Divers Capture First Images of Medieval Town Lost to Sea 700 Years Ago
Underwater structures believed to be the remnants of Shipden, a village swallowed by the North Sea in the 14th century, have been photographed for the first time.
Divers have captured the first-known images of underwater structures believed to be the remnants of a village swallowed by the sea approximately 700 years ago. The images and video were recently taken off the coast of Norfolk in the United Kingdom, revealing the lost town of Shipden, a medieval settlement that succumbed to the North Sea in the 14th century.
At the site, divers photographed and mapped 25 man-made features, including massive, marine-covered stone structures jutting from the sandy seabed. Volunteer divers from the East Anglian branch of the British Sub-Aqua Club (BSAC) surveyed and mapped the underwater site as part of the Alfred Savin Project's investigation.
The divers discovered structures made of flint, a common building material in medieval Norfolk, along with cut stone and the remains of stone foundation structures known as caissons. Researchers are still working to determine the exact purpose of these caissons, though they may have been part of an attempt to hold back the sea.
Some of the submerged structures remain eight to 10 layers of stone high, surviving centuries underwater. This effort marks the first time these features are believed to have been photographed.
Shipden was a thriving village in the High Middle Ages, with the Domesday Book recording 117 residents in 1086. The settlement also included meadowland, a harbor, two churches, and woodland.
By the 14th century, the town's name gradually disappeared from records, and the area became known as Cromer. Historical accounts confirm a church was lost to the sea, but divers have not yet found definitive remains of the building. Legend suggests the tower of St. Peter's Church survived beneath the waves on a formation known as Church Rock.
Lead diver Nick Schiller initially aimed to search for remains of the Victoria, a vessel wrecked on Church Rock in 1888. However, the discovery of Shipden's remnants provided a significant bonus. Schiller suggested that Church Rock, long thought to be connected to the lost church, might actually be remains of medieval sea defenses, leaving the church's precise location a mystery.
Researchers are now examining medieval records alongside the physical discoveries to better understand the area. Peter Stibbons, chair of the Friends of Cromer Museum and director of the project, noted that while legends suggest a connection between Church Rock and the lost church, current findings propose it may be sea defenses instead. "For the present, we’re putting forward ideas rather than conclusions," Stibbons stated.