The Palaeolithic Archaeology of the Sussex/Hampshire Coastal Corridor
Martin Bates, Francis Wenban-Smith, Rebecca Briant, Richard Bates, 2007. (updated 2008) https://doi.org/10.5284/1000303. How to cite using this DOI
Data copyright © Dr Martin Bates unless otherwise stated
This work is licensed under the ADS Terms of Use and Access.
Primary contact
Dr
Martin
Bates
Department of Archaeology
University of Wales Trinity St David
College Street
Lampeter
Ceredigion
SA48 7ED
Wales
Tel: 01570 422351
Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 742
- ALSF Project Number: 3279
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1000303
- How to cite using this DOI
Overview
Background to the Project
The Sussex / Hampshire coastal corridor between Romsey and Brighton contains a wealth of Lower and Middle Palaeolithic archaeological remains preserved within a unique Middle and Late Pleistocene sedimentary record. Considerable attention has recently been focused on sediments containing Lower Palaeolithic material from the higher areas of the West Sussex marine/terrestrial staircase, the most high-profile case being at Boxgrove. However, there remain several major unanswered questions concerning the age, nature, significance and potential of the Palaeolithic archaeological evidence contained in the aggregate resource in the area.
The Palaeolithic Archaeology of the Sussex/Hampshire Coastal Corridor (PASHCC) project has built on recent and ongoing projects (such as the Southern Rivers Palaeolithic Project) in order to increase knowledge of the distribution, and Palaeolithic significance, of Pleistocene sediments within the coastal corridor, to provide information relevant to planners, industry and academics. Additionally this project has provided a baseline dataset for comparison with information generated from the off-shore projects commissioned within the framework of the ALSF fund, e.g. the Arun Valley and Seabed Prehistory projects.
The project resulted in the creation of a GIS that defined the differing Palaeolithic archaeological potential for the study region.
The digital archive
The digital archive comprises all files generated in electronic format generated during the course of the ALSF project, and for which permissions have been granted for deposit:
Project Reports
Any use or quotation of information from the The Palaeolithic Archaeology of the Sussex / Hampshire Coastal Corridor digital archive should be cited as "Bates,M.R., Wenban-Smith,F., Braint,R. and Bates,C.R. 2007: Curation of the Sussex/Hampshire Coastal Corridor Lower/Middle Palaeolithic Record. Final Report. English Heritage / Archaeology Data Service".
The digital archive currently consists of the following resources:
- Bates,M.R., Wenban-Smith,F., Braint,R. and Bates,C.R. 2007: Curation of the Sussex / Hampshire Coastal Corridor Lower / Middle Palaeolithic Record. Final Report as submitted to English Heritage. The report consists of a main body of text with 43 figures, one volume of tables and three appendices available as separate downloads
The report summarises the background to the project (Section 2) and in particular the nature of the Palaeolithic resource, the project aims, objectives and methods. Section 3 summarises the current state of knowledge regarding the nature of the sequences within the West Sussex Coastal Plain and Solent area based on past work and the results of the recent field investigations. The Palaeolithic archaeological resource is described in Section 4. A geoarchaeological approach to the data and region is outlined in Section 5 that forms the rationale behind the structure of the GIS that is considered in Section 6; this is illustrated by two examples from the study area. In conclusion the data gathered through the project is considered within the structure of local research frameworks (Section 7) and finally within the field of development control (Section 8).
Project GIS
The PASHCC GIS was the prime medium through which the project presented its results; the structure of the GIS was developed in conjunction with staff in relevant curatorial roles in both West Sussex and Hampshire. The original project was presented as a series of individual ESRI shapefiles for use in ArcGIS v.8.2 or later. The following files are presented for download via the ADS:
| File Name | Shape | Description |
|---|---|---|
| PASHCC Study Areas | Polygon | Project study area |
| PASHCC Geoarchaeological Zones | Polygon | The final PASHCC geoarchaeological zones, defining Palaeolithic archaeological potential. |
| PASHCC Archive Sites | Point | Location of archive sites incorporated in the study |
| PASHCC Investigation Sites | Point | Location of PASHCC investigation sites |
The original project dataset incorporated a range of borehole data and geological maps obtained under license from the British Geological Survey. These files have not been included in the digital archive held by the ADS. For more information on the content and use of these files please consult Section 6 of the project report.
A range of tabular data has been appended to the GIS; these files are available to download as comma separated values (.csv) with metadata from the downloads page:
| File Name | Description |
|---|---|
| ARCH ZONES | Attribute data for the PASHCC zones. |
| PASHCC Archive Sites | Information gathered during the study of museum collections. |
| PASHCC Investigation Sites | Information on the nature of the sequences and any associated palaeoenvironmental or dating material. |
