- Theoretically innovative, developing the concept of `hybridity' to explain how people engaged with their environment
- Full integration of landscape and maritime archaeology provides a unified approach to the archaeology of the sea
- Time frame stretching from the last ice age to the end of the Middle Ages elucidates the long-term processes that have created the modern perception of the North Sea
This innovative study offers an up-to-date analysis of the archaeology of the North Sea. Robert Van de Noort traces the way people engaged with the North Sea from the end of the last ice age, around 10,000 BC, to the close of the Middle Ages, about AD 1500. Van de Noort draws upon archaeological research from many countries, including the UK, the Netherlands, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Belgium and France, and addresses topics which include the first interactions of people with the emerging North Sea, the origin and development of fishing, the creation of coastal landscapes, the importance of islands and archipelagos, the development of seafaring ships and their use by early seafarers and pirates, and the treatments of boats and ships at the end of their useful lives.