SEAweeds in ARCHaeology to support sustainable consumption (SEARCH)

Seaweeds are poised to become a sustainable food of the future and will be central to solving impending food crises, mitigating effects of global climate change, and re-invigorating human-ocean relationships. However, a significant barrier to successful uptake of the seaweed industry in Europe is a lack of cultural awareness on local seaweed consumption in human foodways.

This project will provide important global advances in environmental archaeology by investigating archaeological seaweed residues and retrieve critical data at a local scale for the future of Northern Europe’s seaweed and coastal industries. Past human relationships with seaweeds and coastal plants will be investigated using innovative archaeological science approaches that target microbotanical and micro-algae residues.