Aarhus Universitets segl

North Sea Paleolandscapes

Below the waters of the North Sea, an ancient and now flooded and buried landscape resides. This hidden landscape is likely to have sustained the lives of prehistoric humans and the dynamically evolving landscape must have set firm boundary conditions on human occupancy in the area. For vast areas of the North Sea, including the Danish sector, mapping of the hidden paleolandscape is however incomplete hindering further understanding of the living conditions and the extent of early human occupations. In this project, the eastern North Sea paleolandscapes since the Last Glacial Maximum (ca. 23.000 years ago) will be exposed and mapped using geophysical, geological and geotechnical data. The project further aims to construct a cultural heritage hotspot map based on the combined constraints from geology and archaeology.