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Greyabbey Bay submerged woodland is a prehistoric woodland now lying beneath the waters of County Down in the Ards Peninsula. The site preserves tree stumps and organic remains from a forested landscape that existed during the post-glacial period, sealed beneath metres of estuarine sediment. This submerged forest represents a moment in time when sea levels were substantially lower than today, allowing woodland to flourish across what is now the foreshore and shallow seabed.
The woodland rests upon Silurian siltstone bedrock interbedded with sandstone and limestone, geological formations laid down over 400 million years ago. The transition from this ancient bedrock to the overlying peat and wood remains creates a distinctive archaeological stratum visible in the bay's sediment profile. The preservation of organic material in waterlogged conditions has maintained the timber in a state allowing scientific study of the prehistoric environment.
The site is situated at grid reference J5719066590 and is protected as a scheduled monument by the Historic Environment Division under reference 13570. The submerged woodland offers valuable evidence of post-glacial vegetation patterns and sea-level change in the Irish Sea basin, accessible to specialists through controlled examination of the exposed foreshore during favourable tidal conditions.
Greyabbey bay. submerged woodland is a scheduled monument protected by Department for Communities NI under reference 13570. View the official record →
Greyabbey Bay submerged woodland is a prehistoric woodland now lying beneath the waters of County Down in the Ards Peninsula. It is designated a Scheduled Ancient Monument by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) under reference 13570.
Greyabbey bay. submerged woodland dates from the prehistoric period, and is classified as a submerged woodland. It is one of over 32,000 scheduled monuments protected across the UK.
Greyabbey bay. submerged woodland is a Scheduled Ancient Monument, legally protected by DfC Northern Ireland (NISMR) — the body responsible for designating and safeguarding heritage sites in Ni. The official designation reference is 13570.
Several scheduled monuments lie within 10 km, including Kelp grid (2 km), Kircubbin harbour. quay, slipway and mooring (4.2 km), Stone fish trap (5.1 km).
This page is just one thread. A full Aubrey report pulls together 14 strands of Greyabbey bay. submerged woodland's history, each drawn from the record and mapped to the exact spot:
Every location is different. Not every section appears for every place, only what the historical record actually holds turns up in a report.
Greyabbey bay. submerged woodland stands on Silurian siltstone, bedrock that formed in the Silurian. The rock here is major:{siltstone}, Minor{sandstone,limestone}.