Surprising Reasons Atlantis Might Be Under the Saharan Desert 

Experts say the Lost City of Atlantis is a myth, but a theory has started to rise from the depths of the internet to question the belief. Cobbled together by armchair archaeologists and internet historians, people everywhere worked together to solve one of history’s biggest mysteries: where is Atlantis?

Atlantis was famously lost to the sea and taken to a watery grave by the ocean god Poseidon, so naturally, the search has focused on underwater archaeological efforts. But what if the city is not underwater anymore?

Ancient clues hinting towards its location point to the western Sahara Desert and the Richat Structure, a fascinating natural geologic formation so large astronauts use it as a landmark from space. It’s often called the Eye of the Sahara.

Plato

The only primary sources for the lost city are Plato’s works Timaeus and Critias, which use allegory to portray the destruction of Atlantis as a tale of hubris punished by the gods. The texts also point to the real sources and describe the city and its location. 

Solon Learned About Atlantis From the Egyptians 

Plato claimed to have heard about Atlantis from scholar Solon, who transcribed the legend from some Egyptian pillars at the Temple of Neith in Sais. 

Unfortunately, those pillars haven’t been the focus of many official excavations. Heavy looting and destruction haven’t left a trail to follow- however, nobody has really tried yet.

Two obelisks on display claimed to be from Sais – the Elephant Obelisk in Rome and the Urbino Obelisk in Urbino, Italy.

Plato’s Description of the Island 

Giving directions before GPS was a challenge, and translating it after the fact does not add clarity, but Plato was surprisingly specific about where Atlantis was located. He described it as an island in the Atlantic Ocean in front of the Pillars of Hercules that was bigger than Libya and Asia combined. The northern portion was mountainous, and the southern region was a shore and a great plain. 

The city was said to be enclosed within three circular moats of increasing width separated by proportional rings of land. Each land circle had a wall constructed of a different metal: one of tin, one of brass, and one of orichalcum. The center land mass had two springs, one warm water, and one cold, that supplied the Atlanteans with fresh water.

Pillars of Hercules 

The Pillars refer to two points near the Strait of Gibraltar, the Calpe Mons and the Abila Mons, but the location of the second pillar has never been definitively proven. That makes it difficult to precisely place which direction would be in front of them, as described by Plato. Going through the strait and heading south leads to the Atlantic, past the Atlas Mountains, and then to the country now known as Mauritania – where the Richat Structure is nestled in the deep desert. 

Atlas, the First King of Mauritania 

Plato indicates the first king of Atlantis was King Atlas. Guess who the first king of Mauritania was? Also King Atlas. The Mauritania region of Africa was also extremely wealthy with gold, so much so that the richest man in history is said to be Mansa Musa, who ruled over the region in the 13th century. 

Counterpoints 

It’s hard to get experts to seriously consider the possibility of an archaeological Atlantis, let alone consider the city may be buried under sand instead of water. Some obvious counterpoints exist to the potential of the Richat Structure being Atlantis. 

It’s a Natural Formation

Geologists have studied the Eye of the Sahara and determined it to be made by nature rather than humans. That wouldn’t prevent it from being used by humans, as civilizations predominantly utilized natural formations when building communities before the invention of heavy machinery. 

There Is No Water 

The Saharan Desert is pretty much the exact opposite of a major port city to a sea-faring civilization, and for the Richat Structure to meet Plato’s description, it would have to have water between the concentric circles of land. The Eye of the Sahara sits too far inland and too high above sea level as it currently is. There is evidence to suggest it once used to be filled with ocean, though, as there are salt flats and whale bones all around the Richat. 

Green Sahara 

The Sahara wasn’t always a desert, and during the African humid period it was a vastly different landscape of lush greenery, flowing rivers, and fresh lakes. Problematically, the exact timeline of when that was isn’t known and is still hotly debated.

It is possible that the topography of Africa was very different when Atlantis existed. Whatever cataclysmic event destroyed Atlantis theoretically could have resulted in changing water levels that first deluged the city with the sea and then pushed the whole geographic area up higher to drain slowly and eventually be swallowed by the desert sands. 

There Is No City There 

Proper archeological studies have yet to be done, however, the area doesn’t show signs of being a former ancient city. Considering the epic nature of the city’s destruction, evidence wouldn’t necessarily be obvious or even above ground. If a tsunami suddenly swept the city away, much of the evidence would be wherever the water left it. If anything did remain, it likely met the same fate as many cities covered in gold – it got looted into non-existence.  

That said, there are signs that ancient humans once lived near the Richat Structure. Stone hand axes and Neolithic spear points are scattered in the area, predominantly around the northwest of the outer ring. Radiocarbon dating indicates the timing is consistent with the currently accepted African humid period.

There are several possible explanations for the presence of primitive stone tools. It could be unrelated; Atlantis could have been built on top of an even older site, the flood waters could have swept them in from somewhere else, or Atlantis could have been a pre-historic site from the dawn of civilization preserved through memory, oral traditions, and stone carvings on pillars, all the way to Plato’s famous dialogues. 

Why Hasn’t Anybody Checked the Richat for Signs of Atlantis? 

The United States travel advisory lists Mauritania as a level three out of four, a “Reconsider Travel” recommendation. That means one can get there if determined, but probably just don’t. It’s politically unstable with significant human rights concerns, especially for Westerners traveling there. All the regular crimes are common with some extra-special worries sprinkled on top, like becoming a human trafficking or terrorism victim. Members of the LGBTQ+ community should hike the concern up to maximum levels, as that’s a capital offense punishable by the death penalty by the law of the land. 

Mauritania’s socio-economic and political turmoils make organizing archaeological research expeditions extremely difficult for physical safety reasons, assuming any experts could be convinced to search for a mythical city in the first place. These challenges are only magnified for independent travelers who would otherwise just go and look for Atlantis themselves. 

The evidence for the Eye of the Sahara being the lost city of Atlantis is still circumstantial. Still, it’s certainly enough to suggest at least continuing the search for the fabled city.