Could this be Atlantis? Ancient ruins flooded off Spanish coast are lost city

Image shows Head of Research Tim Akers (left) and CEO Bruce Blackburn (right) from Merlin Burrows, in Harrogate, North Yorkshire

'It is for this reason we continue to include every science available to us, in order to verify all our finds are genuine, and to satisfy every angle we can.'

Material gathered from the Atlantis site, from the habour wall and from the pillars found on the beach, has been tested in Italy at a laboratory used to dealing with Roman finds.

Dr Giacomo Falanga, from the Modena Centro Prove, a chemical testing laboratory in Modena, Italy, said samples from the site included a variety of material.

He said: 'These structures contain binders, like calcite. The presence of mica, potassium, and other trace minerals show proof of artificial mixing of materials, so the samples we have tested are made from an ancient, prehistoric concrete.'

Andrea Carpi, a space materials engineer from the laboratory, said: 'We can confirm with certainty that the samples analysed were the creation of an ancient civilisation with advanced construction methods, which makes me believe that we're talking about a civilisation with very advanced technology.'