Late Glacial and Mesolithic archaeology of the Wessex Basin Chalk streams

Principal investigator: Colin Weighell
Level: Masters degree

Late Glacial and Mesolithic archaeology of the Wessex Basin Chalk streams

Rivers primarily fed by the chalk aquifer have distinct physical, aesthetic and ecological qualities which are very likely to have been noticed by the hunter-gatherer groups which encountered them during the Late Glacial and early Holocene. My research broadly aims to examine current archaeological data from Hampshire, Dorset and southern parts of Wiltshire in order to attempt to characterise and discuss any Late Glacial and Mesolithic archaeology which can be related to the strongly chalk influenced rivers of the Wessex Basin.

Data acquired from the HER, PAS and PaMELA database will be used alongside relevant publications and unpublished reports in order to attempt to answer the following preliminary research questions:

Referee: Rachel Bynoe (Southampton University)

• Does findspot and site distribution suggest that chalk streams were a focus for Late Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic hunter-gatherer activity and settlement in this region?
• Can lithic style and raw material data be used to assess whether these rivers played a role in structuring movement, connectivity and/or territories during this period?
• Is it currently possible to determine whether strongly chalk influenced rivers were favoured over, or otherwise treated differently to, other rivers in this region?

I aim to place the archaeology within the appropriate palaeoenvironmental and palaeoecological contexts and hope to discuss my results in relation to the well-studied archaeology of other UK chalk river systems such as the Kennet and Colne, as well as the Solent and Channel palaeoriver systems.

Audit data

• Created: 2 years ago
• Created by: Sam Moorhead
• Updated: 2 years ago
• Updated by: Sam Moorhead