Wantsunt Pit, Crayford, Bexley

Archaeological excavation and concurrent geological investigations took place at Wansunt Pit between June and August 2000 in advance of housing development by Taywood Homes. Deposits at Wansunt Pit (the Wansunt Loam) have previously produced important Palaeolithic archaeological and Pleistocene geological evidence. This assessment report considers both investigations and presents an integrated approach to further analysis and reporting.
The area under archaeological investigation at the eastern edge of Wansunt Pit contained no remnant of the Wansunt Loam. The upper part of the Pleistocene Dartford Heath Gravel was seen, overlain by a sedimentary unit 50-80 cm thick of banded sands and sandy silts, probably of Pleistocene colluvial origin, and sloping downhill to the north, parallel to the existing ground surface. A few derived and transported Palaeolithic artefacts were found in the upper part of the Dartford Heath Gravel. The archaeological excavation also led to the exposure of a sequence of colluvial and possibly also ploughed Holocene deposits containing a range of lithic and pottery evidence from the Neolithic and maybe also subsequent periods.
The geological investigations exposed Pleistocene sediments, including the Wansunt Loam, at several locations in the eastern part of the quarry. Twelve Palaeolithic artefacts (all flint flakes) were found in the Wansunt Loam at one location (Geological Section I). These were mostly in very sharp condition, suggesting a minimum of disturbance, and two of them refitted. supporting the notion that there is an undisturbed occupation horizon at this location.

In combination the Palaeolithic archaeological and Pleistocene geological data from the two projects can make a significant contribution to national Palaeolithic research, with the potential to:
. a) build up a fuller picture of the nature, formation process, sequence and date of the various Pleistocene deposits in the eastern part of the Wansunt Pit, with particular reference to the Wansunt Loam;
. b) improve our understanding of the Palaeolithic artefactual content of the Pleistocene deposits, with particular reference to the distribution of material and the degree of its disturbance in the Wansunt Loam;
. c) contribute to current debate on the relationship between raw material and Palaeolithic handaxe typology, and the modelling of Palaeolithic behaviour in the landscape in relation to resource distribution;
. d) develop integrated data exchange between disciplines.

The post-Palaeolithic data recovered from the main archaeological excavation site is of purely local significance, reflecting the range of Holocene periods during which there is evidence of occupation in the site area.