England's Historic Seascapes: Withernsea to Skegness
Museum of London Archaeology, 2010. https://doi.org/10.5284/1000104. How to cite using this DOI
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This work is licensed under the ADS Terms of Use and Access.
Primary contact
David
Bowsher
Director of Research
Museum of London Archaeology
Mortimer Wheeler House
46 Eagle Wharf Road
London
N1 7ED
UK
Tel: 020 7410 2285
Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 935
- ALSF Project Number: 4730
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1000104
- How to cite using this DOI
Outer Dowsing Shoals Character Area
Present Day Form
The Outer Dowsing Shoals offshore character area is situated in the central part of the study area immediately to the southeast of the Sole Pit. The geology of the area is a complex anticline of Jurassic and Triassic bedrock overlain by glacial till (clay, sand and gravel debris deposited from ice sheets) known as the Boulders Bank formation. The water depth across the area varies between 10m and 25m with a shallow water bank (the Outer Dowsing Shoal) aligned NW - SE rising to a depth of 4m with associated gravel and sand deposits. The maximum tidal range is c3m.
Sea Use: Present
The Outer Dowsing Shoals character area is one of the most intensively industrialised areas in the offshore study area. It contains a suit of major active gas production fields; the Pickerill, Malory, Galahad, Mordred, Excaliber, Lancelot and Guinevere Fields. The large licensed aggregate extraction zone 441 WGL lies in the eastern section of the character area with active extraction areas on either side of the shoal. The principal fishing activity in the area is trawling for cod, whiting, sole, other flat fish and shrimp. Fishing activities are compromised by both the aggregate extraction and the large number of gas installations on the sea floor and standing production rigs. Like the adjacent character areas, the Outer Dowsing Shoals are important as a spawning and nursery areas of herring and also Dover sole and lemon sole.
Sea Use: Past
The Outer Dowsing Shoals 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 and Mesolithic and possibly the Neolithic around the shoal area.
Marine traffic would have historically avoided this area around the shoals but numerous wrecks will be found here possibly dating from the Roman period onwards.
Fishing activity would have been carried out in the area from the medieval period onwards. The area is part of the Leman Ground named fishing ground on the Close's Fisherman's. The chart describes the area as good fishing for cod and soles between the shoals (Close 1953).
Archaeological Potential
The Outer Dowsing Shoals 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 that 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 areas position adjacent to the Outer Dowsing Shoal makes it prime 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. There are approximately 9 recorded wrecks in the area.
Character Perceptions
The area is perceived as an important industrial area as it contains a large number of gas production fields and an active aggregate extraction area. It is also a dangerous navigation area for shipping and an offshore fishing ground.
References
Close's Fisherman's Chart (UKHO 1953)
