Human occupation because of a regression, or the cause of a transgression? A critical review of the interaction between geological events and human occupation in the Belgian coastal plain during the first millenium AD

Abstract

Through an interdisciplinary approach, this paper re-evaluates the common use of the Dunkerque transgression model as an explanation for the occurrence of gaps in the occupational history of the Belgian coastal plain, during the first millennium AD. The validity of the marine transgression model derived from a previous interpretation of the geological evidence is assessed; and new ideas about the geological history of the area are discussed. Alongside a re-assessment of the available archaeological data, new archaeological, historical and ecological evidence is reviewed and interpreted. The combined knowledge gained from this range of disciplines leads to a working hypothesis summarising the new ideas about the history of occupation in the coastal plain during the Roman and early medieval periods, explaining how the trends observed can be integrated with the geological and anthropogenic changes in the landscape.

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