a protective seawall.

The peoples who made these structures must have been both highly organized and relatively abundant in population in order to erect the stones. They were also sophisticated marine navigators, as the waters around Sein Island are notoriously dangerous—prone to swells and strong currents—which is one reason its underwater heritage has remained relatively poorly explored.“

Our results bear witness to the possible sedentary lifestyle of maritime hunter-gatherers on the coast of the extreme west of France from the 6th millennium onwards,” said Yves Fouquet, a geologist who works with the [Society for Maritime Archaeology and Heritage ](https://archeosousmarine.net/?ref=404media.co)(SAMM), and his colleagues in the study. “The technical know-how to extract, transport, and erect monoliths and large slabs during the Mesolithic/Neolithic transition precedes by about 500 years the megalithic constructions in western France in the 5th millennium.”

Read the story: [https://www.404media.co/scientists-discover-massive-underwater-ruins-that-may-be-a-lost-city-of-legend/](https://www.404media.co/scientists-discover-massive-underwater-ruins-that-may-be-a-lost-city-of-legend/)