Wetlands, coastal and maritime landscapes

The archaeological study of wetlands, coastal and maritime landscapes at Exeter is characterised by an interdisciplinary approach, methodological innovation, our commitment to fieldwork and relevance to modern day society. Our current research covers a range of themes:

  • the wetlands of Britain, with particular involvement in fieldwork in the Somerset Levels, the Humber Wetlands, the Gwent Levels and the Essex Marshes, but also further afield, for example the Irish Midlands
  • prehistoric and early historic seafaring, including the study of early craft such as the Bronze Age sewn-plank boats, linked to the study of early trade and exchange
  • the conservation management of wetlands and historic wetland landscapes, including active involvement with the management of Essex coastal marshes and in the Wetland Vision project
  • human–environment relations studied through the archaeology of the sea
  • how social relationships and cultural values shape past perceptions and current understanding of wetland, coastal and maritime landscapes

Our work in the broad field of landscape archaeology also has strong synergies with our research into Landscape Archaeology

Many of our research projects involve active collaboration with scholars from other disciplines including geography and hydrogeology, palaeoenvironmental studies, classics and ancient history, and history. Examples of innovative projects include:

  • the integration of maritime and landscape archaeology in a theorised approach to the past
  • using experimental archaeology to test hypotheses from maritime archaeology
  • the development of agricultural landscapes in South America

In a world facing environmental challenges through climate change that is expected to have far reaching impacts on wetlands and coasts, understanding the past is vital to securing our future and research at Exeter is contributing to this in a number of ways. Relevant projects include a collaborative study with the RSPB on managing wetland environments and staff are engaged in working with NERC’s Centre for Ecology and Hydrology on the ‘Wetland Vision: adapting freshwater wetlands to climate change’ project and with communities in the Amazon to develop more sustainable ways of farming. Our participation also contributes to the international partnership ‘North Sea Prehistoric Research and Management Framework’ and the English Heritage funded ‘Maritime Research Framework’.