An Italian researcher said the fabled island of Atlantis didn't sink but is sitting just off the coast of Sierra Leone in West Africa.

Marcello Cosci, former head of Siena University's archaeological photo-interpretation department told Italy's ANSA news agency he's been poring over satellite imagery for three years and said he's matched physical features written about Atlantis with the island of Sherbro.

Cosci released a book Wednesday in Italy detailing how descriptions of Atlantis, such as three ditches around a citadel and a canal match modern pictures of Sherbro.

While the existence of Atlantis has never been confirmed, it was first mentioned in the writings of the Greek philosopher Plato around 427-347 B.C. Plato said the island and its advanced civilization were destroyed by a natural disaster, now akin to a tsunami.

Nowadays, Sherbro's main industries are fishing and rice farming, the report said.