CAS/PAS joint lecture

Written by |

7 October 2019 – 7pm

To take place in the Devonport Lecture Theatre, Portland Square Building, University of Plymouth.

Dr Rob Barnett, University of Exeter

Non-linear human response to sea-level rise and environmental change: The Lyonesse Project

The Isles of Scilly off the South West Peninsula, Cornwall occupy an important position in the western seaways and may have been instrumental in the dispersal of hunter gatherer populations from continental Europe into Britain after the last ice age. Scilly has experienced catastrophic submersion and island fragmentation over the past 12,000 years, yet evidence of early human cultures on the islands is abundant. The aim of the Lyonesse Project was to reconstruct the physical environment of Scilly for the past 12,000 years in order to progress the discussion behind human migratory and behavioural transitions through the Holocene. This study of past sea level, landscape and cultural change on Scilly provides insight into how coastal communities might respond to rapid and ongoing sea-level rise today.

The Lyonesse Project was commissioned by English Heritage in 2009 and spearheaded by Historic Environment Projects, Cornwall Council. Development of the Project has continued to present day and there are now 22 different co-authors from 14 different institutes involved in its progress. The Lyonesse Project talk will be given by Dr Rob Barnett, a Research Fellow at the University of Exeter who is leading the scientific publication associated with the Project. His academic career has incorporated several of the universities that have led the science behind the project (Cardiff, Plymouth, Exeter).