One of
the questions which interests me is that of how the coastline of the
isles has changed during the time since humans settled here following
the end of the last ice age.
It is a
complex topic and I was delighted to stumble upon a very recent
article,New
models of North West European Holocene palaeogeography and inundation, in the Journal of Archaeological Science (Volume 40, Issue
11, 11 Nov 2013) which addresses that question for the whole of the
British Isles. Each 500
year snapshot is presented as a map and each of these is downloadable for more detailed, local-level study.*
The key
points for the Western Isles are:
11,000 –
8,000 BP
“The
Outer Hebrides are considerably larger than they are now, with a low
lying coastal plain extending out to the West of the Uists.”
The
authors note that:
“...there
is clear evidence for Mesolithic seafaring, with Ireland being
occupied along with the Isle of Man, Rhum, the Hebridean
Archipelago...”
8,000 –
6,000 BP
Although
the Western Isles are not specifically mentioned, the point is made
that when sea levels rise:
“...our
understanding of terrestrial space also needs to be carefully
considered; with reworking of estuarine areas and the expansion of
former wetlands into open areas of sea, all serving to shape modes of
transport and connectivity...”
6,000 –
4,000 BP
“The
extended coastal plain which surrounded the Outer Hebrides is
significantly diminished in size and the islands are approaching
their present configuration.”
4000 –
500 BP
At this
point we really need to examine the individual maps in greater detail, but when I
attempted this I was informed that the data is not yet available so, unfortunately, investigating what this model might tell us regarding
the Western Isles will have to wait just a little while longer...
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