Ancient Submerged Temple Discovered Beneath Lake Titicaca

​According to an article posted by the BBC back on August 23 , 2000, the ruins of an ancient temple were found submerged beneath Lake Titicaca (the world's deepest and highest navigable lake) by members of the expedition “Atahuallpa 2000" (backed by international scientific group Akakor Geographical Exploring).

​They discovered the sacred temple (found between the town of Copacabana, the Island of the Sun and Island of the Moon) after following a submerged road, in an area of the lake not far from Copacabana town.

The holy temple measures 200m by 50m (660ft by 160ft) almost twice the size of an average football pitch. A terrace for crops, a long road and an 800-metre (2,600 feet) long wall was also found.

Dating at least 1,000 to 1,500 years ago, the ruins are said to be pre-Incan, attributed to the indigenous Tiwanaku or Tiahuanaco people, said Lorenzo Epis, the Italian scientist leading the Atahuallpa 2000 scientific expedition.

​Legends of lost city

The lake has long drawn fascination with various legends around it, including one of an underwater city called Wanaku and another of Inca gold lost by the Spanish.

The Incas also regarded the lake as the birthplace of their civilization, and in their myth, the Children of The Sun emerged out of the waters.

For centuries the locals have spoken of a lost underwater City of Wanaku. Could this discovery prove that such a city did actually exist? 

Lying on the lake bed was a giant figurine of a human head, that upon comparison looked identical to the stone works in found in the nearby city of Tiahuanaco, just 12 miles south of Lake Titicaca.

Stories of the lost treasure were enough to draw the famous French oceanographer Jacques Cousteau to explore the lake. However, he discovered only ancient pottery and a large species of aquatic frog. National Geographic also launched an expedition in 1988.