Preliminary Results and Research Perspectives on the Submerged Stone Age Sites in Storstrømmen, Denmark

Abstract

This article gives an overview of the survey campaigns and excavations undertaken within an area of the sound Storstrømmen in southeast Denmark from 2014 to 2017. Before the construction of a new bridge over the sound, geophysical data from the bridge corridor and other areas affected by the development project were used to give a representation of the moraine till as a proxy for the submerged prehistoric topography, with the topographical interpretation serving as a base for appointing areas with high potential for finding well-preserved Mesolithic sites. Several new Mesolithic sites were found during test excavations. The sites are preserved at different depths in the channel and range in date over the entire Danish Mesolithic period. All sites are located along former waterfronts, and the majority showed good preservation for organic material. Four of the discovered sites have been subject to excavations. The sites are located at different elevations and have between them the potential of contributing to the understanding of the human response to the dramatic topographic and environmental change that took place in Storstrømmen during the Atlantic period as a consequence of the rising sea level.

Keywords

• submerged landscapes
• southeast denmark
• maritime archaeology
• kongemose culture
• mesolithic