Enigmatic Carvings on Underwater Ruins in China Mystify Investigators

In an underwater investigation in Fuxian Lake, Yunnan Province, China, started on June 13, 2006, archaeologists discovered remains of a group of huge ancient buildings at the bottom of the lake. The investigation team found numerous regularly placed stones featuring mysterious carvings. The discoveries proved that the magnificent architecture was built by civilized human beings, but cast doubt on experts’ previous suppositions.

Exploring the underwater ruins in Fuxian Lake, China.

According to Life News (a Chinese newspaper), it was recorded in historical documents that a city named Yuyuan was established in the Fuxian Lake area in the Western Han Dynasty (206BC-24AD), but this city stopped in historical records after the Sui and Tang Dynasty (589-907AD). Local legend has it that Yuyuan City and its people sank to the bottom of Fuxian Lake.

An earlier expedition into Fuxian Lake was done under the assumption that the ruins belonged to either the sunken city Yuyuan or the capital of the ancient Dian Kingdom. But the second expedition yielded evidence contradicting this assu

mption: the buildings were made of stone, while both the cities of Dian and Yuyuan were constructed largely from wood and clay.

A Large City That Was Never Documented

Stone feature in the submerged city. ( Sa Defenza )

Sonar surveys have shown that the architecture complex at the bottom of Fuxian Lake covers approximately 2.4 square kilometres (10.8 million square feet), larger than the capital of the Han Dynasty. People cannot help but wonder why such a large city left no trace in historical records.

An Underwater Pyramid More Advanced Than the Egyptian Pyramids

In the remains under Fuxian Lake, one of the structures resembles a pyramid. This pyramid seems to be more advanced than the Egyptian pyramids, as the stones are ornamented with various designs and symbols.

Digital reconstruction of a pyramid submerged in Fuxian Lake, China. (History/ YouTube Screenshot )

Enigmatic Carvings

Amongst the many engraved stones, one stone has attracted particular attention. On the top right of the stone is carved a small circle surrounded by seven radial lines, resembling the Sun. On the left side of the stone is carved a similar circle, but with only four radial lines.

According to experts, a Sun-shaped intaglio [type of carving] on a stone is very rare. Such suns with four radial lines were found on bronze drums from the Spring and Autumn Period (722-481BC). However, the symbol on the stone is believed to be even older than that–far more than 1,800 years old.

The investigation team also found on the stones some carvings resembling masks. The flat cheeks and indented teeth of the masks do not match the facial characteristics of human beings.

Other marks found at the site include “0” and “1” signs and seven holes carved in a neat design in the stones. Some simple line drawings were also found, one of which resembles a human face. On some other stones were carved signs looking like the Roman numeral “1” and the English letter “y” arranged in a row.