PastCoast. Moving archaeology to a 4d-science: A novel interdisciplinary approach to the study of resilience in prehistoric marine coastal environments.

This project aims to study changes and breakpoints in utilising prehistoric marine coastal environments, identify possible causes for changes, and create an interpretive framework to identify potential human responses to changing environmental settings. This will be done by combining non-intrusive geophysical survey techniques, palaeoenvironmental studies, trial excavations and digital landscape modelling in an interpretive framework to study human resilience in a changing coastal landscape. Geophysical survey methods provide knowledge of the presence and absence of archaeological features in the ground over large areas in a fast, efficient and non-intrusive manner at a scale not feasible by conventional archaeological methods, and provides a wealth of palaeoenvironmental information. This involves detailed studies of fossil beach ridges, which provides an unprecedented impression of spatial and temporal landscape change. Paired with targeted excavation, for quality control (ground-truthing), and to provide datable evidence, geophysical survey and surface-find studies can tackle important questions of chronological change and generate a new perspective on the cultural-historical development of coastal sites, and their resilience and adaption to a changing landscape. Also, a GIS-modelling approach can reveal spatial patterns of prehistoric activity on a landscape scale and how it might have changed over time by characterizing how much a site location is depending on particular site location parameters at different times. Ultimately, such an interdisciplinary approach can provide further knowledge and understanding regarding the significance of coastal archaeological sites in time and space in a larger cultural-historical perspective, illuminate threats to coastal settlements from future effects of climate change, and how similar threats have been mitigated in the past and an evidence base for future management of cultural and natural landscapes at risk.

This project aims to study changes and breakpoints in utilising prehistoric marine coastal environments, identifypossible causes for changes, and create an interpretive framework to identify potential human responses tochanging environmental settings. This will be done by combining non-intrusive geophysical survey techniques,palaeoenvironmental studies, trial excavations and digital landscape modelling in an interpretive framework tostudy human resilience in a changing coastal landscape. Geophysical survey methods provide knowledge of thepresence and absence of archaeological features in the ground over large areas in a fast, efficient and non-intrusivemanner at a scale not feasible by conventional archaeological methods, and provides a wealth ofpalaeoenvironmental information. This involves detailed studies of fossil beach ridges, which provides anunprecedented impression of spatial and temporal landscape change. Paired with targeted excavation, for qualitycontrol (ground-truthing), and to provide datable evidence, geophysical survey and surface-find studies can tackleimportant questions of chronological change and generate a new perspective on the cultural-historical developmentof coastal sites, and their resilience and adaption to a changing landscape. Also, a GIS-modelling approach canreveal spatial patterns of prehistoric activity on a landscape scale and how it might have changed over time bycharacterizing how much a site location is depending on particular site location parameters at different times.Ultimately, such an interdisciplinary approach can provide further knowledge and understanding regarding thesignificance of coastal archaeological sites in time and space in a larger cultural-historical perspective, illuminatethreats to coastal settlements from future effects of climate change, and how similar threats have been mitigated inthe past and an evidence base for future management of cultural and natural landscapes at risk.

This project aims to investigate the spatial and temporal relationship of human-environment interactions over time and space in coastal environments. By identifying breakpoints in landscape use, the project will create an interpretational framework that can identify possible reasons for why this occurred. If, for instance, there is an observed change in the metal detecting assemblages, but not in the palaeoenvironmental or the archaeological information derived from the geophysical datasets, this could indicate a cultural rather than environmental reason for change. Conversely, if a settlement is observed moving parallel to the changing coastline, it would be the environmental proxy that would be the leading cause of change. Again, suppose the sea-level change, but the site preserves its spatial position and archaeological "expression" through its material culture. In that case, this could be interpreted as an expression of resilience against the changes observed in the palaeoenvironmental data.The project has been divided up in three separate work packages (WPs). Each of these involves a series of tasks are focused on important tools, techniques and methods required to answers to aspects identified.