The Coffee House

A while back, we had a thread about a lost Stone Age settlement which got submerged, kind of like a northern Atlantis. It was located in a place called Doggerland, which once formed a land bridge between Great Britain and mainland Europe:


(Source: The Oldie)

In around 6500 BC, the sea levels rose, and most of Doggerland was submerged, cutting Great Britain off from mainland Europe. A small portion did remain as an island (which would have looked something like this), but this too was flooded around 5000 BC.

So, what if Doggerland still existed? Depending on whether you want to be realistic, or whether you want to have fun changing history, there are two variations of this timeline:

1. If you want something more realistic: what if the island still existed today?
   
2. If you want to change history some more: what if the whole of Doggerland still existed today

Since this was just my own idea, I don't have an AlternateHistoryHub video this time - so, I'll start by asking a few questions:

• Prior to the arrival of the Romans, what would the culture of Doggerland be like? Would it be predominantly Celtic, Germanic, a mix, or something else entirely?
  
  
• When the Romans do invade Great Britain, do they also invade Doggerland? (Perhaps this is more likely in the 'whole Doggerland' scenario than the 'island' scenario)
  
  
• Do the Vikings still invade Great Britain, or do they just invade Doggerland instead, especially if the whole thing is above water? (Heck, do the people of Doggerland invade Great Britain?)
  
  
• In OTL, there have been several important naval battles around Dogger Bank. For example, there were two in World War I: one in 1915 (won by the British), and one in 1916 (won by the Germans). How are these different if there's an island there? And do they still take place if the whole of Doggerland is above water? (In this case, there might just be land invasions of Great Britain through Doggerland instead!)
  
  
• Who controls Doggerland today? If it's an island, is it an independent country, or part of some other country (for example, a fifth constituent country of the United Kingdom?). Or, if it's the whole thing, is it all one country, or is it split up into multiple countries?
  
  
• What is the culture of Doggerland like today? It'd obviously be very maritime, and there would be cultural influence from Britain, Germany, the Netherlands, and Scandinavia - but, which would win out?
  
  
• What is the language of Doggerland like today? It'd almost certainly be a Germanic language, but which of the surrounding languages is it closest to (and, indeed, how does Doggerland's language influence the surrounding languages?)

I'd be interested to hear your thoughts!

And now, more recent studies have suggested that the island wasn't entirely destroyed by the tsunami that was thought to have submerged it. Instead, it survived as a scattered archipelago of islands - some of which still had people, who eventually settled in the UK:

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2020...amis-study

This, therefore, raises a third possibility: what if that scattered archipelago still existed today? I can't imagine it would have had very many people still living there today (if any at all); however, it looks like it would've been of tremendous strategic value as a military base. Who grabs it first - and, are they able to hold onto it?