Coastal Archaeology

The coast is the area where marine processes such as erosion, deposition, and storm surge influence terrestrial processes and vice versa. This article introduces the concept of coastal archaeology as a growth field for maritime archaeology in terms of the data that can be gathered and also as a realm for the development of archaeological theory. Terrestrial and underwater archaeology, combined and connected by coastal archaeology, allow for a fully developed maritime archaeology. This article illustrates the history and development of coastal archaeology and highlights coastal archaeology as a facet of maritime archaeology. It gives information on the theory and the method of coastal archaeology. The data gathered from coastal archaeology answers a lot of questions about maritime cultures. It bridges the gap between underwater archaeology and terrestrial archaeology, therefore is an important aspect to be studied to understand maritime archaeology.