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
Well Bank Character Area
Present Day Form
The Well Bank offshore character area is situated in the northern-eastern part of the study area bordering the Outer Silver Pit. 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) know as the Elbow Formation. The water depth across the area varies between 30m and 40m sloping gently down eastwards towards the Outer Silver Pit. The maximum tidal range is 2-3m. The seabed of the area consists of a flat sandy to slightly gravely sand substrate.
Sea Use: Present
The dominant character in the area is navigation as it is named after a gravel bank that poses a hazard to navigation. The area is also a commercial fishing zone. The principal fishing activity in the area is beam trawling for white fish such as cod and whiting and flat fish such as sole and plaice. The area has spawning and nursery areas for herring, sprat, plaice, Dover sole and lemon sole. Commercial shipping crosses the area on a regular basis.
The area contains the gas field Venture but this is not pipelined at present.
Sea Use: Past
The Well Bank Flats 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 Fisherman's 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.
Archaeological Potential
The Well Bank 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 palaeo-lake and sea embayment of the Outer Silver Pit make the northern side of this area a prime Mesolithic habitation site. Consequently, there is some potential for surviving evidence of human activity within the area. Flemming (DTI Sea3 2002) states that there are gradients of 1/25 to 1/10 down into Markham's Hole. Artefacts might occur in valley or beach structures on the slopes.
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.
Character Perceptions
The area is perceived as a named area of seabed and listed as posing a possible risk to navigation. It is also an offshore fishing ground.
References
Close's Fisherman's Chart (UKHO 1953)
Fisheries Sensitivity Maps in British Waters (MAFF 1989)
The scope of Strategic Environmental Assessment of North Sea areas SEA3 and SEA2 in regard to prehistoric archaeological remains (Flemming et al, DTI, 2002).
