Fantasy island no more! Medieval map charts position of the ‘Welsh Atlantis’
FOR hundreds of years, the story of a lost and sunken land off the west coast of Wales was thought to have been a myth.
But now an unearthed medieval map suggests that a ‘Welsh Atlantis’ – or even two of them – may actually have existed.
A pair of islands, each about a quarter the size of Anglesey, are clearly marked in Cardigan Bay on the so-called Gough Map. Dating to the 13th century, it was uncovered by Simon Haslett, professor of physical geography at Swansea University, and David Willis, Jesus Professor of Celtic at Oxford University.
They believe the discovery provides geographical evidence for the first time that the island, known as Cantre’r Gwaelod, is indeed real. The map, which was being held in a library at Oxford, depicts one island offshore between Aberystwyth and Aberdyfi and the other further north towards Barmouth. In later maps, the islands completely disappear.
Local folklore has long believed the kingdom sank because citizens forgot to close the floodgates. It is not known whether the islands are actually supposed to have been there in the 13th century, or were marked there because of accounts of their previous existence.
Professor Haslett said: ‘The Gough Map is extraordinarily accurate considering the surveying tools they would have had. The islands are clearly marked and may corroborate contemporary accounts of a lost land mentioned in the Black Book of Carmarthen.’
The professors, whose findings are in the journal Atlantic Geoscience, said rising sea levels after the last ice age could have played a part in making the islands disappear.
‘These processes are still on-going,’ added Professor Haslett. ‘With rising sea levels it’s been suggested people living around Cardigan Bay could become some of Britain’s first climate change refugees, within our lifetimes.’