Remains of 7,000-Year-Old Petrified Forest Uncovered by Violent Storm

The remains of a 7,000-year-old petrified forest have been uncovered after a violent storm shifted the sands on a U.K. beach.

Storm Babet brought strong winds and heavy rainfall to the North of the U.K. between October 18 and 21. One town affected was Redcar, a coastal town in northeastern England.

Redcar's beach hides a secret, though. When the area is hit with severe weather, the sands shift to reveal the remains of an ancient, petrified forest that is thought to be around 7,000 years old. Many people nickname it the "petrified forest" because the chunks of the trees have turned to stone over the years because of the aging minerals in the wood.

Following the strong weather, the remains of the ancient tree trunks are once again visible across the beach.

A video taken and posted to TikTok a day ago by @jillianannmorris shows the trunks of the ancient trees spreading across the beach, as people climb across them.

Usually, the remains of this forest are completely hidden from view, making it a special sight to behold when they do appear. The remains of birch, beech, sycamore and oak trees are thought to date back to 5,000 or 6,000 BC.

This submerged forest has been recorded in history since 1871 and was once part of Doggerland—an area of Northern Europe that is now beneath the North Sea.

Before it sank, Doggerland once connected Britain to mainland Europe. Around 10,000 years ago, when the last Ice Age was ending, sea levels began to rise as the ice melted. Doggerland was inundated with water, and slowly began to sink, until just the tops of its hills were visible above water. It eventually disappeared completely, the forest along with it.

The petrified tree trunks are not the only discovery that has come to light after severe weather hit this northeastern region of England. In 2018, a shipwreck, unseen for at least 50 years, was unveiled when the sands shifted at Redcar. It is not clear where it came from, or who had been on board.

Storm Babet was so strong that it revealed more mysterious finds in other areas of the U.K. too. In Marske-by-the-Sea, northern England, the bad weather caused a strange wooden structure to wash ashore. People believed it was part of a 200-year-old whaling ship, but its origin has not yet been confirmed, U.K outlet The Mirror reported.

Do you have a tip on a science story that Newsweek should be covering? Do you have a question about the Jurassic forest? Let us know via science@newsweek.com.