Archaeologists have mapped the lost city of Rungholt for the first time. Legend has it that the once prosperous city now located on the northern German coast was swallowed up by the North Sea overnight after a fierce storm as punishment for the sins of its inhabitants.

According to folklore, these sins included such things as drunkenness, impiety, and showing off wealth. Times. That’s what the stories say, a life of abundance leads to a life of depravity, and it comes to an end at Christmas when a group of young drunkards try to force a priest to give the last communion to a pig at a local inn.

The priest went to church, prayed and asked God to punish the young people. He left the city the next day, and shortly after that, a great storm broke out and wiped Runholt from the Earth. In medieval legends, the sound of the bell tower could be heard from the depths of the North Sea.

While some historians question whether the city existed outside of myth, new research has uncovered the remains of this “northern Atlantis” in the Wadden Sea, according to a report. Archaeologists from the Christian Albrecht University in Kiel, after mapping the site using a geophysical survey, discovered a series of medieval mounds about 1.2 miles long around the island now known as Südfal.

“Inhabitants of settlements hidden under alluvial soils are first located and mapped over a large area using a variety of geophysical techniques, such as magnetic gradiometry, electromagnetic induction and seismicity,” said Dennis Wilken, a geophysicist at the University of Kiel, in a press release. Said. .

A harbour, the foundation of a large church, and drainage systems are among the new finds, according to new research. A press release says that studies of the tidal plains continue to “reveal important new findings” and provide a unique insight into the lives of the North Frisian people. But as conditions continue to eat away at the remains, the researchers are working against the clock.

“The remains of the medieval settlement have already been largely destroyed and are generally only seen as negative impressions,” said Hanna Hudler, who works at the University of Mainz’s Institute of Geography.

“This is why we urgently need to intensify research,” he added.