For the first time, archaeologists have laid out the vanished city of
Rungholt.
The once-thriving city, which today lies off the coast of northern Germany,
is said to have been eaten by the North Sea in a single night during a severe storm
as retribution for the misdeeds of its residents.
Folklore held that these faults included impurity, drinking, and the
display of wealth, according to The Times.
According to legend, a life of plenty led to immorality, and the end came
around Christmas when a group of inebriated young people attempted to coerce
a priest into performing the last rites on a pig at a nearby inn.
In his prayer in the church, the clergyman begged God to punish the young
guys. The day after he left town, a powerful storm struck, wiping Rungholt
off the face of the planet.
Legends from the Middle Ages said that the North Sea's depths might be
reached by the sound of its bell tower.
According to the article, recent research has discovered the ruins of this
"northern Atlantis" in the Wadden Sea, despite some historians' doubts that
the town ever existed other than in fiction.
After surveying the location with a geophysical survey, archaeologists from
Christian-Albrecht University in Kiel discovered over 1.2 miles (1.9
kilometers) of medieval mounds surrounding an island now known as
Südfall.
According to a
news release
by Dennis Wilken, a geophysicist at Kiel University, "settlement remains
hidden under the mudflats are first localized and mapped over a wide area
using various geophysical methods such as magnetic gradiometry,
electromagnetic induction, and seismics."
According to recent
study, the new discoveries included a port, the foundations of a sizable church,
and drainage systems.
According to the press announcement, tidal flat research has "brought to
light significant new finds" and offered unmatched insights into the lives
of the North Frisian people.
But because the circumstances keep eating away at the remains, the experts
are racing against time.
Hanna Hadler, a researcher at the Institute of Geography at Mainz
University,
notes
that the medieval village remnants are already severely deteriorated and
frequently only discernible as negative impressions.
Therefore, she continues, "we urgently need to intensify research."
This article was originally published by
Business Insider.
