Off the coast of the small japanese island Yonaguni lies a rock formation that has striking ressemblances to remains of submerged cities elsewhere. It was discovered in 1986. But no source from history has so far proven the existence of a city in this location and it is deputed whether the Yonaguni monument is in fact nothing more than a bizarre fancy of nature.
Japan; 20. Century; City: Yonaguni
Famous german novel “The Rider on a white Horse (Schimmelreiter)” by Theodor Storm draws on a superstition and theme that appears in numerous folk tales from the region of the North and Baltic Sea: In order to build a durable and reliable dyke, a living being has to be built into the construction alive. In Storm’s novel, the local builders try to hurl a dog into a hole in the dyke during construction. The animal is rescued by the main protagonist, the local Deichgraf who is supervising the construction. He later gives his own life by riding on his white horse into the open sea, in an attempt to safe the rest of the community.
There are various stories of towns abducting and killing foreigners – usually homeless people or minorities like Roma – or little children as sacrifices to make their dykes more durable. (Find an extensive comparative essay on the various sources here and another original source here. Both in German).
This superstition is comparable to other builder’s rites. But I wonder if similar superstitions or even customs exist in flood protextion in other world cultures as well?
Germany; 19. Century; Christian; Pagan; Animals; Text
The All Saints’ Flood (Dutch: Allerheiligenvloed) of 1570 was a disaster which happened on November 1, on the Dutch and German coast. Affected cities include Egmond, Bergen op Zoom and Saeftinghe. The print by Hans Moser depicts the Scheldt river overflowing.
According to a popular legend, the bells of the church of the city Saeftinghe can be heard calling for help on foggy days.
Netherlands; 16. Century; Christian; Print; City: Saeftinghe
The Mosul Dam is used to regulate the water supply in the draught prone regions of Irak. If there is a shortage of water, the water line in the dam resservoire is lowered which has repeatedly brought archeological findings to light. In 2010 a palace appeared above the surface and meanwhile had disappeared again. In the current draught in May 2022 the remains of a city were found. Archeologists believe it to be the city Zachiku, an important center of commerce and trade in the Mittani empire that existed between 1550 and 1350 BEC. Depending on the use of the Dam, the city will appear and disappear – like the mythical city Gemmelhausen.
More Info about the Mosul Dam Reservoire.
Probably not the first motion picture about a flooded city, but certainly the most influential one. In the 1927 movie the city is a completely fictious science fiction vesion of a city. It is thus more comparable to the new towns that are currently being planned to anticipate the impact of rising sea levels than to the cities threatened by it. Still Metropolis remains one of the earliest immersive visual experiences of a flooded city and a futurist version of the sinful city punished by a deluge. These images show the making of an iconic flooding scene in the movie. The first image shows the scenery before the flooding.
Germany; 20. Century; Christian; Film; City: Metropolis
In this image from the disaster movie “2012” (200) the visual style is clearly remeniscent of Rennaissance and medieval paintings. This shot in particular reminds me of depictions of Golgatha.
USA; 21. Century; Christian; Film; Art History;
In the movie “2012” – for reasons unclear to me – the White House is hit not only by a gigantic ocean wave but by a gigantic ocean wave carying a US-Navy aircraft carrier. The movie is from 2009.
USA; 21. Century; Christian; Film; City: Washington
This swimming building in an artificial lake in Saxonia, combines the commemoration of two sunken citites: The shape of the dome resembles the church of Magdeborn, a former town that was evicted in the 1970s and the area was later flooded by the lake. The name however refers to the mythical sunken city Vineta, located in the Baltic sea in or closeby the Szczecin Lagoon. The building is also used as an “event center”.
Vishnu, disguised as the fish Matsya, saves Manu from the flood.
When the flood begins, Manu boards the boat and then prays to the fish Matsya for assistance. The fish then appears and ties the boat to a horn that has grown on its head. It uses the serpent Vasuki as the rope to tie the boat to its horn. The fish then tows this boat to safety and takes Manu to the highest and driest point left on the earth.
There is also a yoga position called Matsyana, the fish:
India; approxamitely 3. Century AD; Hindu; Animals; Story
Stories often mention that the behaviour of animals announces approaching floods. This is an exceprt from a text by the Roman writer and natural scientist Claudius Aelianus (c. 175 – c. 235 AD) about the flood that submerged Helice (nothern Pelepones, Greece).
“Fünf Tage bevor Helike zugrunde ging, flohen alle Mäuse, Wiesel, Schlangen, Käfer und andere Tiere solcher Art in einer großen Anzahl entlang der Strasse, die nach Coria führt. Als die Einwohner Helikes sahen, dass dies geschah, wunderten sie sich; dennoch konnten sie keine Vermutung über den Grund machen. Die dem Auszug jener Tiere am nächsten gelegene Bürgerschaft, ging, nachdem sie nachts durch eine Erdbeben erschüttert worden war, zugrunde und wurde durch überflutende Wassermassen zerstört; und zugleich mit der Stadt gingen auch zehn Schiffe der Spartaner, die damals zufällig bei dem Hafen vor Anker lagen, durch dieselbe Überschwemmung des Meeres unter. Es geschieht, wenn die Gerechtigkeit den Dienst der Tiere nutzt, um Rache an gottlosen Menschen zu nehmen.” (Aelian, De natura animalium, 6, 19)
I
english translation: “Five days before Helice perished, all the mice, weasels, snakes, beetles, and other such animals fled in great numbers along the road that leads to Coria. When the inhabitants of Helice saw this happening, they marveled; yet they could make no conjecture as to the reason. The citizenry nearest to the exodus of those beasts, after being shaken by an earthquake at night, perished and were destroyed by flooding waters; and ten Spartan ships, which happened to be at anchor near the port, perished along with the city by the same inundation of the sea. It happens when justice uses the ministry of animals to take vengeance on ungodly people." (Aelian, De natura animalium, 6, 19)