It’s time for another edition of “Fiction or fact?” Today’s subject: Atlantis, Plato’s creation that has spawned more interest, arguments, explorations and movies than any other mythical city. While the needle has often crept away from “fiction,” it returns to it as more investigation yields less evidence. Which way will the needle move as we look at the latest theory that Atlantis lies not in the Atlantic but in a Spanish swamp?

“It is unique, nowhere in our world is there anything resembling this, and the structures match exactly Plato’s dimensions with no deviation. It is absolutely spot on.”

“It,” according to maritime historian Tim Akers of the Merlin Burrows private satellite imaging company, is Doñana National Park, a swampy preserve in Andalusia in southern Spain, where new images taken of the area show what Akers and others claim are the remains of an ancient city that clearly resemble the layout of Atlantis as described by Plato. Using the images, they’ve identified evidence of a massive harbor wall Plato estimated to be 5.5 miles long that collapsed under the pressure of the water that flooded Atlantis into mythological extinction. Those images are shown in his interview with The Daily Mail (see them here).

“We filmed clear evidence and collected samples that were analyzed scientifically in a laboratory in Modena, Italy, which is used to study ancient Roman finds.”

The images also led Akers and Merlin Burrows archeologists to spots where they took samples from the wall area which the report from the Modena Materials Analysis Laboratory claimed to find evidence that …

“The harbour wall seems to have had a coating that prevented barnacle growth, like modern Teflon. That requires highly advanced construction technologies and knowledge of chemistry.”

Samples from remains of pillars showed more …

“These structures contain binders, like calcite. The presence of mica, potassium, and other trace minerals show proof of artificial mixing of materials, so the samples we have tested are made from an ancient, prehistoric concrete.”

The minerals and the design led them to claim that …

“…we’re talking about a civilisation with very advanced technology.”

But is this enough proof to say with confidence that this is Atlantis? Ingenio seems to think so. Ingenio Films is a film and documentary company that has partnered with Merlin Burrows to produce “Atlantica” which its PR team excitedly describes:

“ATLANTICA” is the first in the ATLANTICA series, and in this two hour film, we document and identify every single item that Plato described, using years of research, and extraordinary technologies. The focus of this first installation in the Atlantica Series is to identify, beyond any doubt, that this discovery is indeed ATLANTIS!! In our complex discovery of Atlantis, we have involved every available science and technique along the way, in order to show the FACTS, for which our team has included a multi disciplinary set of experts, sciences, technologies, and academia.”

They claim the film will show “the Temple of Poseidon, the vast Harbor Front cities of Poseida, the massive Harbor Wall, the Inland Sea, and most importantly… the CONCENTRIC ISLANDS themselves!!”

Those are bold claims about the Doñana National Park wetlands and a 100-mile surrounding area stretching from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean which others have also claimed could be the location of Atlantis – albeit without Ingenio’s enthusiasm and confidence. Akers is a bit more reserved:

“We only present the facts and try not to delve into speculation. What is unique in our presentation is all of this material has never been seen before.”

Atlantis: fact or fiction? When this new documentary is finally released, which way will the needle move?