Coastal archaeological sites have always been vulnerable to erosion. In recent years this vulnerability has become a contentious issue when a variety of archaeological sites across Northern Europe were impacted by the winter storms of 2013-14.
Stone forts fell into the sea. Castles crumbled to the ground. Shipwrecks, middens, timber trackways and ancient drowned forests were revealed for the first time in centuries. Heritage venues were flooded and a large number of archaeological sites were washed away entirely.
The annual winter storms now regularly require rescue work by governments and archaeologists, allow chance finds by members of the public and have necessitated the creation of citizen science schemes to report vulnerable / newly discovered sites.
The main themes of the Conference include:
- The Winter Storms of 2013-14 – Lost Sites and New Discoveries
- Predictive Climatology: Freak Events or Frequent Events?
- Vulnerable Monuments at Risk of Weather
- Mitigation: Monument Monitoring & Protection Methods
- Revelation of Ancient Drowned Forests
- Government and Heritage Organisations – Inundated with Data
- The Public Response & Citizen Scientists
Tickets are selling fast and the offer for Discounted Early Bird Tickets runs out this Friday (27th). Details are available at http://weatherbeatenarchaeology.com/
