2006 Strategic Environmental Assessment SEA7 Technical Report - Archaeology (NE Atlantic west of Scotland)

This report on archaeology is a contribution to the Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA7) conducted by the Department of Trade and Industry (now Department of Energy and Climate Change). There is a high likelihood of surviving prehistoric archaeology (10,000 - 5000 years old) in certain areas of SEA7, most notably to the west of the Outer Hebrides for a distance of some 10km, to a depth of -20m, and in and among the islands elsewhere (particularly around Islay, Jura, Mull and the Small Isles) along the coast and between S Scotland and N Ireland. The reasons comprise a complex interplay of changing sea level and the rebound of the land once freed from the compression of ice at the end of the last Ice Age. The net result of these physical effects is that 10,000 years ago relative sea level has been up to 45m lower along much of the coast and this corresponds with the period of early human settlement in the area. In places this means that considerable areas of submerged land exist. An investigation of bathymetric, sedimentary and tidal data for the area suggests that the prehistoric land surface, including archaeological remains, may survive in many places. Cooperation between existing extraction companies and renewable industries and archaeologists elsewhere in Britain shows how the recording and investigation of archaeological material could be beneficial to both parties should work take place in SEA7. The final sections provide a preliminary examination of how matters might be taken forward to safeguard the archaeological knowledgebase without prejudicing commercial interests.