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The Isle of Wight is an island of 38,000 hectares, enclosed by ninety-seven kilometres of open coast. This coastline is remarkably varied, ranging from rugged cliffs on the south side of the Island to the more gentle landscape of the northern coast, whilst the estuaries of the Medina, Newtown, Wootton and the Western Yar comprise a further seventy kilometres.
The archaeological potential of the coast of the Isle of Wight has been recognised since at least the early part of the twentieth century. Antiquaries such as G.W. Colenutt and Hubert Poole collected flint implements from the north coast of the Island, including the Medina and Newtown estuaries and from the eroding cliffs of the south west coast (Poole 1936). As early as 1886, palaeolithic implements were found on the shore at Priory Bay on the eastern tip of the Island (Sampson 1976). In the Undercliff, on the south east coast, middens ranging in date from the Bronze Age to the medieval period were noted (Sherwin unpubl.). A Late Bronze Age urnfield was investigated at Barnes High on the south west coast (Dunning 1931), whilst more recently, excavations were carried out at Redcliff, near Sandown, where flintwork and an early Roman salt working site were investigated (Tomalin 1989). There are also several military installations located around the Island's coast. Most of these sites are recorded in the Isle of Wight Sites and Monuments Record.
In 1991 the Isle of Wight Council and English Heritage embarked upon a collaborative project to survey and assess the full archaeological potential of a small section of the Solent coast. The result was the Wootton-Quarr survey, a seamless archaeological view of a section of the coastal zone in which the Isle of Wight Council and the University of Southampton were able to collect specific details of the fully submerged segment of the study area (Loader et al.1997; Tomalin et al. 1998). Prior to the survey, a number of flint picks and some sherds of Roman pottery were the only intertidal finds recorded from this stretch of coast in the Isle of Wight sites and Monuments Record. Surprisingly, despite its modest sample area, the Wootton-Quarr survey revealed more than 150 intertidal sites, comprising scatters of lithics, pottery and other artefacts and timber structures including trackways, fish traps and post alignments. Palaeo-environmental samples were gathered from peat beds, which also contained fallen trees which were subsequently dated dendrochronologically, and from the sediments contained within palaeochannels which crossed the intertidal zone. It is likely that a similar range of archaeological sites is being revealed by coastal erosion at other locations in the Island's intertidal zone, whilst other sites are subject to cliffline recession. Limited fieldwork during the Wootton-Quarr project has already identified further sites at Newtown, Thorness, East Cowes and Puckpool on the Solent coast and at several locations between St Catherine's Point and Compton on the south west coast.
During the life of the Wootton-Quarr project some significant changes have taken place in the national perception of coastal archaeology. These have been recently summarised (Fulford et al 1997). A further important development has been Government's promotion, through MAFF, of Shoreline Management Plans. A number of these plans are now appearing in print, yet in many the protective measures for the concealed and unassessed coastal archaeological resource are far from consistent or robust. These plans will, however, be used to guide the policies and actions of the coastal protection authorities.
The Wootton-Quarr survey has successfully highlighted some important new issues of interest to coastal protection authorities. These concern the practical implementation of a coastal protection programme which comprehends the actual archaeological resource contained within each of the process units identified in a shoreline management plan. This issue is a problem common to all sections of the British coastline and there is now a pressing need for exemplary action by a sympathetic coastal protection authority to establish and implement the necessary archaeological principles.
The Coastal Protection Authority for the Isle of Wight proposes to develop a model coastal management programme which can anticipate the management needs of the full range of archaeological sites contained within the process units of its coastline. The Isle of Wight Council has also expanded its consultations to secure active liaison and participation from two sister areas of the European coast where rich coastal archaeological resources have similarly accrued in downwarped coastal regions. These are the Gironde estuary and basin of Western France and the Shannon estuary of Eire. This is a three year study which has been approved under ‘l'instrument financier pour l'environnement (LIFE Programme) of the European Union.
Owing to its notable geomorphological variation, the Isle of Wight coastline is particularly well suited to test the character of archaeological sites in differing coastal settings and to establish the nature, scale and pace of their individual timetables of destruction. In order to gain an overview, it is proposed to undertake a rapid coastal audit. This may later be followed by targeted fieldwork in selected process units which typify the geomorphology of the coast. This work can draw upon the strengths of local experience and the progress which has been achieved in the execution of the Wootton-Quarr project.
The Isle of Wight coastal archaeological audit is regarded as an SMR enhancement exercise and it is not anticipated that significant quantities of artefacts or samples will be recovered during the survey. The paper and photographic archive will be deposited with the Isle of Wight County Museums Service and will be held within environmentally controlled stores. The primary records will be retained within the back-up archive of the Isle of Wight County Sites and Monuments Record.
The data standard for the audit will follow the RCHME/EH thesaurus of monument types (1995) and the newly proposed recording format for intertidal hulks. The artefact definition will follow the Isle of Wight SMR thesaurus up-dated to accord with the MDA definition of archaeological objects. The data will be assembled and stored on the relational data-base which supports the Isle of Wight SMR. A separate sub-set will be made available to appropriate interested parties.
The primary aims of the coastal audit are:
The objectives are:
The 2070 benefits line has been defined and discussed by Halcrow (1996:2-13). This is a line which the line represents a modelled evolution prediction to the year 2070 based upon historical trends in Low Water Mark movement, modified to reflect accelerated sea level rise through the application of Brunn's rule. In the case of coastline that is protected...frontage rates of a similar order to those of adjacent unprotected coast are applied. For low lying areas, where flood risk is the prime cause for concern, and in the absence of more detailed topographical data, the line is based upon the 5m contour.
The results of project will include the following:
In the fifteen month project which is now being proposed for consideration by English Heritage, the following methodologies will be applied:
For these tasks the inland boundary will be the 2070 benefits line as defined in the Isle of Wight shoreline management plan (Halcrow 1996), except where this is felt to be inappropriate.
In order to take best advantage of low tide, daylight hours and reasonable weather, the desktop assessment and fieldwork will run concurrently. The project timetable may thus be subject to change due to the unpredictability of weather and tides.
The desktop assessment will be completed for each coastal process unit before initiation of survey and will include the following:
Fieldwork will take a variety of forms, depending on the type of coastline and its predicted archaeological potential. It will cover three zones:
The objectives of the fieldwork are:
The whole intertidal zone will be walked with the exception of:
It is thus not intended to examine the intertidal zone of the south west coast, from the Needles to Blackgang, other than to visit previously recorded sites or to investigate areas of potential for past human activity, i.e. adjacent to combes, spring outflows and possible palaeochannels.
The intertidal zone of the rocky southern end of the south east coast will be walked rapidly, largely for the purpose of recording post-medieval constructions. It is felt disadvantageous to walk the intertidal zone in Sandown Bay, other than to inspect previously recorded sites.
The whole of the intertidal zone of the northern coast, excluding the coastal strip covered by the Wootton-Quarr project, but including the estuaries of the Medina, Wootton Creek, Newtown and the Western Yar to their tidal limits, will be investigated. The estuary of the Eastern Yar is not seen as a priority because it can be classified as defended coast. Areas of dangerous soft mud within the estuaries will be avoided. Here, the intertidal zone will be examined with the aid of binoculars.
Intertidal shipwrecks and hulks will be position fixed and photographed. Hulks will be recorded according to the new RCHME guidelines.
Where possible, the coast edge will be examined. In some areas this will not be feasible owing to vegetation cover, slippage or instability.
Areas which are seen as having the greatest potential for this type of examination are:
For urban areas a gazetteer will be compiled from documentary records. Known archaeological sites will be visited to assess their condition if they are readily accessible.
The coastal strip will be rapidly walked, with the exception of urban areas/defended coast. Here, a gazetteer will be compiled from documentary records and known archaeological sites will be visited.
It is not intended to retrieve artefacts or samples during the survey, unless they are particularly significant or vulnerable. Any artefacts which are recovered will be desalinated prior to being stored in acid-free packing in an environmentally controlled store. Waterlogged timbers will be stored wet in a holding tank until completion of the audit, at which time the possibilities for dating or analysis will be discussed.
Dunning, G.C. 1931 A late Bronze Age urnfield at Barnes, Isle of Wight and notes on the late Bronze Age in the Isle of Wight Proceedings of the Isle of Wight Natural History and Archaeological Society 2, 108–117
Fulford, M., Champion, T. and Long A. 1997 England's Coastal Heritage: a survey for English Heritage and the RCHME English Heritage / Royal Commission on Historical Monuments for England
Halcrow, Sir W. and Partners 1996 Isle of Wight Coast, Shoreline Management Plan. Unpublished consultation document produced for the Isle of Wight Council and the Environment Agency
Loader, R., Westmore, I. and Tomalin D. 1997 Time and Tide: an archaeological survey of the Wootton-Quarr coast Isle of Wight Council
Poole, H.F. 1936 An outline of the Mesolithic flint cultures of the Isle of Wight Proceedings of the Isle of Wight Natural History and Archaeological Society 2, 551–5812, 551–581
Sampson, F.R. 1976 Priory Bay: a study of an unstratified Palaeolithic site in the Isle of Wight unpublished undergraduate dissertation, University of Southampton
Sherwin, G.A. 1936–42 Archaeological Survey of the Isle of Wight unpublished manuscript
Tomalin, D.J. 1989 An early Roman cliff-top salt-working site at Redcliff Battery, Sandown, Isle of Wight Proceedings of the Isle of Wight Natural History and Archaeological Society 9, 91–120
Tomalin, D.J. Loader, R.D. and Scaife, R.G. 1998 Coastal archaeology in a dynamic environment: a Solent case study draft report for English Heritage
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