There had long been talk of a secret bank, and group of men inhabiting a land stretched far and wide. In Greece, legends spoke of it, receding from the last glacial maximum, from northern Spain; to England, Ireland, Scotland; between, France, Holland; and extending thu Germany to even Denmark, Sweden and Norway. In 1931, a famous discovery made the headlines when a trawler named ‘Colinda’ hauled up a lump of peat while fishing near the Ower Bank, 25 miles off the English coast. To the astonishment of the fisherman, the peat contained an ‘ornate barbed antler point’ used for harpooning fish that dated from between 9,000-4,000 BC. This was what started the ‘imminent rush’, to began researching ‘doggerland’ and the ‘doggerbank’.

Around 8200 years ago, after the storegga slide, and the water enraged typhoon hit. For about 1500 years, all that was left was ‘doggerbank’. Until more glaciers melted, ‘doggerbank’ was above water but when more glaciers melted, it became submerged. Around 7000 years ago. And, so began the separation of mainland Europe, from England, and other area islands, that eventually all almost became under water.

What is a ‘ornate barb antler point’?

An ‘ornate barbed antler point’ was probably an elk or deer, possibly something larger like mammoth, bear or cave lion too. Sharpened with a blade, or, bone, flint and/or sharp chert stone piece designed for cutting. Similar to big arrowheads. The neolithic fisherman would take turns with spears, and harpoons. Hunting fish and deer mostly. And, all that’s more is gossip and folklore.

What is ‘doggerbank’?

Named after the ‘doggers’, or dutch fishing boats, from medieval times. They were especially useful for cod fishing; dodging storms and catching waves. The actual modern ‘doggerbank’ not only houses wind farms but also a large portion of sand. About 100km east of England. Whereas the wind farms are further out. It was around 7000 years ago that this area, rich and fertile, went under water.

What is the ‘imminent rush’ in researching ‘doggerland’?

Earth passes thru cycles, and even though theories differ about global warming, and climate control, one thing is for sure. Many suffer and get displaced. There was a massive cycle that ended around 8200 years ago, and that was probably brought on by the last glacial maximum (33-14,000 years ago) and ‘great event’ 11,700 years ago. In understanding it, we may be able to prevent the same from happening again.

Bibliography: Dogger Bank” . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 08 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 380 to 381.

Gaffney, Vincent; Fitch, Simon; Smith, David (2009). Europe’s Lost World: The Rediscovery of Doggerland. Council for British Archaeology. ISBN978-1-902771-77-9.

Moffat, Alistair (2005). Before Scotland: The Story of Scotland Before History. Thames & Hudson. ISBN978-0-500-05133-7. Discussed in depth in chapters 2–4.