Title
Targeting the Mesolithic: Interdisciplinary approaches to archaeological prospection in the Brown Bank area, southern North Sea
Author
Missiaen, T.
Fitch, S.
Harding, R.
Muru, M.
Fraser, A.
de Clercq, M.
Moreno, D.G.
Versteeg, W.
Busschers, F.S.
van Heteren, S.
Hijma, M.P.
Reichart, G.J.
Gaffney, V.
Publication year
2021
Abstract
This paper describes some results of the research undertaken over the Brown Bank area during recent (2018/ 2019) geoarchaeological surveys in the North Sea which included seismic imaging, shallow (vibro)coring and dredging. It examines the benefits of simultaneous high-resolution (0.5 – 1 m) and ultra-high-resolution (10–20 cm) seismic survey techniques and a staged approach to resolving the submerged Holocene landscape in the highest possible detail for the purpose of targeted prospecting for archaeological material from the Mesolithic landscape of Doggerland. The materials recovered from such surveys offer significantly greater information due to an enhanced understanding of the context in which they were recovered. The importance of this information cannot be understated archaeologically, as few locations on land provide the opportunity to recover archaeo logical finds in situ within preserved landscapes. Moreover, it allows offshore areas of potential human activity to be prospected with some certainty of success.
Subject
Brown bank
Doggerland
Holocene
Palaeolandscape
Sea-level rise
Seismic
Geological Survey Netherlands
2015 Energy
To reference this document use:
http://resolver.tudelft.nl/uuid:d06be15e-d195-4cfc-af38-f05da8192a9c
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.quaint.2020.05.004
TNO identifier
967900
Publisher
Elsevier Ltd
ISSN
1040-6182
Source
Quaternary International, 584 (584), 141-151
Document type
article