[填空题]
Two cities that lay at the edge of the Mediterranean more than
1,200 years ago, Herakleion and Eastern Canopus, disappeared suddenly, swallowed
by the sea. Now, an international team of scientists may have figured out the
mystery of why it happened.
The researchers have concluded that
the two cities collapsed when the land they were built on suddenly liquefied
(液化).
Until recently, the only evidence that they existed came
from Greek mythology and the writings of ancient historians. Then, during
expeditions in 1999 and 2000, a team of French marine archaeologists headed by
Franck Goddio found the ruins—almost completely intact—buried on the seafloor of
the Abu Qir Bay in Egypt.
Since then, there has been much
speculation (猜测) about why the cities disappeared so suddenly. Earthquakes,
subsistence (生存) conditions, and a rise in sea level have all been suggested as
possibilities.
"There are no written documents on how, when, or