Geosite details
Under the Channel, a real underwater museum rests in the depths: wrecks dating from the Bronze Age to the Second World War, witnesses of exchanges, conflicts and the deep link between man and the sea.
Off Langdon Bay, Kent, the wreck of a Bronze Age ship (2000-700 BC) proves that this seaway was already a key trade route. Its artefacts, kept in the Dover Museum, bear witness to the first cross-Channel trade.
Wars have left their mark on these waters, leaving behind vestiges steeped in history. The SMS Grosser Kurfürst, a 19th-century German battleship, sank after an accidental collision, taking 284 sailors with it. During the First World War, the SM submarine U-8, the oldest German submarine sunk in English waters, and its French equivalent, the U-93, the only German ocean-going submarine sunk on the French coast, are reminders of the intensity of underwater combat.
During the Second World War, the German torpedo boat Iltis, sunk in 1942 off the coast of Audresselles, and the ARGO, a British cargo ship destroyed by a German mine, bear witness to the clashes that shaped the English Channel.
Today, these wrecks are accessible for dives, thanks to specialized clubs, allowing enthusiasts to explore these time capsules where history and nature meet. These underwater sites are not only witnesses to the past, but also refuges for marine life.
image: Sinking of the Grosser Kurfürst