| Abstract: |
The submerged prehistoric landscapes of the North Sea, and the archaeological sites on them, represent a common European cultural heritage, but also one that is of world-wide signifi cance. It is from the North Sea margin that the earliest evidence of a premodern human presence in northern Europe has been obtained; and the region was inhabited, and also served as a pathway for human migration, for many hundreds of thousands of years. This rich, and exceptionally well-preserved, archaeological resource is increasingly threatened by off -shore activities, including aggregate extraction, wind-farm construction, hydrocarbon exploitation and fishing, besides natural processes of erosion. It is certainly not immune from 21st century impacts. Due to eff ective collaboration
with industry, combined with the requirements of the EU ‘Strategic Environmental Assessment’ and ‘Environmental Impact Assessment’ Directives, there is now a fl ood of new information. However, archaeologists now need to stand back, to consider how future research and management should be directed. This document is a first attempt towards that. The submerged prehistoric landscapes of the North Sea, and the archaeological sites on them, represent a common European cultural heritage, but also one that is of world-wide significance. It is from the North Sea margin that the earliest evidence of a premodern human presence in northern Europe has been obtained; and the region was inhabited, and also served as a pathway for human migration, for many hundreds of thousands of years. |
