Long-lost ‘Atlantis' continent ‘where 500,000 people lived’ discovered by sonar scanner

Recent findings from Quaternary Science Reviews suggest that the piece of land known as 'lost Atlantis' has been submerged for over 70,000 years.

Only now have scientists uncovered more details about the huge landscape off the coast of Australia.

Using sonar mapping, researchers conducted a new study that could provide insight into early human migration.

Kasih Norman, lead author on the new study and an archaeologist at Griffith University in Queensland, Australia, explained: 'We're talking about a landscape that's quite submerged, over 100 meters [330 feet] below sea level today.'

The submerged landscape is believed to have hosted half a million of our ancestors / Manfred Gottschalk/Getty

The sonar technology showed indications of rivers, freshwater lakes and sheltering structures across a now-sunken landscape, almost twice the size of the UK. The researchers believe that humans could have once 'thrived' on the large mass of land.

'We're really looking at a landmass that was about 1.6 times the size of the UK,' added Norman.

Once forming part of a palaeocontinent that connected Australia, New Guinea, and Tasmania, the lost continent - known as Sahul - may have been home to more than 500,000 of our ancestors.

Norman continued: 'It's important to bear in mind these aren't real population numbers we're talking about, it's just a matter of projecting the carrying capacity of our landscape. We're basically saying it could have had that many people.'

The landmass that once connected present-day Kimberley and Arnhem Land is more commonly known as the Australian 'Atlantis' and underwent several stages of sea-level rises and drops.

Scientists have uncovered more details about the long-lost 'Atlantis' continent / Carley Rosengreen/Griffith University

The study provides insightful data on sea levels between 70,000 and 9,000 years ago.

During the period between 71,000 and 59,000 years ago, sea levels were evidently 130 feet lower than they are today. According to Live Science, this was due to 'a curving necklace of islands at the Australian continent's outer northwestern edge.'

Norman added: 'There's been an underlying assumption in Australia that our continental margins were probably unproductive and weren't really used by people, despite the fact that we have evidence from many parts of the world that people were definitely out on these continental shelves in the past.'

This discovery follows a previous geological study in 2023 that found a detached piece of land deep also off the coast of Australia.

Known as 'Argoland,' the 3,000-mile side piece of landmass was revealed deep in the Indian Ocean and had reportedly been there for over 155 million years.

Norman hopes that her findings will encourage future research to focus on the 'archaeological importance' of Australia's continental shelf.