North Sea Archaeologies

Author(s):  
Robert Van de Noort

This innovative study offers an up-to-date analysis of the archaeology of the North Sea. Robert Van de Noort traces the way people engaged with the North Sea from the end of the last ice age, around 10,000 BC, to the close of the Middle Ages, about AD 1500. Van de Noort draws upon archaeological research from many countries, including the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Belgium and France, and addresses topics which include the first interactions of people with the emerging North Sea, the origin and development of fishing, the creation of coastal landscapes, the importance of islands and archipelagos, the development of seafaring ships and their use by early seafarers and pirates, and the treatments of boats and ships at the end of their useful lives.

Author(s):  
Dirk J. Beets ◽  
Adam J. F. van der Spek

AbstractFlooding of the southern part of the North Sea occurred between 9000 and 8000 BP, when the rate of relative sea-level rise was on the order of 0.7 cm per year for the Dover Strait Region and 1.6 cm per year for the area north of the Frisian Islands, forcing the shoreline to recede rapidly. When relative sea-level rise decelerated after 7000 BP for the Belgian coast and 6000 BP for the central Netherlands coast, sediment supply by the tidal currents balanced the creation of accommodation space in the estuaries and other back-barrier basins. Consequently, the barrier started to stabilize, and the tidal basins and their inlets silted up. Between 5500 and 4500 BP, the Belgian coastal plain changed into a freshwater marsh with peat accumulation, and the same happened 500–1000 years later in the western provinces of the Netherlands. The E-W running barrier/back-barrier system of the Frisian Islands in the northern Netherlands stayed open until today, however, because of lower sediment supply.The period between 4000 and 2000 BP was relatively quiet due to the strong deceleration of the rate of sea-level rise; peat cushions developed behind the barriers, which were straightened by erosion of the headlands. Major and often catastrophic flooding occurred in the Middle Ages, when the estuaries in the southwestern part of the Netherlands formed.About 226 (± 15%) × 109 m3 sediment, mostly sand, is stored in the barriers and back-barrier basins of the Netherlands, 70% of which was deposited prior to 5000 BP. About 10% of the stored sediment is estimated to be of alluvial origin. Most of the sediment is derived by the erosion of the Pleistocene basement during recession of the barriers, but tide-induced crossshore transport from the North Sea forms an additional source for the barriers and back-barriers of the west-facing coast of the Netherlands.


Author(s):  
Jeroen P. A. Hoekendijk ◽  
Mardik F. Leopold ◽  
Barbara J. Cheney

Abstract On 19 July 2019 an estimated 20 bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) were observed in the Marsdiep, a tidal inlet connecting the North Sea and the Dutch Wadden Sea, between Den Helder and the island of Texel. Photographs and video recordings were made and nine individuals were matched with known dolphins from the Moray Firth, NE Scotland. These are the first matches of this east coast of Scotland population outside the UK and Ireland. Subsequent observations of individuals from this group show that at least some of the animals have returned to Scottish waters, while others were photographed in Danish waters. Furthermore, we report on a photo identification match of a solitary bottlenose dolphin between France and the Netherlands. These matches suggest that bottlenose dolphins, in the Netherlands, originate from two different genetically distinct populations: ‘Coastal South’ and ‘Coastal North’. This evidence of previously unknown long-range movements may have important implications for the conservation and management of this species in European waters.


2021 ◽  
pp. 39-82
Author(s):  
Arika Okrent ◽  
Sean O’Neill

This chapter tells the story of how English got to be the weird way it is, which begins with the Germanic languages and the barbarians who spoke them. During the 5th century, an assortment of them poured across the North Sea, from what is today Denmark, the Netherlands, and Northern Germany, and conquered most of England. After about a century of the Germanic tribes taking over and settling in, the Romans returned. This time it was not soldiers but missionaries who arrived. The monks who came to convert the island to Christianity brought their Latin language with them, and they also brought the Latin alphabet. They set about translating religious texts into the language of the people they encountered, a language that by this time had coalesced into something that was Old English. However, there is another group of barbarians to blame: the Vikings. Their language was similar enough to Old English that they could communicate with the Anglo-Saxons without too much difficulty, and over time their own way of speaking mixed into the surrounding language, leaving vocabulary and expressions behind that do not quite fit the rest of the pattern at the old Germanic layer.


1984 ◽  
Vol 1 (19) ◽  
pp. 205 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. De Jong ◽  
F. Gerritsen

The Western Scheldt is a major estuary in the Southern part of The Netherlands and the Northern part of Belgium. It is an important navigational route connecting the city of Antwerp with the North Sea. At the entrance Vlissingen is a major Dutch port.


Author(s):  
M.N Tsimplis ◽  
D.K Woolf ◽  
T.J Osborn ◽  
S Wakelin ◽  
J Wolf ◽  
...  

Within the framework of a Tyndall Centre research project, sea level and wave changes around the UK and in the North Sea have been analysed. This paper integrates the results of this project. Many aspects of the contribution of the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) to sea level and wave height have been resolved. The NAO is a major forcing parameter for sea-level variability. Strong positive response to increasing NAO was observed in the shallow parts of the North Sea, while slightly negative response was found in the southwest part of the UK. The cause of the strong positive response is mainly the increased westerly winds. The NAO increase during the last decades has affected both the mean sea level and the extreme sea levels in the North Sea. The derived spatial distribution of the NAO-related variability of sea level allows the development of scenarios for future sea level and wave height in the region. Because the response of sea level to the NAO is found to be variable in time across all frequency bands, there is some inherent uncertainty in the use of the empirical relationships to develop scenarios of future sea level. Nevertheless, as it remains uncertain whether the multi-decadal NAO variability is related to climate change, the use of the empirical relationships in developing scenarios is justified. The resulting scenarios demonstrate: (i) that the use of regional estimates of sea level increase the projected range of sea-level change by 50% and (ii) that the contribution of the NAO to winter sea-level variability increases the range of uncertainty by a further 10–20 cm. On the assumption that the general circulation models have some skill in simulating the future NAO change, then the NAO contribution to sea-level change around the UK is expected to be very small (<4 cm) by 2080. Wave heights are also sensitive to the NAO changes, especially in the western coasts of the UK. Under the same scenarios for future NAO changes, the projected significant wave-height changes in the northeast Atlantic will exceed 0.4 m. In addition, wave-direction changes of around 20° per unit NAO index have been documented for one location. Such changes raise the possibility of consequential alteration of coastal erosion.


2010 ◽  
Vol 60 (3) ◽  
pp. 273-281 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nynke Osinga ◽  
Pieter 't Hart ◽  
Pieter van Voorst Vader

AbstractThe Seal Rehabilitation and Research Centre (SRRC) in Pieterburen, The Netherlands, rehabilitates seals from the waters of the Wadden Sea, North Sea and Southwest Delta area. Incidental observations of albinism and melanism in common and grey seals are known from countries surrounding the North Sea. However, observations on colour aberrations have not been systematically recorded. To obtain the frequency of occurrence of these colour aberrations, we analysed data of all seals admitted to our centre over the past 38 years. In the period 1971-2008, 3000 common seals (Phoca vitulina) were rehabilitated, as well as 1200 grey seals (Halichoerus grypus). A total of five albinistic common seals and four melanistic grey seals were identified. This results in an estimated incidence of albinism in common seals of approximately 1/600, and of melanism in grey seals of approximately 1/300. The seals displayed normal behaviour, although in the albinistic animals, a photophobic reaction was observed in daylight.


2003 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 761-770 ◽  
Author(s):  
A. P. Hillier

AbstractDiscovered in 1966 and starting production in 1968, Leman was the second gas field to come into production in the UK sector of the North Sea and is still producing gas today. It is classified as a giant field with an estimated initial gas-in-place of 397 BCM of gas in the aeolian dune sands of the Rotliegend Group. The field extends over five blocks and is being developed by two licence groups with Shell and Amoco (now BP Amoco) being the operators


Author(s):  
J.W. Horwood ◽  
R.S. Millner

Large catches of sole (Solea solea) were made in early 1996 from the south-western North Sea. Sole suffer physiological damage in waters below 3–4 C. In February 1996 cold water of 3–4 C unusually extended from the Continental coast onto the Dogger Bank. It is likely that the increased catches were due to the consequential distribution and behaviour of the sole, making them more susceptible to capture.Exceptionally large catches of mature sole (Solea solea (L.)) were made in February 1996 by Lowestoft fishermen from the south-western North Sea. Surprisingly this was not welcome. The UK allocation of the North Sea sole is -4 % of the EU Total Allowable Catch (TAC), and fishermen are restricted nationally, and by the fishing companies, to a tightly managed ration. The Lowestoft Journal (8 March 1996) reported the suspension of a local fishing skipper for not throwing back 5000 kg of sole caught in the Silver Pits. We will show that the abnormal catches were due to exceptionally cold waters.Sole in the North Sea are at the northern extremity of their range, with sole seldom living in waters below 5°C (Horwood, 1993). In fact, North Sea sole were successfully introduced into Lake Quarun, Egypt, where they lived in temperatures in excess of 30°C (El-Zarka, 1965). Young sole migrate from their shallow inshore nursery grounds, such as the Waddensea, as winter approaches (Creutzberg & Fonds, 1971).


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document