Heinrich Schliemann (1822-1890), famed as the discoverer of Troy, was claimed to have written; “I have come to the conclusion that Atlantis was not only a great territory between America and the west coast of Africa, but the cradle of all our civilisation as well.” This extract is from a letter that was allegedly given to his grandson, Paul Schliemann. However, the letter in question was just part of a larger hoax perpetrated in 1912.

It is claimed that both Schliemann and Sir Arthur Evans, the discoverer of Knossos on Crete, believed in the existence of Atlantis. John Michell quotes ^[704p200] the following from Schliemann “ I have come to the conclusion that Atlantis was not only a great territory between America and the West Coast of Africa, but the cradle of all our civilization as well”.

Although Schliemann is credited with the discovery of Troy, at Hissarlik in Turkey, he was not the first to suggest the site, in fact nearly a century earlier, Charles Maclaren, a Scot, made this claim^[541]. Others have cast doubt on the specific site identified by Schliemann. The principal objection was that the city he located was too small to match the historical descriptions of Troy. Might the same be said of Plato’s description of Atlantis?