Scientists Are Racing to Unearth the Secrets of an Ancient Underwater World

Historians and divers are trying to retrieve prehistoric clues from beneath the waves—but they have to act fast.

BY DARREN ORF
PUBLISHED: JAN 31, 2024 9:00 AM EST

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Around 8,000 to 6,000 BCE, the North and Baltic seas ... weren’t seas at all. Instead, they were vast planes that were home to ancient human civilizations. But as the curtain drew to a close on the last Ice Age, water levels rose and inundated these low-lying areas, wiping away any trace of prospering civilizations. Well—almost any trace.

The University of Bradford’s Submerged Landscapes Research Centre in the U.K., TNO Geological Survey of the Netherlands, Flanders Marine Institute, and the University of York will soon explore these long-lost civilizations as part of a research collaboration known as SUBNORDICA. One of the ancient lands the project aims to explore is Doggerland, which is thought to have thrived in North Sea region some 8,200 years ago.

“Twenty-thousand years ago, the global sea level was 130 metres lower than at present. With progressive global warming and sea-level rise, unique landscapes, home to human societies for millennia, disappeared,” Vincent Gaffney, leader of the Submerged Landscapes Research Centre, said in a press statement. “We know almost nothing about the people who lived on these great plains. As Europe and the world approaches net zero, development of the coastal shelves is now a strategic priority. SUBNORDICA will use the latest technologies to explore these lands and support sustainable development.”

Among those technologies will be advanced seabed mapping and computer simulation of lost settlements, as well as additional AI tools, seismic and acoustic surveys, and boreholes. In March, the University of Bradford announced its plan to analyze data gathered from magnetometer surveys intended for the environmental impact assessment of future green energy initiatives. University researchers say magnetic fields can help identify “peat-forming areas…or where erosion has occurred, for example in river channels.”

More:
https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/archaeology/a45701132/race-to-study-submerged-prehistoric-settlements/