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<< News >> North Sea dredging hauls up ancient artefacts

Submitted by coldrum on Monday, 10 March 2008  Page Views: 2840

DiscoveriesA haul of 28 flint hand-axes, dated by archaeologists to be around 100,000 years-old, have been unearthed in gravel from a licensed marine aggregate dredging area 13km off Great Yarmouth. The find was made by a Dutch amateur archaeologist, Jan Meulmeester, who regularly searches for mammoth bones and fossils in marine sand and gravel delivered by British construction materials supplier Hanson to a Dutch wharf at Vlissingen.

The axes show that deep in the Ice Age, mammoth hunters roamed across land that is now submerged beneath the sea. These are the finest hand-axes that experts are certain come from English waters, although there have been several finds on beaches, for example at Pakefield in Suffolk.

Phil Harding of Wessex Archaeology and Channel 4's Time Team programme said: "These finds are massively important. In the Ice Age the cold conditions meant that water was locked up in the ice caps. The sea level was lower then, so in some places what is now the seabed was dry land. The hand-axes would have been used by hunters in butchering the carcasses of animals like mammoths. Although we don't yet know their precise date, we can say that these hand-axes are the single most important find of Ice Age material from below the North Sea.""

Source: YBW

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"North Sea dredging hauls up ancient artefacts" | Login/Create an Account | 6 News and Comments
  
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Axe handles dredged from North Sea win archaeology award by coldrum on Wednesday, 17 June 2009
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Axe handles dredged from North Sea win archaeology award

Prehistoric hand axes discovered in sand and gravel dredged from the North Sea by Hanson Aggregates Marine, have won the Best Archaeological Discovery Award at the prestigious British Archaeology Awards.

Twenty eight flint hand-axes, which may be more than 100,000-years-old, were discovered in marine sand and gravel delivered by Hanson to a Dutch wharf at Flushing, south west Netherlands in February this year.

A Dutch amateur archaeologist, who regularly searches for mammoth bones and fossils in material on the wharf stumbled upon what has been described as one of the most important finds discovered in English waters.

The axes show that deep in the Ice Age, mammoth hunters roamed across land that is now submerged beneath the sea. These are the first hand axes that experts are certain come from offshore in English waters, although there have been several finds on the beach, for example at Pakefield in Suffolk.

Phil Harding of Wessex Archaeology and Channel 4’s Time Team programme is an expert on the Ice Age. He said: “These finds are massively important. In the Ice Age the cold conditions meant that water was locked up in the ice caps. The sea level was lower then, so in some places what is now the seabed was dry land. The hand-axes would have been used by hunters in butchering the carcasses of animals like mammoths.”

He added: “Although we don’t yet know their precise date, we can say that these hand-axes are the single most important find of Ice Age material from below the North Sea.”

The hand-axes date to the Palaeolithic (or Old Stone Age) but exactly when in that 750,000-year time span is yet to be determined. While the hand-axes were discovered in Holland, the gravel came from a licensed marine dredging area in English waters known as Area 240 – some 13km off Great Yarmouth lying in water depths of about 25m.

The award-winning hand axes and many other important archaeological finds have been preserved thanks to a reporting protocol set in place by the British Marine Aggregate Producers’ Association (BMAPA) and English Heritage.

Robert Langman, Hanson Marine’s senior resources manager, said: “The hand-axes were collected over a three-month period and this remarkable discovery only came to light when the archaeologist, realising their importance, informed the wharf owners. We were quickly able to identify the area where the finds came from. As part of our protocol with English Heritage, we have now moved dredging to another part of the seabed.”

Following the award ceremony which was staged at the British Museum, BMAPA Director, Mark Russell said, “We are thrilled that one of our members’ finds has received such a distinguished award. It shows how important and effective the reporting protocol is in bringing valuable artefacts to light and ensuring their preservation for future generations.”

http://www.sandandgravel.com/news/article.asp?v1=11680
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Re: North Sea dredging hauls up ancient artefacts by coldrum on Friday, 23 May 2008
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Dredging Industry Assists Mammoth Discovery

An amazing haul of 28 flint hand axes, dated by archaeologists to be around 100,000 years old, have been unearthed in gravel from a licensed marine aggregate dredging area 13km off Great Yarmouth UK.

The find was made by a Dutch amateur archaeologist, Jan Meulmeester, who regularly searches for mammoth bones and fossils in marine sand and gravel delivered by British construction materials supplier Hanson to a Dutch wharf at Flushing, south west Netherlands.

The axes show that deep in the Ice Age, mammoth hunters roamed across land that is now submerged beneath the sea. These are the finest hand axes that experts are certain come from English waters, although there have been several finds on beaches, for example at Pakefield in Suffolk.

Phil Harding of Wessex Archaeology and Channel 4’s Time Team programme is an expert on the Ice Age. He said, 'These finds are massively important. In the Ice Age the cold conditions meant that water was locked up in the ice caps. The sea level was lower then, so in some places what is now the seabed was dry land. The hand-axes would have been used by hunters in butchering the carcasses of animals like mammoths.

'Although we don’t yet know their precise date, we can say that these hand axes are the single most important find of Ice Age material from below the North Sea.'

English Heritage, the Government’s advisory body for heritage, is cooperating with its Dutch counterparts, the National Service for Archaeology, Cultural Landscape and Built Heritage to evaluate the finds. The hand axes date to the Palaeolithic (or Old Stone Age) but exactly when in that 750,000 year time span is yet to be determined.

While the hand axes were discovered in Holland, the gravel came from a licensed marine dredging area in English waters known as Area 240, some 13km off Great Yarmouth lying in water depths of about 25m. Bones and teeth, some of which may be from mammoths, were also recovered along with the axes.

English Heritage is in the process of developing with the Dutch authorities a research programme for the submerged pre-history of the North Sea.

Ian Oxley, head of maritime archaeology at English Heritage said, 'These are exciting finds which help us gain a greater understanding of The North Sea at a time when it was land. We know people were living out there before Britain became an island, but sites actually proving this are rare.'

Ian Selby, Hanson’s marine operations and resources director added, 'The hand axes were collected over a three month period and this remarkable discovery only came to light in February when Mr Meulmeester, realising their importance, informed the wharf owners. As we manage our dredging very carefully, we were quickly able to identify the area where the finds came from. As part of our industry’s protocol with English Heritage, we have now moved dredging to another part of the seabed.'

The reporting of the hand axes demonstrates the level of cooperation that exists between the dredging industry, through its trade association, The British Marine Aggregate Producers Association (BMAPA), and English Heritage. The protocol, signed in 2005, aims to protect archaeological remains discovered in English waters as a result of marine sand and gravel extraction.

The reporting protocol for archaeological finds was an industry led initiative to prevent finds such as these going unreported. The potential for discovering finds has always been known to exist within dredging areas. The industry with consultants Wessex Archaeology and English Heritage established a mechanism through which any finds could be reported and assessed. The guidance notes produced on behalf of English Heritage and BMAPA, can be viewed at: http://www.wessexarch.co.uk/projects/marine/bmapa/index.html

http://www.maritimejournal.com/archive/2008/june/dredging/dredging_industry_assists_mammoth_discovery
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Re: North Sea dredging hauls up ancient artefacts by Andy B on Saturday, 22 March 2008
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Use the links given!
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Re: North Sea dredging hauls up ancient artefacts by Anonymous on Friday, 21 March 2008
Would have been nice to have a picture.
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Re: North Sea dredging hauls up ancient artefacts by Anonymous on Tuesday, 11 March 2008
Where are they?
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Re: North Sea dredging hauls up ancient artefacts by Andy B on Monday, 10 March 2008
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There is a better version of this story here, with more photos:
http://news.wessexarch.co.uk/2008/03/09/evidence-of-ice-age-hunters-found-below-north-sea/
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