A group of Irish and international scientists has begun exploring the Irish Sea for submerged landscapes.
Large areas of habitable land were submerged following climate change and sea level rises that came after the last Ice Age.
Globally, an area twice the size of the US ended up underwater after the sea rose 120 metres.
Researchers from IT Sligo, UCC and the Marine Institute have joined forces to search for a prehistoric "palaeolandscape" of plains, hills, marshlands and river valleys under the Irish Sea in which evidence of human activity is expected to be preserved.
Also involved in the "Europe's Lost Frontiers" project are researchers from a number of universities in the UK.
Sediment is being taken from 20 sites by the Irish Research Vessel RV Celtic Voyager in Liverpool and Cardigan Bays.
Special technology will be used to analyse the sediment to look for signs of settlements.
"Today we perceive the Irish Sea as a large body of water, a sea that separates us from Britain and mainland Europe, a sea that gives us an identity as a proud island nation," said Dr James Bonsall, from the Centre for Environmental Research Innovation and Sustainability (CERIS) at IT Sligo
"But 18,000 years ago, Ireland, Britain and Europe were part of a single landmass that gradually flooded over thousands of years, forming the islands that we know today.
"We're going to find out where, when, why and how people lived on a landscape that today is located beneath the waves".
The studies will help scientists to understand the nature of the settlements around the coasts of Ireland and Britain and the lifestyles of those who lived in them.
