Seabed Prehistory: Site Evaluation Techniques (Area 240). Seabed Sampling

Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by English Heritage, funded through the Marine Aggregate Levy Sustainability Fund to conduct a project concerning the application of geophysical and geotechnical/seabed sampling methodologies to marine aggregate deposits that have been demonstrated to contain potential pre-Devensian or Devensian artefactual material. Artefactual material, including hand axes, flakes, cores and faunal remains were recovered from dredging licence Area 240 in 2008, situated approximately 11km off the coast of Great Yarmouth. The findings show that significant archaeological material can be present in deposits that are being targeted for marine aggregate extraction. The place where the finds were dredged is relatively discrete, and the provenance of the artefacts is secure. The area where the hand axes were recovered is currently subject to a rectangular exclusion zone based on dredger trackplots, implemented voluntarily by HAML in accordance with the BMAPA/EH Protocol. The principal aim of the project is to improve the future management of the potential effects of aggregate dredging on the marine historic environment by developing techniques to evaluating the source of prehistoric artefactual material discovered in the East Coast region. This report presents the findings of Stage 3: seabed sampling and discusses the seabed sampling methodologies and results of the sampling. Based on the results of Stages 1 and 2, a sampling survey was conducted with the aim of assessing the capability of established seabed sampling methodologies to enable observations of prehistoric artefacts, palaeo-environmental material and their spatial distributions. The seabed sampling involved acquisition of video and stills photography, beam trawling and clamshell grabbing. Although the survey was curtailed by poor weather, detailed sampling was conducted along three transects, two in the south (T1 and T2) and one in the north of the area (T3).