Amelia smiled. "That would be a historian's dream come true," she said. "Ah, to walk the streets of Old Dunwich and talk to the people there. If only it were possible. Alas, real life is not the cinema." She nodded to
Lucius. "The Romans were actually quite advanced when you think about it. After Western Rome fell, so much was lost. Technology and standards of living plummeted, and they took a long time to recover. Still, much knowledge was preserved, particularly by the Irish monks and the Arab cultures that rose to prominence afterwards, as well as by Eastern Rome. A lot of people forget that the Byzantine Empire lived on for nearly a thousand years after the fall of Rome. By around 1500, people had caught up with and surpassed much of what the Romans had achieved, though their roads were unmatched until Victorian times. The wonders of the Renaissance were great, but they certainly do pale in comparison with what we've achieved since the Industrial Revolution. Who knows how far it will go? But I'm getting ahead of myself, aren't I? We're not yet done with the Middle Ages.
"The beginning of the end for Dunwich's heyday came in 1286. A powerful storm that lasted three nights swept the lower part of the town away into the sea and connected the spit of land that had formed offshore to the coastline south of town. The much-vaunted harbour was no more. Here is a painting depicting the event." She indicated a framed picture hanging on the wall next to the display case.
"Channels were dug to restore some access by sea to Dunwich, but in 1328 an even worse storm struck. Many people died, and this time the harbor was lost for good. The courses of the Blyth and Dunwich Rivers had been changed by the storm so that they reached the sea further north. Dunwich began to stagnate, and it has been declining ever since. It would never again achieve its former greatness."
