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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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
Sheringham Shoal Character Area
Present Day Form
The Sheringham Shoal offshore character area is situated in the south central section of the study area to the west of the Outer Dowsing navigation channel. The geology of the area comprises Chalk bedrock overlain by glacial till (clay, sand and gravel debris deposited from ice sheets) know as the Boulders Bank Formation. The water depth across the area varies between 15m and 20m and the maximum tidal range is 2-3 m. The seabed is gently undulating and consists of gravel and gravely sand.
Sea Use: Present
The Sheringham Shoal character area is the site of a proposed wind farm construction. The wind farm would be located some 17 to 23 km offshore with between 45 and 108 turbines and an estimated maximum power rating of 315 Mega Watts. Cables would run 1-3m under the sea bed to a landfall near Sheringham in Norfolk.
The principal fishing activity in the area supports some static gear boats fishing for crab and lobster out of North Norfolk with occasional beam trawling and lining for white fish such as cod and whiting and flat fish such as sole and plaice. Commercial shipping tends to avoid the area due to the surrounding shoals.
Sea Use: Past
The Sheringham Shoal 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 historically used this area because of it's proximity to the Outer Dowsing Navigation Channel to the east and 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. As part of the Leman Ground it is a named fishing ground on the Close's Fisherman's Chart (UKHO 1953) describes the area as a good fishing ground in between the shoals. In the south, June to Sept are good months. Fish: Plaice Soles Cod and Dabs.
Archaeological Potential
The Sheringham Shoal 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 makes it a possible Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic habitation site.
Over the last 6000 years (if not more), humans have used sea faring vessels and this area being close to a navigation channel (see above) has many wrecks. UKHO and NMR data show a total of 12 known wrecks in this area, 5 named. The wrecks include the British submarine HMSM Umpire sunk after a collision with the trawler Peter H Kendricks in 1941, the Virgin De Lourdes sunk in 1914 and the Blackburn sunk after a collision with SS Rock in 1910.
Character Perceptions
The area is perceived as an important industrial area as it contains the Sheringham Shoal proposed round 2 wind farm. It is also an offshore fishing ground.
References
Close's Fisherman's Chart (UKHO 1953)
Fisheries Sensitivity Maps in British Waters (MAFF 1989)
Sheringham Shoal Offshore Wind Farm - Environmental Statement Non Technical Summary. (Scira offshore energy, May 2006).
