British Town That Was Swallowed By The Sea Finally Resurfaces After Centuries

By Samantha in History On 11th June 2022
advertisement
advertisement
Read More

The medieval port town of Ravenser Odd, also sometimes known as Ravensrodd, was located in East Yorkshire at the mouth of the Humber Estuary. This town disappeared under the sea several centuries ago and now it has been finally found after decades of search.

It is believed that this town was more important than Hull, however, all this changed when it was swept by the sea and spent hundreds of years under the sea. 

Credit: The British Library via Flickr Common
advertisement

According to Daily Mirror, a team of scientists has finally succeeded in finding the  'Yorkshire's Atlantis' after a new search turned up rocks and stonework beneath the sea.

Scientists have been searching for traces of Ravenser Odd for years and the search was initially hampered by looking in the wrong place as it was generally believed that the most likely site was about a mile off the Yorkshire coast.

Alamy
advertisement
Follow On Google News

Now decades of search are futile after this discovery and it could be a significant breakthrough in fully uncovering the lost town swallowed up by the sea 660 years ago.

Professor Dan Parsons of the University of Hull told The Sun this discovery 'could be on par with Pompeii'.

He said: 'It’s fascinating, exciting, exhilarating - the exact location of this medieval town hasn’t ever been pin-pointed.

Alamy
advertisement

'We now have the tools and the technology to go out there and locate it once and for all'.

Founded in the mid 13th century, Ravenser Odd had become a flourishing coastal market town by 1299 with more than 100 houses and a set of wharves and warehouses along the sea shore to collect cargo from ships.

Credit: The British Library via Flickr Commons
advertisement
Follow On Twitter

It was important enough to send two MPs to parliament and welcomed maritime merchants from more than 100 trading vessels a year.

However, those people living there had a tragic ending as according to a biblical story, a foolish man built his house on the sand which resulted in the unfortunate end of the town of Ravenser Odd.

The shifting of the sandbanks began to sweep the town away into the sea, and storms over the winter of 1356 to 1357 finished it off as an inhabited settlement.

Credit: The British Library via Flickr Commons
advertisement

When there was rain and floods, the town completely disappeared and it was finally abandoned by its inhabitants.

A famous flood, known as St Marcellus's Flood, hit the British Isles in 1362 and that finished off what was left of the abandoned town of Ravenser Odd, the sea completely claiming the coastal port.

Alamy