Flood made Britain an island

A news relase by Nature brings our attention to a new study showing that the Dover Strait, the narrow piece of water between Britain and France, was created by a flood.

The island that is now England, Scotland and Wales was severed from continental Europe by a cataclysmic flood during the last ice age, according to a group of researchers based in Britain.

The team, led by Sanjeev Gupta, a geologist at Imperial College London, have found strong evidence at the bottom of the English Channel for a 'super-flood' theory first suggested more than 20 years ago. At that time, the idea that the Dover Strait — the narrow seaway that separates England and France — was created by a massive surge was widely ignored because of lack of solid geological evidence. That has now changed.

According to the news release by Nature, there was probably not just one flood, but two - one 450,000 years ago and one 200,000 years ago. Both during times where Europe was experiencing an ice age.

The study from Nature can be found here (behind a pay-wall).

Other coverage:
Herald Sun (Australia)
The Guardian
BBC

New find by Silbury Hill

In this comment over at Aardvarchaeology, Mustafa Mond, FCD points to an article about a new archaeological find.

Mystery hill yields 3,000-year-old town

Archaeologists have discovered a Roman settlement at the base of Silbury Hill, an ancient man-made mound in Wiltshire, southwest England, English Heritage said on Saturday.

The 5,000-year-old hill is the largest man-made prehistoric monument in Europe and appears to contain no burial or shrine. Its original purpose remains a mystery.

The find shows Romans were living in its shadow some 3,000 years after the 34-meter (112-ft) high mound was built.

Back in 1997 I spent some weeks traveling around in Southern England and Wales, spending quite a bit of time in Bath. While doing that, I also saw the hill in question, and have been facinated by it ever since.
It's not much to look at, but the simple fact that there is a man-made hill which serves no purpose that we can find, is (to my eyes) incredibly interesting.

Some links for your reading pleasure:
May 2003, British Archaeology article.
Wikipedia article.