Dunwich
[key], village, Suffolk, SE England, on the North Sea, known as
“Britain's Atlantis.” Once a town of as many as 5,000, it
relied on sea trade, shipbuilding, and fishing, and was historically the
site of a Roman fort, a major Anglo-Saxon settlement, a crusader port, and a
13th-century religious center. In 1286 and 1326 the town was inundated by
great storms, which destroyed its port and began its decline, and over the
years other storms and an eroding coastline took much of what was left.
Today the ruins of a Franciscan priory and part of a leper hospital are all
that remain of the former settlement. Offshore explorations since 2008 have
revealed remains of medieval buildings some 30 ft (10 m) below the sea.
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