Belgium: prehistoric and protohistoric archaeology in the intertidal and subtidal zones of the north sea

Abstract

The evidence for submerged prehistoric remains and landscapes in the Belgian sector of the North Sea is scarce. The majority of finds dredged and trawled from the seafloor consists of palaeontological material, notably mammalian bone remains, dating from the Early and Late Pleistocene, and possibly the Holocene. Scarce palaeontological and archaeological finds come from the intertidal zone. The available data are rather limited and strikingly sparse compared to neighbouring countries, yet it is steadily growing since the SeArch project. Recent investigations of an area with exceptionally high concentrations of Late Pleistocene and Palaeogene bone finds in the ‘Scheur’ illustrates this development and offers a promising avenue for future research. Growing awareness among a broader public is similarly resulting in an increase in reported chance finds, mainly from beaches. In due course, these growing numbers will hopefully allow quantitative support for certain hypotheses.