Down By The River: Archaeological, Palaeoenvironmental and Geoarchaeological Investigations of The Suffolk River Valleys

by Benjamin Gearey, Andy Howard, Henry Chapman

Overview

Whilst East Anglia has long been known as a key area for the preservation of important Palaeolithic archaeological and palaeoenvironmental deposits, relatively little study of the Holocene record has previously been carried out. This series of detailed studies presents the results of palaeoenvironmental, archaeological and geoarchaeological investigations focused on the Post-Glacial record preserved in the valleys of the Suffolk rivers. Five floodplain sites (Beccles, Hoxne, Hengrave, Ixworth and Brandon) were cored for palaeoenvironmental assessment, further sampling and radiocarbon dating and the resulrs are described. In addition, a summary is presented of the results of palaeoenvironmental and geoarchaeological investigations carried out as part of archaeological mitigation associated with commercial developments. Together, the results demonstrate the largely untapped research potential of the Suffolk river valleys and provide hypotheses concerning the timing, pattern and process of fluvial development, human activity and landscape change during the Holocene. Bank realignment work at Beccles in the lower Waveney Valley resulted in the discovery of three late prehistoric wetland archaeological sites at Beccles, Barsham and Geldeston. These each consisted of triple alignments of timber posts constructed across the floodplain during the later Iron Age, with evidence for continuing activity in the Romano-British period. The final chapter presents a summary of the current state of knowledge of Holocene environmental change and the archaeological record in Suffolk. The possible form and function of the Waveney timber alignment structures is discussed and compared to other similar sites from around the United Kingdom. It is suggested that these structures may have acted to delineate routeways to, from and across the river and also as territorial markers associated with river travel, both local and perhaps into the southern North Sea. A discussion of specific techniques employed during the work at Beccles, including the trialing of a novel geophysical approach at the site and 3-D digital recording of the timbers is presented and the volume concludes with a brief summary of research questions for future palaeoenvironmental and archaeological study.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781785701689
Publisher:	Oxbow Books Limited
Publication date:	03/31/2016
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	11.70(w) x 8.30(h) x (d)

About the Author

Benjamin Gearey is Lecturer in Environmental Archaeology at University College Cork, Ireland. He has research interests in palaeoecology, wetland archaeology and alluvial geoarchaeology.

Andy J. Howard is a Quaternary geologist with over 20 years’ experience of investigating and unraveling the geoarchaeological histories of river valleys. He now runs his own landscape research consultancy as well as holding a Honorary Fellowship within the Department of Archaeology at the University of Durham.

Henry Chapman is Senior Lecturer in Archaeology at the University of Birmingham. He specializes in later prehistory, wetland archaeology and the application of GIS and other computer methods to the study of the past.

Table of Contents

CONTENTS

List of contributors

Summary

Foreign language summaries

1. Introduction: Archaeological and Palaeoecological Research in East Anglia

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Physical setting and the Suffolk Rivers

1.3 The Suffolk Rivers: archaeo-environmental potential and threats

1.4 Outline of this monograph

1.5 The Suffolk River Valleys Project (2007)

1.6 Commercial Palaeoenvironmental and Geoarchaeological Study in the Suffolk River Valleys (2005-2012)

1.7. Archaeological excavations and analyses in the Lower Waveney Valley (Beccles, Barsham and Geldeston)

1.8 Methodologies

2. The Suffolk River Valleys Project (SRVP) Phases I and II (2006-2008)

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Study site selection and methodologies

2.3 SRVP Field work, Palaeoenvironmental Assessments and Radiocarbon Dating

2.4 Discussion

2.5 Summary: The SRVP Phases I and II

3. Palaeoenvironmental and Geoarchaeological Investigations of the Suffolk River Valleys: Birmingham Archaeo-Environmental Commercial Projects 2005-2012

3.1 Introduction

3.2 The River Gipping

3.3 The River Stour

3.4 The River Lark

3.5 The East Coast of Suffolk

3.6 Discussion: Palaeoenvironmental and Geoarchaeological Evidence from Commercial Projects in the Suffolk River Valleys

4. Archaeological Excavations and Analyses of Late Prehistoric Timber Alignments in the Waveney Valley: The Beccles Project (2006-2012)

4.1 Introduction

4.2 Beccles: Summary of excavations 2006 (BCC-043) and 2007 (BA1472)

4.3 The Beccles Project (2006-2012): Understanding, Contextualising and Managing a later Iron Age Wetland Site

4.4 Excavations and Analyses

4.5 Results

4.6 Post-excavation Analyses

5. Excavations at Barsham (2007) and Geldeston (2011)

5.1 Introduction

5.2 Excavations at Barsham (2007)

5.3 Excavations at Geldeston, Norfolk (2011)

5.4 Summary: late prehistoric timber alignments at Barsham Marshes and Geldeston

6: Assessing the Preservation of the Archaeo-Environmental Resource at Beccles: Implications for Sustainable Management and Preservation In Situ

6.1 Introduction

6.2 Assessing the preservation of the organic archaeology at Beccles

6.3 Assessing the preservation of the on-site palaeoenvironmental record

6.4 Watertable Monitoring

6.5 Barsham: condition assessment of two timber stakes

6.6 Discussion: heritage management implications for Beccles

6.7 Summary: the preservation and future management of wetland sites in the Waveney Valley

7: Holocene Environments and Human Activity in the Suffolk River Valleys: Synthesis, Discussion and Conclusions

7.1 Introduction

7.2 Late Quaternary environments, the archaeological record and human activity in Suffolk

7.3 The Waveney valley later prehistoric timber alignments in context

7.4 Dividing, defining or uniting the landscape? Post and stake alignments in prehistory

7.5 Conclusions: The function of the Waveney valley timber alignments

7.6 Wetland Archaeology: testing novel techniques for the 21st Century

7.7 Public engagement with the archaeology of the Waveney valley

7.8 Summary and Conclusions: The Suffolk River Valleys in the Past and Future

References

Appendix 1: Beccles Marshes Management Plan

Index

Editorial Reviews

The results and conclusions of Down by the river are diverse, having been undertaken over a wide area, under differing circumstances and funded in assorted ways… This, to me, is one of the strengths of the monograph, showing how common themes can be drawn out of commercial investigations and linked with research projects. This surely is the future of archaeology.

Antiquity - Jim Leary