Britain's Atlantis' Found at Bottom of North Sea - A Huge Undersea Kingdom Swamped by a Tsunami 5,500 Years Ago _ Mail Online

SHARE SELECTION

'Britain's Atlantis' found at bottom of North sea- a huge undersea world swallowed by the seain 6500BC

Divers have found traces of ancient land swallowed by waves 8500 years agoDoggerland once stretched from Scotland to DenmarkRivers seen underwater by seismic scansBritain was not an island - and area under North Se a was roamed by mammothsand other giant animalsDescribed as the 'real heartland' of EuropeHad population of tens of thousands - but devastate d by sea level rises

By Rob Waugh

Published: 23:32 GMT, 2 July 2012 | Updated: 10:49 GMT, 3 July 2012

'Britain's Atlantis' - a hidden underwater world swallowed by the North Sea - has been discovered by diversworking with science teams from the University of St Andrews.

Doggerland, a huge area of dry land that stretched from Scotland to Denmark was slowly submerged bywater between 18,000 BC and 5,500 BC.

Divers from oil companies have found remains of a 'drowned world' with a population of tens of thousands- which might once have been the 'real heartland' of Europe.

A team of climatologists, archaeologists and geophysicists has now mapped the area using new data fromoil companies - and revealed the full extent of a 'lost land' once roamed by mammoths.

'Britain's Atlantis' found at bottom of North sea - a huge undersea kingd...http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2167731/Britains-Atlant...

1 of 12 5/1/2014 10:18 PM

+12

Divers from St Andrews University, find remains of Doggerland, the underwater countrydubbed 'Britain's Atlantis'

+12

Dr Richard Bates of the earth sciences department a t St Andrews University, searchingfor Doggerland, the underwater country dubbed 'Brit ain's Atlantis'


2 of 12 5/1/2014 10:18 PM

+12

A Greater Britain: How the North Sea grew and the l and-mass shrunk


3 of 12 5/1/2014 10:18 PM

+12

Drowned world: Scans show a mound discovered under the water near Orkney, whichhas been explored by divers


4 of 12 5/1/2014 10:18 PM

+12

St Andrews University's artists' impression of life in Doggerland

The research suggests that the populations of these drowned lands could have been tens of thousands,living in an area that stretched from Northern Scotland across to Denmark and down the English Channel asfar as the Channel Islands.

The area was once the ‘real heartland’ of Europe and was hit by ‘a devastating tsunami', the researchersclaim.

The wave was part of a larger process that submerged the low-lying area over the course of thousands ofyears.

'The name was coined for Dogger Bank, but it applies to any of several periods when the North Sea wasland,' says Richard Bates of the University of St Andrews. 'Around 20,000 years ago, there was a'maximum' - although part of this area would have been covered with ice. When the ice melted, more landwas revealed - but the sea level also rose.

'Through a lot of new data from oil and gas companies, we’re able to give form to the landscape - andmake sense of the mammoths found out there, and the reindeer. We’re able to understand the types ofpeople who were there.

'People seem to think rising sea levels are a new thing - but it’s a cycle of Earht history that has happenedmany many times.'

Organised by Dr Richard Bates of the Department of Earth Sciences at St Andrews, the DrownedLandscapes exhibit reveals the human story behind Doggerland, a now submerged area of the North Seathat was once larger than many modern European countries.

Dr Bates, a geophysicist, said: ‘Doggerland was the real heartland of Europe until sea levels rose to giveus the UK coastline of today.


5 of 12 5/1/2014 10:18 PM

+12

World beneath the waves: Scientists examine a sedim ent core recovered from a moundnear Orkney

+12

Seismic scans reveal a submerged river at Dogger Ba nk


6 of 12 5/1/2014 10:18 PM

+12

A visualisation of how life in the now-submerged ar eas of Dogger Bank might havelooked

+12


7 of 12 5/1/2014 10:18 PM

The research suggests that the populations of these drowned lands could have beentens of thousands, living in an area that stretched from Northern Scotland across to

Denmark and down the English Channel as far as the Channel Islands

+12

Life in 'Doggerland' - the ancient kingdom once str etched from Scotland to Denmark andhas been described as the 'real heart of Europe'

‘We have speculated for years on the lost land's existence from bones dredged by fishermen all over theNorth Sea, but it's only since working with oil companies in the last few years that we have been able tore-create what this lost land looked like.

‘When the data was first being processed, I thought it unlikely to give us any useful information, however asmore area was covered it revealed a vast and complex landscape.

‘We have now been able to model its flora and fauna, build up a picture of the ancient people that livedthere and begin to understand some of the dramatic events that subsequently changed the land, includingthe sea rising and a devastating tsunami.’

The research project is a collaboration between St Andrews and the Universities of Aberdeen, Birmingham,Dundee and Wales Trinity St David.

Rediscovering the land through pioneering scientific research, the research reveals a story of a dramaticpast that featured massive climate change. The public exhibit brings back to life the Mesolithic populationsof Doggerland through artefacts discovered deep within the sea bed.

The research, a result of a painstaking 15 years of fieldwork around the murky waters of the UK, is one ofthe highlights of the London event.

The interactive display examines the lost landscape of Doggerland and includes artefacts from varioustimes represented by the exhibit - from pieces of flint used by humans as tools to the animals that alsoinhabited these lands.

Using a combination of geophysical modelling of data obtained from oil and gas companies and direct


8 of 12 5/1/2014 10:18 PM

evidence from material recovered from the seafloor, the research team was able to build up areconstruction of the lost land.

+12

The excavation of Trench 2, unveiling more finds ab out this lost land-mass


9 of 12 5/1/2014 10:18 PM

+12

Fossilised bones from a mammoth also show how this landscape was once one of hillsand valleys, rather than sea

The findings suggest a picture of a land with hills and valleys, large swamps and lakes with major riversdissecting a convoluted coastline.

As the sea rose the hills would have become an isolated archipelago of low islands. By examining the fossilrecord - such as pollen grains, microfauna and macrofauna - the researchers can tell what kind ofvegetation grew in Doggerland and what animals roamed there.

Using this information, they were able to build up a model of the 'carrying capacity' of the land and work outroughly how many humans could have lived there.

The research team is currently investigating more evidence of human behaviour, including possible humanburial sites, intriguing standing stones and a mass mammoth grave.

Dr Bates added: ‘We haven't found an 'x marks the spot' or 'Joe created this', but we have found manyartefacts and submerged features that are very difficult to explain by natural causes, such as moundssurrounded by ditches and fossilised tree stumps on the seafloor.

‘There is actually very little evidence left because much of it has eroded underwater; it's like trying to findjust part of a needle within a haystack. What we have found though is a remarkable amount of evidence andwe are now able to pinpoint the best places to find preserved signs of life.’

For further information on the exhibit, visit: http://sse.royalsociety.org/2012/exhibits/drowned-landscapes/

Drowned Landscapes is on display at The Royal Society Summer Science Exhibition 2012 from July 3-8 atthe Royal Society in London.


10 of 12 5/1/2014 10:18 PM

Click to rate

Click to rate

Click to rate

Click to rate

Click to rate

Click to rate

Comments (277)

Share what you think

NewestOldestBest ratedWorst rated

View all

Tom, Wokingham, 1 year ago

People who bring up the age of Stonehenge are displaying correct ignorance on it, yes its old but thats not what makes itamazing, whats amazing it what its made of and how for its age, there are plenty of older stone things across Europe but theyare almost always made of local stone, the Stone of Stonehenge came from a different country over 100miles away, thats whatmakes it fascinating, just recently they traced the exact area in Wales the stone came from

32313

Sharon, Houston, TX, USA, 1 year ago

Facts will tell the story, indeed, somewhere else in america. I live in a place with weathermen who chuckle about global warmingwhen it snows. ???? In the Noughties Houston Texas did not have a hard freeze for 7 years. When I was a child (1960s) therewere usually 3 or 4 hard freezes per winter, temp in the low 20s. It snowed about once every five years. It's warmer now. CarlSagan warned us about global warming. There is more heat in the atmosphere so weather gets more extreme, and moreunpredictable.

1284202

Bill, Venta Belgarum, 1 year ago

Have the wind farms survived?

32224

cth, uk, 1 year ago

Ahhh so that's y noah built the ark

60272

James B., Victoria, Malta, 1 year ago

Studies should also be done in the Mediterranean sea. The Maltese islands where one big island five times today's size aroundthe same time before the rise of sea level. The islands have Neolithic temples which are at least 1000 years older thanStonehenge!

15218

Ray, Kingsland, USA, 1 year ago

This was no ordinary "flood", as floods and tsunamis tend not to be permanent. Therefore, should we assume the indigentsowned SUVs generating planet warming gases? Is it possible these folks may have been the first enlightened adherents to ourreligion of Global Warming?

122747


11 of 12 5/1/2014 10:18 PM

Click to rate

Click to rate

Click to rate

Click to rate

Sam in Texas, Texas, 1 year ago

One wonders if the weird structure found i the Gulf of Bothnia would have been above sea level at the same times asDoggerland.

13144

PR, Manchester, UK, 1 year ago

Fascinating!

13112

Robert, Shenzhen, China, 1 year ago

Very interesting, You know, the world is very dynamic and the coastlines are constantly shifting and changing. The poles moveabout, and even reverse periodically. The tile of the earth changes, and that alters the weather, climate and regional ecologies.Yes, Global warming does exist, and if you are very narrow minded, you would think that it is the end of the world. But actually, ifyou look over the millions of years of this planet, it was normally much warmer than what it is now. In fact, about 70% of the timethe global temperature was about 4 degrees C higher than now. This global warming event is simply the recovery from a glacialperiod that began about 50,000 years ago. The earth is returning back to normal.

58769

somewhere else, in America, 1 year ago

Graham, St Albans, UK,; "Not for the last 15 years it hasn't been. FACTS from the Climate Research Unit of the University ofEast Anglia The REAL truth is out." The "REAL" truth has been out about you for quite some time Graham. We've ALL read yourposts before. Google hottest years on record. 11 of the 12 warmest years on record have been in the past 12 years. Where DOyou get your information? The back of boxes of crisps? Google years with the least polar Ice cover it is almost linear at areceding amount every single year for the past 15 years and getting worse exponentially. Google the same for greenlands icemelt. Google the same for glaciers in the Andes or Himalayas. Google the same for latitude spread for growing seasons. MAybeit isn't man nade, but there isn't one piece of evidence in existence that Global warming isn't accelerating. I have no idea whereyou get your information. But I am quite sure that you have no idea how to interpret it, or it's just completely made up

1094181

The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline.

Who is this week's top commenter? Find out now

SHARE PICTURE

Published by Associated Newspapers Ltd

Part of the Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday & Metro Media Group

© Associated Newspapers Ltd


12 of 12 5/1/2014 10:18 PM

Documents

Britain's Atlantis' Found at Bottom of North Sea - A Huge Undersea Kingdom Swamped by a Tsunami 5,500 Years Ago _ Mail Online