Atlantis Online
March 28, 2024, 01:23:36 pm
Welcome, Guest. Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
News: Update About Cuba Underwater Megalithic Research
http://www.timstouse.com/EarthHistory/Atlantis/bimini.htm
 
  Home Help Arcade Gallery Links Staff List Calendar Login Register  

Discovery of log boat shows how sea levels rose in past

Pages: [1]   Go Down
  Print  
Author Topic: Discovery of log boat shows how sea levels rose in past  (Read 273 times)
0 Members and 63 Guests are viewing this topic.
Courtney Caine
Superhero Member
******
Posts: 4102



« on: August 16, 2009, 12:43:58 am »

Discovery of log boat shows how sea levels rose in past



Dr Peter Halkon, a lecturer in archaeology at the University of Hull, who 25 years ago discovered the log boat




An artist's impression by Peter Connolly of what the Hasholme log boat would have looked like on the Humber Estuary


Published Date: 09 August 2009
By John Roberts
THE DISCOVERY of a prehistoric boat which had been buried for more than 2,000 years beneath a farm field has already provided historians with an insight into Iron Age life in Yorkshire.
But now academics say the vessel which dates back to 300BC is also helping to show how the face of the region would change in future if the sea levels continue to rise.

As a debate rages over plans to allow land around the River Hull to revert to a swamp in an attempt to protect urban areas from a repeat of the 2007 floods, a group of scientists can provide a unique insight into what wide-spread flooding of the East Yorkshire countryside would look like.

The discovery of the Hasholme log boat in a farm field has driven a research project mapping out how the River Foulness valley has looked dating back more than 10,000 years.

The boat was unearthed by chance by an archaeologist on his father's former farm in East Yorkshire while drainage work was being carried out 25 years ago.

The farm had belonged to the father of Dr Peter Halkon – who has spent 30 years studying the archaeology of the Foulness Valley in East Yorkshire where he grew up.
Report Spam   Logged

Share on Facebook Share on Twitter

Courtney Caine
Superhero Member
******
Posts: 4102



« Reply #1 on: August 16, 2009, 12:44:24 am »

The boat was found in a drainage ditch on dry land but had sunk into the ground when the site was part of an estuary to the Humber.

Scientists believe a cataclysmic flood between 800 and 500BC transformed the landscape from a low-lying area of woodland into open water.

Dr Halkon, who is now an archaeology lecturer at Hull University, began his research by looking at the impacts of the Romans on this part of the East Riding.

He and fellow archaeologist Martin Millett had found a Roman pottery kiln on the farm and were surveying drainage trenches in search of artefacts.

The boat was discovered as that work was going on when they spotted a heap of timber which had been dumped by one of the large drainage machines.

Dr Halkon said: "We noticed that part of the wood had been worked and we realised it was a boat – although we didn't realise straight away how big it was at more than 12.5m."

Tree ring dating shows that the boat was made from a tree which had been cut down between 321 and 277BC.

Dr Halkon said: "The boat was used to transport people and goods around this part of East Yorkshire. It contained a cargo of beef and timber when it sank.

"The area is now farmland but it was once an offshoot of the River Humber, with the drier land populated with small farming settlements".

Since the discovery the scope of the research into the Foulness Valley has stretched back to 10,000 BC with findings from the Palaeolithic age.

Historians now know that the area was once home to one of the oldest and largest pre-historic iron industries after discovering scores of iron working sites and nearby settlements.

Archaeologists have also uncovered evidence of a forest through the discovery of oak trees and remains of red deer which date back to the Bronze Age between 2500 and 700BC.
Report Spam   Logged
Courtney Caine
Superhero Member
******
Posts: 4102



« Reply #2 on: August 16, 2009, 12:44:57 am »

The focus of Dr Halkon's research is looking at how people have adapted to the changing landscape as the waters rise and recede from the East Yorkshire countryside.

He said: "Rising water levels is not always a bad thing. We have found evidence of axes from Wales dating back to the Neolithic period which show that the river opened up the area for trade.

"By studying lots of clues in the ancient landscape we have been able to put together maps of the valley showing how much of the land was underwater."

Dr Halkon says understanding how the landscape was then, can help to determine how it might be in the future.

He said: "Throughout time there has been a cycle of global warming and cooling and associated variations in sea level.

"Two thousand years ago this East Yorkshire farmland was under water as part of the Humber estuary. The present rise in global sea levels may mean that the landscape is reverting to the way it was in the Iron Age. This is a natural cycle, although according to most scientists human intervention is undoubtedly exacerbating this pattern."

The full article contains 746 words and appears in n/a newspaper.
Page 1 of 1

    * Last Updated: 10 August 2009 10:52 AM
    * Source: n/a
    * Location: Yorkshire
http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Discovery-of-log-boat-shows.5537797.jp
Report Spam   Logged
Pages: [1]   Go Up
  Print  
 
Jump to:  

Powered by EzPortal
Bookmark this site! | Upgrade This Forum
SMF For Free - Create your own Forum
Powered by SMF | SMF © 2016, Simple Machines
Privacy Policy