The Story of Cantre'r Gwaelod or Welsh Atlantis

In every culture across the globe, the ancient flood myth prevails — a story of a lost civilization that was advanced and hailed across the globe, sunk deep into the ocean by their own corruption.

It‘s as much a symbolic moral tale as it is an archaeological one. Almost everyone has seen Atlantis: The Lost Empire which is based on Plato’s original tale. The story of Atlantis states that a great city once prospered in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, but soon they became greedy and were punished by Zeus for their deeds.

Although this is the Greek tale of what happened — what about other cultures? Surely they have their own Atlantis myths too? In fact, the Atlantis myth can be found in many civilizations around the world, including in Celtic mythology.

Where is Atlantis Found in Wales?

You might assume that a Celtic tale of Atlantis doesn’t exist. In reality, Brythonic Celtic mythology has a few Atlantis tales that were recorded in the early medieval age. In Welsh literature, the Atlantis myth is called Cantre‘r Gwaelod.

Cantre‘r Gwaelod means lowland city. Where is Welsh Atlantis located? It was said that the ancient lost city was located off the coast of Wales between Cardigan Bay and Ramsay Island. In fact, recently an ancient forest was discovered by archaeologists which helps to confirm the myth. The stretch of forest was found off the coast of Cardigan Bay when uncovered by a storm, which places the lost city in the Atlantic ocean.

The Tale of Cantre‘r Gwaelod

The story goes that a great and powerful civilization sat on an island, fortified by a series of dykes to protect the city against the rages of the water. The citizens were wealthy beyond measure and lived a life of relative serenity. That is why it was called the lowland hundred, for there were many tribes of people here who prospered.

There are two versions of the tale that explain how Welsh Atlantis sank. The earlier version involves a young woman named Mererid. The later version involves a man who was appointed to look after the gates named Seithennin.

In the earlier version of the tale, the maiden Mererid was in charge of guarding the sluice gates to the lost city. That night a terrible storm was raging, driving its tides against the city walls. For various reasons (from forgetfulness to being seduced), she cannot close the gates and the waters begin to rush in, devastating the city. The bells were said to ring out in alarm, or Mererid called out to raise the alarm and tried to help everyone escape. Much like Eve in the Bible, medieval scholars pinned the destruction of Welsh Atlantis onto Mererid.

In the later version of the tale, the blame lies on the drunkard, Seithennin. On the night of the storm, the lost city was said to have been partying loudly with everyone drinking merrily. Seithennin, the one in charge of the sluice gates, was so drunk he could not close them properly. The water rushed in, drowning the lowland tribes.

In both versions, the only survivors were some of the royal members in the castle. It is said that they saw a beacon fire just in time, so they were able to run to the highlands of Ardudwy and Eryri (Snowdonia National Park) and escape the destruction. The survivors of the destruction went on to be the Kings and Queens of Wales, helping to establish Wales as we know it today.

Who was Mererid?

In the earlier versions of the tale, the young maiden Mererid was said to guard the well of the city. This is really fascinating because Atlantis has a long history of being associated with water goddesses. In Hindu mythology, the goddess Ganga descended on earth and caused the Great Flood of Saraswati. The sage Manu was forewarned by Shiva in the form of a carp, who managed to save his family and the seven rishis by building a boat and sailing to safety.

“Woe to the maiden, the aggrieved cup-bearer, who bore in her cup the sea’s chagrin.”

— The Black Book of Carmarthen, Poem 39.

Mererid is said to be a well maiden. Her function, in this case, is to protect the well. She’s also stated as being the keeper of the cup or “cup-bearer” as one of her functions. A cup-bearer is actually a historical office of high rank in royal courts. A cupbearer in medieval times would taste the drinks of the royal family to check for poison, and so the person holding this office had to be extremely trustworthy. The office of the cupbearer dates back to Egyptian times showing just how important this role was through history.

In this case, we can think of Mererid as a priestess of the well. She was a high ranking official that the royal family trusted to keep the people of Cantre‘r Gwaelod safe. In the tales today, she is played off as a silly, neglectful girl but in reality, she was a woman akin to a sage. Ancient Welsh people would’ve seen Mererid as a high priestess of the well, which isn’t surprising since in Celtic mythology, the goddess Brigid rules over wells.

So if Mererid was a high-ranking official that was so wise, then how did she manage to forget to close the gates and flood the city? If we take out the medieval prejudice towards women and read the story differently, a whole different reason emerges.

The storm was raging that night that the lost city sunk. We can assume Mererid was minding her duty by the well and gates to ensure that the water did not come in. At the start of the tale, Mererid is actually trying to wake Seithennin as the waves come in to wash away the city.

“Stand up Seithennin, look out at the waves, crashing over Gwyddno’s realm.”

— The Black Book of Carmarthen, Poem 39.

It then says that Mererid cried out from the fortress, appealing to the gods to stop the storm and the flood. In this reading, Mererid could not prevent the gods of the water from starting the deluge, but she does her best to warn the lost city of the impending doom.

“Mererid’s outcry calls me from my lodging, no bed for me tonight; It is known; conceit has its ending.”

— The Black Book of Carmarthen, Poem 39.

In this reading, we can also see that perhaps Seithennin really was in charge of the gates and Mererid was equal to a protective priestess of the water. Much like the Vestel Virgins in Rome, Mererid is mentioned explicitly as a maiden and so it’s like that she had an office that helped in protecting the city.

The Evidence for Welsh Atlantis 

The evidence for Welsh Atlantis is scarce because the flood-damaged so much of Atlantis itself. Even Plato stated that there was nothing left but mud after the fall of the city. However, we do have evidence that there could have been an island that was in the middle of the ocean once, due to the ancient forest found in Cardigan Bay.

But how possible is it that there was an advanced civilization off the coast of Britain? There is evidence of a mesolithic boat building yard off the coast of Wales near the Isle of Wight. Atlanteans were said to be skilled at seafaring since they lived on an island. This boatyard provides some evidence for their superior skill and knowledge. After all, how else could stone age people be so skilled if we assume they were simple hunter-gatherers beforehand?

There was also evidence of very early human settlement in Denbighshire, right next to Snowdonia National Park where the Atlantean survivors were said to escape to. In Pontnewydd Cave in Denbighshire, human teeth dating back 230,000 years have been found. Although they belonged to a Neanderthal, this proves that human settlement in this area was common. Perhaps the Atlantean survivors found themselves living in the company of Neanderthals after the fall.

There are so many parallels between Cantre'r Gwaelod or Welsh Atlantis and the original Atlantis tale, it’s really quite astounding! It’s also fascinating to see a different angle to it, and how we gain more clarity into what happened on the night of the deluge, rather than just a commentary about Atlantis in general.

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