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Jim Allen's
Historic Atlantis in Bolivia
Introduction
:
Plato (Greek
philosopher 380BC) writing in his works Timaeus
and Critias described a 
large continent with a wonderful civilisation which he
said existed at one time at "a distant point in the Atlantic Ocean" opposite the
Strait of Gibraltar. He called the continent Atlantis and said it sank into the
sea in the space of a single day and night. Thus arose the legend of the lost
continent of Atlantis.The Problem: Modern geology says a continent cannot sink beneath the sea in the space of a single day and no such continent has sunk into the Atlantic Ocean.
The Solution: The continent of Atlantis is still there opposite the Pillars of Hercules (Strait of Gibraltar) only now it has been re-named South America.The part which sank was a small volcanic island which sank into a large inland sea in the centre of the continent.
Background: Plato's description exactly fits South America because he describes a level rectangular-shaped plain which he said lay in the centre of the continent, next to the sea and midway along the longest side of the continent.. He also described the capital city of Atlantis which was built on a small volcanic island and also called Atlantis. The city lay on the level rectangular plain, five miles from the sea and according to Plato the whole region was high above the level of the Ocean sea, rising sheer out of the ocean sea to a great height on that side of the continent. Thus we have both a lost city of Atlantis as well as a lost continent of Atlantis.
It was not the continent of Atlantis which sank into the sea, but the island capital of the same name, built around a volcanic island which sank into the inland sea of Lake Poopo which exists on the edge of the rectangular plain presently called the Bolivian Altiplano. This plain is in the centre of the continent exactly as Plato described it.
Modern satellite mapping shows it to be of rectangular configuration, perfectly
level, enclosed on all sides by mountains and these mountains contained the
metals gold, silver, copper, tin and the mysterious Orichalcum" (an alloy of
gold and copper which occurs only in the Andes) which Plato said were used to
plate the walls of the circular city. The words "Atl" and "Antis" are themselves
of native America origins meaning "water" and "copper" respectively and the
plain is subject to earthquakes and floods such as Plato said sank the city in a
single day and night of rainfall.
Sinking into the Sea
People sometimes say; "How can Atlantis be in the Andes when it is supposed to have sunk into the sea?" We must remember that Atlantis according to Plato was on a level plain "high above the level of the sea and surrounded by mountains". In fact the entire plain has been periodically submerged beneath the sea ie it became a giant inland sea at various dates going back thousands of years succeeded by dry periods.
It took five expeditions on site following 
The Atlantis Trail
to find a location
which matched Plato's mountain which was low on all sides and in the centre of
the plain next to the sea. This site is presently called Pampa Aullagas at the
southern end of Lake Poopo.
Above left, traditional drawing of the plain and canal system with
Atlantis at its centre.
Above right, Drawing of the Altiplano showing the
location of Pampa Aullagas where the city should be.
above, two popular concepts of Atlantis showing concentric rings of land
Above left, traditional drawing of the city with rings of land and
sea.
Above right, Illustration of Pampa Aullagas showing remains of rings of
land and sandy canals when filled with water..
air photo showing sandy canals when filled with water
air photo with Platos original geometry. The inner
central island is five stades of 600ft in diameter and the rings of water and
land are in the correct proportions using a "stade" of 300ft.
As to the perfectly circular canals we had imagined based on popular drawngs, I looked up Platos words again and he said in the beginning..... "Near the plain at a distance of 50 stades (from the sea) there stood a mountain that was low on all sides. And Poseidon, to make the hill impregnable broke it off all round about; and he made circular belts of sea and land enclosing one another alternately, some greater, some smaller, two being of land and three of sea, which he carved as it were out of the midst of the island." Critias 108E-121C (the Jowett translation reads "Poseidon ....breaking the ground enclosed the hill all round, making alternate zones of sea and land larger and smaller, encircling one another") And that was what we found, except that the sea had dropped and the "zones of sea" were now sandy bottomed depressions.
views of former "belts of sea"
sandy deposits in canal-like depressions show former inner and
middle belts of sea on western side.
"There were three rings of water and two of land"
middle canal on south east side
Inner canal on the northern side.
Atlantis as an island 
In the wet season, Pampa Aullagas becomes an
island
So here is a site that has all the factors that Plato mentioned, firstly it is in the centre of the level rectangular plain at a distance of 50 stades from the sea. It has the required red, black and white stone. It has underground hot and cold springs. It is a route centre at the southern end of the lake.
But most remarkable of all, the site has been sunk by
earthquakes and a Bolivian legend called
"The Legend of the Desaguadero"
tells of a city
on the edge of a lake, punished by the gods and submerged by the sea, in exactly
the same manner as Plato's;. Furthermore, Poseidon the Greek name for the god of
the sea who created the rings of water and land in Atlantis was the equilavent
of Tunapa, in Aymara or Pachacamac also known as Viracocha in Quechua,
the Bolivian name for the god of the waterways who created the ringed formation
at Pampa Aullagas. In the Inca legend, Pachamama, wife of Pachacamac had twin
offspring, just like the wife of Poseidon who Plato said had five pairs of twin
sons.
The Aymara kingdoms which existed on the Altiplano also existed in
pairs, so there can be no doubt that the story of Atlantis had it's origins in
in a Bolivian legend.
Artist's impression "Atlantis on the Altiplano" by
Major Lee Smart
remains of Atlantis, "the mountain
that was low on all sides."
August 2004 Akakor expedition discovers ancient walls
submerged under lake Titicaca
THE RECENT DISCOVERY by the Akakor expedition
of ancient
constructions submerged under Lake Titicaca is a wonderful achievement, but
should it come as a surprise? After all the legends speak of ruins under the
lake and the history of Man is littered with civilisations which have come and
gone, cities which have flourished and disappeared, many due to climate change
or natural disasters examples of which might be Pompei buried by the volcano
Vesuvius, Akrotiri buried under volcanic ash when the island of Thera erupted,
Troy, lost through aeons of time and only remembered as a legend until located
by Heinrich Schliemann, Knossos on Crete, Ur, Bablylon, Nineveh and then there
are the famous cities of Sodom and Gomorroh mentioned in the Bible but swept
away by earthquakes and never located.
story from the native viewpoint...
Atlantis: Lost Kingdom of the Andes pilot movie
Looking into a section of the giant canal 1 stade wide
which Plato said ran right around the plain. The canal is fed by an underground
spring and has a ribbon of water even in the height of the dry season.
Did a tsunami help sink Atlantis?...
J.M.Allen with one of the stone blocks
covered in fossilised lake
sediments
at Pampa Aullagas
Milos Conference Greece 24 points relative to location of Atlantis CLICK HERE
Plato's statements 50 points relative to Altiplano
One of the frequently read comments is that there were no elephants in South America.
Photo above shows remains of
mastodon (large mammal belonging to the elephant family) head and tusks in Tarija museum, not far from the Altiplano.
Another comment re bulls sacrifice, the animals which were sacrificed were probably llamas, since this is common practice on the Altiplano as was drinking a mixture of the llama's blood from golden goblets in ancient rituals and even today offerings are thrown into the sacred fire as offerings to the gods… “When therefore, after slaying the bull in the accustomed manner, they had burnt its limbs, they filled a bowl of wine and cast in a clot of blood for each of them; the rest of the victim they put in the fire, after having purified the column all round. Then they drew from the bowl in golden cups and pouring a libation on the fire, they swore that they would judge according to the laws on the pillar,”
Plato stated that he gave all the original names Greek equivalents "to make it more agreeable to his readers", it is important to remember that he never actually visited the site himself and neither the ancient Greeks nor ancient Egyptians had probably ever seen or heard of a llama, thus "bull" was substituted, just as "trireme" was substituted for whichever type of ship or boat was originally used.
The dating is a more difficult question, some factors point to an early date, such as the mastodons mentioned above, yet Plato tells us that "9,000 is the sum of years since the war occurred" and he is describing the foundation of Athens and the "finest of the deeds the Greeks achieved."
If we substitute lunar "years" for solar years, this would bring the date down to around 1260BC and the Trojan war which might correspond to the "finest of the deeds the Greeks achieved" while the "confederated nations attempting to enslave the eastern Mediterranean" would be what are usually called "the Sea Peoples" who attacked Egypt in 1220 and 1186BC, attempting to enter Egypt both by sea and with land armies all of which were defeated by the Egyptian pharoahs.
It seems probable that Plato's geographic description is entirely correct when applied to the Altiplano in South America, but confusion arises when attempting to interpret other aspects of the story like horses and chariots which may correspond more to embellishments of Plato and inclusion of other legends or forgotten histories into the overall tale.
In Plato’s story, It is not Atlantis which is the ideal state, but Athens.
Whilst preparing for a recital of stories to be presented
at the Festival of Athena, Socrates proposes that it would be suitable if some story existed
which could illustrate how the ideal state of Athens had performed in war.
Critias recalls an old story which he heard in his youth and proposes that this might be suitable as a base to
build upon for the Festival of Athena.
From the “Timaeus”
“Crit. Then listen, Socrates, to a tale which, though strange, is certainly true, having been attested by Solon,
who was the wisest of the seven sages.
Soc. Very good. And what is this ancient famous action of the Athenians, which Critias declared, on the authority of Solon, to be not a mere legend, but an actual fact?”
the story continues introducing the theme of Atlantis as told to Solon by the Egyptian priests…….
“Many great and wonderful deeds are recorded of your state in our histories. But one of them exceeds all the rest in
greatness and valour. For these histories tell of a mighty power which unprovoked made an expedition against the whole
of Europe and Asia, and to which your city put an end. This power came forth out of the Atlantic Ocean, for in those
days the Atlantic was navigable; and there was an island situated in front of the straits which are by you called the
Pillars of Heracles; the island was larger than Libya and Asia put together, and was the way to other islands, and
from these you might pass to the whole of the opposite continent which surrounded the true ocean; for this sea which
is within the Straits of Heracles is only a harbour, having a narrow entrance, but that other is a real sea, and the
surrounding land may be most truly called a boundless continent. Now in this island of Atlantis there was a great
and wonderful empire which had rule over the whole island and several others, and over parts of the continent, and,
furthermore, the men of Atlantis had subjected the parts of Libya within the columns of Heracles as far as Egypt,
and of Europe as far as Tyrrhenia. This vast power, gathered into one, endeavoured to subdue at a blow our country
and yours and the whole of the region within the straits; and then, Solon, your country shone forth, in the excellence
of her virtue and strength, among all mankind. She was pre-eminent in courage and military skill, and was the leader
of the Hellenes. And when the rest fell off from her, being compelled to stand alone, after having undergone the very
extremity of danger, she defeated and triumphed over the invaders, and preserved from slavery those who were not yet
subjugated, and generously liberated all the rest of us who dwell within the pillars. But afterwards there occurred
violent earthquakes and floods; and in a single day and night of misfortune all your warlike men in a body sank into
the earth, and the island of Atlantis in like manner disappeared in the depths of the sea.
Crit. Consider then, Socrates, if this narrative is suited to the purpose, or whether we should seek for some other instead.
Soc. And what other, Critias, can we find that will be better than this, which is natural and suitable to the festival of the goddess, and has the very great advantage of being a fact and not a fiction? How or where shall we find another if we abandon this? We cannot, and therefore you must tell the tale, and good luck to you; and I in return for my yesterday's discourse will now rest and be a listener.”
Of course, all of the above may be nothing more than a literary device of Plato, but the fact remains that the geographic features do fit the Altiplano, which has the further advantage of all the sites proposed for Atlantis that it is the only one where the prospective tourist can visit and see for himself most of the details Plato spoke of, the level rectangular plain enclosed by mountains, the remains of an island sunk by earthquakes and still covered by fossilised sea sediments, remains of concentric rings of land, black, red and white stones, the metals gold, silver, tin, copper and the mysterious “orichalcum” – an alloy of gold and copper, the hot and cold springs and finally, remains of mastodons – the “elephants” which Plato said were at one time numerous in the continent.
It would hardly have been necessary for Plato to invent such geographic details as these, if he had known all the details of the Trojan war then surely it would have been easier to have used that to illustrate the finest deeds of his ideal state of Athens, but like he says in the story, the Egyptian priests remind Solon how the Athenians were ignorant of their own early history.
So Atlantis becomes a great power, with 10,000 chariots and 1200 ships although again I would mention that 1200 was the number of ships sent against Troy so in the end the story apart from the geographic description of South America, has elements both of the “Sea Peoples” as the confederated nations, and Troy as the finest of the deeds the Athenians accomplished.
But in the geographic description exist details which could not have been invented. The rectangular shaped level plain in the centre of the island midway along its longest side, the orichalcum which Plato considered “being more precious in those days than anything except gold”, this Andean alloy consists of gold and copper, when the copper is dissolved from the surface it has the appearance of pure gold, not only that but the appearance can be varied according to the ratio of copper to gold so that it can “sparkle like red fire” if the ratio of copper is higher than gold, it can also be polished just like Plato said, and then there are the twins, all the first inhabitants are born in pairs, just like in the Andes where the first inhabitants were born in pairs, Plato tells us Poseidon (god of the sea and of earthquakes, a teacher of mankind), had five pairs of twin sons and the Spanish historian Sarmiento de Gamboa writing in the sixteenth century in his book “history of the Incas” tells us Viracocha – the Inca name for the god of the sea and also a teacher to humanity, had five pairs of twin sons….
There again, Poseidon, as Plato explains is not the original name of the god in question..
Crit. “Yet, before proceeding further in the narrative, I ought to warn you, that you must not be surprised if you should perhaps hear Hellenic names given to foreigners. I will tell you the reason of this: Solon, who was intending to use the tale for his poem, enquired into the meaning of the names, and found that the early Egyptians in writing them down had translated them into their own language, and he recovered the meaning of the several names and when copying them out again translated them into our language. Therefore if you hear names such as are used in this country, you must not be surprised, for I have told how they came to be introduced.”
Not only does Bolivia, as it is called today, have all the above mentioned features, but even the legend itself may have it’s origins in Bolivian legend since a legend exists there called “the legend of the Desaguadero” which tells of a city punished by the gods and sinking beneath the waters of the (inland) sea, surely not a parallel to Plato’s story but the origin itself of Plato’s story of Atlantis.
Even the name Atlas which was the name of the first king of Atlantis is often represented as bearing up the heavens on his shoulders, so what better location than the Andes mountains which do indeed hold up the sky in that part of the world…..
Below follows an extract from Plato’s “Critias”.
“The whole country was said by him to be very lofty and precipitous on the side of the sea, but the country immediately about and surrounding the city was a level plain, itself surrounded by mountains which descended towards the sea; it was smooth and even, and of an oblong shape, extending in one direction three thousand stadia, but across the centre inland it was two thousand stadia. This part of the island looked towards the south, and was sheltered from the north. The surrounding mountains were celebrated for their number and size and beauty, far beyond any which still exist, having in them also many wealthy villages of country folk, and rivers, and lakes, and meadows supplying food enough for every animal, wild or tame, and much wood of various sorts, abundant for each and every kind of work.
I will now describe the plain, as it was fashioned by nature and by the labours of many generations of kings through long ages. It was for the most part rectangular and oblong, and where falling out of the straight line followed the circular ditch. The depth, and width, and length of this ditch were incredible, and gave the impression that a work of such extent, in addition to so many others, could never have been artificial. Nevertheless I must say what I was told. It was excavated to the depth of a hundred, feet, and its breadth was a stadium everywhere; it was carried round the whole of the plain, and was ten thousand stadia in length. It received the streams which came down from the mountains, and winding round the plain and meeting at the city, was there let off into the sea. Further inland, likewise, straight canals of a hundred feet in width were cut from it through the plain, and again let off into the ditch leading to the sea: these canals were at intervals of a hundred stadia, and by them they brought down the wood from the mountains to the city, and conveyed the fruits of the earth in ships, cutting transverse passages from one canal into another, and to the city. Twice in the year they gathered the fruits of the earth-in winter having the benefit of the rains of heaven, and in summer the water which the land supplied by introducing streams from the canals.
And Poseidon, receiving for his lot the island of Atlantis, begat children by a mortal woman, and settled them in a part of the island, which I will describe. Looking towards the sea, but in the centre of the whole island, there was a plain which is said to have been the fairest of all plains and very fertile. Near the plain again, and also in the centre of the island at a distance of about fifty stadia, there was a mountain not very high on any side.
In this mountain there dwelt one of the earth born primeval men of that country, whose name was Evenor, and he had a wife named Leucippe, and they had an only daughter who was called Cleito. The maiden had already reached womanhood, when her father and mother died; Poseidon fell in love with her and had intercourse with her, and breaking the ground, enclosed the hill in which she dwelt all round, making alternate zones of sea and land larger and smaller, encircling one another; there were two of land and three of water, which he turned as with a lathe, each having its circumference equidistant every way from the centre, so that no man could get to the island, for ships and voyages were not as yet. He himself, being a god, found no difficulty in making special arrangements for the centre island, bringing up two springs of water from beneath the earth, one of warm water and the other of cold, and making every variety of food to spring up abundantly from the soil. He also begat and brought up five pairs of twin male children; and dividing the island of Atlantis into ten portions, he gave to the first-born of the eldest pair his mother's dwelling and the surrounding allotment, which was the largest and best, and made him king over the rest; the others he made princes, and gave them rule over many men, and a large territory. And he named them all; the eldest, who was the first king, he named Atlas, and after him the whole island and the ocean were called Atlantic. All these and their descendants for many generations were the inhabitants and rulers of divers islands in the open sea; and also, as has been already said, they held sway in our direction over the country within the Pillars as far as Egypt and Tyrrhenia.
Now Atlas had a numerous and honourable family, and they retained the kingdom, the eldest son handing it on to his eldest for many generations; and they had such an amount of wealth as was never before possessed by kings and potentates, and is not likely ever to be again, and they were furnished with everything which they needed, both in the city and country. For because of the greatness of their empire many things were brought to them from foreign countries, and the island itself provided most of what was required by them for the uses of life. In the first place, they dug out of the earth whatever was to be found there, solid as well as fusile, and that which is now only a name and was then something more than a name, orichalcum, was dug out of the earth in many parts of the island, being more precious in those days than anything except gold. There was an abundance of wood for carpenter's work, and sufficient maintenance for tame and wild animals. Moreover, there were a great number of elephants in the island; for as there was provision for all other sorts of animals, both for those which live in lakes and marshes and rivers, and also for those which live in mountains and on plains, so there was for the animal which is the largest and most voracious of all. Also whatever fragrant things there now are in the earth, whether roots, or herbage, or woods, or essences which distil from fruit and flower, grew and thrived in that land; also the fruit which admits of cultivation, both the dry sort, which is given us for nourishment and any other which we use for food-we call them all by the common name pulse, and the fruits having a hard rind, affording drinks and meats and ointments, and good store of chestnuts and the like, which furnish pleasure and amusement, and are fruits which spoil with keeping, and the pleasant kinds of dessert, with which we console ourselves after dinner, when we are tired of eating-all these that sacred island which then beheld the light of the sun, brought forth fair and wondrous and in infinite abundance. With such blessings the earth freely furnished them; meanwhile they went on constructing their temples and palaces and harbours and docks. And they arranged the whole country in the following manner:
First of all they bridged over the zones of sea which surrounded the ancient metropolis, making a road to and from the royal palace. And at the very beginning they built the palace in the habitation of the god and of their ancestors, which they continued to ornament in successive generations, every king surpassing the one who went before him to the utmost of his power, until they made the building a marvel to behold for size and for beauty. And beginning from the sea they bored a canal of three hundred feet in width and one hundred feet in depth and fifty stadia in length, which they carried through to the outermost zone, making a passage from the sea up to this, which became a harbour, and leaving an opening sufficient to enable the largest vessels to find ingress. Moreover, they divided at the bridges the zones of land which parted the zones of sea, leaving room for a single trireme to pass out of one zone into another, and they covered over the channels so as to leave a way underneath for the ships; for the banks were raised considerably above the water. Now the largest of the zones into which a passage was cut from the sea was three stadia in breadth, and the zone of land which came next of equal breadth; but the next two zones, the one of water, the other of land, were two stadia, and the one which surrounded the central island was a stadium only in width. The island in which the palace was situated had a diameter of five stadia. All this including the zones and the bridge, which was the sixth part of a stadium in width, they surrounded by a stone wall on every side, placing towers and gates on the bridges where the sea passed in. The stone which was used in the work they quarried from underneath the centre island, and from underneath the zones, on the outer as well as the inner side. One kind was white, another black, and a third red, and as they quarried, they at the same time hollowed out double docks, having roofs formed out of the native rock. Some of their buildings were simple, but in others they put together different stones, varying the colour to please the eye, and to be a natural source of delight. The entire circuit of the wall, which went round the outermost zone, they covered with a coating of brass, and the circuit of the next wall they coated with tin, and the third, which encompassed the citadel, flashed with the red light of orichalcum.
The palaces in the interior of the citadel were constructed on this wise:-in the centre was a holy temple dedicated to Cleito and Poseidon, which remained inaccessible, and was surrounded by an enclosure of gold; this was the spot where the family of the ten princes first saw the light, and thither the people annually brought the fruits of the earth in their season from all the ten portions, to be an offering to each of the ten. Here was Poseidon's own temple which was a stadium in length, and half a stadium in width, and of a proportionate height, having a strange barbaric appearance. All the outside of the temple, with the exception of the pinnacles, they covered with silver, and the pinnacles with gold. In the interior of the temple the roof was of ivory, curiously wrought everywhere with gold and silver and orichalcum; and all the other parts, the walls and pillars and floor, they coated with orichalcum. In the temple they placed statues of gold: there was the god himself standing in a chariot-the charioteer of six winged horses-and of such a size that he touched the roof of the building with his head; around him there were a hundred Nereids riding on dolphins, for such was thought to be the number of them by the men of those days. There were also in the interior of the temple other images which had been dedicated by private persons. And around the temple on the outside were placed statues of gold of all the descendants of the ten kings and of their wives, and there were many other great offerings of kings and of private persons, coming both from the city itself and from the foreign cities over which they held sway. There was an altar too, which in size and workmanship corresponded to this magnificence, and the palaces, in like manner, answered to the greatness of the kingdom and the glory of the temple.
In the next place, they had fountains, one of cold and another of hot water, in gracious plenty flowing; and they were wonderfully adapted for use by reason of the pleasantness and excellence of their waters. They constructed buildings about them and planted suitable trees, also they made cisterns, some open to the heavens, others roofed over, to be used in winter as warm baths; there were the kings' baths, and the baths of private persons, which were kept apart; and there were separate baths for women, and for horses and cattle, and to each of them they gave as much adornment as was suitable. Of the water which ran off they carried some to the grove of Poseidon, where were growing all manner of trees of wonderful height and beauty, owing to the excellence of the soil, while the remainder was conveyed by aqueducts along the bridges to the outer circles; and there were many temples built and dedicated to many gods; also gardens and places of exercise, some for men, and others for horses in both of the two islands formed by the zones; and in the centre of the larger of the two there was set apart a race-course of a stadium in width, and in length allowed to extend all round the island, for horses to race in. Also there were guardhouses at intervals for the guards, the more trusted of whom were appointed-to keep watch in the lesser zone, which was nearer the Acropolis while the most trusted of all had houses given them within the citadel, near the persons of the kings. The docks were full of triremes and naval stores, and all things were quite ready for use. Enough of the plan of the royal palace.
Leaving the palace and passing out across the three harbours you came to a wall which began at the sea and went all round: this was everywhere distant fifty stadia from the largest zone or harbour, and enclosed the whole, the ends meeting at the mouth of the channel which led to the sea. The entire area was densely crowded with habitations; and the canal and the largest of the harbours were full of vessels and merchants coming from all parts, who, from their numbers, kept up a multitudinous sound of human voices, and din and clatter of all sorts night and day. “
Map of site at Atlantis/Pampa Aullagas
version in Spanish (version espanol)
Books in English by J.M.Allen
"Atlantis:
the Andes Solution" - the theory
"The Atlantis Trail" - the
expeditions
"Atlantis: Lost Kingdom of the Andes" - the discovery
handmade
copies avaiable in UK only.
Jim Allen e-mail address
webatlantis@hotmail.com
