Nowadays Great Brittain is separated from the European Continent by the North Sea. This, however, hasn’t always been the case. Due to sea-level changes as a result of climatic changes and the...Show moreNowadays Great Brittain is separated from the European Continent by the North Sea. This, however, hasn’t always been the case. Due to sea-level changes as a result of climatic changes and the cyclical repetition of glacials and interglacials the North Sea Basin has repeatedly been exposed to the open-air during the Pleistocene. Numerous finds, recovered by fishermen and dredgers while executing their work, indicate that this glacial plane was inhabited by a wide variety of animal species. It is beginning to become clear, due to the recovery of worked flint material, that early human must have been part of the inhabitants. The importance of the North Sea Basin for archaeological research has repeatedly been stressed. The archaeology in the seabed is threatened by several activities that affect the North Sea bottom. The trawling of fish boats, the construction of oil rigs and offshore windmill parks and the marine aggregate industry all have a huge effect on the seabed, possibly destroying archaeological remains while executed. The actual implementation of archaeological fieldwork as part of these bottom stirring activities is minimal and mainly focused on maritime archaeology. The goal of this thesis is to explore the possibilities for palaeolithic research in the North Sea Basin. It does so by analyzing archaeological research on-land and it’s possibilities for offshore archaeology and by evaluating different projects that have been set up over the last year to improve Paleolithic archaeological research on the North Sea bed over the border. In this way the strengths and weaknesses of the research as it is executed this days can be reviewed. The outcome should lead to new insights and a best-practice for setting up a solid archaeological research strategy before the execution of bottom disturbing activities. Crucial to this research strategy is a multidisciplinary approach in which the potential of all executed steps is explored. Recent research methods can be improved by changing the current focus on the object to a focus on the context of archaeological remains. Paleolithic material is useless without knowledge about the landscape and environment in which it has been used and deposited.Show less
