A Sunken Kingdom Re-emerges

BORTH, WALES — There is a poem children in Wales learn about the sunken kingdom of Cantre’r Gwaelod, swallowed by the sea and drowned forever after. On a quiet night, legend has it, one can hear the kingdom’s church bells ringing.

When the sea swallowed part of Britain’s western coastline this year and then spat it out again, leaving homes and livelihoods destroyed but also a dense forest of prehistoric tree stumps more exposed than ever, it was as if one had caught a faint glimpse of that Welsh Atlantis.

The submerged forest of Borth is not new. First flooded some 5,000 years ago by rising sea levels after the last ice age, it has been there as long as locals remember, coming and going with the tides and occasionally disappearing under the sand for years on end. But the floods and storms that battered Britain earlier this year radically changed the way archaeologists interpret the landscape: A quarter-mile-long saltwater channel cutting through the trees, revealed by erosion for the first time, provided a trove of clues to where human life may have been concentrated and where its traces may yet be found.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/06/24/science/a-sunken-kingdom-re-emerges.html?partner=rss&emc=rss&_r=0

Very interesting account, Didge, but so much like around my coast of Norfolk. At a place named Holme next the Sea, on the beach when the tide goes out there are the remains of ancient tree stumps. That's where the now famous Seahenge circle was discovered. It's also a place we go to to catch crabs which live in holes in and under the stumps. This too was covered by the sea when the ice age melted, flooding the land bridge between England and Europe.

Cromer also has a legend about the old town being under the sea, and like your article, people claim to have heard the church bells. Lol, probably when the pubs turn out.

Ha ha, that is funny Stardesk, do you have any links to that?

Hi Didge. No I haven't, it's a tale I heard when a lad and grew up with. My mother's family lived not far away from Cromer and they used to talk about it. It's probably an old tale that's been embellished over the years and now believed to be true.

I'll keep an open mind on that story.

I'll have a look round for you, see if I can find some info.

Cheers as i would appreciate that

Hi Didge. I found the following piece of info, which could account for the old folk tales:

The History of the Cromer
Although Cromer is not mentioned in the Doomsday book, there are 2 settlements which seem to be around the area the town occupies now. "Shipden-juxta-mere" can now be found just north east of Cromer pier, buried under the North Sea. "Shipden-juxta-Felbrigg" is believed to be what we now call Cromer.

Cheers buddy, that is interesting, shall look into more.

Thanks

Catch you later

Ok Didge, I'll look in later as well.