Principal investigator: Lesley Blundell
Level: PhD level research
The working title for my MPhil/PhD research is "An assessment of the Chalk upland surface scatters of North-west Europe". This involves a comparative analysis of Middle and Upper Pleistocene upland sites in North-west Europe with the objective of establishing whether or not the archaeology of the Chalk uplands is capable of producing meaningful information about Neanderthal behaviour and whether the topographical and geological context of the surviving archaeology can be used to predict the existence of other potential sites.Amongst other things, it requires the production of site distribution maps related to the underlying geology.My core study areas are the Chilterns, North Downs of Kent and Surrey and the South Downs of Sussex, with the uplands of the Somme and Maas Valleys acting as control areas.