Archaeologists have found evidence of a vanished island that was teeming with human life during the Stone Age off the coast of Norfolk.
Using special dredging equipment, scientists have discovered 100 flint artefacts crafted by humans between 15,000 and 8,000 years ago.
The items – a handful of small flint-cutting tools and dozens of flint flakes from tool-making activity – were pulled from the seabed in three different spots on the southern coast of the prehistoric sunken land.
The newly discovered sites, around 20 metres beneath the choppy North Sea, are found next to a series of submerged estuaries.
The sites are between 12 and 15 miles from the Norfolk coast and are expected to hold hundreds more precious artefacts.
The artefacts are expected to illuminate how people lived on the ancient island.
The findings in the North Sea are exciting for archaeologists, as most early human artefacts on mainland Britain have been destroyed and lost over history; the new exploratory site won’t have been ravaged by thousands of years of human activity.
The leader of the North Sea archaeological investigation, Professor Vince Gaffney of the University of Bradford’s Submerged Landscapes Centre, said: “Our investigations at the bottom of the North Sea have the potential to transform our understanding of Stone Age culture in and around what is now Britain and the near continent.
“As we delve into the past, we are beginning to appreciate ever more clearly what future sea-level rise could do to humanity.
“Our collaboration with the North Sea wind farms community is part of Britain’s efforts to reach net zero and to thereby combat global warming”, he said.
