Mesolithic Occupation at Bouldnor Cliff and the Submerged Prehistoric Landscapes of the Solent (Cba Research Report)

Over the past few decades work by the Hampshire and Wight Trust for Maritime Archaeology has slowly been unearthing a buried archaeological landscape in the Western Solent. Each year, as a result of erosion and rescue excavation, the site at Bouldnor Cliff, 11m below water off the north coast of the Isle of Wight, produces new finds including worked wood, hearths, flint tools, food remains, twisted plant fibres and an enigmatic assemblage of timbers dating to c8100 BP. The material demonstrates technological abilities some 2000 years ahead of those seen on sites in mainland Britain. This report records the events that led to the discovery of this internationally important site, the methods used to recover the material, and the detailed assessment of the archaeological artefacts. It also explores the processes that have preserved and exposed the landscape and the potential of the wider submerged palaeo-environmental resource to aid our understanding of this period.