Dogger, Fisher, German Bight” - BBC Radio 4 listeners will be familiar with these evocative names. They are part of the Shipping Forecast, broadcast four times a day on long-wave, giving sailors weather reports from a series of maritime regions.
What is Doggerland?
The first of these named here has an intriguing story. For beneath the waves of the North Sea, a drowned landmass has been discovered: Doggerland. Over the past million years at least, this huge area, between Britain and continental Europe, has appeared and disappeared several times when sea levels fell and rose as the Earth cooled or warmed. For instance, 20,000 years ago, sea levels were 120m lower than they are today due to the last ice age storing so much of the Earth's water as ice.
Historians and archaeologists have discovered that the last time Doggerland submerged was around 7000 years ago, during the Mesolithic period. Some 10000 years ago, people could walk from Yorkshire to Denmark. Dogger, incidentally, was an old Dutch word for 'cod' – and later the fishing boats used to catch them in the North Sea.
How do we know that Doggerland was once dry land?
There have always been hints that the seabed of the North Sea was not always submerged. At several places off England's east coast, stumps of trees – called 'Noah's Woods' - can occasionally be seen at exceptionally low tides. More evidence comes from the nets of trawlers. Vast quantities of stone tools and fossils of land animals have been dredged up.
- When did humans arrive in Britain? Uncovering the mysteries of the early Brits, from Neanderthals to the Stone Age
- The petrifying prehistoric beasts that would have terrified early Brits
In 1932, the trawler Colinda snagged an antler harpoon off the coast of Norfolk dating from 9000 years ago. Later, seismic data from oil and gas exploration and aggregate dredging provided more evidence of an inhabited terrestrial landscape. Now, hydrophone surveys and 3D mapping enable us to visualise the lost landscape. More is being discovered all the time, and underwater archaeology is the next big challenge. North Sea waters are notoriously murky for diving.
What was Doggerland like?
The findings show Doggerland was a region of hills and valleys. The upland region of Dogger Bank, for instance, was formed from a massive heap of moraine rock pummelled, pushed and dumped by moving ice sheets, As the Earth grew warmer, the ice sheets retreated and meltwater rivers carved valleys through the uplands.
Trees and other plants quickly colonised and there would have been many lakes, wetlands and marshy deltas, rich in life. These highly productive coastal habitats would have been very attractive to humans who exploited the abundance of fish, fowl and mammals. Remains of mammoths, rhinos, hyenas and other creatures now extinct in Northern Europe are common but most likely died out due to climate change rather than overhunting.
When did Doggerland disappear?
Modern research shows that between 10000 and 7000 years ago sea levels were rising and Doggerland was slowly shrinking. It was a dynamic landscape of ebb and flow, of rapidly changing shorelines, beaches and lagoons where society had to be adaptable. There is, however, evidence for early turf houses (around 8500-7500 years ago) showing that people could find enough food to establish permanent homes that lasted for many generations.
Doggerland did not suddenly disappear – it probably broke up into a series of low-lying islands of which Dogger Bank was the largest and last to go. People were slowly pushed to the higher places on the fringes – though these may have been less productive and may have led to population declines. When the connection to the continent was finally and irretrievably broken, few terrestrial animal species could reach Britain aside from those already there.
Modern historians dismiss the idea of Doggerland being a 'land bridge' between the European landmass and Britain that people and animals crossed. Instead, it is now viewed as a productive and advanced territory at the heart of prehistoric European culture. The more we learn of Doggerland, the more we realise our understanding of our continent's past is incomplete.
It's a curious irony that some of the most important recent findings have come during the construction of the world's largest offshore wind farm on Dogger Bank. As we strive to wean ourselves off the fossil fuels that drive global warming today, we are learning about the last time modern humans faced climate change. And as Doggerland lies largely undeveloped and undisturbed, we have a valuable chance to explore a rare snapshot of history – and perhaps our future.
- Prehistoric aurochs are back from extinction - and they could be coming to the UK
- Britain's lost beasts: when did the moose, wolf and bear go extinct in UK?
- Britain's best fossil hunting destinations
Top illustration by Caroline Elizabeth May
