Britain's Atlantis

Evidence of violent storms that destroyed a lost town known as Britain’s Atlantis has been uncovered.

16:35 22 February 2016

Evidence of violent storms that destroyed Dunwich, Britain’s Atlantis, has been uncovered off the coast of Dunwich, Suffolk, which was once one of the largest towns in England.

 

The town was destroyed by a series of storms in the 13th and 14th centuries and is now below the sea.

 

Researchers confirmed that they found evidence to support the town’s historical record.

 

A diver used ultrasound to trace the remains of the town and eroding cliffs were surveyed.

 

Dunwich, which used to be the 10th largest town in England, now only has about 120 residents.

 

The town was hit by two great storms in 1286 and 1326, losing its harbour in the process. This also marked the town’s decline.

 

Professor David Sear, of the University of Southampton, said: "We use sound to create a video image of the seabed and the reason we do that is because when you dive at Dunwich it's pitch black," Prof Sear said.

 

"We found the ruins of about four churches and we've also found ruins of what we think was a toll house. But we've also found shipwrecks for example, and there's some we've found with this Touching the Tide project, which no-one's known before."