Lyonesse is a lost land which is mentioned in most of the Cornish or British folklore. It is link between key places in the King Arthur legends such as Avalon and Camelot. According to the legend the city stood between the coasts of Scilly and Cornwall. The legend further states that Lyonesse rests under the fierce Atlantic Ocean. Some of the locals living on the coastline have even reported hearing ghostly bells ringing from the ocean. The land of Lyonesse was a well populated city having many churches and may be the locals hear the church bells of these churches from underneath the ocean.
It is also said that when the tides are low field remains of Lyonesse show up along the Sampson Flat sands which is located between the islands of Scilly. According to the ancient Roman maps Scilly Islands were once a single island. The capital of Scilly was the Seven Stones Reef. Thus the location of Lyonesse could be anywhere in the Atlantic Ocean between Scilly and the English coastline.
According to the legends the city of Lyonesse went under water after a terrible flood on 11th November 1099. Everyone but one survivor was engulfed by the sea. The sole survivor was known as Trevilian who saw the waves coming in and rode off to a secure place. There are other reasons cited for the loss of this great city. In some tales, Aurthur and his army were followed by evil Modred, ghost of Merlin came to their rescue by calling on the floods when Aurthur and his men had climbed to a secure location. According to some Aurthurian legends King Aurthur was born in Lyonesse and Sir Tristan’s uncle, King Mark ruled over the lands. Thus the city was very important part of Britanny in those times.
In the present times there have been many sightings by the mariners. Near the St Micheal’s Mount during the low tides the mariners have seen fossilised remains of an ancient forest. They are definite that there was once a forest in this part of the sea. Similarly other mariners have seen spotted walls below the sea. Many have seen the hut circles and cysts on the nearby lands suggesting that there was definitely a land mass in this part of the ocean. Many fishermen have even reported catching the doors, and windows of ancient structures in their fishing nets.
Though there are many evidences of Lyonesse being found over again but the oceanographers refute this view. According to them there has not been a stark change in the tides or waves of the region. They denounce the stories of the mariners as fantastical. But all the evidences prove that the lost city of Lyonesse should be located roughly in the area where such sightings have been made.