Man walking dog discovers unusual structures on UK beach, and experts can't agree on what they are

A man walking his dog on Foxton Bay in Northumberland, located in North East England, stumbled upon unusual beach rocks, which experts are still trying to identify. The pits near the shore were initially thought to be graves dating back to the Bronze Age or the medieval era. However, following a mini excavation in the area, archaeologists and geologists now say that the stone-lined pits could be bait or fish tanks from the post-medieval or modern periods rather than burial cists.

Not bronze age?graves

“In the absence of direct evidence as to the purpose and date of these structures, they are best considered reductively in respect of known historic shoreside activities, which could include bait storage, live catch storage, or preserving lines and nets," said Adrian Osler, a local resident and a former Maritime Curator at Tyne and Wear Museums.

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Nothumberland Coast National Landscape

Surprising discovery

However, others have disagreed with this theory, and a geologist called the discovery of the beach rock “surprising,” noting that it is more likely to occur naturally in tropical and sub-tropical environments.

"This layer of beach rock is surprising as beach rock usually forms in tropical and sub-tropical environments, albeit it has been recorded further up the coast at Cocklawburn and at other locations. It can be ruled out that this layer was formed as part of the glacial sequence as temperatures would have been too low and sea level would have been much lower. Its position implies it was formed at a time when the sea level was higher than it is now," Northumbrian Earth geologist Ian Kille said.

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Nothumberland Coast National Landscape

Natural or artificial???

Officials say they aren’t sure if the beach rock is natural or artificial, but the discovery has helped give them an idea of how coastal erosion has progressed over the years.

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