ABSTRACT
The next two chapters deal with the principal Middle Pleistocene, Lower Palaeolithic occupation of Britain, which we define as spanning the period from the Cromerian (MIS13) interglacial to the advent of the persistent use of Levallois technology ~300 ka Bp. As noted in the previous chapter, in many books and papers this period is divided into two, the first part dealing with early Middle Pleistocene occupation (MIS15 and 13), the second part with late Middle Pleistocene (MIS11 and 9) occupation, with the disjuncture of the Anglian glaciation or belief that MIS13 was the earliest (and therefore somehow special) occupation and thus apparently the rationale behind the separation. This makes little sense from an archaeological, technological or behavioural perspective, and we accordingly combine them here into a unified ‘classic’ Lower Palaeolithic record. The beginning of this period also corresponds to that in which Roebroeks (2006) detects a major transformation in the occupation of Europe, with the arrival of larger and more continuously present populations armed with bifacial handaxe technology. Across Europe, this period is associated with fossils assigned to Homo heidelbergensis, a species to which the only two British fossils of the period – the Swanscombe cranial remains (Text Box 3.1) and the Boxgrove tibia and incisors – have been referred (Roberts et al. 1994; Stringer and Hublin 1999; Hillson et al. 2010). Although hominin fossils are extremely rare, in archaeological terms the British Lower Palaeolithic record is remarkably rich relative to later periods, and contains a number of exceptionally well-preserved in situ sites and some very long sequences of multiple assemblages. Barnfield Pit, Swanscombe, Kent
Barnfield Pit, Swanscombe lies on the southern edge of the Lower Thames Basin, 5 km east of Dartford. It is justifiably one of the most famous archaeological sites in Britain, preserving an exceptional sequence of fluvial deposits and Palaeolithic industries, as well as three conjoining fragments of a human cranium assigned to Homo heidelbergensis (Marston 1937; Wymer 1964; Stringer and Hublin 1999). The site was first noted by Spurrell (1883), although the first systematic excavations, by Smith and Dewey, did not take place until 1912 (Smith and Dewey 1913, 1914). The discovery of conjoining skull fragments by Marston in 1935 and 1936 has been followed by a long string of investigations, including excavations by Cotton (Swanscombe Committee 1938), Montagu (1949), Wymer (1955, 1964), Waechter (1970, 1971, 1973; Conway et al. 1996), the Geological Conservation Review (Bridgland et al. 1985; Bridgland 1994), and the Quaternary Research Association (Ashton et al. 1995). As a result well over 100 primary articles, three monographs and innumerable citations exist. Only the briefest of summaries and key references can be provided here.
The Swanscombe deposits form part of the Boyn Hill/Orsett Heath Formation, the highest post-Anglian terrace formation of the Thames. They comprise a remarkably full and rich archaeological and palaeontological sequence, with evidence for human occupation stretching through 14 m of sediment from the terminal part of the Anglian, through the MIS11 interglacial and into the ensuing cold phase. The sequence is summarised in Figure 1. Section through the Swanscombe sequence, showing stratigraphical units and phases, climatic interpretation, archaeology and correlation with the Hoxnian pollen zones. (Redrawn after Conway et al. 1996, with additional data from Ashton et al. 2008a. © Trustees of the British Museum.) https://s3-euw1-ap-pe-df-pch-content-public-p.s3.eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/9780203141441/d206c195-ba13-4c53-8690-5fd31a929eac/content/fig3_1_1_B.tif" xmlns:xlink="https://www.w3.org/1999/xlink"/>
The key Phase I deposits are the Lower Gravel and Lower Loam, which contain organic remains characteristic of fully temperate climatic conditions. Molluscs and ostracods indicate a swift-flowing river with a stony bed in the Lower Gravel, succeeded by slowly moving water with reed swamps and marshes surrounded by grasslands and calcareous woodland in the Lower Loam. The mammalian fauna is dominated by inhabitants of deciduous woodland, such as the ‘Clacton’ subspecies of fallow deer (Dama dama clactoniana) and straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxo-don antiquus), alongside large grazers of open grassland, including horse (Equus ferus), narrow-nosed rhinoceros (Stephanorhinus hemitoechus) and aurochs (Bos primigenius). Water vole (Arvicola terrestris cantiana) and European beaver (Castor fiber) indicate aquatic habitats. The faunal assemblages from the Phase I deposits have been equated with those from the Clacton Freshwater Beds (Kerney 1971; Turner and Kerney 1971; Schreve 1997); while a contentious pollen profile assigned the Lower Loam to pollen sub-zone HoIIb (Hubbard 1996). The Phase I deposits contain only Clactonian material – mostly in secondary context in the Lower Gravel, but mostly in situ with refitting sequences in the Lower Loam (Smith and Dewey 1913; Wymer 1964; Waechter 1970, 1971; Ashton and McNabb 1996). A soil at the top of the Lower Loam represents an old land surface (Kemp 1985), on top of which were observed white-patinated flint flakes and mammalian footprints, including those of wild cattle and horses (Waechter 1970; Davies and Walker 1996).
The Phase II deposits comprise the Lower Middle Gravel (LMG) and Upper Middle Gravel (UMG). The LMG is extremely poor in vertebrate remains but the presence of southern species in the molluscan assemblage indicates the persistence of warm conditions. The Phase II deposit also marks the full appearance of the characteristic ‘Rhenish’ molluscan fauna, some members of which appear at the top of the Lower Loam. The UMG reflects a change in climatic and environmental conditions, with a sharp decline in woodland-adapted species and a rise in taxa indicative of open grassland, such as field vole (Microtus agrestis), northern vole (Microtus oeconomus) and horse. The occurrence of the Norway lemming (Lem-mus lemmus), currently a boreal and arctic species, presumably reflects slightly cooler conditions as well as more open vegetation. The beginning of Phase II also marks a major archaeological transition, with the appearance of Acheulean handaxe assemblages. Both the LMG and UMG are dominated by pointed handaxes alongside a range of débitage, scrapers and choppers. Only the material from the Wymer (1964) excavation in the UMG has any real contextual control, the rest of the Middle Gravel material mostly deriving from earlier collections. The distribution of artefacts from the UMG appeared to thin out, wedge-like, to a point, suggesting small-scale derivation from an adjacent river beach. Above the basal 20–30 cm, the UMG is virtually sterile.
By contrast, the palaeoecology and archaeology of the Phase III deposits is rather poorly understood. No mammalian remains have been recorded from the Upper Loam although pollen of frost-sensitive species such as ivy (Hedera) and holly (Ilex) suggests that temperate conditions prevailed (Hubbard 1996). The Upper Gravel has also yielded musk ox (Ovibos moschatus), implying a return to cold climatic conditions at the top of the sequence. The archaeology from the Upper Loams, although often mentioned (Dewey 1919, 1930; Marston 1937; Roe 1981; inter alia), is actually rather elusive. Records suggest the assemblage was dominated by white-patinated ovate handaxes, with possible in situ knapping scatters. Derived ovates have also been reported from the Upper Gravels (Roe 1981).
The sequences at Rickson’s Pit and Dierden’s Pit (Ingress Vale) at Swanscombe are lateral continuations of the Barnfield Pit sequence and show a broadly similar archaeological succession (Smith and Dewey 1914; Dewey 1932; Wymer 1968; Roe 1981; Bridgland, 1994).
