Prehistoric Intertidal Archaeology in the Welsh Severn Estuary

by Martin Bell, Astrid Caseldine and Heike Neumann

The Welsh Severn Estuary has perhaps the greatest concentration of prehistoric intertidal archaeology yet found in Britain.

At Goldcliff, survey and excavations have examined a Mesolithic site on the edge of a former island, evidence of human skull deposition in the wetland during the Bronze Age, a wooden structure made from planks of a sewn Bronze Age boat, and wooden structures on Iron Age date, including eight rectangular buildings and eighteen trackways. The approach adopted is interdisciplinary; the archaeological evidence being completmented by work on sediments, pollen, wood and insects.

The Goldcliff evidence is put into a wider context by a survey of 25km of intertidal coast between Cardiff and the Second Severn Crossing. The survey revealed another settlement of rectangular buildings, as well as roundhouses, trackways and wooden structures – possibly fish traps – in palaeochannels. This evidence provides a new perspective on the prehistory of Wales and has helped in developing approaches ti intertidal archaeology which will be of interest to those working in similar environments in many parts of the world. The text is supported by a CD-ROM containing the survey map base and associated databases and images.

Info: 440pp, plates, figures and tables, CD-ROM
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