Dive, Dive!

"Thank you, gentlemen and ladies, for coming to my presentation today. My name is Gregory Abbott, an expert on Greek and Roman mythology here at Oxford College and a Fellow of the Royal Archaeological Society.   "I will admit at the outset that the scientific research given during this presentation will be surprising. Many of you will doubt the validity of my claims, calling me a quack or some other such moniker. I assure you that all of the information contained herein is accurate as well as we can determine, and that due diligence has been exercised. This is not a hoax, nor a researcher's disorganized ramblings, or a lie.   "This is incontrovertible evidence that the City of Atlantis is real. Many of you know the stories of the fabled city of ancient technology described in Plato's The Republic and in other professors since. While dear Plato didn't give an exact location and was known to fabricate some of his histories, he is not the only source on Atlantis.   "I have here a facsimile of a scroll recently discovered in an archaeological dig in Athens. Those who know their Plato will note that Athens was supposedly besieged by Atlantis, and this scroll not only confirms Plato's history, but appears to add onto it. We have some of our most talented linguists hard at work translating the Ancient Greek text into a multiplicity of languages, as well as deciphering the possibly Atlantean text in the margins.   "What we have gleaned so far is that the near-exact location of Atlantis has been determined to be this patch of ocean south-west of the Canary Islands. My proposal is to send a large expedition of men by submarine to the ocean floor near this location. The men will be composed of engineers, archaeologists, linguists, translators and academics of all kinds of natural sciences and liberal arts backgrounds.   "Even if there is no fabled city at this location, the wealth of international cooperation and academic research that would come of this expedition would be incredibly beneficial to the world at large. We have already chosen an expedition leader, leaders of the engineering and archaeology departments, and head researcher (myself).   "I will be here for any questions or applications until next Tuesday, the 28th of November. Any interested parties should contact Constantine Arthur, our expedition leader at his address in Oxford. I wish all applicants the best of luck."