Archaeology & coastal change
Archaeology and Coastal Change is a project funded by the Standing
Conference on Problems Associated with the Coastline (SCOPAC). It is
seeking to demonstrate the potential of the archaeological and palaeo-environmental
resource to help understand the impact of sea level and climate change on
our coastline.
To achieve this, locations along the coastline within SCOPAC
jurisdiction have been identified as study areas. Within these areas, the
local Historic Environment Records have been assessed to identify sites
with archaeological or palaeoenvironmental material that can tell us about
past changes in the coastline. Stark examples include WWII pill boxes which
end up lying at the bottom of a beach in pieces due to an eroding foreshore,
coastal buildings that are now flooded each high tide and submerged landscapes
which were once dry land. All these can be direct indicators of a rise in
sea level. If these events are dated we can calculate where sea level was
in that given point in time. Where we have evidence of an ancient land surface,
we can look at the preserved remains to build a picture of the local environment.
This in turn can tell us about the climate.
The process we are following will test a set of criteria which will rank
the importance of sites in relation to coastal change. The results should
contribute to future management strategies by identifying the types of sites
which hold information about coastal change. Where this information is analysed,
it could be used to inform management policies and ensure best practice.