Defining landscape use and activity strategy in the Midlands county of Leicestershire

Principal investigator: mark powers
Level: PhD level research

An IRC funded PhD research at UCD

The primary aim of this project is to investigate human activity strategies and landscape usage in Leicestershire after the complete retreat of the Devensian ice fields, a period witnessing the re-colonisation and settlement of the landscape by Mesolithic hunter-gatherers. This will in turn contribute to broader models of the post-glacial colonisation of northern Europe.

New and unique approaches will be deployed in order to develop research into a region that is often considered bereft of Mesolithic activity, but in reality contains rich data. It is proposed that this is undertaken by plotting lithic find spots onto a palimpsest of geographical, topographical, geological and hydrological maps for Leicestershire. These maps will then be manipulated using GIS software to provide interactive two and three dimensional digital models. These will initially suggest the type of occupation location preferred by Mesolithic groups. An in-depth study of preferred environmental locations of flora and fauna existing at the time, in conjunction with palaeoenvironmental data will enable specific human activity strategies and landscape usage patterns to be explored. Specific research questions include:

• Were activity strategies concentrated around wetland environments as in other areas in the UK?
• Were there any preferences for particular landscape, geology, topography or soil type? If so, what flora and fauna are likely supported by these locations?
• How do the above relate to the wider environment in England, Ireland and the continent?
• Are there any differences in settlement location and landscape usage in England compared to Ireland and the continent?
• Are there any differences in stone tool technology over these areas? General regional models and specific micro-regional case studies will be combined in order to answer these questions. The models will be tested in various locations identified as potential activity sites by the models and field walked to test the hypotheses.

Methodology

There has been a long-standing tradition within Mesolithic research methods associating site location and function solely to landscape types, such as lowland and upland areas. This project aims to expand previous work by assessing other physical properties and also agency and identity within the landscape. Methodology will include extracting find-spot data from PAS records, HER records, survey/excavation records, and amateur and professional field walking data. Lithics will be technologically and typologically identified and find locations plotted on to high-resolution DTM models, then superimposed on to geological, geographical and environmental digital models. Although there will have been some changes in landscape topology and hydrology between the ice retreat and the later Mesolithic, the models created will provide a useful context for identifying and interpreting Mesolithic activity areas and their surroundings. Palaeoenvironmental and geoarchaeological data will enable the modification of modern maps to identify possible landscape and faunal changes since the retreat of the ice. Furthermore, GIS software will enable the recreation of "lost" wetland areas and watercourses.

Maps will include slope orientation/degrees, altitude, geology/soil conditions (and thus probable flora and fauna type), proximity to water, and distinctive areas such as wetlands, flood plains and bedrock outcrops. This multi-disciplinary approach (encompassing Geography, Geology, Hydrology, Archaeobotany and Archaeozoology) will provide a basis for the identification of patterns of landscape use and activity strategies in the study area. It is envisaged that this approach will enable the classification of preferred hunting, gathering, activity and resting sites by the distribution patterns of lithic types. It is expected that the emphasis on detailed technological analysis of the lithics (in which I have previous academic experience) in accompaniment with 6-figure grid reference lithic provenance, will illustrate specific landscape use and activity strategies in differing geographical, vegetative and geological landscapes. The distribution models created will be used to tentatively target potential activity sites micro-regionally, with selective field walking deployed in order to test the hypotheses of patterns generated by the models. The unique approach of focussing on technological analysis, but also using tentative prediction will produce a detailed distribution pattern of activity across the region.

Audit data

• Created: 11 years ago
• Created by: Daniel Pett