They say that near Ferryside in Carmarthenshire there is the thirteenth century village of St. Ishmael, But it is rarely seen. That is because it is submerged in the bay.It isnt clear why it disappeared. West Wales was a remote place and news didnt often travel very far. Often the news never made the leap from Welsh into English. Often it was never written down. There is certainly no record of what happened. The local people say that it was swamped by an enormous tidal wave caused by a volcanic eruption in the Bristol Channel but here is no evidence to support this.These days the ruins are rarely exposed, especially since they have diminished over time. Local farmers have on occasion helped themselves to the stone to build up their walls when it has emerged from the sea.Of course the wind and the tide continue to do their work.Some say that it isnt a village at all. They say that the stonework that is sometimes exposed is part of an elaborate fish weir, built to trap fish for Whitland Abbey. It fell into disuse when it became silted up. This makes sense too.The parish of St Ishmael lies on the estuary of the River Towy and this might give a clue what might have happened. A catastrophic storm of some kind could have re-arranged the shoreline. Certainly the tides constantly change the landscape. The shifting sands of Cefn Sidan, which is always reshaping itself, are never still. Maps drawn at different times throughout history show a changing shoreline. Maps of the estuary where three rivers the Gwendraeth, the Taf and the Towy - flow into the sea have never been much more than an approximation.The church of St Ishmael is still there, built upon higher ground, and the main railway line to London rushes along next to estuary whilst the stones rest quietly and mysteriously alongside.It is a perfect example of hidden history. There are still untold and undiscovered stories from the past wherever we look. It is our job sometimes just to move aside the clinging sands that obscure them so that we can see more clearly.