Beach replenishment and derived archaeological material: Lincolnshire and the River Severn

Clients: English Heritage ALSF

Author: Peter Rowsome

During 2005 MoLAS has added to its growing portfolio of coastal and marine work. Much of this work has been carried out with funding from the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund (ALSF). The Beach Replenishment Project has involved the assessment of the Lincolnshire coast between Mablethorpe and Skegness, as well as a marine study area. The coastal zone extends north–south by 24km and east–west by c 2.5km. The marine study area is located in the North Sea c 16km off the Lincolnshire coast and is made up of two licensed extraction areas of c 50 sq. km each.

The work takes the form of a desk-based archaeological assessment. It examines the relationship between the historic environment and beach replenishment schemes by exploring the deposition of archaeological materials on replenished beaches and their former offshore contexts. The area of coast between Mablethorpe and Skegness has been used as a case study, as a major beach replenishment scheme has recently taken place here. Review of data sources has assessed their usefulness in identifying the potential archaeological impact of beach schemes, with a view to applying the methods to other beach replenishment schemes around the UK.

Shoreline management is an increasingly important issue, as is large scale beach replenishment, but the Quaternary and Holocene archaeology of offshore areas that are actively exploited for sand and gravel resources is poorly understood. The core objective of English Heritage ALSF projects is to reduce the impact on the historic environment of aggregate extraction, both terrestrial and marine. Research priorities are set out in Taking to the water: English Heritage’s initial policy for the management of maritime archaeology in England.

The MoLAS Lincolnshire work is identifying extraneous archaeological material likely to have derived from offshore aggregates during the course of beach replenishment and shoreline management schemes. This includes in situ buried landscape material and derived material such as wrecks. By geographically relating this material to the aggregate source we may ultimately identify its original Pleistocene deposition, helping the development of strategies for future management.

In addition to the Lincolnshire beach replenishment work MoLAS is also currently working on a major assessment of the impact of maritime aggregate extraction on the Severn Estuary. This involves identification, collection and appraisal of data sets for the marine archaeological resources within the Severn Estuary and Inner Bristol Channel, assessment of the marine archaeological resource, and assessment of the potential impact by current and future marine aggregate extraction. The project is perceived to be an integral modular part of a series of projects relating to the historic environment of the Severn estuary.

This site report is extracted from MoLAS 2005: annual review