How wide was the English channel in Bronze age times?

Question

I was watching a historical documentary the other day and got wondering...  we're told how easy it was for our ancestors to travel to the continent, easier than reaching towns inland.  But the "White cliffs of Dover" are so white due to erosion...  how much less eroded was the land 3, 4000 years ago, was the crossing to france even easier?

Yeah, I know, random...

KTDykes · Accepted Answer

It couldn't have been much different to the present depth, as far as I know. The sea level hasn't changed much during the last three or four thousand years. The coast has eroded in places but it's been built up elsewhere.

<<we're told how easy it was for our ancestors to travel to the continent, easier than reaching towns inland.>>

'Towns' is something of an exaggeration on the whole. 'Fortified settlements' is about as urban as it got.

busterwasmycat · Answer

It was approximately the same 4000 years ago as today.  It was exposed land though during the ice age, say before about 12000 years ago.  The channel flooded when the continental glaciers melted.

How wide was the English channel in Bronze age times?

2 Answers