Project title: Bridging the North Sea
Project partners: Provincie Zuid-Holland ; Hazenberg Archeologie; Rijksmuseum van Oudheden; Universiteit Leiden (Zuid-Holland, NL); Provincie Zeeland, Stichting Cultureel Erfgoed Zeeland (Zeeland, NL); Kent County Council (Kent, UK), Newcastle University, Tyne & Wear Archives & Museums (Tyne & Wear, UK), Universiteit Gent, Provincie Oost-Vlaanderen (Oost-Vlaanderen, BE); Provincie West-Vlaanderen, Romeins Archeologisch Museum Oudenburg, (West-Vlaanderen, BE); Ville de Boulogne-Sur-Mer (Pas-de-Calais, FR); Cercle d’Histoire et d’archéologie de Bailleul, Cercle Historique Cassel, (Nord, FR)
Areas covered: Kent (UK) ; Nord (FR) ; Pas-de-Calais (FR) ; Flandre orientale (BE) ; Flandre occidentale (BE) ; Zélande (NL) ; Zuid-Holland (NL) ;
Project length January 2023 – December 2024
Grant awarded: 68,826 € (Zuid-Holland ; Zeeland ; Oost-Vlaanderen ; West-Vlaanderen ; Nord ; Pas-de-Calais) ; £5,000 (Kent)
Etat d’avancement : En cours
Site web : https://bridgingthenorthsea.org
Description:
This project will set up an innovative transnational network of scientists, scholars, public authorities, commercial organizations, museums, curators and volunteers along the British, French, Dutch and Belgian coasts of the North Sea Basin. The network will produce archaeological research and interpretation plans for the North Sea basin in Roman times to raise awareness among modern coastal residents of their maritime heritage, the North Sea’s historic role in connecting our area, and how present challenges such as rising sea levels were dealt with in the past.
News: (updated July 2024)
The project partners, through two in-person meetings and regular online workshops, have carried out a resource assessment to review the archaeological record on the Roman era in the Straits area. They have also identified questions for further research under four themes: changing landscapes, coastal communities, material culture, and connectivity.
In the second half of 2024, the team will finalise this research framework and develop an implementation plan that will look at ways Roman history can contribute to contemporary life, the potential audiences and how to reach them.
The Research Framework and Interpretation Plan will be presented at the final conference to be held at the Museum Park Archeon in South Holland in December 2024.