Funded by English Heritage, the Humber Wetlands Project (1992-2000) sought to identify, survey and study the archaeology of an extensive wetland area of the Humber basin lowlands. This book draws on the findings of that project, placing them within the context of other research carried out in the area and evidence from other regions. The well-preserved archaeological remains document the occupation and exploitation of the area over thousands of years and, in this book, Robert Van de Noort traces how human use and perceptions of the wetlands has changed over the last 10,000 years. What he reveals is that the area has been exploited as a locale for settlement, for its natural resources, its waterways and its role as a spiritual place associated with ancestor cults, since prehistory. The archaeological evidence pointed to profound changes in the use and perception of the wetlands with the arrival of the Romans and with perhaps a retreat to higher ground during the medieval period in response to sea-level changes.