The town of Machynlleth, and the funny way it is said and spelled, fits right at home in Wales, a land where spelling is an extreme sport and vowels are optional. The county of Powys is home to some of the largest settlements in Wales but Machynlleth is most definitely not one of the competitors. With a population of just over two thousand citizens it is easy to forget Machynlleth but one thing is certain: With the vast amount of fascinating history that has occurred in this hallowed town it is impossible to overlook Machynlleth. After all, the town has been privy to some of the most significant events in the strange history of Wales.
People have lived on the lush and fertile soil of Machynlleth for ages untold and the rich source of copper in the area attracted miners over three thousand years ago. This is around the time that Machynlleth truly came into prominence and it was during this time that Machynlleth was, like most of the surrounding area, a home to the original Welsh language that has been altered and destroyed in the years since. Either way, these early Welsh inhabitants quickly began to follow the tradition of other surrounding peoples and set about creating myths and legends that would help to take their minds off of the generally violent and short lives that most of the citizens had. Like Atlantis or El Dorado, the Welsh believed that a mystical lost city known as Cantre'r Gwaelod was hidden beneath the plains of Machynlleth. In the story the city was destroyed by a flood because of the negligence of one of the city's princes. This corresponds with many other legends at the time that had to do with floods including the Old Testament tale of Noah. The oldest civilization in the world, the Chaldeans, had a similar story about the flooding of one of their legendary citizens and it is here that most scholars suppose the myth began to be spread around in different lands and epochs. This makes Macynlleth another link in the chain of world mythology and thus an important city in its own right.
The deluge myth is thought to have arisen in other parts of the civilized world and most experts now agree that this had to do with the fact that the ice age was just ending as civilization was beginning. Naturally, the older people in the cultures may have remembered being young and seeing floods take down whole cities. Fortunately, the town of Machynlleth came after these horrific storms and it grew up as a predominantly wealthy Welsh town that was the home to many noblemen and women. When Wales was swept up into the United Kingdom a fair bit of that old Machynlleth individually was lost forever but a visitor to the town can still easily see the original charm and beauty that Machynlleth has always stood for. From its stately bridges to its medieval houses, Machynlleth is still very much alive in the hearts and minds of its citizens.
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