A USC Australia academic has been chosen by the Boston Museum of Science to deliver a virtual talk next week on the mystery of civilisations and lands lost beneath the sea.

Professor of Geography and Co-Director of USC’s Sustainability Research Centre Patrick Nunn will explore whether tales of such places are based on truth or are just myths during his 90-minute presentation at 9am US EST (11pm AEST) on Wednesday 13 October.

“A lot of Pacific Island people claim their distant ancestors came from lands that are now under water,” Professor Nunn said.

“When I first heard that, I thought these were made-up stories. But now I think there’s good geological evidence to support the events that have been described.

“We’ve got stories from coastlines all the way around the world now that are likely recollections of lands that are now under water.

“Australia is a fine example of this. We’ve got lots of Indigenous Australian stories about lands that are now under water that were formerly inhabited.

“We know that during the last ice age, the sea level was about 120m lower than it is today, the Great Barrier Reef was dry land, and there were cliffs at the edge of it.

“And there are all sorts of stories going back more than 2,000 years about these fabulous cities in the Nile Delta that were used by the Greeks and Romans.

“They were long assumed to be fictional. But about 15 years ago, archaeologists found the remains of these cities on the floor of the bay around Alexandria.” 

To join this free Boston Museum of Science event, register online.