5.5. Submerged Prehistoric Archaeology Potential
- This section characterises the potential for submerged prehistoric archaeology to be present within the marine archaeology study area such as chance finds of, or deposits containing archaeological material (e.g. flint tools), or submerged landscapes. This section is informed by the site-specific geophysical data and desk-based review.
- The prehistoric period of the UK covers from the earliest hominin occupation (potentially as early as circa 970,000 BP) to the end of the Iron Age and the Roman invasion of Britain in Anno Domini (AD) 43. The coastline of the UK underwent dramatic changes during this time, and areas of the seabed that are now fully submerged would have been exposed allowing the opportunity for hominins to exploit and inhabit the landscape. Glacial events including the Anglian (480,000 to 430,000 BP), the Wolstonian (350,000 to 132,000 BP) and the Devensian (122,000 to 10,000 BP) and intervening periods of marine transgression have affected the coastline of the UK and therefore the archaeological potential of these areas.
- Submerged prehistoric archaeological potential is determined with reference to evidence for human activity in the UK during each period, and the contemporary environment within the marine archaeology study area. Depositional environment and post-depositional factors are also key to understanding potential, and as such geological deposits present within the marine archaeology study area form an important consideration in understanding archaeological, palaeoenvironmental and palaeolandscape potential. Geological periods referred to in this section are defined by the date ranges presented in Table 5.2 Open ▸ .
5.5.1. Lower Palaeolithic to Late Upper Palaeolithic (800,000 to 18,000 BP)
- Deposits representing varied depositional environments in the Early to Middle Pleistocene are present within the marine archaeology study area, indicating that the area may have had landscapes inhabitable by humans.
- The very earliest hominin occupations of Britain are represented by the sites of Happisburgh 3 (949,000–935,000 BP or 866,000–815,000 BP) and Pakefield (790,000–761,000 BP) on the coast of East Anglia (Historic England, 2023). Both sites are represented by small numbers of lithic technology artefacts. The hominin species may have been Homo antecessor, whose fossils are known only from Atapuerca (Gran Dolina) in northern Spain. Evidence of Lower Palaeolithic activity increases after about 600,000 BP, with a number of open-air sites in East Anglia and the western Sussex Coastal Plain, such as at Boxgrove (Historic England, 2023; Pope, 2020). Hominins appear to have been absent from Britain in the subsequent Anglian Glacial stage (478,000–423,000 BP). This and subsequent glaciation in the Wolstonian (380,000 –130,000 BP) and Devensian (110,000–12,000 BP) glaciation likely obliterated these landscapes and destroyed or reworked any archaeological material that may have been left. The marine archaeology study area is characterised by glacial deposits and ice sheet deformation during the Devensian, and therefore was inhospitable for humans, meaning that there is little to no potential for the survival of Lower to late Upper Palaeolithic material. So, although the Palaeolithic in England can be dated back as far as 866,000 BC (Westaway, 2011), there is no evidence for occupation of Scotland before 12,700 BC (Ballin et al., 2010).
5.5.2. Last Glacial Maximum to Mesolithic (18,000 to 10,000 BP)
- The marine archaeology study area may have quickly been submerged following the LGM. Deposits within the inner estuaries in eastern Scotland provide evidence of raised marine deposits and were thus submerged by the Windermere Interstadial (circa 15,000 – 13,000 BP) (Peacock, 1999; Holloway et al., 2002; Stoker et al., 2008). The discovery of a single flint scraper in a borehole core off Viking Bank (150 km north-east of Lerwick, Shetland) is unique not just for its depth, but also for its distance from the shore. The flint could be as old as 11,000 BP (Long et al., 1986). If not secondarily derived, the find suggests human occupation of the Scottish shelf in pre-Holocene times, or a stone tool lost during a fishing expedition (Finlayson and Edwards, 2003; Flemming, 2003).
- The North Berwick Lateglacial shoreline that was created by colder conditions during the Loch Lomond Stadial (circa 13,000 - 12,000 BP), and the marine transgression in this part of the north-western North Sea would have been complete by circa 8,000 BP, or perhaps even earlier (see Sturt et al., 2013; UK Government, 2022). The seabed within the marine archaeology study area, however, is 60 m deeper than the location of the Lateglacial palaeoshoreline. The relative positions of the Array and the palaeoshoreline, and the stages of marine transgression indicates that the marine archaeology study area has remained submerged from shortly after the LGM to the Present Day. Due to the relatively rapid submergence after the LGM, there is very low potential for human occupation or activity.
6. Maritime and Aviation Archaeology
6.1. Maritime Archaeology Potential
- The maritime archaeology of the UK is a product of a complex interplay of constantly evolving coastal and marine activities, sea use, and international links from the late Upper Palaeolithic to the Present Day. This section reviews the potential presence of maritime and aviation archaeology (including military remains) within the marine archaeology study area.
- Prior to the advent of the Lloyds of London list of shipping casualties in 1751, there was no official record of ship losses (Wessex Archaeology, 2007). Presently, the UKHO maintains a register of wreck locations; the Wrecks Database contains circa 70,000 records, of which approximately 20,000 are named vessels (UK Government, 2022b). The number of known sites for Scottish waters stands at over 20,000 (Wessex Archaeology, 2007). Although shipwrecks are a standalone category of site, they should be seen as integral parts of the wider periods and historical processes with which they were associated. Records of known wreck sites and losses in UK waters are biased towards the modern period, as a function of increased traffic and increased reporting due to the introduction of marine insurance, as well as a higher proportion of metal components in ships that allow for greater survival and detection (Burton et al., 2007). Therefore, the precise locations of most wrecks which pre-date the modern period are not known. Work has been done to try to correct these biases through the collation of information relating to trade routes and patterns of shipping that focus on the Medieval period (Wessex Archaeology, 2009).
- The maritime archaeological record for the marine archaeology study area has been considered chronologically for the following broad temporal phases as described in Table 6.1 Open ▸ . However, due to the rare survival of maritime archaeological evidence during the Palaeolithic and Mesolithic, these periods have been considered under the umbrella term ‘Early Prehistoric’.
Table 6.1: Archaeological Periods and Associated Date Ranges (ScARF 2012a)
6.1.1. Early Prehistory (Palaeolithic and Mesolithic)
- There is no evidence of maritime archaeological remains in the UK that pre-date the start of the Holocene. However, global examples suggest that watercraft were in use by the Middle Palaeolithic period, such as the suggestion that the colonisation of Australia by approximately 40,000 BC involved island hopping (Lourandos, 1997).
- During the late Upper Palaeolithic (12,700 to approximately 8,400 BC), it is possible that simple watercraft such as logboats or rafts were used for coastal journeys and fishing around Britain (Wessex Archaeology, 2007). A late Upper Palaeolithic blade (circa 12,000 BC) is known from the floodplain at Ravenscraig, Inverugie but as an isolated find it is unclear to what extent communities were accessing riverine and marine resources in this part of Scotland at this time.
- The existence of watercraft during the Mesolithic is inferred by the presence of Mesolithic archaeological material on insular land masses such as Ireland, for example. Towards the end of the Mesolithic, at about 5,000 BC the land bridge between the UK and Europe was severed for the last time (Wessex Archaeology, 2007). Contact across the new seas intensified the need for some form of vessel; multiple-hide boats or basket-boats are thought to have been capable of sea voyages at this time (McGrail, 1987; Dunkley, 2016). Simple watercraft such as logboats and multiple hide boats are cross-period and examples have been recorded from the Bronze Age to the Medieval, thus scientific dating is necessary to determine age rather than typological categorisation (ScARF, 2012b).
- The first archaeological evidence for the use of watercraft in the UK is represented by the fragments of a wooden oar, dated to the Mesolithic, found at Star Carr, in Yorkshire (England) (COWRIE, 2007; Van de Noort, 2011). A late Mesolithic or early Neolithic burial in a partially burnt dugout canoe was found in St Albans, Hertfordshire in 1988 (Dunkley, 2016). Middens on Oronsay illustrate a seasonal but sustained reliance on limpet Patella spp. and saithe Pollachius virens from the foreshore. Archaeological experimentation in western Scotland has demonstrated that marine fish could be hooked and trapped from the coast rather than harvested by boat (Groom et al., 2019).
- Section 5.5 illustrated the palaeolandscape potential for the marine archaeology study area. It is possible that the glacial and periglacial nature of the region meant that human occupation of this part of Scotland was rare, infrequent, or relatively late. The submergence of the marine archaeology study area and insular nature of early prehistoric archaeology, however, suggests that the potential for human occupation is very low.
6.1.2. Neolithic, Chalcolithic and Bronze Age
- No evidence of Neolithic, Chalcolithic or Bronze Age maritime activity has been recorded within the marine archaeology study area.
- Direct archaeological evidence for the exploitation of the marine environment and maritime activity in the Neolithic period is rare and limited to logboat finds outside of Scotland (Johnstone, 1980; Wilkinson and Murphy, 1995; Bradley et al., 1997). Shell middens in the UK containing the faunal remains of deep-sea fish are also known from this period, suggesting marine exploitation of those resources (Ellmers, 1996).
- The Bronze Age was a period of technological innovation and of expansion of trade and exchange networks. The discovery of porcellanite stone axes from Ireland on the Western Isles of Scotland and the UK mainland implies transport of these objects by sea (Breen and Forsyth, 2004; McGrail, 2004). This was facilitated by the introduction of new forms of boats for both marine and coastal/riverine transport. The evidence for Bronze Age settlement, funerary, and agricultural activity throughout the vast majority of mainland Scotland as well as on the islands implies that widespread movement of people had to have been occurring (ScARF, 2012c).
- Evidence for Bronze Age maritime activity has been recorded throughout the UK in the discovery of a number of inland watercraft and sea-faring vessels. The Carpow logboat from the Tay Estuary is an inshore example of a common, cross-period vessel type (Strachan, 2010). An earlier oak log boat fragment from Scotland survives from Catherinefield, Dumfries and Galloway, which dates to circa 2,000 BC (Mowat, 1996). In addition to boat fragments there are also several known examples of potentially prehistoric paddles and oars, although none of the Scottish examples appear to have been directly dated (Strachan, 2010).
- Examples of Bronze Age sea-faring craft such as five sewn-plank boats discovered at Ferriby in North Yorkshire (Van de Noort, 2004; Chapman, 2021), the Brigg ‘raft’, also on the Humber (Yorkshire) (McGrail, 1994, Goldcliff, Gwent (Wales) (Parry and McGrail, 1991) and the remains of a boat at Dover, Kent (England) (Clark, 2004) have been discovered elsewhere in the UK. This suggests that boats of this time were being utilised in UK waters and the lack of evidence in Scotland may be down to a lack of archaeological investigation in Scottish waters.
- However, due to the organic construction materials that would have been used for these craft, the potential for the survival of Bronze Age archaeological material within the marine archaeology study area is very low.
6.1.3. Iron Age and the Roman Presence
- No evidence of Iron Age or Roman maritime activity has been recorded in the marine archaeology study area.
- Broad geographical and chronological narratives have emphasised the importance of the Atlantic Ocean as a routeway and for communication in the pre-Roman Iron Age (Cunliffe, 2001). No remains of Iron Age vessels are yet known from Scotland; however, interaction with the sea can be inferred from other types of archaeological evidence from the Northern Isles of Orkney and Shetland.
- A number of whale bone artefacts have been recovered from Iron Age sites in Scotland (such as Foshigarry, North Uist (Finlay, 1991), Orkney (Nicholson and Davies, 2007) and Shetland (Cussans and Bond, 2010). It is, however, unclear whether these were derived from primary whale hunting from ocean-faring vessels, shore drives, or opportunistic recovery from beached animals (MacGregor, 1974; Baldwin, 2008). Exploitation of other marine resources interpreted from fishbones deposited within middens indicate a concentration of inshore or coastal fishing. This changes towards the end of the Iron Age and turn of the Medieval, where excavated fish bones indicate an increase in offshore fishing practices (Colley, 1983; Sharples, 1984; Seller, 1989; Cerón-Carrasco, 1995, 1998a, 1998b; Finlay, 1996).
- The Roman period in Scotland is limited in both duration and extent when compared to the rest of the UK. Though Roman remains are known from beyond the Antonine Wall, these are temporary and the level of interaction by sea between the established frontier and the maritime areas of north-eastern Scotland are not well understood.
- While the Roman presence in Scotland was short lived and patchy, the Roman invasion force of AD 43 was necessarily brought to Britain by ship, and the maintenance of the province of Britannia within the empire through the extraction of agricultural surplus, mineral wealth, and the creation of diplomatic ties was in large part a maritime endeavour.
- In the north of Scotland, the Pictish period straddles the traditional periodic divide of Iron Age and Early Medieval periods elsewhere in the UK. Pictish culture is heavily demonstrated in the archaeological record of northern and eastern northern Scotland between the late third and early ninth centuries AD (Mann, 1974; Hunter, 2007).
- Documentary sources attest that there may have been a maritime element to Pictish society. The annals of Tigernach recorded that in AD 729, 150 Pictish ships were wrecked upon ‘Ros-Cuissine’, possibly Troup Head, Aberdeenshire (Anderson, 1922; Cessford, 2005). Examples of seafaring is present in Pictish Art, surviving on carved stones. The most well-known depiction of a boat is on a stone found at Cossans, Angus. Close to the base on the rear is a double-ended, mastless, plank-built vessel with a high prow and stern, a rudder, and possibly oars (Ritchie, 1989; Laing and Laing, 1993; Foster, 1996; Carver, 1999).
- Maritime technology from this period includes a substantial, sea-going vessel (known as the ‘Romano-Celtic’ type) which was developed in north-western Europe during the later Iron Age (Marsden, 1994). Examples include the Blackfriars Boat, from London (Marsden, 1994; Dunkley, 2016) and the Barlands Farm boat, from the Severn Estuary in south-east Wales (Lawer and Nayling, 1993). The ‘County Hall’ ship is a particular example of a boat constructed using typically Mediterranean techniques, but dendrochronological evidence demonstrated that it was constructed in Britain during the Roman period (Marsden, 1994). Roman period wrecks from Scotland are, however, as yet unknown.
- Together with the evidence for substantial military movement, diplomatic engagements, and commercial trade this suggests that Iron Age and Roman maritime traffic may have passed through the marine archaeology study area. It is also likely that many more vessels of this period were lost than the available archaeological evidence suggests. The use of organic construction materials, however, means that the potential for the survival of maritime archaeology material from this period is low.
6.1.4. Medieval
- No evidence of early Medieval or Medieval maritime activity has been recorded within the marine archaeology study area, but regional evidence suggests a lively period of engagement with the sea.
- Maritime activity in the North Sea and in the vicinity increased during the early Medieval period. This was due in part, to Viking raiding, the intensification of regional trade and migration, and the growth of several ports on the east coast of the UK (Kelly, 1992; Hutchinson, 1997; Friel, 2003; Middleton, 2005).
- Archaeological evidence for vessels from this period is rare. A small number of early Medieval boats are known from the inland waterways of Perth and Kinross, such as the Errol 2 logboat, one of two surviving examples from a concentration recorded from the Tay Estuary (Mowat, 1996; Strachan, 2010). The boat has yielded radiocarbon dates of AD 548 and AD 599 (Strachan, 2010). As discussed for the previous archaeological periods, logboats and skin-and-hide vessels were well suited to rivers and estuaries and the evolution of plank-built, sail carrying ships over the early Medieval period enabled increased seaborne travel (Crumlin-Pedersen, 2010).
- The Viking presence and influence along the east coast of Scotland would have demanded the control of rivers and estuaries which secured access to trade routes and passage across the North Sea. Evidence of Viking influence in Scotland is reflected in place names and also the location of Viking hoards along the Forth and Tay estuaries (Owen, 1999). The range of geographical contact and the richness of procurable objects is demonstrated by the Galloway Hoard, from south-west Scotland. The hoard included objects reflecting cultural affinities as far afield as Central Asia, implying long-distance maritime communication networks (Goldberg, 2023).
- The sea was not only a present feature of the Norse community’s lived experience, but maritime identity is also reflected in the mortuary archaeology of Scotland, attested by ‘boat graves’ from pagan Norse cemeteries such as the Scar boat burial (Owen and Dalland, 1999) and two boat graves from Westness (Kaland, 1993; Sellevold, 1999).
- The level of shipping passing through the marine archaeology study area during the earlier Medieval period is high enough to suggest that there is a moderate to good potential for archaeological remains to exist within the marine archaeology study area.
- The developing trading networks across Europe achieved a degree of formalisation in the latter centuries of the Medieval period. Lübeck, modern Germany, became the capital of the Hanseatic League, a confederation of port cities ultimately encompassing nearly 200 settlements across seven modern day countries across the Baltic and North Seas, from Sweden and Russia in the north and east, to the Netherlands in the south-west. The Hanseatic League and others like it greatly contributed to the maritime transportation of goods across the North Sea (Hutchinson, 1997; Woodman, 2005).
- Maritime technology advanced rapidly during this period to accommodate larger cargoes. Relatively few physical remains have been found from Medieval shipping anywhere in Scotland, but boat fragments from a probably substantial sea-faring ship were produced from excavations in Perth, including frames, lengths of clinker planking, an oarport cover and tholes (pins on which oars pivot while rowing) (Martin and Bogdan, 2012; ScARF, 2012a).
- Due to the inferred increase in shipping during this period and the potentially increased visibility of possible wrecks, there is moderate to good potential for archaeological remains to exist within the marine archaeology study area.
6.1.5. Modern
- The growth of commercial maritime trade that began during the later Medieval period continued and expanded in the modern period. Alongside overseas ventures which were expanding rapidly, inland and local coasting trade continued to be important in the region. During this period, the number of vessels crossing the North Sea increased significantly, particularly during the Medieval period and the merger of the Royal Scots Navy with the Kingdom of England’s Royal Navy after the Acts of Union in 1707 (Murdoch, 2010). The marine archaeology study area was therefore an area of concentrated commercial and military maritime activity.
- From the 18th century onwards, records were kept of ship losses, with records becoming more detailed from the 19th century. Rapid industrialisation in the 18th and 19th centuries revolutionised shipbuilding, introducing technological innovation that precipitated fundamental changes in maritime technology. By the end of the 19th century with the advent of the steam engine, the introduction of iron hulls and the development of the screw propeller had wrought major transformations on ships and shipping (Lambert, 2001). Although steam and steel came to dominate shipping during the 19th century, there remained a strong local core of maritime activity around much of the coast of the UK which retained the more traditional, often wooden vessel types. For example, at the turn of the 20th century, much of the fishing in the North Sea was still conducted by fleets of sailing smacks and there was a rise in fishing settlements along the east coast during the 18th and 19th centuries. As the modern period progressed, more vessels were made of metal. The four recorded shipping losses identified within the recorded losses study area are all from the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. These are discussed in section 6.1.7 .
- The potential for the discovery of unknown maritime archaeology from the modern period within the marine archaeology study area is high.
6.1.6. Modern Military Remains
- The maritime archaeological record of the 20th century until the Present Day is dominated by remains associated with the two World Wars. Warships, submarines and U-boats along with cargo vessels, personnel transport vessels and aircraft, comprise the known vessel losses during this period. The majority of known shipwrecks in the North Sea basin within which the marine archaeology study area is located are the results of military activity. It is thought that initial losses in World War I were due to the blackouts along the coast which led to wrecks along the shoreline and then the subsequent U-boat offensive which sunk a number of Royal Navy submarines (and U-boats) in the Outer Tay and Forth and North Sea basin (Ferguson, 1991). During World War II, approximately 50 merchant vessels were sunk off the north-east coast, along with military vessels (Headland Archaeology, 2011). The potential for the discovery of unknown maritime archaeology from both World Wars is high.
6.1.7. Recorded Losses
- Data for recorded shipping losses were obtained as appropriate from the NRHE held by HES (Canmore). The Canmore dataset provides a general picture of maritime casualties in the last 150 to 200 years. However, it is worth noting that there is potential for further shipping losses to have happened within the marine archaeology study area in addition to the ones recorded in this dataset.
- Recorded losses represent maritime and aviation losses that are known to have occurred in the vicinity but to which no specific location can be attributed. Recorded losses are often grouped with reference to a geographic, hydrographic or other point of reference, making the positional data of these records unreliable. However, they do provide information on the historical marine traffic of the general region and therefore the archaeological potential. To account for the imprecise locational information, an additional recorded losses study area was implemented.
- There are six recorded losses located within the recorded losses study area. Details of recorded losses are given in volume 3, appendix 19.1, annex A. Four of these six represent records of modern shipping casualties dating to the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The remaining two relate to post-World War II aviation losses which are discussed in section 6.1.9.
- Scottish Queen is a steam trawler built in 1889 and sunk by gunfire from the German submarine U-39 on 03 May 1915. Titan is a trawler built in Grimsby in 1903 which was also reportedly sunk by a submarine on 26 October 1916. Based on the dimensions of these vessels, it is possible that either Scottish Queen or Titan correlates with the unidentified wreck observed during the archaeological assessment of geophysical data (OS23_312; Canmore ID 372955) discussed in section 6.3.3. Duva is a steel steamship that was built in 1913 in Grangemouth and was abandoned on 14 November and eventually sank on 17 November 1926. Svein Jarl is also a steel steamship built in 1909 in Trondheim, Norway and reportedly torpedoed by a German submarine on 9 June 1915. Based on the known dimensions of these vessels, it may be that either Duva or Svein Jarl correlate with the unidentified wreck observed during the archaeological assessment of geophysical data (OS23_314; Canmore ID 372595) discussed in section 6.3.3.
- Three of these four recorded losses were sunk during World War I and therefore any surviving material would be fragmented, there is therefore the possibility that debris identified in the geophysical survey data (section 6.3.2) may represent material from these events.
6.1.9. Aviation Archaeological Potential
- Thousands of military and civilian aircraft casualties have occurred in UK waters since the advent of powered flight in the early 20th century. The bulk of these are casualties of World War II and most are concentrated off the south and south-east coasts of England. However, there is clear potential for aircraft casualties the north-western North Sea (Wessex Archaeology, 2008).
- Although there are no known aviation wreck sites within the marine archaeology study area, there are significant wartime aviation facilities in north-eastern Scotland. For example, aviation training and mission flights were conducted from eastern Scotland such as Royal Air Force (RAF) Dalcross, RAF Kinloss, RAF Lossiemouth, Crimond (HMS Merganser), and RAF Dyce during World War II, all of which may contribute as yet unlocated aviation losses within the marine archaeology study area (Scottish Aviation Trail, 2024).
- While the aviation archaeology record is potentially very large, the ephemeral nature of aircraft wrecks ensures that many sites remain unknown and unrecorded. In addition, despite the potential extensive losses at sea, records are seldom tied to an accurate position. These difficulties complicate any assessment of the likely presence of aircraft wreckage on any particular area of seabed.
- Since World War II, despite the volume of both military and civilian air traffic, there have been few aviation losses off the east coast of Scotland. Two records of aviation losses are located within the recorded losses study area. Details of all recorded losses are given in volume 3, appendix 19.1, annex A. Of these recorded aircraft losses, one record is of a Sikorsky helicopter which crashed on 14 November 1970 while en-route to the oil rig Staflo. The second is of a RAF Phantom which crashed on 4 August 1978. Wreckage was sighted by a helicopter en-route to an oil rig but was impossible to relocate due to visibility. Later, in 1983, wreckage identified as being from a RAF Phantom was brought up by a trawler, but no further information is available.
- The full potential for post-war aircraft remains to be discovered within the Array and therefore the potential is considered to be low. Civilian aircraft wrecks are not subject to protection under the terms of the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986.
6.1.10. Overview of Marine Archaeology Potential
- An overview of the marine archaeological potential within the marine archaeology study area is presented in Table 6.2 Open ▸ .
Table 6.2: Marine Archaeology Potential