Scientists and historians reckon they have found the city of Ravenser Odd, also known as Yorkshire's Atlantis, more than 650 years since it vanished into the sea. After decades of searching, they pointed out that they found stonework that they believed was part of the port town.
The sunken city was dubbed Britain's Atlantis equivalent. Experts said that Yorkshire's Atlantis was a major stopping place for cargo ships and fishing boats at the mouth o the Humber Estuary before it was swallowed by the North Sea in 1362.
Sonar Technology Finally Found Britain's Lost Atlantis City
The team of scientists and historians deployed sonar equipment to find the harbor walls of the lost town, Daily Star reported. Their previous investigations revealed rocks and stoneworks that they believed belonged to Yorkshire's Atlantis.
The recent search uncovered some exciting discoveries just a few meters below the water surface off the coast of Yorkshire. The team noted that advancements in technology had enabled them to go out there and locate the sunken city once and for all.
They hope to find a footprint of the city of Ravenser Odd and draw a 3D map of the surrounding area based on harbor and sea walls and the city foundations.
After that, they could deploy divers into Yorkshire's Atlantis to collect the data needed for analyzing the area. Phil Morrison, a historian who dedicated 25 years of his life to the search, said he was blown away by such an extraordinary discovery.
They are set to conduct a second survey in the next two to three weeks, hoping to discover more of the sunken city. Geoscientist Daniel Parson from the University of Hull said they are confident they will find something.
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What Happened to Ravenser Odd?
According to Metro, Ravenser Odd was founded in 1235 and was mentioned in files about Kings Richard II and Henry VI, as well as the historic works of William Shakespeare. Its name was from the Old Norse hrafn's eyr.
It rose to national importance by 1299 and was given a borough chapter. There were about 100 houses built by then and a bustling dockside market that became the home of wharves, warehouses, court, prison, seawall, and harbor.
The town had two members of parliament and began collecting dues from about 100 merchant ships per year. However, everthing was washed away after the sandbank on which the foundations were set shifted due to coastal erosion.
Northern Europe was battered by a storm known as Grote Mandrenke between 1356-57 that destroyed the town and unfortunately submerged it into the North Sea depths.
Parsons said that their team hopes that discovering the sunken city's remains will shed new light on its story and help modern society understand the coastal erosion threat faced by today's communities.
"I think it is a fantastic way to start conversations with people on the impacts of climate change long into the future by using these stories from the past," he told Metro.
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