Bouldnor Cliff

English Heritage MRTM summaries. 2002/2003

EH Project Number:	3595REC
Funded Unit:	Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology

The underwater cliff off Bouldnor

This project will investigate the nature and extent of submerged archaeological deposits off Bouldnor Cliff in the western Solent and the environment in which they were laid down. The Solent is the waterway that currently separates the Isle of Wight from the mainland. The shelter afforded by the island has aided the preservation of submerged deposits laid down through the Holocene. These deposits form a rich sediment archive, they also have a high preservation potential and are host to a rich source of archaeological material. The area to be examined is the submerged landscape associated with Mesolithic material. Excavations in 2000 and 2003 identified the source of Mesolithic lithics from a deposit immediately below a submerged forest dated to 8565 - 8345 cal BP (Beta-140104).

Research Aims and Objectives

Academic: The project aims to develop a framework for the sampling and interpretation of the prehistoric environment in the offshore zone. The framework created will help identify the archaeological potential and palaeo-environmental value of the submerged deposits off Bouldnor. An understanding of the geomorphological evolution of the Solent from its deposits laid down during the Holocene will cast light on the processes leading its creation. The baseline data produced can be used to focus resources on sites with similar characteristics and the greatest potential. The outcomes of this project will provide insights into the characteristics of archaeological sites occupied prior to inundation. Detailed investigation around archaeological sites may provide a picture of the preferred areas of occupation within the changing environment.
Methodological : The proposals in this project will help develop methodologies for collecting and accessing the data from prehistoric maritime landscapes.
Dissemination: A project aim is to disseminate the information as widely as possible. The results of the project will be disseminated on the HWTMA web site, presentations, at conferences and by integration into the planning process.
Monitoring: Monitoring recession of deposit both horizontally and vertically will help quantify rates of loss.
Vocational Experience: An additional aim of the work has been to introduce students and volunteers to archaeological practices underwater.

Previous work

The nature and threat to the resource has been identified by the Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology, which, over the last three years has initiated a trial programme of monitoring and sampling. The pilot programme has introduced the following methodology:

i Bathymetric and geophysical survey to locate topographic variations and sites of potential archaeological or palaeo-environmental interest.

ii Diver investigation (ground-truthing) to verify the qualitative images produced by the geophysical survey.

ii Diagnostic sites are selected for further sampling or monitoring and possible excavation.

iv Monitoring recession of deposit both horizontally and vertically using 500mm iron pins as reference points positioned in the deposit.

v Several forms of sampling are utilised:

a 30mm auger is used to track submerged deposits under the alluvium.
Hand saws and underwater chain saws have been used to collect samples for dendrochronological dating and analysis.
Monoliths have been extracted containing samples for palaeo-environmental analysis.
vi Excavation is considered if necessary to answer questions unanswerable by less intrusive methods.
 
The aim of the monitoring and sampling is to quantify erosion and potential for archaeology within areas of the submerged landscape. The potential for archaeology in the western Solent has already been demonstrated by isolated finds and the discoveries of Mesolithic flints at Bouldnor Cliff.

The site archives produced following previous fieldwork and monitoring are currently held by the Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology.

Interpreting the archaeological and sedimentary archive

Detailed palaeo-environmental interrogation of the submerged and stratified peat and mineral Holocene sediments collected in monolith tins is to be based on palynological, diatom, foraminifera, plant macro-fossils, insects plus fish and animal bone analysis. The objective is to provide a high resolution data set providing evidence of geomorphological and environmental responses to the Flandrian transgression and climate change of the early to mid Holocene. It will help develop a chronological framework utilising C14 and biostratigraphical analysis upon which to date the changes in the western Solent aiding our understanding of the nature, scale and pace of the systems evolution. The investigation of specific archaeological sites within this context will provide unique information about the habitat associated with occupation. Where areas are identified as more suitable for occupation, they can be targeted in an attempt to quantify the archaeological value of the material and by inference, comparable inundated deposits in near-shore waters.

Examination of the rich archive enables us to address the following questions:

What can analysis of the environmental deposits tell us about the palaeo-landscape in the Solent region?
Can we resolve relative archaeological potential from characteristics within the environmental deposits?
Can the results provide a temporal context for ongoing formation processes in the western Solent?
What can interpretation of the submerged environmental deposits tell us about the geomorphological evolution of the Solent and the responses of the coastline to sea-level fluctuations over the last 8,000 years?
Can this information be utilised to help model occupation patterns?
Can the relationship of the archaeological material to the basal landscape be resolved by detailed survey and recording?

Project Team:

Project Manager: Garry Momber, Director HWTMA

Archaeological Officer: Julie Satchel, Archaeological Officer HWTMA

Project Officer: Jan Gillespie, HWTMA

External Specialists:

Dr Rob Scaife: Pollen analysis and Diatoms

Dr David Tomlin: Local archaeological context

Nigel Nayling: Dendrochronology

Dr Mark Robinson: Plant Macrofossils, insects and molluscs

Alison Locker: Fish and animal bones

Alex Bayliss: Carbon 14 dating

 

This page was published 13/11/2003