Above, hill with either ringed walls or ringed irrigation trenches destroyed by earthquakes west of Lake Poopo.
CLICK for Earthquakes page

THE most distinguishing feature of Atlantis and one which even the Milos international Atlantis conference doubted might exist, was that the main island of Atlantis which Plato described first of all as the home of Poseidon and later as the site where the city of the descendants of Atlas reigned, was comprised of a central island surrounded by alternating rings of land and water.

The island comprised a central island 5 stades in diameter surrounded by three rings of water and two rings of land, "enclosing each other like cartwheels."

the island city of Atlantis

It took five expeditions on the Bolivian Altiplano 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.

Location of the rectangular level plain with the Atlantis site in its centre at Pampa Aullagas to the south of Lake Poopo, Oruro, Bolivia.

Location of Pampa Aullagas to the south of Lake Poopo, Oruro, Bolivia... 5 miles from "the sea".

above, two popular concepts of Atlantis showing concentric rings of land

      
Above left, traditional drawing of the city with rings of land and sea.
The central island was said to be 5 stades in diameter, surrounded by a ring of water 1 stade wide, then a ring of land of 2 stades and a ring of water, 2 stades, then a ring of land 3 stades in turn enclosed within a ring of water 3 stades wide.
Above right, Illustration of Pampa Aullagas showing remains of rings of land and sandy canals when filled with water..

Atlantis as an island
In the wet season, Pampa Aullagas becomes an island
and before the sinking of the surrounding plain, the water from
the lake could have entered the volcano, filling the natural depressions
making circular canal-like harbours.

above, Oblique satellite image showing the volcanic island at Pampa Aullagas in the dry season.
The surrounding plain has sunk in elevation and the nearby inland sea has receded leaving the island as a volcano on dry land.
The volcanic cone, 5 stades in diameter lies in the centre of the level rectangular plain, 50 stades (5 miles) from the sea and is enclosed by three concentric sandy channels which formerly held water, separated by rings of land.
Plato "near the plain, over against its center, at a distance of about 50 stades, (from the sea) there stood a mountain that was low on all sides."

Pampa Aullagas, three sandy channels separated by rings of land can easily be seen on the volcano to the east of the village.

Pampa Aullagas, new higher resolution image looking from the west. Considerable damage appears to have been done to the volcano with some parts sinking, others rising etc. CLICK for more photos

air photo showing sandy canals when filled with water.

The innermost channel, 1, is now at a higher level up the volcano so it is not clear whether this was originally part of Plato's scheme or whether this part of the island has risen in elevation, or there may have been another ring of water surrounding the volcano on the level plain. However, Plato did say the circular rings were "carved out of the island" and that they "bored through the rock" to reach the outer circle of water, so logically there should have been a ring of land or rock on the outside to contain the outermost water circle, shown here as the embankment just behind the village of Pampa Aullagas, between the village and water ring 3.

The site appears to have suffered considerable damage from earthquakes. Some parts have sunk, others risen in elevation whilst others appear to be twisted round and even moved sideways, as if struck by a huge force from the west and north. In the above photo, the outer ring of rock has been joined up and the eastern arm of the volcano moved closer into the centre to align the canals and show how it may have looked using stades of 165ft. The rings fall in the correct proportions of 1 stade of water, 2 stades of land, 2 stades of water, 3 stades of land and 3 stades of water. The centre island 5 stades in diameter is shown to scale at the top of the steeply sided volcanic cone which is about 5 stades in diameter on the summit and 10 stades in diameter at its base.

"There were two rings of land, and three of water, which he turned as with a lathe, each having its circumference equidistant every way from the centre"

It is not known whether the outer ring of rock may have continued on the southern side but it seems probable that it did and was subsequently destroyed by the earthquakes which sank the island, shown here in this reconstruction.

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.

above, two of the concentric sandy channels separated by ring of land with the village, level plain and the sea beyond.

above, the outer canal on the west side.

  
above, inside the outer circular canal or channel on the west side.

  
above, middle canal on the north-west side.

above, inner ring on the west side.

above, tourists check out the inner channel on the south-east side.

above, middle canal on south east side

  
above, climbing into the middle channel on the south-east side. Visit Pampa Aullagas

Hot and cold springs were a feature of Atlantis

Above left, hot springs typical of the Altiplano. At Paria, to the north of the lake they provide hot water for a swimming pool and at Pazna to the east of lake Poopo, they provide hot water for a spa with individual baths.
Above right, cold water springs entertain tourists at Pampa Aullagas.

Plato: "The springs they made use of, one kind being of cold, another of warm water, were of abundant volume.... and, moreover, they set reservoirs round about, some under the open sky, and others under cover to supply hot baths in the winter"

Amongst the numerous features mentioned by Plato, we should also mention the metals.
Plato: "The wealth they possessed was so great that the like will never easily be seen again."
The walls of the city were said to be plated in metals which to us were rare and valuable, but to the original inhabitants were common and plentiful.
Amongst these were gold, silver, copper, tin and a mysterious alloy called "orichalcum".
The main motivation for the Spanish Conquest of the continent was the abundance of precious metals to be found there.
The gold of Peru is already famous in the world, and the silver from the mines in Potosi in Bolivia was a rich fountain of wealth which drove forward the Spanish Empire. Next to the mountain of silver in Potosi there is another mountain of tin, which is also a rare metal not found in many places in the world.

In Atlantis, the kings bathed in baths fed by natural hot and cold springs. When the Conquistadors first went to interview the Inca ruler, Atahualpa, they found him "Atahualpa was in a small building close to some baths, the natural hot springs of Kónoj that still hiss and bubble out of the ground to this day. ... The Pleasure house had two towers rising from four chambers, with a courtyard in the middle. In this court, a pool had been made and two pipes of water, one hot and one cold entered it. The two pipes came from springs. ... beside one another. The Inca and his women used to bathe in the pool."

Following the capture of Atahualpa at Cajamarca, the plunder of Peru began. From the Inca's camp alone, came "eighty thousand pesos of gold, seven thousand marks of silver and fourteen emeralds. The gold and silver was in monstrous effigies, large and small dishes, pitchers, jugs, basins and large drinking vessles, and various other pieces. Atahualpa said that this all came from his dinner service." ... Atahualpa subsequently offered a ransome to the Spaniards for his freedom. He promised to fill a room measuring 22 feet long by 17 feet height, up to a line 8 feet high, with gold and golden objects and this was to be completed within the space of two months.

The treasure trains began to arrive frequently and shortly afterwards the melting down of the treasure and destruction of all the historic and artistic pieces began. "Indian smiths carried out the melting on nine forges ... On many days the smiths were melting 60,000 pesos - over 600 pounds of gold. Over eleven tons of gold objects were fed into the furnaces of Cajamarca, to produce 13,420 pounds of 22½-carat 'good gold'; the silver objects yielded 26,000 pounds of good silver. (The spoils were subsequently divided amongst the conquistadors, a horseman received some 90 pounds of gold and 180 of silver, and foot-soldiers received half this amount.) Franciso Pizarro took seven times the horeseman's quota and also the throne on which Atahualpa had travelled - it was 15-carat gold and weighted 183 pounds. The Spanish Crown was rewarded with one fifth of all the gold, silver , jewels etc.

After the initial melt down and distribution of the gold, further convoys of gold continued to arrive and following the death of Atahualpa at the hands of the Spanish, additional gold which had been on its way was secretly hidden.

Just as the walls of the temples in Atlantis were plated in gold, silver and orichalcum, the walls of the temples of the Incas were similarly plated in gold, silver and orichalcum (known locally as tumbaga). When the conquistadors ransacked the Temple of the Sun known as the Coricancha in Cusco - they found "These buildings were sheathed in gold, in large plates.... The Spaniards prised off seven hundred plates, which Xerez reported as averaging some 4½ pounds of gold each when melted down."

In Atlantis, we are told, they had "statues in gold of their ancestors". When the Spaniards returned to complete the plunder of Cusco, "in one cave they found twelve sentries of gold and silver, of the size and appearance of those of this country" ... they also found ... golden effigies, golden statues, a garden of golden plants, altars made of gold, golden images of the sun etc.
(source "The Conquest of the Incas", by John Hemming)

But the metal which puzzled people most of all, was Plato's description of "orichalcum" since it was the second most valuable metal then known, it could be polished and "sparkled like fire" and there were mines of it throughout the island.
R.G. Bury considered it might have been "mountain copper" but in fact a natural alloy of gold and copper matching Plato's description exists in the Andes where it is called Tumbaga.
Not only that, but when the gold/copper alloy is heated then the object immersed in a special solution, the copper disolves from the surface to leave an object with the appearance of pure gold. The object can then be polished to consolidate the gold atoms on the surface and further enhance the sparkling, golden appearance.

Location of the mines of the metals mentioned by Plato, all adjacent to Lake Poopo and the Atlantis site at Pampa Aullagas

Above, an object of orichalcum (tumbaga) looking like gold on the left and looking like copper on the right.

Above, (left) a gold mask from the precious metals museum, La Paz.
Above (right) a mask and collar of Orichalcum
click for orichalcum page

Before leaving the actual site itself, another important factor which may be easily demonstrated on this site is that Plato mentioned that the buildings were made of red, black and white stones, intermixed to give a pleasing appearance. All three colours of stone are to be found at Pampa Aullagas, some looking as if they are fragments from stones used in former buildings though no ancient buildings themselves remain.

above, red and white stones at Pampa Aullagas, below, black stone at Pampa Aullagas, CLICK for stones gallery

J.M.Allen with one of the stone blocks
covered in fossilised lake sediments
at Pampa Aullagas

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. And most important of all, it has been sunk by earthquakes and floods just as Plato described.

continue to page 3 for Bolivian legend of Atlantis and discovery of "America"

Homepage

Part 1: Historic Atlantis

Part 2: The Evidence

Part 3: The Legend

Part 4: Conclusion