The SUBNORDICA project, funded as an “ERC Synergy Grant”, researches the sunken post-glacial landscapes in the North and Baltic Seas. Traces and settlement sites of Stone Age people have been particularly well preserved there. They can provide information about the development and diversity of cultures at the time and allow a close look at how people adapted to rising sea levels.

While numerous sites are already known in the Baltic Sea, the areas in the North Sea where cultural remains are to be expected have so far been particularly difficult to locate. They are often covered by thick marine sediments.

At the same time, the settlement areas in the sunken landscapes are at acute risk due to construction activities in the offshore area.

Together with the application partners from the Bradford (UK) and Aarhus (DK) as well as the Museum Moesgaard (DK), new methods for locating and investigating the difficult-to-access archaeological sites in the North Sea are to be developed based on findings from the Baltic Sea.

At the NIhK the team led by Dr. Svea Mahlstedt (PI) is primarily concerned with the sunken forests and settlement areas in the southern Baltic Sea. The investigations contribute to the development of methods for locating human settlement sites in the sunken landscapes. The NIhK also contributes its geological expertise to offshore expeditions in the North Sea and is involved in the reconstruction of the submerged landscapes preserved there.

The SUBNORDICA team at the NIhK includes Dr. Svea Mahlstedt, Prof. Dr. Felix Bittmann, Dr. Daniel Hepp, Dr. Moritz Mennenga, Dr. Friederike Bungenstock and Dr. Martina Karle.