The well-known pyramids in Giza, Egypt, are famous for their unique construction and mystery. Amongst the Seven Wonders of the World, they are an enigma for all scholars and researchers alike, making us wonder how could people so ancient build something so complex and yet perfect?

Awe-inspiring and majestic, yes, but it seems that history needs to be reviewed and rewritten time and again as more and more exploration leads to more and more wonders coming to the surface or, let’s say, unfolding the hidden secrets of civilisation.

This time it’s Japan that has revealed under its waters 311 miles of the remnants of an ancient city, including a pyramid. Not just a pyramid but also one that is in fact much older than the great pyramids in Egypt. The oldest pyramid in Saqqara is the step pyramid. But this one was built 5,000 years before the Saqqara pyramid in Egypt.

When scuba divers found this ancient site off the coast of Okinawa in Japan, they first thought these were geological formations. The first geologist to investigate the sight was Professor Kimura of the Ryukyu University and he made it known that this was a manmade structure. “The object has not been manufactured by nature. If it had been the case, one would expect debris from erosion to have collected round the site, but there are no rock fragments here,” he stated to the researchers.

As the teams widened their search and more diving was done in the area and streets, they found huge archways, beautiful staircases and boulevards, all made with perfectly fitted blocks of stone with amazing expertise. Something never before seen. As more and more architects and experts from all over the world jammed the site to study this magnificent discovery, newspapers in Japan ran headlines of the underwater pyramid and the city. But strangely, western countries have not been very vocal about this exceptional find that happened almost 10 years ago. A much older city and pyramid than the world already knew about? The silence is a mystery by itself.

Professor Kimura is still trying to understand and unravel the mystery of these people who built this monument and a culture that thrived at a time when the people living in that area of Japan were simple hunters and food gatherers. This kind of advanced knowledge of architecture is much like that of other ancient advanced civilisations. The reason for the entire site being underwater could be due to one of the great earthquakes or tsunamis that Japan is famous for. Though they would like to find more stuff, no wooden or clay pottery have been found because these materials do not survive for thousands of years underwater.

But what has been found is a wall painting that looks like that of a cow. The researchers and scientists are trying to find out what kind of paint was used and the technique as well. Since the first people to live in the area have been traced to 10,000 years back, where did these knowledgeable people come from?

While we think about this, we are handed another extraordinary find. This time in the Antarctic. Frozen solid and peeking from the peaks is supposed to be a pyramid! Okay mountains too could be mistaken for pyramids as they also look like three sided pointed structures in satellite images. But this is not what the researchers involved are saying. We all know that global warming is melting the Antarctic ice, and eight explorers from America and Europe who went there as a team claim that they have seen ancient pyramids frozen in ice. This means that if Antarctic was once warm enough, which is something that geologists presume was possible, there too thrived an ancient culture advanced enough to construct huge pyramids. Talk about rewriting history! Moreover, how many more ‘wonders of the world’ are there actually?

Coming back to our chilling tale of icy pyramids, the structures, according to the team, are lined up just like the ones in Egypt. Before we dismiss this assumption, legend has it that Antarctica, which today is covered in ice, was once the great city of Atlantis. This is not a very new idea but it is said that the Nazis were very interested in Antarctica and sent many expeditions there. They thought there might be records of mankind’s hidden past and its secrets. But no findings, if any, were given of the post-World War expedition.

In his book, The Myth of the Twelve World Pyramids, James Donahue, relates a legend about the lost city of Atlantis frozen in ice in Antarctica. Then there is the Sphinx, which is also much older than the pyramids in Egypt. There are also indications that there were once palm trees flourishing in Antarctica. If erosion on the Sphinx is found to be that once the entire area was flowing with water, which turned into a dry barren desert in a few thousand years, could the same thing have happened to the climate in Antarctica?

According to researcher and author Graham Hancock, similar civilisations are assumed to have thrived in Egypt, Mesoamerica and Cambodia. In each of these advanced cultures, pyramids were built. They thought their kings were gods, and their religious priests and scholars were experts in astronomy and the study of the star cycles. Moreover, snakes were worshipped and considered sacred. They were spread over a large area all believing in the same basic religion like one “mother culture” and were very advanced in their technology.

Could all this be true? Will the arctic ice one day melt to reveal another mysterious settlement with pyramids lined up just like the ones in Egypt? Will we find mummified corpses of kings and queens? The mystery is quite chilling indeed.