The National Museum of Ireland has dismissed a Swedish academic's theory that Ireland is the long-lost kingdom of Atlantis.
The museum said there was "no archaeological evidence" to support the claims of geologist Dr Ulf Erlingsson which are contained in a new book.
Dr Erlingsson (44) has linked the Newgrange passage tomb and the Hill of Tara with ancient remnants of the mythical Atlantis, first described by Greek thinker Plato.
The director of the National Museum, Dr Patrick Wallace, said yesterday that there was no archaeological basis to associate Ireland with the utopian land.
"We can say that we know of no archaeological evidence which would support Mr Erlingsson's theory."
However, Dr Wallace said his museum staff "were not in a position to assess" the geological basis of his claims.
The existence of Atlantis has puzzled scientists for generations with some claiming it was in the mid-Atlantic or in the Aegean Sea.
The myth also sparked a TV series, The Man from Atlantis starring Patrick Duffy, in the late 1970s and a 2001 Disney movie.
Dr Erlingsson claims in his book, Atlantis From a Geographer's Perspective: Mapping the Fairy Land, that Plato's description of Atlantis matches Ireland perfectly.
(PA)