--- title: Underwater 'Lost City' is Actually a Natural Phenomenon description: Thought to be made by ancient Greeks, the site is actually the world of microbes. canonical: https://time.com/4356802/underwater-lost-city-geological-phenomenon/ author: Daniel White article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-06-03T18:57:45.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:55:30.570Z article:section: Science og:title: This Underwater 'Lost City' is Actually a Natural Phenomenon og:description: Thought to be made by ancient Greeks, the site is actually the world of microbes og:url: https://time.com/4356802/underwater-lost-city-geological-phenomenon/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: This Underwater 'Lost City' is Actually a Natural Phenomenon twitter:description: Thought to be made by ancient Greeks, the site is actually the world of microbes twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # This Underwater 'Lost City' Is Actually a Natural Phenomenon ## Video: Remotely Operated Vehicles: Unsung Underwater Heroes [Watch (HLS stream): Remotely Operated Vehicles: Unsung Underwater Heroes](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/tGrJOxoR.m3u8) (3:42)  _Published 2010-08-05. Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV's) have evolved from being "flying eyeballs" to serving crucial roles in the deep sea, from scientific discovery to the Deepwater Horizon oil leak_ by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Jun 3, 2016 6:57 PM UTC by [Daniel White](https://time.com/author/daniel-white/) ## Daniel White Jun 3, 2016 6:57 PM UTC Underwater structures once thought to be remnants of an ancient civilization were actually created by nature, according to [a recent study](https://www.uea.ac.uk/about/-/underwater-lost-city-found-to-be-geological-formation). First discovered by snorkelers off the coast of the Greek island Zakynthos, the “lost city” appeared to be a [long-forgotten civilization outpost](http://time.com/3684054/lost-cities/?iid=sr-link4), but a study published in the journal _Marine and Petroleum Geology_ on Friday says the structures were created millions of years ago by a geological phenomenon. There were earlier clues, too, that what appeared to be paved floors, courtyards and colonnades were not what they seemed, according to lead researcher Julian Andrews. “There were what superficially looked like circular column bases, and paved floors, but mysteriously no other signs of life—such as pottery,” Andrews wrote in a statement. Andrews and his team analyzed the formations and realized that they were the work of [microbes](http://time.com/4207846/deodorant-antiperspirant-microorganisms/?iid=sr-link5), not ancient Greeks. “We investigated the site, which is between two and five meters under water, and found that it is actually a natural geologically occurring phenomenon,” said Andrews. “This kind of phenomenon is quite rare in shallow waters. Most similar discoveries tend to be many hundreds and often thousands of meters deep underwater.” Underwater 'Lost City' is Actually a Natural Phenomenon ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4356802/underwater-lost-city-geological-phenomenon/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4356802/underwater-lost-city-geological-phenomenon/"},"headline":"This Underwater 'Lost City' Is Actually a Natural Phenomenon","datePublished":"2016-06-03T18:57:45.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:55:30.570Z","description":"Thought to be made by ancient Greeks, the site is actually the world of microbes","url":"https://time.com/4356802/underwater-lost-city-geological-phenomenon/","keywords":["Oceans","Greece","microbes"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Daniel White","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/daniel-white/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/oceans/","name":"Oceans"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4356802/underwater-lost-city-geological-phenomenon/","name":"This Underwater 'Lost City' Is Actually a Natural Phenomenon"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Remotely Operated Vehicles: Unsung Underwater Heroes","description":"Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROV's) have evolved from being \"flying eyeballs\" to serving crucial roles in the deep sea, from scientific discovery to the Deepwater Horizon oil leak","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/tGrJOxoR/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2010-08-05T22:46:59.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/tGrJOxoR.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/4356802/underwater-lost-city-geological-phenomenon/","duration":"PT3M42S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/4356802/underwater-lost-city-geological-phenomenon/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```