German scientists from the University of Mainz have discovered the submerged city of Rungholt in the North Sea, previously thought to be a legend. The city was a medieval seaport in present-day Germany (then North Frisia, Danish Duchy of Schleswig). According to the legend, the town was flooded by the North Sea one Christmas night after a storm - it was payment for the sins of the town's inhabitants. There was also a rumor that a church bell could be heard from under the water.
History of Rungholt
Scientists tried to find this settlement, but could not and considered it a mere myth. However, in recent research, historians and archaeologists have begun to find documents that confirm the existence of Rungholt. As it turned out, the town had about 500 houses and a population of about 3,000 people.
“Atlantis of the North Sea”.
The ancient city of Rungholt is the “Atlantis of the North Sea”. In one night the huge waves of the sea washed it into the abyss of the sea, killing all its inhabitants.
Medieval chronicles say that Rungholt lay on the island of the Strand, which was part of the North Frisian Islands near the modern town of Heide, near the coast of Schleswig-Holstein. The Strand has not survived to this day, and only three islets remain of it. Rungholt is believed to have been near Südfall, one of these islands that remains of the sunken Strand.
The 17th century chronicler Anton Heimreich, who first mentioned Rungholt in his North Frisian Chronicle, believes that on the night of January 16, 1362 a great storm broke out here which destroyed the town overnight. According to Heimreich, the Lord punished the inhabitants of Rungholt as he had punished the biblical cities of Sodom and Gomorrah with a “flood” for their pride and “sinful living”, for their lifestyle was drunkenness and gluttony, and they took pleasure in the most obscene escapades.
Rungholt’s discovery
In a recent study, archaeologists reported finding the remains of a city in the Watt Sea (a tidal zone in the southeastern North Sea). To locate the city, researchers used a variety of modern geophysical imaging techniques, such as magnetic gradiometry, electromagnetic induction, and seismic.
Scientists discovered approximately 1.9 kilometers of medieval mounds around the island, now known as Südfall, after mapping the area using geophysical imaging. The finds included a harbor, the foundations of a large church and drainage systems.