There are 2,500-year-old oyster shell middens (heaps) along the banks of the Damariscotta River, which occupies a drowned river valley leading to the Gulf of Maine, a large embayment of the Atlantic Ocean.
Along the banks of the Damariscotta River, there are ancient deposits of oyster shells that date back 2,500 years, situated in a flooded river valley that flows into the Gulf of Maine, a significant inlet of the Atlantic Ocean.