New Book Provides Theory On Mystery Of Atlantis

By John Ostapkovich

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Japan survived this year's tsunami, but a best-selling author says the world's first major empire was destroyed but a similar event: Atlantis.

In The Lost Empire of Atlantis, author Gavin Menzies says he has connected the dots of facts and theories that have been around for years—basically, that Minoan civilization on the eastern Mediterranean island of Crete was the fabled power first called Atlantis by Plato. Menzies' Atlantis advanced for 4500 years ago; he says in thanks to raw materials mined far away.

"They managed to get copper from the Great Lakes. They got tine from Cornwall. They mixed the two together. They created bronze, and with bronze, they could make sharp swords, protective armor and they could have a huge range of households and farm utensils."

That is, until a nearby volcano exploded, creating a wave that led to the legend of Atlantis being swallowed by the sea.