Lost city of of Mu 'found'
Updated on 24 August 2007
A Japanese explorer claims to have uncovered the location of the ruins of the lost city of Mu.
The search for the mysterious city which is said to have sunk somewhere in the Pacific Ocean has captivated the popular imagination of adventurers for years.
Many scientists dismiss the existence of Mu (sometimes called Lemuria) as sheer fantasy on the lines of the lost continent of Atlantis.
But marine geologist Masaaki Kimura believes he has found its ruins in the waters off southern Japan.
Undaunted amid persistent scepticism, he has worked for decades on proving that a group of extraordinary rock formations off Japan's southern-most island of Yonaguni is actually the foundations and evidence of an ancient culture that disappeared into the Pacific over 4,000 years ago.
Mr Kamura believes the city had a castle, a shrine, a triumphal arch, Moai-like statues found on Easter Island and even a coliseum once upon a time, when the city was above water.
He said: "Judging by the design and the disposition of the ruins, the city must have looked just like an ancient Roman city. I can envisage that a triumphal arch-like statue stood on the left side of the Coliseum and a shrine over the hill."
Mr Kimura believes the city sunk in earthquake about 3,000 years ago.
However, his claim only has received a frosty reception from most other scientists who say the ruins can be accounted for by natural phenomena such as tidal and volcanic activity.
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