Magnetic fields may just be the key to uncovering long-lost sunken civilizations in the deep sea. The University of Bradford has embarked on a pioneering study to understand submerged civilizations through magnetic fields.
Archaeologists have been conducting research in an area under the North Sea, known as Doggerland, which was once home to one of Europe's largest prehistoric settlements.
However, with the expansion of wind farms in the North Sea, the race is on to piece together information about Doggerland in advance of development.
Magnetometry
To achieve this ambitious endeavor, Ph.D. student Ben Urmston will look for anomalies in magnetic fields by analyzing magnetometry data. This analysis could indicate the presence of archaeological features without the need for excavation.
According to Urmston, minute variations in the magnetic field can reveal alterations in the landscape, such as the presence of peat-forming regions and sediments, or locations where erosion has taken place, such as in river channels.
The examination may also show signs of hunter-gatherer activity, which would be the pinnacle, or the presence of middens, which are trash heaps made up of animal bone, mollusk shells, and other organic material that can provide a wealth of information about how humans lived.
Doggerland was among the most resource-rich and ecologically dynamic areas during the later Palaeolithic and Mesolithic periods (c.20,000 - 4,000 BC) but was lost to the sea by global warming at the end of the last ice age.
Very little is known about the inhabitants and their way of life at the 185,000 km2 site because no in situ remains have been found.
Magnetometry has previously been used by terrestrial archaeologists but has not been used extensively to examine submerged landscapes.
However, it is a first for the University, made possible through a donation of £50,000 from The David and Claudia Harding Foundation to fund The Harding Ph.D. Scholar in Marine Palaeolandscapes.
Engineering consulting company Royal Haskoning has been scanning the North Sea as part of an environmental impact analysis and has submitted magnetic field data sets.
Magnetometers, which resemble torpedoes, are dragged through the water by cables connected to survey vessels to analyze the magnetic fields on the seabed.
Read Also: Maritime Archaeologists Shed Light on a Mysterious Rotting Ship Found in the Graveyard of Shipwrecks
Risk to Prehistoric Archaeology
Due to the enormous rise of offshore wind power and the UK's commitment to attaining net-zero emissions by the year 2050, there is a considerable risk to prehistoric archaeology in submerged coastal areas.
Offshore construction projects could eventually make some seascape features harder to reach. Scientists can use the chance to investigate the seafloor for prehistoric activity by cooperating with companies like Royal Haskoning.
Professor Vince Gaffney, academic lead for the project, said that "exploring the submerged landscapes beneath the North Sea represents one of the last great challenges to archaeology. Achieving this is becoming even more urgent with the rapid development of the North Sea for renewable energy."
Related Article: Archaeologists May Have Discovered the Earliest Known Narrative Scene Carved in an 11,000-year-old Neolithic Bench
