England's Historic Seascapes: Liverpool Bay Pilot Area
Wessex Archaeology, 2006. https://doi.org/10.5284/1000010. How to cite using this DOI
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Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 745
- ALSF Project Number: 3783
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1000010
- How to cite using this DOI
England's Historic Seascapes: Liverpool Bay Pilot Area
ALSF Project Number 3783
Wessex Archaeology, 2006
Lune Deep Character Area
Present Day Form
The Lune Deep character area is delineated by the character areas of Shell Flat to the east and south, and Off Heysham to the west. In the north Lune Deep forms the edge of the Pilot Area. Lune Deep is a channel, approximately 40 metres deeper than the surrounding seabed. It is a glacigenic incision, thought to be a relict kettlehole formed when surrounding moraines collapsed into a crater (English Nature, 2004; 12). The main body of this feature lies outside the Liverpool Bay Pilot Area although a substantial amount of its shallower parts lie within it.
The Lune Deep character area is characterised as an area of fisheries and mariculture. The Joint Nature Conservation Committee has recorded the area as a plaice and herring habitat and it is possible that some commercial fishing boats dredge for plaice here with beam and otter trawls. However fishing for herring within the UK 12 nautical mile limit in the north east Irish Sea is not permitted (Rogers, 1997: 6). Lune Deep is also classed as a Sensitive Marine Area, a non-statutory classification; it has a low species diversity and high biomass which supports an exceptionally large bird population (Halcrow Group Ltd. 2001; 27).
Lune Deep habitat is represented by fine sediment plains and the seabed in the area is smooth and featureless in some areas with subdued slopes in others. The sediment is made up of muddy sandy gravel and muddy sand (marine sediments) and there are areas of undifferentiated bedrock lithology. The tidal range is high and Lune Deep is subject to strong currents creating discontinuity and unusual circulation patterns in the tidal currents. The incoming tide flows up the Lune Deep into Morecambe Bay, disturbing seabed sediment and creating a turbid water flow heavy with silt and mud. This flow is carried around the estuaries in an anticlockwise direction (Vaughan, 2000; 14).
Sea Use: present
Exploitation of the marine resource within the character area is mainly carried out by trawlers from harbours in nearby Morecambe Bay. In recent years maintenance dredging has been undertaken at the port of Fleetwood with substantial quantities of material deposited in the Lune Deep. In the period between 1996 and 2000 an average of 965,754 tonnes (536,530 cu metres) per annum was dredged (Halcrow Group Ltd. 2001; 57). The deposition of large amounts of dredged sediment in conjunction with the natural tidal scouring of the Lune Deep character area creates a dramatic series of seabed disturbances which may have removed potential archaeological deposits.
Sea Use: past
The Lune Deep area's current appearance has been shaped by thousands of years of dynamic marine transgressions. The coastline has therefore shifted dramatically since the earliest evidence for human activity. According to bathymetric data and the sea-level change model produced from it, this area would have been dry land until the Mesolithic period. In the Late Mesolithic period the eastern edge of the character area may have become a coastal or intertidal area and by the Neolithic the coastline is likely to have assumed an approximation of its current appearance. Preceding this, the area, both intertidal and marine, would have been dry land possibly exploited by prehistoric settlers. The earliest archaeological evidence from the Lancashire coast dates to the Upper Palaeolithic. Evidence for prehistoric land use in areas that are now coastal zones is discussed in Archaeological Potential below.
Substantial marine traffic between the west coast of Lancashire and the Isle of Man from the Bronze Age onwards is suggested by material culture found on the island (Bowen, 1970; 25-27). This may have been an important trade route in pre and proto-historic times.
There may have been a substantial harbour near the modern town of Fleetwood in pre-Roman times. Ptolemy's Geography lists a Portus Setantiorum at the southern edge of Morecambe Bay. The name suggests it was a seaport controlled or used by the Setantii, a sub-tribe of the powerful Brigantes tribe known to have lived in Lancashire. If this port did exist then the Lune Deep character area would have seen substantial marine traffic, being on the approach to Morecambe Bay, the likely site of the port.
There is sparse archaeological evidence for the early medieval period in the vicinity of the character area. Some place-names in the area are of Anglo-Saxon origin, such as Lytham from the Old English hlip, meaning 'slope' (Ekwall, 1960; 310). It is likely that the area would have seen Viking marine traffic, given the large influx of Vikings into Lancashire from the Isle of Man in the 10th and 11th centuries. This is reflected in the frequency of Viking place-names along the coast, although there are none in the immediate vicinity of the characterisation area. The area would have been important for navigation during this period, being part of the main approach to Morecambe Bay and the River Wyre.
Before the development of Blackpool and the founding of Fleetwood it is likely that, other than boats traversing the area, the sea would have been exploited purely by fishermen from the nearby coastal towns and villages. Nets and dredges operated from boats are established fishing methods in the area and fishermen would have used traditional sailing boats like Morecambe Bay 'shrimpers' to access their favourite fishing grounds (Lancashire County Council, 1996; 6).
The coast of Lancashire was virtually uninhabited at the beginning of the 19th century. Liverpool and Lancaster were the only towns of any importance and between them were scattered just a few villages; Southport, Lytham and Blackpool. The 19th century saw the intensification of sea use in the character area with the development of Blackpool as a major centre for recreation. Fleetwood's foundation at this time would also have had a great impact on the sea use in the character area. Fleetwood's founder Sir Peter Hesketh-Fleetwood originally intended to found a holiday town, but extended this to include port facilities so that the town might support itself during the winter months (Curtis, 1986; 68). The town rapidly grew into one of the busiest ports in the region becoming the third biggest fishing station in the kingdom during the steam trawler era (Stammers, 1997; 204). The character area would have seen an enormous amount of marine traffic from small fishing smacks to large steamers importing goods from all over the world. This would have further intensified with the completion of a fully equipped dock in 1877 (Curtis, 1986; 74). Lune Deep is shown on the 1842 chart and the 1882 chart just as on today's charts, as an oblong channel of greater depth than the seabed surrounding it.
Archaeological Potential
There were 28 reported casualties in the Lune Deep character area between 1837 and 1895. There are no obstructions listed by the UK Hydrographics Office.
According to bathymetric data and the sea-level change model produced from it, the area surrounding Lune Deep was inundated by the Mesolithic period. The earliest evidence for human activity near the Lancashire coast is from nearby Poulton-le-Fylde where an elk skeleton containing barbed points was discovered in lake deposits in a peaty hollow, dating to the Upper Palaeolithic, 10,400 � 300 BC (Cowell, 1996; 21). There is little evidence for the Mesolithic north of the Ribble, and that which does exist is confined to a few flint scatters. The evidence does however include a potentially important site at Peel near Lytham (Cowell, 1996; 23). This evidence for Mesolithic activity in the vicinity of the character area raises the possibility that the character area itself may have experienced prehistoric land use.
Evidence for the Neolithic in Lancashire consists of flint scatters, deposition of axeheads and pottery finds, while actual settlement finds are rarer. The distribution of lithic scatters suggests a settlement pattern centred on the coast and river valleys. Some axehead finds also suggest a deliberate deposition focused on river valleys and wetlands, rather than casual losses (Middleton, 1996; 40). The coastline would have arrived at an approximation of its current appearance by the Neolithic so any activity in the character area would have to be of a seafaring nature.
Historical evidence from Ptolemy's Geography combined with the archaeological evidence of the Roman road directed towards Fleetwood raises the possibility of increased marine traffic in the area at this time.
The character area experiences very strong tidal currents, its sediment being disturbed and deposited around Morecambe Bay on a daily basis. The likelihood of unrecorded shipwrecks surviving in an area of such dynamic tidal action is low. The area, shown as inundated by the Mesolithic is unlikely to have existed as dry land since then, which limits the potential for any surviving relict landscapes.
Character Perceptions
Lune Deep character area is currently characterised by fisheries and mariculture. The area however, is also seen as environmental, classed as a Special Marine Area due to the particular ecosystem it supports.
References
Bowen, E. G. 1970, 'Britain and the British
Seas', Moore, D (ed.), The Irish Sea Province in
Archaeology and History, Cambrian Archaeological
Association, Cardiff
Cowell, R. 1996, 'The Upper Palaeolithic and
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Lancashire, pp. 19-34, Lancaster University
Archaeological Unit, Lancaster
Curtis, B. 1986, Fleetwood: A Town is Born,
Terence Dalton Ltd. Lavenham
Ekwall, E. 1960, The Concise Oxford Dictionary of
English Place-names, Clarendon Press, Oxford
English Nature, 2004, The Irish Sea Marine Natural
Area, Peterborough
Halcrow Group Ltd. July 2001, Wyre Borough Council,
Wyre Flood and Coastal Defence Strategy Study: Strategic
Environment Assessment, Swindon
Lancashire County Council, 1996, The Morecombe Bay
Strategy Part 2, Lancashire County Council
Middleton, R. 1996, 'The Neolithic and Bronze
Age', Newman, R. (ed.), The Archaeology of
Lancashire, pp. 19-34, Lancaster University
Archaeological Unit, Lancaster
Rogers, S. I. 1997, A Review of Closed Areas in the
United Kingdom Exclusive Economic Zone, The Centre for
Environment Fisheries and Aquaculture Science, Science
Series, Technical Report No. 106, Lowestoft
Stammers, M. 1997, 'The Northwest Coast',
Mannering, J. (ed.), The Chatham Directory of Inshore
Craft: Traditional Working Vessels of the British
Isles, pp. 204-215, Chatham Publishing, London
Vaughan, D. December 2000, Sandbanks, Saltmarshes and
Spartina in Morecombe Bay: an information and study guide
for students, Morecombe Bay Partnership
