Yorkshire’s ‘Atlantis’ May Ultimately Be Revealed
Archaeologists are closing in on a shed middle ages town often described as Yorkshire’s “Atlantis.”.
Excavators are closer than ever to situating a shed medieval town sometimes described as Yorkshire’s “Atlantis” beneath the waves.
Additionally called Ravenser Odd, the community grew in what is currently east Yorkshire along the east coast of England throughout the Middle Ages before it was shed to the sea.
“It was a major settlement of some 400+ households,” Daniel Parsons, a teacher of sedimentology at the College of Hull in Yorkshire, informed Live Science about the research in an e-mail. Historical documents claim that the site had a sea wall, harbor, prison, and industry, Parsons claimed.
In a search for Ravenser Odd in November 2021, part of the Humber River estuary was vacant. Still, the team thinks it is closer than ever now that they have limited regions where it could be located. They intend to set out in concerning two weeks to the estuary for another search.”[We’re] very confident we will find some evidence of the settlement,” Parsons told Live Science.
Established around 1235, the community has improved a sandbar on the north bank of the Humber River, along an active trade route. Parts of the coastline started to wear down away during the 14th century, causing damage to seaside buildings and even more flooding across the community. “It actually declined slowly over time — from [1300] onwards — largely because of coastal change resulting in frequent flooding,” Parsons told Live Science. What continued to be of the town was completely deserted after a significant tornado hit the location in 1362.
A record in the publication “Chronicle of Meaux” (Meaux is an abbey in the area) explained precisely how “the town was swiftly swallowed up and irreparably destroyed by the merciless floods and tempests.” The chronicle likewise noted that Ravenser Odd “was an exceedingly renowned borough devoted to merchandise and very much inhabited with fishing …”.
Scholars React
What possibilities will excavators truly uncover Yorkshire’s “Atlantis?” Several scholars that talked with Live Science were usually hopeful that the group might do well in finding the site.
“We do know approximately where it was located, and even though the organic remains may not survive, there should still be a substantial archaeological footprint,” as long as it isn’t hidden deeply by sediments, Roberta Magnusson, an associate teacher of history at the College of Oklahoma, wrote in an e-mail.
“I think that the chances of finding archaeological remains are high,” claimed Robert Duck, an emeritus professor of geography at the College of Dundee in Scotland.
The area where Ravenser Odd once flourished has been inhabited at least since the Bronze Age, indicating that even if the remains of a town are discovered, excavators will undoubtedly require to identify Ravenser Odd continues to be from those of an earlier site, mentioned Dave Evans, the previous head excavator for the Humber region where the searches are being performed. The location “is most likely to hold remnants of several era of the profession,” Evans stated.
One way to identify this “Atlantis” from various other shed communities is from the presence of sea walls. The locals recognized that coastal erosion endangered their community and tried to avoid it. “In the decades before the town was destroyed in the mid-14th century, its citizens sought a series of quayage grants to build seawalls to protect it from the ravages of sea,” Magnusson stated.
Scholars typically agree that the site is considered to be of significance. “The location sent MPs [members of parliament] to parliament at the beginning of the 14th century, so the citizens thought of themselves as vital then,” Gwilym Dodd, an associate teacher of background at the College of Nottingham, said in an e-mail.
Historical documents claim that the site was prosperous. “Ravenser Odd was one of the most thriving eastern coastline ports in the center Ages, so finding its remains would certainly be exciting, as if a virtual historical time-capsule,” Magnusson stated.
The town’s growth may have been sustained partly by off-the-books selling imported products. “Ravenser Odd was also a preferred place for smugglers and those wanting to prevent paying customized duties, as it was situated away from where the King’s authorities were based; to ensure that [may] also have played some part in its ton of money,” Evans stated.
As environment adjustment accelerate coastal erosion in some areas, more contemporary negotiations may find themselves in a similar position to Ravenser Odd, Duck claimed. “This stretch of shore is one of the most quickly eroding in Europe,” with land loss in some locations reaching 15 feet (5 meters) a year, Duck said.
Initially published on Live Science.
