Background

Marine Aggregates at a wharfThe marine aggregate industry provides approximately 21% of the sand and gravel needed for construction projects around the UK. Whilst every licence area is subject to detailed archaeological study prior to the granting of the licence to dredge, industry staff regularly find archaeological material amongst aggregate loads. Wessex Archaeology implement a reporting Protocol for members of the British Marine Aggregate Producers Association through which such material can be reported and investigated.

In February 2008 Hanson Aggregates Marine Limited reported the discovery of 75 flint tools – including handaxes, flakes and cores – and the remains of mammoth, rhino, bison, reindeer and horse. These finds were discovered at SBV Flushing wharf in Holland where material from Area 240 was discharged. Their finder, local palaeontologist Jan Meulmeester, regularly searches the heaps at the wharf for archaeological and palaeontological material, such as fossils.

Initial study into the condition and quality of the flint tools indicates that they are likely to originate from several different contexts, at least one of which has lain undisturbed since before the peak of the last ice age, about 18,000 years ago.

Some of the finds from Area 240Despite having been found on a discharge heap, the provenance of the finds is well understood. It has been possible, by comparing the dates of Mr Meulmeester’s visits and the GPS trackplot of the dredging vessel’s progress, to locate the site of the finds to within a 3 x 1 km area within licence Area 240. This area is the initial focus of the project.

The discoveries from Area 240 have attracted international attention and, in November last year, were awarded a prestigious British Archaeological Award. The flint implements are currently the subject of a research project at the University of Leiden in Holland whilst the faunal remains are being catalogued and analysed using radiocarbon dating, also in Holland.

When the finds were reported, Hanson Aggregates Marine Limited created a dredging exclusion zone around the site and dredging activities have been moved elsewhere in Area 240.

Read our Frequently Asked Questions about these finds.