Sunken Lands

A Journey Through Flooded Kingdoms and Lost Worlds

An immersive travelogue exploring the pervasive mythology and emotional resonance of flooded places, at a time when the waters are rising once more

‘A fascinating if stark warning about human hubris in ignoring our place in nature’ New Scientist



Travel through drowned forests, vanished villages and sinking cities: the lost lands of our past, present – and future.

‘A rich, haunting account of lost lands and vanished futures.' Professor David Farrier, author of Footprints: In Search of Future Fossils 

From Stone Age lands that slipped beneath the English Channel to the rapid inundation of New Orleans, Gareth E. Rees explores stories of flooded places from the past – and those disappearing before our eyes.

The places lost to the eternally shifting boundaries between water and land continue to have a powerful emotional resonance today. Their uncertain features emerge to haunt us, briefly, when the moon draws back the tide to reveal a spire or a tree stump. And, imbued with myths and warnings from the past, these underwater worlds can also teach us important lessons about the unavoidability of change, the ebb and flow of Earth’s natural cycles, and the folly of trying to control them.

Sunken Lands peels back the layers of silt, sea and mythology to reveal what our submerged past can tell us about our imminent future as rising sea levels transform our planet once more.

Praise for Sunken Lands

‘An evocative and essential guide to disappeared places and difficult futures.’ Will Wiles, author of Plume 

‘A beguiling exploration of lost worlds beneath the sea’ Merlin Coverley, author of The Art of Wandering  

‘A reassuring perspective on the Anthropocene: the ebb and flow of civilisations, the inevitability of change and our capacity for renewal. Thoughtful and necessary writing.’ Sonia Overall, author of Heavy Time 

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