Beyong the horizon

Around 1550 BC, on the shores of the English Channel or North Sea, a boat was built to navigate the sea and realise regular connections between what is now England and the continent. The people living at that time on the coasts shared a common identity. The sea was thus a thoroughfare and not a frontier. The frontiers lay inland, well away from the coasts.

In 1992, the discovery of a 3,500-year-old boat in the port of Dover was the start of an astonishing adventure into the history of Bronze Age societies in the Transmanche region. Its study has brought to light the existence of highly technical, specialised boatbuilders. It has became a symbol of Transmanche maritime connections. Archaeological excavations, particularly preventive archaeology, that proliferated at the same time in Northern France, in Belgian Flanders and in the south of England have added to this scientific knowledge : settlements, objects and funerary practices studied demonstrate undeniable similarities on either side of the sea in 1550 BC.

Archaeology offers a new perspective on these ancient oral societies, little known by the public. This volume offers an overview of our knowledge about the Bronze Age by way of seven themes that summarise the way of life of Transmanche societies 3,500 years ago.