Transition Zone Mapping for Marine-Terrestrial Archaeological Continuity (Contiguous Palaeo-Landscape Reconstruction)

The primary objective of this project was to produce a contiguous palaeo-landscape reconstruction across the marine to terrestrial boundary therefore enhancing the archaeological continuity across space and through time within an area of landscape previously examined through a series a stand-alone investigations. It is suggested that only by completing this successfully will marine sites that are of present and future concern to aggregate dredging, be fully interpreted with their correct archaeological context. Furthermore, this will importantly reduce the regional uncertainty associated with the interpretation of marine sites thus allowing marine sites to fully contribute to not only the local palaeo-landscape reconstructions but also the regional and National understanding of their archaeological significance. The project investigated this methodology on an area in the West Sussex coastal corridor between Havant and the Arun Valley. The project was funded through the English Heritage distributed Marine Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund.