Since our childhood, we heard many mythological stories. But people say there’s a little bit truth in every mythological story. We heard of many mythological lost cities which exist in legends, imaginations but no one ever found them in real. Like the gold city of El Dorado or the submerged powerful city Atlantis. These ancient lost cities might or might not exist but the quest for the cities will never end.
The Lost City of Z
Explorer Percy Fawcett in 1925 entered into the jungles of the Mato Grosso region of Brazil to find the mysterious city called “Z”. But he and his team totally vanished and that time it made big news. Many search missions were conducted but unfortunately, all the missions were failed.
Fawcett read a document in the National Library of Rio de Janeiro called Manuscript 512, written by a Portuguese explorer in 1753. According to the manuscript, there was a city in the region. The city had full of silver with multi-storied buildings, stone arches, wide streets that lead to a lake.
Atlantis
Greek philosopher Plato first mentioned this city in his writing in 360 BC. The writing said Atlantis was a powerful and technologically advanced city. Around 9,600 BC the whole city was submerged into the sea. Plato gave the reason that at one terrible night fire and earthquake devastated the entire city.
There are several speculations about the location of the submerged city but the exact location has never been found, so many considered it just a myth. But a recent study gives a hope about the existence of the city. Canadian-Israeli journalist and investigative archaeologist Simcha Jacobovici partnering with film director James Cameron conducted a search in the Strait of Gibraltar off the coast of Spain. They used the clues in Plato’s writing and they found six bronze-age stone anchors that could be the ruins of the submerged lost city.
El Dorado
The legends of El Dorado have started around the 16th century when Europeans were captivated with the treasure of the New World. Especially Spain was sending its conquistadors to South America to search the treasure. One rumour was there was a city high in the Andres Mountains whose king covered himself with gold dust. Here comes the name El Dorado or “the glided one”. It was the ritual of the Muisca tribe occupied the Cundinamarca and Boyaca areas of Colombia. But over time the story transferred from one single king to a whole kingdom of gold. Many people attempted to search the lost city but failed.
Shangri-La
The name Shangri-La first appeared in James Hilton’s 1933 novel called “Lost Horizon”. The story tells about a mysterious valley somewhere in Tibet where the place abandoned all the modern techniques and lives a life in a natural way.  This is a place where all the wisdom of the world is kept and people live in peace. Several communities in the Himalayas claimed to be Shangri-La. There’s a similar story in Buddhism where the valley is known as Shambala. But the actual location or its existence is unknown. Some say it’s just a myth and nothing else.
Aztlan
The Aztec people created one of the most powerful civilisations. It is known that the Aztec people were lived in somewhere in modern-day Mexico. But less is known about their main homeland. Basically, they migrated to Mexico. It is assumed that they had come from the Chicomoztoc or the land of seven caves and then settled in Aztlan. But this place was never found. Many enthusiasts started looking for Aztlan from the Western Mexico to the deserts of Utah. The existence of Aztlan remains a mystery.
Lyonesse
In the Arthurian legend, from the legendary story of Tristan and Iseult, the Lyonesse is the homeland of Tristan. It is said that the land had sunk into the sea. Some say that Lyonesse was a land of Britain’s Isles of Scilly. Some speculate that the Litany of 140 islands is the hilltops of the lost land. According to the legend, Lyonesse was a huge land, containing 140 villages and churches. A sudden flood engulfed the entire land. Fishermen near Scilly tell many tales that they retrieved many pieces of buildings and other structures from their fishing nets. But these stories have never been confirmed.
Camelot
Camelot is said to be a castle and court of legendary King Arthur. It is described as the beautiful capital of Arthur’s kingdom. The scholars debate about the location of Camelot and its existence. Arguments about the location of the “real Camelot” have taken place since the 15th century. Stories say it located somewhere in Great Britain. Most scholars consider it as a work of fiction. Arthurian scholar Norris J. Lacy said that “Camelot, located nowhere in particular, can be anywhere”.
Quivira
Quivira is a legendary city that was expected to contain seven cities of gold. In 1541, explorer Francisco Vasquez de Coronado tried to explore the province but he never found the city. Many states claimed the land but its exact location has never been established. Most authorities believe it would be in central Kansas near present-day Lyons.
Thule
The island Thule comes from Norse mythology and it is said to be located between Scandinavia and Iceland. The land is imagined as a cold place and they had months without sunlight. A Greek commentator of the 4th century described it that the people of the island ate millet and other herbs, fruits and roots. The people got their beverage from grain and honey. While some scholars researched over its exact location, some identify it as just an ancient name for Norway. Others interpreted it as Shetland, Orkney and Scandinavia. In the late Middle Ages and Renaissance, Thule was referred as Iceland or Greenland
