View of Lake Atitlan, Guatemala, the Maya Atlantis. Credit: Wikimedia Commons, CC-BY 2.0, chensiyuan
Researchers have confirmed the existence of a sunken Maya settlement beneath the waters of Lake Atitlán in the Guatemalan highlands, a find some are calling a Maya Atlantis.
The site, submerged due to natural shifts in water levels, represents an ancient inhabited settlement rather than a ritual deposit, according to a study published in the Journal of Maritime Archaeology.
The research team says this distinction is significant. The remains match the definition of a submerged cultural landscape, meaning the structures ended up underwater through natural processes, not because people placed them there intentionally. The settlement dates to the Late Preclassic period, between 350 BC and AD 250.
Tz’utujil community helped co-design every stage of research
What makes this project stand out is how it was carried out. The Tz’utujil Maya community, whose ancestors built the settlement, co-designed the research with an international team of scientists.
Community members formed a commission to monitor and participate in every stage of the work. A local diver was trained to join researchers underwater, and findings were shared in formats the community could access, including 3D models of the submerged structures.
Mexican archaeologist Helena Barba-Meinecke, who led the technical team, worked alongside specialists from Belgium, Spain, Argentina, and Guatemala. The research design was agreed upon by all parties before any diving began.
Inside Lake Atitlán’s Maya Atlantis
Locating the site was the first major hurdle. Earlier records pointed to an area spanning nearly six square kilometers (2.3 square miles), far too large to cover in limited dive time at high altitude. In 2022, the team used sonar technology to map nearly four square kilometers (1.5 square miles) of the lakebed.
Submerged Monument 1, basalt column and monument 2, smooth altar at the front. Credit: UNESCO
That survey narrowed the search to one specific location. The diving phase ran across four days, with eight rotating divers logging close to 2,400 minutes underwater in total before confirming the presence of the structures.
Researchers documented five architectural complexes, including residential buildings, stone platforms, and carved monuments. A test excavation recovered ceramic fragments and an obsidian flake. After analysis, all materials were returned to the site per an agreement with the community.
Flooding preserved structures that may still hold organic material
Sediment layers revealed that the settlement once stood on an island before a rapid rise in water levels buried it. Researchers believe volcanic activity, seismic events, or heavy rainfall may have triggered the flooding. The water coverage actually preserved the structures and may have protected organic materials still buried beneath the sediments.
The Tz’utujil community has proposed new names for the site in their own language, reflecting the view that these places carry living cultural and ancestral meaning.
The team plans further surveys, additional excavations, and the development of formal protection policies. Researchers say the project offers a working example of how science and Indigenous heritage management can operate together on equal terms.
The first discovery of the Maya Atlantis in Guatemala
In the 1990s, a scuba diver named Roberto Samayoa was exploring the lake when he came across Maya artifacts. He eventually realized that these were not merely isolated items; rather, he had discovered an actual settlement. Samayoa observed clear evidence of substantial ruins.
Following this discovery, archaeologists began systematically exploring the site and gained a deeper understanding of it. In honor of Roberto Samayoa, the site was named Samabaj—a combination of his surname and the word “abaj,” meaning “stone” in the Mayan language of Quiché.
