The mystery of a pyramid structure that was found under the sea off the coast of the Azores Islands in 2013 is still puzzling experts who are not certain whether it is human-made.
Diocleciano Silva found the structure in 2013 while surveying chart ocean depths. He told local news outlets: “The pyramid is perfectly shaped and oriented by the cardinal points.”
It’s located between the islands of Terceira and São Migue, and Silva claimed it appears to be almost perfectly square.
Current estimates obtained using GPS digital technology put the height at 60 meters with a base of 8000 square meters.
Conspiracy theories of the pyramid under the sea and science
Some people online are convinced that the formation is the result of some sort of ancient civilization. Some have also speculated that it is the remnants of the sunken city of Atlantis, a phenomenon that has captured people’s imaginations for years.
Researchers have been speculating about the location or nature of Atlantis since Plato first wrote about it. A huge variety of theories have arisen, especially in modern times. Popular theories include identifying Atlantis with the Azores, Antarctica, or South America.
The problem with that theory is that the area in which the pyramid structure was discovered has been submerged for around 20,000 years.
Given that the earliest known advanced human civilization in Mesopotamia didn’t begin until roughly 17,000 years later around 3,000 BC, it seems unlikely that humans are responsible for building this structure.
The Portuguese navy suspects that Silva may have stumbled upon D. João de Castro Bank. This is an underwater volcano which is located on the sea floor between the same islands where Silva spotted the mysterious structure.
The Azores region experiences frequent volcanic activity and tectonic shifts, contributing to the formation of unusual geological features.
While the pyramid-shaped structure exists, there is no conclusive evidence to suggest it’s artificial. Ultimately, while the idea of an underwater pyramid is intriguing, the evidence currently supports a natural explanation.
Human-made structures made thousands of years ago?
The Azores archipelago is about 1,000 miles off the coast of Europe, about a third of the way to North America across the Atlantic. The islands belong to Portugal, and the official historical record has long held that they were uninhabited until Portuguese expeditions colonized them in the 15th century.
However, a controversial alternative theory is gaining ground. Some experts, including the president of the Portuguese Association of Archaeological Research, Nuno Ribeiro, have said rock art and the remnants of human-made structures on the islands suggest the Azores were occupied by humans thousands of years ago.
Some of the structures appear to be from the Stone Age, suggesting a civilization existed at the time that was advanced enough to travel so far and colonize the remote islands.
A raging debate about claims of ancient settlements in the Azores led Portugal’s government to establish an expert commission to investigate further.
In 2013, that commission declared that any perceived remnants of an ancient civilization were either natural rock formations or structures of more modern origin.
Related: Was Atlantis a Minoan Civilization on Santorini Island?