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David
Bowsher
Director of Research
Museum of London Archaeology
Mortimer Wheeler House
46 Eagle Wharf Road
London
N1 7ED
UK
Tel: 020 7410 2285
The Off Ground character area is situated offshore at the northern extent of the study area. The geology of the area comprises a complex of Jurassic and Triassic bedrock overlain by glacial till (clay, sand and gravel debris deposited from ice sheets and Holocene peat and sands) known as the Elbow Formation. The water depth across the area varies between 30m and 40m and the maximum tidal range is 2-3m.
The dominant character of the area is fishing related industry. The principal activity is beam trawling for white fish such as cod and whiting and flat fish such as sole and plaice. Fishing for brown and pink shrimp also takes place. The area contains spawning and nursery areas for herring, sprat, plaice, Dover sole and lemon sole. Commercial shipping also crosses the area on a regular basis.
The area contains the relatively small outlying gas production field of Hoton and Newsham, which are part of the West Sole production area.
The Off Ground character area has been shaped by thousands of years of dynamic sea level changes and erosion and deposition. The relatively shallow nature of the sea bed means that the area was dry land almost certainly in the Upper Palaeolithic, Mesolithic. Marine traffic would have crossed this area on a regular basis from the Roman period onwards. Fishing activity would have been carried out in the area from the medieval period onwards. The Close Fishermans Chart (UKHO 1953) taken from surveys and reports from 1904 to 1925 describes the area as good ground for all kinds of fish with a stoney and sometimes catchy bottom but Trawlers and some Seine netters work it. The best months for fishing are Jan, Mar, May, June, July and Oct (Close 1953).
The Off Ground character area has potential for the presence of drowned land surfaces resulting from the fact that sea level has fluctuated between -120 metres and +10 metres over the past 500,000 years. From the period 500,000 BP to 22,000 BP (before present), human population levels were low, and little more than stray finds may be expected, although these may still be of considerable archaeological importance. From 22,000 BP to 2100 BP parts of the North Sea were dry land and human population levels were higher, especially in the Mesolithic age. Finds dating to the Mesolithic have been found to a depth of 40m so any area of sea bed above this level has potential for habitation.
Inundation of the North Sea landscapes occurred between 10,000 and 6,000 BP and the most likely evidence for human occupation would be, therefore, Mesolithic in date. Earlier Palaeolithic occupation is less likely to be found and later Neolithic occupation is likely to have been limited to the inshore and very highest of the banks and shoals such as the Dogger Bank. The area's position mid way between the Ouse/Nene palaeochannel and the Outer Silver Pit (post glacial sea embayment or lake south of Doggerland) makes it a possible Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic habitation site. Consequently, there is some potential for surviving evidence of human activity within the area.
Over the last 6000 years (if not more), humans have used sea faring vessels and so wrecks and related material may lie on the sea floor or be buried beneath the sea floor. UKHO and NMR data show a total of 3 known wrecks in this area, unnamed.
The area is perceived as an offshore fishing ground with, at present minor direct offshore industrial pressures.
Close's Fisherman's Chart (UKHO 1953)
Fisheries Sensitivity Maps in British Waters (MAFF 1989)