England's Historic Seascapes: Withernsea to Skegness
Museum of London Archaeology, 2010. https://doi.org/10.5284/1000104. How to cite using this DOI
Data copyright © Historic England unless otherwise stated
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
West Sole Character Area
Present Day Form
The West Sole character area is situated offshore in the north-central section of the study area in a major gas field area of the east coast of East Yorkshire. 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) known as the Boulders Bank Formation. The water depth across the area varies between 20m and 35m and the maximum tidal range is 2-3m.
Sea Use: Present
The dominant characteristic of the West Sole character area is gas related industry. The West Sole field was discovered in 1965 and started production in 1983. With reserves of 60 billion cubic metres of gas and a peak production of 2.3 billion cubic metres of gas per year, it is one of the southern North Sea's major hydrocarbon fields. It has permanent installations on the seabed and free standing rigs, including the 'Sea Quest' rig. The field is connected directly to the Easington Gas Terminal in East Yorkshire by two pipelines.
Fishing is also carried out in the area and the Off Ground fishing area is located here. The principal fishing activity is beam trawling for white fish such as cod and whiting, and flat fish such as sole and plaice. There is also fishing for brown and pink shrimp.
The fishing in the character area is limited by the number of sea bed obstructions and exclusion zones associated with gas exploitation. Commercial shipping also crosses the area on a regular basis.
Sea Use: Past
The West Sole 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's 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' (Close 1953). The ground was worked by trawlers and some Seine netters. The best months for fishing were Jan, Mar, May, June, July and Oct.
Archaeological Potential
The West Sole 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 area. 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 this area and may contain wrecks and related material that may lie on the sea floor or be buried beneath the sea floor. UKHO and NMR data show a total of 4 known wrecks in this area, 3 unnamed and 1 named: the Sea Gem jack up drilling rig which collapsed on 28th December 1965 with the loss of 13 lives. The Sea Gem is a historically significant wreck as it was the first rig to find offshore hydrocarbons in the UK sector in July 1965.
Character Perceptions
The area is perceived as an important industrial area as it contains the West Sole production field. It is also an offshore fishing ground with, at present, direct offshore industrial pressures from the gas fields in the area.
References
Close's Fisherman's Chart (UKHO 1953)
Fisheries Sensitivity Maps in British Waters (MAFF 1989)
Scandoil, North Sea Oil and Gas production Fields (Scandoil Oil and Gas Magazine online).
