I don’t know about the birth place of British civilization but hominid remains could answer some questions recently raised about the number and questionable separation of hominid species at the time.
Artifacts had been found in the UK in excess of 500K bp in date, and of course younger; but there is a gap in finds beginning some 1000s of years after the megaflood which separated Britain from the continent at least 200K years ago; it’s as if humans/hominids were living there and making tools, then were cut off by the new Channel, and thereafter went extinct (or moved out) for unknown reasons. Seems more likely that glaciation did what it seems to have done elsewhere — pushed the locals to lower altitudes which are now the submerged continental shelf, hence and artifact gap.
The idea that no one could use a boat that long ago of course is rubbish.
http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/doggerland/index
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1983483/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2272129/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/chat/2483518/posts
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1303669/posts