ANCIENT MYSTERY
Storm Hannah uncovers mysterious sunken forest buried under peat and sand for 4,500 years
An ancient legend says that the forest was drowned because a priestess couldn't do her job
A MYSTERIOUS prehistoric forest has risen again on a Welsh beach thanks to Storm Hannah.
The collection of ancient tree stumps had been buried under water and sand more than 4,500 years ago and now people are connecting it to an ancient legend about a 'sunken civilisation'.
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The forest is being associated with a 17th Century myth called 'Cantre'r Gwaelod', or the 'Sunken Hundred'.
It is thought that the trees belonged to the ancient forest of Borth, which once stretched for two to three miles along the shore between Ynys-las and Borth in Wales.
This area is to have been a town surrounded by fertile land for farming and protected by floodgates.
An ancient legend dictates that the land was drowned when a priestess called Mererid neglected her duties at the fairy well she was in charge of and allowed it to overflow.
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This petrified forest has been partially uncovered before but never to this extent.
The area is often referred to as the Atlantis of Wales and various archaeological discoveries have been made here including fossilised human and animal footprints.
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Some locals say that they can still hear the bells of the drowned church of Cantre’r Gwaelod on a quiet day.
High speed winds from Storm Hannah managed to unearth the prehistoric tree roots that had been preserved under a deep layer of peat and sand.
This is the first time some of these trees would have been seen for thousands of years.
Plane is buffeted in the wind as it lands in Liverpool during Storm Hannah
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Do you believe the ancient forest legend? Let us know in the comments!
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