Prehistoric Footprints Under the Sand

Submitted by Andy B on Monday, 12 January 2004 Page Views: 16279

**Formby Point** submitted by baz : Prehistoric footprints on the foreshore at Formby. (Vote or comment on this photo)

Walking his dog along Formby beach one day, retired teacher Gordon Roberts noticed some unusual trails of footprints on an exposed patch of silt. His curiosity aroused, he began to take notes, then pictures, then plaster casts and careful measurements. Soon he found that the prints were thousands of years old, and over the following months and years he's recorded the tracks of deer, extinct wild cattle, large birds, and people - in particular, children.

But these aren't rock-hard fossils. They were baked into the silt and covered with sand and later deposits which have protected them ever since. Now erosion is uncovering these ancient silts, but what the sea reveals it also destroys - the footprints last only until the next high tide or a few weeks at most once exposed.

Gordon calls it "ephemeral archaeology". Or "extreme archaeology" because he goes out in all weathers, accompanied as always by his dog Kim, to record these fleeting remnants of prehistoric life before they disappear for ever. It's something that only an amateur archaeologist, retired and living nearby, could have the time to do.

These extraordinary footprints were shown to Bettany Hughes in the Seven Ages of Britain programme on Channel 4 TV. They were also featured in a BBC Radio 4 programme. The producers' web site continues: In this programme Gordon takes us through the process of discovery, helped by his wife and plaster-caster Pat (also a retired teacher), retired archaeological chiropodist Phyllis Jackson, and academic specialists in prehistory. Their records of children's feet are particularly important - because little is known about the place of children in prehistoric society.

A group of present-day school-children join Gordon on the beach to compare their own footprints - walking, running, playing - with those of their 5,000 year old ancestors. A clue perhaps to a riddle that still puzzles him - what were those prehistoric children doing on the beach? Helping their parents? Or just playing?

More: Photos at the Eyes and Ears Prehistoric Footprints web page, and some articles on the web site of the Sefton Coast Partnership, and here.

Some details of the Radio 4 programme in case anyone has it in their archive.
Title: Prehistoric Footprints Under the Sand
Broadcast Date: Tuesday, May 06, 2003
Time: 11:00
Duration: 30 mins
Presenter: Mark Whitaker
Producer: Mike Hally & Janet Graves

More at our main page for the Formby Footprints.

See also the Formby Footprints web site by Gordon Roberts. (Gordon is sadly no longer with us)

Note: A programme we missed, did anyone hear it, or make a copy?

Contributor Bio for Andy B: Megalithic Portal Founding Editor.

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