Knowledge, they say, is power or to paraphrase George Orwell whoever controls the past, controls the future; whilst those who control the present control the past. So it naturally follows that whoever holds the reins of power is likely to have a vested interest in the way we perceive our past; which may explain the media's reticence concerning the Yonguni underwater ruins off the coast of Okinawi, Japan. (Pictured below)

Through research funding, scholarships and endowments Big Money and the Powers That Be effectively shape our view of the past but the ruins at Yonguni have the potential to change that. In fact they could transform, maybe even revolutionise the way we see our past.

Apart from such mavericks as Graham Hancock and Ancient American magazine the Western media and academia have seemed somewhat reluctant to pronounce on what is undoubtedly one of the most significant archaeological discoveries of the last hundred years.

First discovered in March, 1995, the preliminary sightings were uncertain; a squared structure was found by divers but it was so encrusted with coral that it was initially thought to be a natural feature. Then, in the summer of 1996, a sports diver accidentally discovered another angular platform about 40 feet below the surface, off the southwestern shore of Okinawa. Its artificial origins were beyond question but this was more than one isolated structure. Other divers joined in the search and soon another monument was discovered nearby; then another, and another. Along with what appeared to be long streets, boulevards, staircases, archways and enormous blocks of perfectly cut and fitted stone - all welded together in an architecture the like of which had never been seen before.

The centrepiece is a huge stone ziggurat over 90 feet high and 600 feet wide which, according to Professor Kimura from the University of Okinawa, is most probably man made. "The object has not been manufactured by nature," says the geology Professor: "If that had been the case, one would expect debris from erosion to have collected around the site, but there are no rock fragments there"

According to Professor Kimura the discovery of what appears to be a road surrounding the building was further evidence that it was man made. In all the Yonguni underwater ruins are said to cover an area that stretches across 300 miles; a discovery of considerable significance that has been greeted by Western academia and its archaeological authorities with some hesitance.

But then these bodies rely on support and financial funding which invariably comes from the likes of the Carnagie Foundation and others of a similar ilk; in effect bodies created and financed by Big Money that investigate and pronounce on our past…or at least the official version.

Pictured below is a photo of the Yonguni underwater ruins, off the coast of Okinawa, Japan.