Shortlisting of Europe’s Lost World for BAA prize

Submitted by Sophie Cringle on Mon, 2010-06-14 11:40
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The CBA’s recent Research Report, Europe’s Lost World – The rediscovery of Doggerland, by Vince Gaffney, Simon Fitch and David Smith, has been shortlisted for the British Archaeological Awards’ prestigious ‘Best Archaeological Book’ award.

The book presents the work of the North Sea Palaeolandscapes Project based at the University of Birmingham’s VISTA centre. Submerged Forest Doggerland Cover Project Sponsors The project, funded by English Heritage through the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund and supported by a variety of commercial companies, most notably Petroleum Geo-Services, has mapped 23,000 km of land under the southern North Sea. An area the size of a modern European country was inundated by rising sea levels during the Mesolithic period at the end of the last Ice Age some 8,000 years ago. Until recently, this ‘country’, named ‘Doggerland’ by archaeologists, has been inaccessible through conventional archaeological techniques. The team at Birmingham has demonstrated that 3D seismic data can be used to produce a detailed map showing rivers, streams, hills and coastlines. The inundation may have preserved unparalleled topographic, cultural and environmental data.

The results are fundamentally changing our interpretation of the archaeology of north-western Europe and will impact the heritage strategies of every country that possesses a North Sea coastline.

Europe’s Lost World – The rediscovery of Doggerland presents the results of this groundbreaking project in a clear and accessible format, and the book has been widely praised by reviewers. The book was designed by Carnegie Publishing (Lancaster).

The winner will be announced at the British Archaeological Awards ceremony at the British Museum in London on Monday 19 July 2010.

The book can be purchased through the CBA’s website and from all good bookshops.

Notes for Editors