“Dragons of Doggerland” is set in a time just before the land disappeared under the North Sea, around 7000 years ago.
All that is left now is Dogger Bank, a sand bank in the North Sea which is in shallow waters. It would have been hills on Doggerland. Nowadays it is teeming with undersea life, especially fish, and has long been used as rich fishing grounds for several centuries. It was fishermen who first found remains of land animals, such as mammoth bones, in their nets. Then they found human tools made from stone and wood, too.
Although you might think that Doggerland gets its name from being home to lots of dogs, sadly, that’s not true! The word comes from 17th Century Dutch shipping boats called “Doggers”.
For much of the Stone Age (Mesolithic), Doggerland was a lush, mild place, rich in wildlife. It was home for tribes of human hunter-gatherers who could find plenty of animals and plants to eat.
Around 12000 years ago, the great ice sheets of the Ice Age started to melt. Sea levels rose, and, over the years Doggerland got smaller. It is thought that a great tsunami (wave) triggered by an earthquake off the coast of Norway around 7000 years ago, finally flooded Doggerland, so that only Dogger Bank remained.
People are returning to Dogger Bank!
If you look up “Dogger Bank”, you will quickly notice that it is set to become busy with people again after all these years. Huge windfarms are being developed there.
What would Berry, Growler and the dragons made of it all? We can only guess.
Information map of Doggerland courtesy of Lincolnshire Wildlife Trust