Anglo Saxon History Home Background Landscape Changing Landscape and Language Sea Levels in AD400(Pevensey) Sea Levels in AD400(The Wash) Sea level changes last 2000 years Andredsweald and Anderida Where are the Roman Roads History of the Romney Marsh The Great Storm 1287AD List of Landscape Documents Local The Haestingas The Cinque Ports 914AD Alfred the Great's fort in Hastings Battle Museum Battle History Society Villagenet Local Gazeteer World War 2 Tank database Simon the Piman(Raspberry Pi) Tourist Guides for the area Romans First Invasion 55BC Second Invasion 43AD Roman roads in Britannia Ptolemy Geographica Tribes MAP-Margary Roman Roads MAP-Roman Roads South East MAP-Roman Roads South West MAP-Roman Roads Wales MAP-Roman Roads South Midlands MAP-Roman Roads South Yorkshire MAP-Roman Locations Norfolk MAP-Roman Locations Essex MAP-Wealden Roads/Bloomeries Wealden Bloomeries 1st Century Wealden Bloomeries 2nd Century Wealden Bloomeries 3rd Century Wealden Bloomeries 4th Century MAP-Antonine Itinery I Roman Industry in the Brede Valley Decline in Roman Wealden Ironworking The Gallic Empire 260AD - 274AD Types of Roman Fortification List of Roman Documents Saxon Chronicles 449AD Hengest & Horsa arrive 455AD Hengest & Horsa defeat Wurtgern 457AD Hengest & Horsa take over Kent 460AD Hæstinga Saxons arrive 477AD Cymensora 485AD Suth Saxons Mercredesburnan 491AD Suth Saxons Pevensey 914AD Burghal Hideage Locations - 449AD Ebbsfleet Locations - 455AD Agelesþrep Locations - 485AD Mearcredesburnan Stede Locations - 914AD Eorpeburnan List of Saxon Chronicles Documents 1066 Battle Documentary Evidence Available Documents  1 Anglo Saxon Chronicles  2 Battle Abbey Chronicles  3 Bayeux Tapestry  4 Carmen Guy d'Amiens  5 Florence of Worcester  6 Henry of Huntingdon  7 Master Wace  8 Orderic Vitalis(Gesta)  9 William of Jumièges(Gesta) 10 William of Malmesbury 11 Quedam Exceptiones Reference to Locations Phases of the Events Phases 1066AD  1 Background 1066AD  2 In Normandy 1066AD  3 Channel Crossing 1066AD  4 The Landing 1066AD  5 Feast after Landing 1066AD  6 Building the Forts 1066AD  7 Raiding the Area 1066AD  8 Warning to Harold 1066AD  9 Stamford Bridge 1066AD 10 Harold returns to London 1066AD 11 William is Alerted 1066AD 12 Exchange of Messages 1066AD 13 Defenses 1066AD 14 Harold Reconnoitres 1066AD 15 Preparations 1066AD 16 The Night Before 1066AD 17 The Battle 1066AD 18 Harold is Killed 1066AD 19 The English Rout 1066AD 20 After the Battle 1066AD 21 The Malfosse Warriors, Weapons & Snippets Saxon - Huscarl Saxon - Fyrd(Fyrð) Senlac Hill The Malfosse The Hoar Apple Tree The Shield Wall Salt Production near Hastings The Battle of Jengland 851AD William's Ship List Norman/Viking Ships and stuff Norman bows and crossbows Harold was NOT killed by an arrow The Time Team view of the Battle 1066AD Landscape Details 1066AD Sailing from Normandy 1066AD Norman Landing 1066AD Possible Fort 1066AD to Pevensey and Hastings 1066AD Manors Wasted 1066AD Manors All 1066AD Warning to Harold 1066AD Harold to Hastings  List of 1066AD Documents List of 1066AD Weapons 1086AD Domesday Boundary of Anderida Domesday Hursts Post Domesday Hursts Domesday Manors Wasted UK Norfolk Salt Production Salt Production near Hastings The Wash at 1086 The Humber estuary at 1086 Domesday County details B Bedfordshire Domesday Population Berkshire Domesday Population Buckinghamshire Domesday Population Domesday County details C Cambridgeshire Domesday Population Cheshire Domesday Population Cornwall Domesday Population Domesday County details D Derbyshire Domesday Population Devon Domesday Population Dorset Domesday Population Domesday County details E Essex Domesday Population Domesday County details G Gloucestershire Domesday Population Domesday County details H Hampshire Domesday Population Herefordshire Domesday Population Hertfordshire Domesday Population Huntingdonshire Domesday Population Domesday County details K Kent Domesday Population Domesday County details L Leicestershire Domesday Population Lincolnshire Domesday Population Domesday County details M Middlesex Domesday Population Domesday County details N Norfolk Domesday Population Northamptonshire Domesday Population Nottinghamshire Domesday Population Domesday County details O Oxfordshire Domesday Population Domesday County details R Rutland Domesday Population Domesday County details S Shropshire Domesday Population Somerset Domesday Population Staffordshire Domesday Population Suffolk Domesday Population Surrey Domesday Population Sussex Domesday Population Domesday County details W Warwickshire Domesday Population Wiltshire Domesday Population Worcestershire Domesday Population Domesday County details Y Yorkshire Domesday Population Place names Translate my Location Celtic name snippets Jutish name snippets Roman name snippets Saxon name snippets Viking name snippets Norman name snippets Modern name snippets Villages containing EY/EYE/SEA Villages containing HAM Villages containing TON Villages containing CASTLE Sussex Locations with ING Domesday Sussex with ING Kent Locations with ING Sussex Locations with HURST Loads of Village Translations Res Landscape - Was the sea level in Saxon times in the Wash 4 to 5 metres higher ?   Table of Contents   Table of Contents Was the high tide level in Anglo Saxon times higher than today The Wash in Eastern England This map shows the current sea level This map shows the sea level raised by 1 metre This map shows the sea level raised by 2 metres This map shows the sea level raised by 3 metres This map shows the sea level raised by 5 metres Other Evidence Conclusion Translation of the names on the above maps   Was the high tide level in Anglo Saxon times higher than today ▲   This page is designed to show why I believe that the high tide level was 4 to 5 metres higher than today, in about 450AD (early Anglo Saxon times) So we will start by looking at the Saxon place names which refer to islands these places are all derived from the Saxon word æg meaning an island, which has been shown to refer to modern place names starting in eg, ending in ay, et, ey, ly, ney, sea, sey, ye , is, or contain the snippet eye or island. So lets take a look at the Wash in Eastern England and see if we can make it and the surrounding island villages into islands by raising the sea level. The following images are derived from Open Streetmap with the sea level overlays provided by Alex Tingle from http://flood.firetree.net.   The Wash in Eastern England ▲   Lets take an area I don't really know, the Wash and see if the Pevensey arguement applies- click here if you would like to see a similar argument applied to an area I do know, the Pevensey Levels in Sussex. I think this is a valid argument for a 5 metre sea level so we need to overlay all our maps with this and see what this shows, the following maps show what effect this would have on the Wash. As you will see , most of the river valleys would have been accessible from the sea, and large areas would have been under water. The 'Time Team' carried out a dig at 'Bawsey st Peter' in Norfolk and found a causeway to the island there, this also ties in with the increase in high tide level by about 5 metres, the Saxon name Bawsey either means 'Pasture Island' or 'Boars Island' so more evidence that the 5 metre mark is valid. Ivan D Margary plotted one of the Roman Roads in South Lincolnshire M27 - Lincoln to Burgh Le Marsh in which the road stopped at Burgh le Marsh, this would be on the coast with the high tide at +5 metres. The following images are derived from Open Streetmap with the sea level overlays provided by Alex Tingle from http://flood.firetree.net, please note that you can click on each map below to show the flood.firetree map. So lets take a look at modern Pevensey and see if we can make it and the surrounding island villages into islands by raising the sea level. The following images are derived from Open Streetmap with the sea level overlays provided by Alex Tingle from http://flood.firetree.net.   This map shows the current sea level ▲   So even at the present day there is land deep in the fens where the land lies below sea level. On this map I also show Roman Roads from Ivan D Margary's book 'RomanRoads in Britain' that touch or go near the Wash. I have also marked the Roman town of Durobrivae as I believe this may be important, and show some Roman roads that are close to the fens. M250 Bourne to Sleaford M26 Chesterton to Ancaster via Bourne(King Street) M2 Chesterton to Lincoln(Ermine Street) M25 Upton to Peterborough to Denver (The Fen Road) I have included a section of this road to show its relevance to the fens and it was probably originally just a causeway with bridges. The other roads can be seen on Roman Locations that have not been identified and roads that just terminate   This map shows the sea level raised by 1 metre ▲   This is just a 1 metre rise in sea level but you can see that a lot of the inland land would be flooded. This map is derived from flood.firetree.net and shows the effect of a 1 metre rise in sea levels in the Wash in Eastern England.   This map shows the sea level raised by 2 metres ▲   This map is derived from flood.firetree.net and shows the effect of a 1 metre rise in sea levels in the Wash in Eastern England.   This map shows the sea level raised by 3 metres ▲   This is just a 3 metre rise in sea levels and you can now start to see the islands forming. This map is derived from flood.firetree.net and shows the effect of a 1 metre rise in sea levels in the Wash in Eastern England.   This map shows the sea level raised by 5 metres ▲   This is the final slide at 5 metres and shows the æg's as islands. It also shows the proximity to the proposed coastline of the Roman Roads M250, M26 and M2 explaining why they were built where they are. Also the Roman town of Durobrivae at Water Newton would have been a sea port. Also if you look at the other Roman roads plotted by Margary, they all appear to end on the coast. This map is derived from flood.firetree.net and shows the effect of a 5 metre rise in sea levels in the Wash in Eastern England.     Other Evidence ▲ You may not be convinced from a small example in this area, but click the following links for further observations that appear to corroborate this theory. Landscape - Was the sea level in Saxon times at Pevensey 4 to 5 metres higher ? Roman Locations that have not been identified and roads that just terminate Conclusion ▲ The Saxon definition of an æg would appear to mean a piece of land that wasn’t flooded at the highest high tide or that the sea was about 4.5 metres higher than today. Modern sea defenses and shingle banks have a tendency to hide the actual sea level. Translation of the names on the above maps ▲ This list shows our current translation of the locations shown on the above maps. These come from our snippet theory of settlement names which we believe the Saxons and other earlier settlers used to describe the location and or use of the place. Click here to translate a location The following list of islands from the maps are all Saxon derived names Fulney - ful derived from ful - foul / ney derived from en æg - en - 'people of' and æg - 'an island' Gedney - ged derived from ced - boats / ney derived from en æg - en -' people of' and æg - 'an island' Thorney - thorney derived from þorn æg - thorn island Whittlesea - whittle derived from watel - wattle(woven twigs) / sea derived from æg - an island Badgeney - / ney derived from en æg - en - 'people of' and æg - 'an island' Welney - wel derived from wille - A well, spring, fountain / ney derived from en æg - en - 'people of' and æg - 'an island' Hilgay - hil derived from hyll - a hill / gay derived from æg - an island Southery - souther derived from suþ - southerly / ending in y derived from æg an island Chatteris - chatter derived from ceder - cedar trees / ending in 'is' derived from æg - an island Ely - ely derived from el æg - eel island Stuntney - stunt derived from stenc - stench / ney derived from en æg - en - 'people of' and æg - 'an island' Copyright saxonhistory.co.uk 2013 - 2024 Contact Simon Author Simon M - Last updated - 2024-07-16 15:43:37 All pages on our site (Sitemap)