Drowned forests exposed by storms along the coast of Britain and Ireland

During the past months, fossil tree stumps have been exposed on the beach at various places in Ireland and the United Kingdom (Wales and Cornwall).  These tree stumps still have their roots vested in the soil and as a result of a rise in sea level or related processes became flooded and now after the winter storms have become exposed and temporarily visible again in certain areas. Overall, these tree stumps are between 4000 and 7500 years old, and in an extraordinary way they are testimony to the existence of buried landscapes. They have been well preserved entirely thanks to their submergence. This suggests that traces and remnants of human activities could also have been preserved, better than on land. Hence the importance of keeping a close eye on these areas. In the past, also on the Flemish beaches similar tree stumps still rooted in the ground have been occasionally detected.

These additional news articles contain more information about the various locations and datings.

Storms reveal 7,500-year-old ‘drowned forest’ on north Galway coastline (The Irish Times)

UK weather: Ancient forests exposed by storms along the coast of Wales (The Independent)

Storms expose prehistoric British forests (De Redactie) (in Dutch)