Holocene Paleo‐Geographic Reconstructions of the Ramore Head Area, Northern Ireland, Using Geophysical and Geotechnical Data: Paleo‐Landscape Mapping and Archaeological Implications

Abstract

We present early to mid-Holocene paleo-geographic reconstructions for the Ramore Head area (Northern Ireland). This coastal area is characterised by Mesolithic occupation (c. 10-6 ka) and preserved early-mid Holocene peats both on-and offshore. This paper improves on previous reconstructions by employing a backstripping methodology which removes accumulated recent deposits from identified buried paleolandsurfaces instead of using modern topography as an analogue to the past landscape. Paleo-landsurfaces are identified offshore from seismic profiles supplemented by cores, and onshore through legacy borehole records. The paleo-landsurface can be traced offshore to depths of -2 to -19 m and is buried by <5 m of modern sediment. It extends onshore under the coastal town of Portrush and is buried <2.5-10 m below modern ground level. The identified paleo-landsurface is combined with sea-level curves from recent Glacio-Isostatic-Adjustment models to reconstruct marine transgression during the early-mid-Holocene.Comparison is also made with reconstructions based on modern topography. Together, the identified paleo-landsurfaces and revised reconstructions can assist future site prospection on-and offshore and delimit high potential areas for heritage management. Revised reconstructions also allow placement of extant archaeology into a more accurate context of landscape change and help develop insights into localscale site location patterns.2

GIS‐based multiproxy coastline reconstruction of the eastern Gulf of Riga, Baltic Sea, during the Stone Age

“…Palaeogeographical reconstructions, especially when considering the changes in sea level and land uplift, can be useful not only for understanding the palaeoenvironment (e.g. Brandt et al 1992;Legg & Anderton 2010;Sturt et al 2013;Westley et al 2014;Carlson & Baichtal 2015). Fisher et al 2010;Zwertvaegher et al 2010;Rosentau et al 2011Rosentau et al , 2013, but also for predicting the locations of undiscovered prehistoric settlement sites (e.g.…”

Submerged Mesolithic Landscape Investigation, Eleven Ballyboes, Republic of Ireland

“…2). These changes are reflected by a series of raised shorelines (albeit many undated) around Lough Foyle (Cooper & Gault, 2002) and submerged and intertidal Holocene peats within the study area and wider region (see below and Westley et al, 2014). This pattern of RSL change also means that there was only a short (and relatively shallow) lowstand 'window' along the north coast of Ireland during which presently submerged landscapes were available for occupation.…”

“…The work described in this paper highlights the potential of local-scale diver-led investigations, particularly in inshore areas/shallow water to complement the landscape-scale, geophysical/geotechnical data driven research which is currently ongoing on the Irish shelf (e.g. Plets et al, 2014;Westley et al, 2011a;. This may be especially important if, as discussed above, preservation in many parts of the Irish shelf is limited to small pockets which are amenable to diver-led work, rather than, for instance, vast expanses of preserved and deeply buried palaeo-landscape, such as characterize the North Sea (e.g.…”

“…Similar shallow-water work could also be conducted where there are known intertidal forests or peats, firstly tracing them offshore via coring or where available, sub-bottom profiling (e.g. Westley et al 2014). …”

“…Although potentially useful for archaeological prospection and interpretation (e.g. Westley et al, 2014), these studies have yet to bridge the gap between palaeo-landscape reconstruction and archaeological site discovery. Therefore, this brief paper will report on the first attempt in Ireland to go beyond the landscape-scale research and conduct systematic survey/excavation for prehistoric material below the Low Water Mark.…”