Submerged settlement in the Öresund, Western Scania, Southernmost Sweden

Abstract

In order to obtain information on coastal settlement during the Early Mesolithic, marine archaeological investigations on the Swedish side of Öresund (the Sound) have been carried out since the 1970s. Early Mesolithic sites have been registered, the depths of which varied between −20 and −6 m. A number of settlement sites have been located close to the submerged outlet of a river in the central part of the present Öresund. One of these sites is partially covered in peat, situated at a depth of −7 to −8 m, and has been dated to about 7000 cal. BC. Finds of bones and worked wood make this a very important find location. A number of sites have been found during various activities along the former shoreline. The results of these investigations provide the basis for an argument that coastal settlement during the Boreal was equally as intensive as that which is well documented in the hinterland. The choice of settlement sites on the coast was dictated by the same factors as in the Late Mesolithic, a period when the hinterland became less attractive for settlement because of dense afforestation and the transformation of former lakes into bogs.