The Lyonesse Project: a study of the coastal and marine environment of the Isles of Scilly (OASIS ID cornwall2-58903)

This project was commissioned by English Heritage and carried out between 2009 and 2013 by Historic Environment Projects, Cornwall Council with a team of specialists from Aberystwyth, Cardiff, Exeter and Plymouth Universities, English Heritage's Scientific Dating Team, volunteers and local experts and enthusiasts from the Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Maritime Archaeological Society and the Islands Maritime Archaeology Group. The aims of the project were to reconstruct the evolution of the physical environment of Scilly during the Holocene (11,700 cal BP to present), investigate the progressive occupation of this changing coastal landscape by early peoples, explore past and present climate change and sea-level rise, develop geophysical techniques for mapping submerged palaeo-landscapes, improve management and promote better understanding of the islands' historic environment and encourage local community engagement with the historic environment. Six main types of work were involved: an audit of recorded and reported coastal and subtidal 'peat' exposures, auger and GPS surveys of the intertidal 'peat' sites; geophysical survey and diver inspection of the sub-tidal 'peats', sampling and palaeoenvironmental analysis of selected intertidal and sub-tidal sites; a programme of radiocarbon and optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating; and outreach to inform the public, disseminate results and encourage volunteer participation. A notable aspect of Scilly's historic environment is the presence of stone walls and other remains below high water, the result of low-lying land being submerged by the gradual rise in sea-level. The timing and nature of changing land areas and the separation of the individual islands has, in the past, been the subject of much conjecture and debate. Seventy-eight new radiocarbon dates and 15 new OSL ages were obtained for the Project and the new data provide a much more secure basis than previously existed for reconstructing the evolution of the islands during the Holocene. The Project's pollen data represent almost the entire last 13,500 years of vegetation history on Scilly providing a unique insight into the development of the landscape through the Holocene; set against the backdrop of changing sea levels

本项目由英国历史遗迹署（English Heritage）委托，于2009年至2013年间由康沃尔郡议会历史环境项目组（Historic Environment Projects, Cornwall Council）联合阿伯里斯特威斯、加的夫、埃克塞特、普利茅斯四所大学的专家团队、英国历史遗迹署科学测年团队，以及康沃尔与锡利群岛海事考古学会、锡利群岛海事考古小组的志愿者与当地专家爱好者共同实施。本项目旨在重建全新世（11700校准年前（cal BP）至今）时期锡利群岛的自然环境演化历程，探究早期人类对这片不断变迁的海岸景观的逐步开发利用，研究历史与当代的气候变化及海平面上升现象，研发用于绘制淹没古地貌的地球物理勘探技术，提升对锡利群岛历史环境的管理与认知水平，并推动当地社区参与历史环境保护工作。项目共涵盖六大类工作：一是对已记录和报告的海岸及潮下带"泥炭"露头开展清查；二是对潮间带"泥炭"遗址开展螺旋钻探与GPS测绘；三是对潮下带"泥炭"遗址开展地球物理勘探与潜水探查；四是对选定的潮间带与潮下带遗址进行采样与古环境分析；五是放射性碳测年与光释光（optically stimulated luminescence, OSL）测年项目；六是面向公众的科普推广、成果传播与志愿者动员工作。锡利群岛历史环境的一个显著特征是高潮线以下留存有石墙及其他遗迹，这是低洼陆地因海平面逐步上升被淹没的结果。此前，关于该群岛陆地变化的时间与性质、各岛屿分离的过程，学界曾有诸多推测与争论。本项目共获取78组新的放射性碳测年数据与15组新的光释光测年数据，这些新数据为全新世时期锡利群岛的演化重建提供了远优于以往的可靠依据。项目获取的孢粉数据几乎覆盖了锡利群岛过去13500年的植被演化历史，为了解全新世时期的景观发展提供了独特视角，相关研究以海平面变化为背景展开。