Do you know of any sunken buildings/settlements?

Question

I'm interested in cases where buildings were constructed on land and later submerged in water.

Cheers!

Answer 1

In 1958 when the government of Ontario Canada decided to expand the St. Lawrence seaway, the construction ended up submerging 7 historic towns and around 200 farms in a 20,000 acre area.

The towns of Mille Roches, Moulinette, Wales, Dickenson's Landing, Farren's Point, Aultsville become known as the "Lost Villages".

http://www.legionmagazine.com/features/canadianreflections/03-05.asp?id=print

http://www.ghosttownpix.com/lostvillages/millroch2.shtml

http://ghosttownpix.com/lostvillages/dickins.shtml

Answer 2

The 600 km (375 mile) long reservoir of Three Gorges Dam in Hubei, China will inundate some 1,300 archaeological sites and alter the appearance of the Three Gorges as the water level rises to some degree, at places for over a hundred meters. Cultural and historical relics are being moved to higher ground as they are discovered but the flooding of the Gorge will undoubtedly cover some undiscovered relics. Some other sites cannot be moved because of their size or design.

These historical sites contain remnants of the homeland of the Ba, an ancient people who settled in the region more than 4,000 years ago. One of the traditions of the Ba was to bury the dead in coffins in caves high on the cliff, some of which will soon be submerged, others will be left unaffected.

The dam is not expected to become fully operational until about 2009.

Other famous submerged sites are:

1. Port Royal, Jamaica. On June 7, 1692, a devastating earthquake hit the city causing the sand spit on which it was built to liquefy and flow out into Kingston Harbour. The water table was generally only two feet down prior to the quake. The effects of three tidal waves caused by the earthquake further eroded the sand spit, and soon the main part of the city lay permanently underwater by a minimum of 25 ft (8 m), though intact enough that archaeologists have managed to uncover some well-preserved sites.

2. Rungholt. It was a wealthy city in Nordfriesland, northern Germany. It sank beneath the waves when a storm tide (the first "grote Mandraenke") in the North Sea tore through the area on January 16, 1362.

3. Dunwich. A small town in the county of Suffolk in England. It was once a prosperous seaport and centre of the wool trade during the early Middle Ages, with a natural harbour formed by the mouths of the River Blyth and the River Dunwich, most of which has since been lost to erosion.

4. Yonaguni monument, Japan. The fame of Yonaguni island began in 1987, when a Japanese marine explorer, Kihachiro Aratake, by chance discovered a set of very singular seemingly architectonic structures allegedly belonging to an ancient civilization and previously unknown in archaeology and history. Shortly thereafter, a group of scientists directed by Masaaki Kimura, of the University of the Ryūkyūs, confirmed the existence of the vestiges. They appear, at least superficially, to be comparable to the pyramids of Egypt, Mesopotamia, Mexico, and Peru.

5. Helike (Greek: Ἑλίκη) was an ancient Greek city that sank in the winter of 373 BC at night.

Answer 3

There are plenty of these right here in UK. Whole villages have been consumed by the sea off the East Anglian coast. There are sunken villages, including their medieval churches at the bottom of great reservoirs.

Off the Scilly Isles, there is known to be the sunken remains of an entire bronze age community dating from about 2,500 BC. Parts of same are visible at low tide.

In Australia, there are folk living in sunken houses built below ground in what were once amethyst mines.

Blather: The Sunken Towns of Ireland. For years now, I've been fascinated by accounts of 'sunken cities' of the Irish coast. I've found four so far... is there more?
http://www.blather.net/blather/2004/01/the_sunken_towns_of_ireland.html

Diving ghost town in Lake Roosevelt?? - Scuba Diving Board ArchiveI think this "Sunken Town" story is bogus. When the river goes down there are places where you can see old foundations, fireplaces, front steps, ...
http://www.scubaboard.com/archive/index.php/t-74675.html

For almost anything 'sunken' [below sea level] visit the Netherlands - lots of low country etc.

For swimming below sealevel, the Black Sea is the place.
Think there's even a below sealevel flying club in the same area - the opposite to the Mile High Club then!

Answer 4

Hello Buzz.
The entrance to the ancient entrance to the port of Alexandria at Egypt, is about the only really famous one I am aware of, but the damage caused to towns and farmland by the construction of Canada's famous, St Lawrence Seaway was a biggie too, or should that read infamous.. I hope this is what you were looking for......Tony M

Answer 5

There are loads of them in the United States. Most man-made lakes east of the Mississippi River (and some west of it) flooded some settlement or other. Sometimes even graveyards were inundated. All you have to do is find a large dam, and some old geezer that remembers when it was built.

Answer 6

The most famous one is Port Royal. It was the centre of shipping commerce in Jamaica in the 17th century. During this time, it gained a reputation as both the "richest and wickedest city in the world". It was notorious for its gaudy displays of wealth and loose morals, and was a popular place for pirates and privateers to bring and spend their treasure. During the 17th century, the British actively encouraged and even paid buccaneers based at Port Royal to attack Spanish and French shipping.

An earthquake on June 7, 1692, largely destroyed Port Royal, causing two thirds of the city to sink into the Caribbean Sea such that today it is covered by a minimum of 25 ft (8 m) of water. Known today to 16th–18th-century focused archaeologists as the City that sank, it is considered the most important underwater archaeological site in the western hemisphere, yielding 16th–17th-century artifacts by the ton and many important treasures from indigenous peoples predating the 1588 founding from as far away as Guatemala. Pirates from around the world congregated at Port Royal coming from waters as far away as Madagascar on the far side of Africa. Several 17th and early 18th century pirate ships are sunk within the harbor and being carefully harvested under controlled conditions by different teams of archaeologists. Other "digs" are staked out along various quarters and streets by different teams.

After this disaster, its commercial role was taken over by the city of Kingston. Current development in progress will redevelop the small resultant fishing town into a tourist destination by 2015-16, serviced by Cruise ships as early as 2008, with the archaeological findings the heart of the attractions, which will include a combination underwater museum-aquarium and restaurant with underwater dioramas and the ability to see the native tropical sealife.

Answer 7

Hidden Treasure

Answer 8

Hatterus Light House in Cape Hatterus or is it the light house on orkrakoke island. either one it is in North Carolina somewhere. They had to move everything 60yards away. And they made an exact replica of where everything was places. Like the house and everything. It was cool. 257 steps though.

Answer 9

Het verdronken land van Saeftinghe, the drowned land of Saeftinghe. It´s this village that used to be on land but ehm... not anymore. It´s in the country where I live.

Answer 10

Bowood in Wiltshire maybe?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/wiltshire/6904129.stm