Now, a medieval map depicting two islands off the Ceredigion coast provides some evidence that the legend may be rooted in historical events, according to a BBC report. The discovery was made by Simon Haslett, emeritus professor of physical geography at Swansea University, and David Willis, professor of Celtic Jesus at Oxford University. Haslett, who searched for lost islands in Cardigan Bay while a visiting fellow at Jesus College, Oxford, explained that the two islands are clearly marked on the Gough map, held in the university’s Bodleian Library collections. The document is believed to be the oldest surviving complete map of the British Isles, dating as far back as the mid-13th century. The pair published their findings in the journal Atlantic Geoscience. Two islands are depicted, each about a quarter the size of Anglesey. One island lies offshore between Aberystwyth and Aberdyfi and the other further north towards Barmouth in Gwynedd. Haslett told the BBC: “The Gough map is remarkably accurate considering the surveying tools that would have been available to them at the time. “The two islands are clearly marked and may confirm contemporary accounts of a lost land mentioned in the Black Book of Carmarthen.” Cardiff University Welsh folklore expert Dr Juliette Wood – who was not involved in this research – told the BBC that the Black Book account was key to cementing the story in Welsh legend. “The Gough map may date back to around 1280. just before that, around 1250, you have the Black Book of Carmarthen.” Building on previous research in the bay and understanding the advance and retreat of glaciers and silt since the last ice age about 10,000 years ago, Haslett and Willis were able to suggest how the islands might have formed and then disappeared again. Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Haslett said: “I think the evidence for the islands, and probably therefore the legends associated with them, is in two strands. “First, the coordinates recorded by the Roman cartographer Ptolemy suggest that the coastline at that time may have been about eight miles further west than it is today. “And, secondly, the evidence presented by the Gough chart of the existence of two islands in Cardigan Bay. He added that folk legends about being able to walk between lands now separated by sea could be a folk memory stemming from rising sea levels after the last ice age. “However, flash flood legends, such as in the case of Cantre’r Gwaelod, may more likely recall marine flooding and erosion, either from storms or tsunamis, which may have forced the population to abandon life in such vulnerable coasts. .” Wood added: “People, now as then, want to find a way to explain things that seem simply inexplicable, especially in difficult times. “Celtic romantics want to find meaning and a belief system to make sense of current difficulties.” Haslett, however, cautioned that his findings could have more impact in the future than in the past. “These processes didn’t just happen once, they’re still ongoing,” he said. “With rising sea levels and more intense storms, it has been suggested that people living around Cardigan Bay could become some of Britain’s first climate change refugees in our lifetime.”
