Stuff You Should Know Doggerland: Lost at Sea
9 snips
Dec 18, 2025 Explore the submerged landscape of Doggerland, where Europe and the UK were once connected. Discover fascinating finds like prehistoric harpoons and Neanderthal remains. Learn about ancient human settlements and how rising sea levels swallowed this rich land. The hosts delve into archaeological challenges posed by modern wind farm developments. Finally, uncover the significance of this lost world and the mysteries still lying beneath the North Sea.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Doggerland Was A Lived-In Landscape
- Doggerland was a substantial, inhabited landmass between the UK and continental Europe during the Mesolithic.
- It supported dense human populations, varied ecosystems, and served as a major habitation zone rather than just a narrow land bridge.
Fishermen First Brought Up Clues
- 19th-century fishermen regularly hauled up peat called moorlog containing large mammal bones.
- Most finds were tossed overboard, though some crews occasionally kept notable specimens.
The Harpoon That Proved Humans Lived There
- In 1931 a trawler skipper, Pilgrim Lockwood, found an antler harpoon head in peat dredged from the North Sea.
- Pollen analysis proved the peat formed in freshwater, proving human activity on now-submerged land about 14,000 years ago.