Can anybody explain this one to me?
I always thought that the British Isles were joined to the rest of Europe until the end of the last ice age about 10-12000 years ago and that large areas of the north sea were grassland and populated by palaeolithic man (between ice ages) The article suggests that we were separated from Europe 200000 years ago instead, so did the sea level later fall again creating a vast valley between the southeast and France, and the areas of Doggerland further north, or am I missing something from this picture?
-Chris
After this event, one or more glacial ice ages occurred, and hoovered up what water was about, locking it into ice sheets that covered most of the top half of the British Isles. Then - with no water of consequence to worry about - the English Channel would have been easy to navigate, and Britain would been rejoined with "the Mainland" of Europe.
The end of the last Ice Age saw the release of this stored water into the pre-formed erosion channel, finally excising our Green and Pleasant from what is now the European continent. I figure that the marshy joint that stretched from the South East to Holland/Belgium finally gave in around 8000 BCE.
Peace
Pilgrim
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