A comprehensive archival index of deserted, submerged, and historically preserved villages across Asia, documented through field surveys and historical research.
Once home to thousands of coast fishermen, Houtouwan was abandoned in the late 20th century due to isolation, leaving green vines to swallow the stone buildings.
Abandoning their homes overnight to protect their honor from a tyrannical vizier, the Paliwal Brahmin inhabitants left behind an intact 13th-century layout.
A tragic 1964 cyclone reduced this bustling trade hub into a ghost town. Today, skeletal walls of churches, railway stations, and homes stand by the ocean.