Marine Industry and Submerged Prehistoric Archaeology: sharing data, developing understanding and delivering best practice. Cost Action TD902 (original) (raw)
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Research Infrastructure for Systematic Study of the Prehistoric Archaeology of the European Submerged Continental Shelf. The slow but accelerating accumulation of data defining the sea-level changes, palaeoclimate, subaerial terrestrial soils, river drainage patterns, coastal marshes and peats, combined with properly controlled mapping and excavation of submerged archaeological strata in several locations, has encouraged the view that it is now possible to attempt a systematic analysis of the prehistory of the whole continental shelf, which can be integrated with prehistory on land. Such an endeavour will take many years to produce substantial results, and the foundations and preparations must be sufficiently robust to support a consistent accumulation of new data over this timescale. The present chapter reviews briefly the infrastructural conditions needed, and focuses on the exploitation of existing data already archived and the derivation of practical information for planning and...
European Marine Board, Position Paper 21, Continental Shelf Prehistoric Research: research strategy
The European continental shelf which was exposed subaerially for most of the last one million years was occupied by a fauna and flora which included, at different dates, hominins and anatomically modern humans. Over 2500 submerged prehistoric sites are known. This report considers the value that archaeological study of these sites and the associated landscape would provide, and shows the positive interaction between study of climate change, glacial research, palaeo-oceanography, and archaeology.
The Archaeology of Europe’s Drowned Landscapes
The Archaeology of Europe’s Drowned Landscapes, 2020
This open access volume provides for the first time a comprehensive description and scientific evaluation of underwater archaeological finds referring to human occupation of the continental shelf around the coastlines of Europe and the Mediterranean when sea levels were lower than present. These are the largest body of underwater finds worldwide, amounting to over 2500 find spots, ranging from individual stone tools to underwater villages with unique conditions of preservation. The material reviewed here ranges in date from the Lower Palaeolithic period to the Bronze Age and covers 20 countries bordering all the major marine basins from the Atlantic coasts of Ireland and Norway to the Black Sea, and from the western Baltic to the eastern Mediterranean. The finds from each country are presented in their archaeological context, with information on the history of discovery, conditions of preservation and visibility, their relationship to regional changes in sea-level and coastal geomorphology, and the institutional arrangements for their investigation and protection. Editorial introductions summarise the findings from each of the major marine basins. There is also a final section with extensive discussion of the historical background and the legal and regulatory frameworks that inform the management of the underwater cultural heritage and collaboration between offshore industries, archaeologists and government agencies. The volume is based on the work of COST Action TD0902 SPLASHCOS, a multi-disciplinary and multi-national research network supported by the EU-funded COST organisation (European Cooperation in Science and Technology). The primary readership is research and professional archaeologists, marine and Quaternary scientists, cultural-heritage managers, commercial and governmental organisations, policy makers, and all those with an interest in the sea floor of the continental shelf and the human impact of changes in climate, sea-level and coastal geomorphology.
Studies in submerged prehistoric archaeology have gained momentum in recent years with particular focus on the inundated landscapes of the European continental shelf. While this renewed interest lies primarily in modern coasts and seas, there are a variety of differences between the submerged prehistoric archaeologies of inland and marine environments, ranging from questions of scientific research to heritage management to practical field methods. Some of these differences are the result of location, function and period. Despite this, there exist similarities that, if ignored, risk increased marginalisation of the archaeology of submerged landscapes from the greater field of prehistoric archaeology. A holistic evaluation of prehistoric archaeological landscapes must include inland-waters and coastal zones and their relationships. Aquatic environments, viewed both as individual locations as well as continuous and connecting waterways, are introduced for their differences and similarities, and simplified examples of material and legislation are introduced in order to contextualize submarine sites and practices within the greater fields of prehistory and underwater archaeology.