The 'Lost Frontiers' research project led by Prof. Vince Gaffney began in December 2015 and includes archaeologists, molecular biologists and computer scientists who will work together to digitally reconstruct the Holocene environments within the southern North Sea. They will monitor its development over 6000 years, including the transition from hunting and gathering to farming. The geographical focus of the work is the Dogger Banks and adjacent regions.
[img_assist|nid=147|title=Emerged coastal landscape (light green) 7000 years ago|desc=|link=none|align=left|width=400|height=296]
The team will use extensive remote sensing data sets to reconstruct the past landscape now covered by the sea. Alongside this work, the team will recover core sediment samples from selected areas of the landscape, and use the sediments to extract ancient DNA from plants and animals that occupied Europe’s ancient coastal plains.
The data from seismic mapping and sedimentary DNA, along with conventional environmental analysis, will be combined within computer simulations that will build a comprehensive picture showing the dynamic interactions between the changing environment and the animals, plants and human populations that occupied it.
Other members of the team include Dr. Philip Murgatroyd (University of Bradford), Prof. Robin Allaby (University of Warwick), Dr. Martin Bates (University of Wales Trinity St David), Dr. Richard Bates (University of St Andrews), Dr. Eugene Ch’ng (University of Nottingham), Dr. David Smith (University of Birmingham), and Dr. Simon Fitch.
For further project details click here
