SUBNORDICA is a new multinational project aiming to locate and study prehistoric settlements now buried beneath the North and Baltic seas, including the famed Doggerland. Scientists will use seabed mapping, AI, seismic surveys, magnetometer data and boreholes, plus diving in Aarhus Bay, to identify peat deposits, river channels and settlement traces. The effort is urgent because offshore wind development on the same continental shelves could restrict access and disturb archaeological deposits. Results will shed light on how ancient communities adapted to post-Ice Age sea-level rise and help inform sustainable coastal development.
SUBNORDICA Races to Reveal Lost Civilizations Beneath the North and Baltic Seas
We're Ready To Explore Lost Undersea CivilizationsStockByM - Getty Images
Around 8,000–6,000 BCE, much of what are now the North and Baltic seas were broad coastal plains where people lived, farmed and exploited rich marine resources. A new multinational research collaboration, SUBNORDICA, has launched an urgent effort to locate and study those submerged landscapes before modern development makes them inaccessible.
Who Is Involved
Researchers from the University of Bradford’s Submerged Landscapes Research Centre (UK), the TNO Geological Survey of the Netherlands, the Flanders Marine Institute and the University of York are leading the project. One high-profile target is Doggerland, a low-lying region in the central North Sea that archaeological evidence suggests was occupied around 8,200 years ago.
Why The Work Is Urgent
These continental shelves preserve peat beds, river channels and other features that can pinpoint ancient human activity. But the same shallow seas are now prime sites for offshore wind farms and other coastal developments. As construction and seabed disturbance accelerate, archaeologists risk losing the opportunity to study well-preserved, waterlogged sites.
How SUBNORDICA Will Work
The project combines high-resolution seabed mapping, seismic and acoustic surveys, borehole sampling and advanced computational modelling. Artificial intelligence tools will help process large datasets and predict locations of archaeological deposits. The University of Bradford is also analysing magnetometer data gathered for environmental impact assessments; magnetic signatures can reveal peat-forming areas and former river channels that often host human settlements.
“Twenty thousand years ago, global sea level was roughly 130 metres lower than today,” said Vincent Gaffney, director of the Submerged Landscapes Research Centre. “With progressive warming and sea-level rise, unique landscapes once home to human societies disappeared. SUBNORDICA will use the latest technologies to explore these lands and support sustainable development.”
In parallel, targeted diving surveys in areas such as Aarhus Bay (Denmark) will assess how widespread coastal settlements were compared with inland sites and how marine resources were used 9,000–8,500 years ago. Findings from these focused studies will guide further investigations in more remote or development-threatened locations.
Relevance Today
By reconstructing submerged landscapes and settlement patterns, scientists hope to understand how prehistoric communities responded to rising temperatures and encroaching seas. Those lessons have contemporary resonance as modern societies confront sea-level rise and balance the expansion of renewable energy infrastructure with the preservation of cultural heritage.
Help us improve.
