Seabed Prehistory:

Gauging the Effects ofMarine Aggregate Dredging

Final Report

Wessex Archaeology

February 2008

Volume VIIHappisburgh and Pakefield Exposures

Ref: 57422.37

AGGREGATE LEVY SUSTAINABILITY FUNDMARINE AGGREGATE AND THE HISTORIC ENVIRONMENTSEABED PREHISTORY:GAUGING THE EFFECTS OF MARINE AGGREGATE DREDGINGROUND 2FINAL REPORTVOLUME VII: HAPPISBURGH AND PAKEFIELD EXPOSURES

Prepared for:

English Heritage

1 Waterhouse Square138-142 HolbornLondonEC1N 2STPrepared by:

Wessex Archaeology

Portway HouseOld Sarum Park SalisburySP4 6EB

Ref. 57422.37February 2008

SEABED PREHISTORY R2FINAL REPORTVOLUME VII: HAPPISBURGH AND PAKEFIELD EXPOSURES

Ref. 57422.37Summary

This study forms Volume VII of the ‘Seabed Prehistory: Gauging the Effects of MarineAggregate Dredging - Final Report’ commissioned by English Heritage (EH) and undertaken by Wessex Archaeology (WA). It was funded through Round 2 of the Aggregate LevySustainability Fund (ALSF) distributed by the Department for Environment, Food and RuralAffairs (DEFRA). The ‘Final Report’ comprises of eight volumes based on previous reportsaccomplished by WA for either EH or the Mineral Industry Research Organisation (MIRO),as part of Round 1 or Round 2 of the ALSF project ‘Seabed Prehistory’.In 2005 WA was commissioned by EH to undertake a geophysical survey to trace theAncaster and Bytham palaeoriver systems offshore of locations at Happisburgh, Norfolk andPakefield, Suffolk. This project has been funded through the ALSF and was additional to theRound 2 ‘Seabed Prehistory’ project.This project was inspired by the current research on the palaeoriver systems in East Angliawhich extend into the southern North Sea basin. The archaeological potential of these systemshas been established on land but as yet their offshore potential had not been assessed.The principal objective of the Happisburgh and Pakefield Exposures project was to tracesediments of known archaeological potential onshore into the offshore marine environment.The fine-grained sediments onshore are unique and have changed our understanding of theearliest occupation of Britain. Finds within these sediments have demonstrated that humanoccupation of north-west Europe started earlier than hitherto thought,

700,000 years ago.The survival of these deposits at the base of the cliffs at Happisburgh and Pakefield isunexpected considering their character and nature, and the series of geomorphological processes that have affected them. As these deposits reside at the base of the cliffline and onthe foreshore there is a possibility for their survival offshore. If traced, this would allow thegeophysical signatures of fine-grained deposits to be assessed and improve methodologies toeffectively survey these deposits in the future.In order to achieve the project objectives a geophysical survey was undertaken. WA carriedout the geophysical survey at sites off the coast of Suffolk and Norfolk aboard the R/V

Wessex Explorer

between the 1

and 6

June 2006.Based on preliminary interpretations of the Pakefield and Happisburgh geophysical data, afurther variation to the project was developed. This involved a vibrocore survey at threelocations identified from the geophysical data at the Pakefield site. The vibrocoring was