Orichalcum
Plato's account of Atlantis mentions a mysterious metal known as orichalcum.
The walls were coated with brass, tin, and orichalcum, which sparkled like fire.
Pliny the Elder, in his work Natural History, refers to orichalcum, describing it as a metal that was once in high demand but had since become scarce.
Several hypotheses exist regarding orichalcum's composition.
Other ancient texts mention orichalcum.
Virgil's Aeneid describes armor made from a blend of gold and orichalcum.
In Homeric mythology, orichalcum is also referenced in relation to Aphrodite's jewelry, further supporting the idea that it was considered valuable.
Many historians believe these ingots could be orichalcum.
Another shipwreck in 2017 revealed 47 more ingots of the same composition, reinforcing the possibility that this metal is orichalcum.
Although there is still uncertainty about the true nature of orichalcum, the evidence found in ancient texts and shipwrecks suggests that it was a valuable metal in antiquity.
Critias, the story of Atlantis
The island was rich in minerals, including orichalcum, a precious metal second only to gold.
These walls were covered with precious metals, with the outermost wall covered in bronze, the middle in tin, and the innermost in orichalcum, which glowed with a fiery luster.
The wealth of the Atlanteans was immense, with vast quantities of gold, silver, orichalcum, and other precious resources at their disposal.