The Archaeology of the Severn Estuary
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The Archaeology of the 2006 Severn Estuary A guide for planners, developers, decision makers and local communities. Useful references Cadw, 2003. Guide to Good Practice on Using the Register of Landscapes of Historic Interest in Wales in the Planning and Development Process. Countryside Council for Wales/Cadw/Welsh Assembly Government, Cardiff. English Heritage, May 2003. Coastal Defence and the Historic Environment. English Heritage, London. English Heritage, Spring 2005. Taking Account of Maritime and Coastal Heritage. the Archaeological Conservation Bulletin, 48. Importance of the Severn Estuary: English Heritage. This note provides England’s Maritime Archaeology: Under Sea and around the Coast. guidance for Nayling, N and McGrail, S. 2004. those planning The Barland’s Farm Romano-Celtic Boat. development or Council for British Archaeology (Research Report 138), York. reviewing proposals in the Department for Communities and Local Government, 1990 Severn Estuary area. Planning Policy Guidance 15: Planning and Historic Environment. Planning Policy Guidance 16: Archaeology and Planning. This information can be made Oxley, I. 2005. available in other languages, English Heritage and Maritime Archaeology: the first three years. in large print, Braille or on audio tape. In English Heritage, Spring 2005, 4-7. Please phone 01454 868004 if you need any of these or any Severn Estuary Levels Research Committee other help to access Council Archaeloogy in the Severn Estuary, (Annual reports 1993 - ) services. Welsh Assembly Government. Designed by Planning Policy Wales. March 2002 South Gloucestershire Council Graphics & Mapping Services Chapter 6: Conserving the Historic Environment. ref 1062/12/06 Printed by South Gloucestershire Print on Welsh Office Circular 60/96. March 2002. recycled paper Planning and the Historic Environment: Archaeology. 75% Post Consumer Waste 12 The importance of archaeology Useful contacts Archaeology is the study of past human societies through their material remains. The online version links to more comprehensive information on related legislation and countryside agency advice www.severnestuary.net/sep Archaeological remains are irreplaceable, and are fundamental to our understanding Contact: Severn Estuary Partnership Tel: 029 2087 4713 of the region, its local identity and the sense of belonging of its inhabitants. c/o School of Earth, Ocean & Planetary Sciences, Fax: 029 2087 4326 Archaeology may be visible above ground – for example fi sh traps within the Severn Main Building, Cardiff University, Email: [email protected] and fi eld boundaries on its shores - but there is also much below ground, which Park Place, Cardiff VF10 3YE remains to be discovered. Vale of Glamorgan Council ASERA Implementation Officer Newport Museum: 01446 704600 02920 879111 Details on the Museum can be found If archaeology is not considered when through the Council’s website: Careful planning to deal with Cardiff Council The Association of Severn Estuary planning new development, or appropriate www.newport.gov.uk archaeology at an early stage in the 029 20 873185 Relevant Authorities has prepared mitigation does not take place, the a management scheme to ensure development process will reduce the Newport City Council compliance with the European Glamorgan Gwent Archaeological destruction of the archaeological resource Trust: risk of on-site delays and can often 01633 232164 Habitats Directive. An archaeological is not simply a contravention of planning Holder of Sites and Monuments save developers money in the long-run. guidance for site works will be policy, but is also a wider loss to everyone Monmouthshire County Council available shortly. Record for the Welsh side of the It is inevitable that new archaeological Severn: Heathfield House, Heathfield, – archaeology is fundamental to informing 01633 644644 See www.severnestuary.net/asera discoveries WILL be made – some for further information. Swansea SA1 6EL Tel 01792 655208 our self-identity, of giving us a sense of Forest of Dean District Council www.ggat.org.uk of which will be of national or even place. 01594 812615 Somerset Historic Environment international importance. Record: The National Museum of Wales: South Gloucestershire Council A searchable database of all sites, Has extensive archaeological 01454 868004 monuments and artefacts within collections www.nmgw.ac.uk Gloucestershire County Council Somerset. Bristol City Museum: 01452 425679 www.somerset.gov.uk See the Bristol City Council, web site which also includes information on the The Severn Estuary Bristol City Council Gloucestershire Council: The Historic Environment part of the Bristol Sites and Monuments Record: 0117 922 2000 www.bristol-city.gov.uk The Severn Estuary and its associated Levels and hills is a phenomenally rich and County Council website: North Somerset Council www.gloucestershire.gov.uk varied archaeological landscape. A landscape in which one can walk alongside the Cadw: 01934 888888 The Body tasked with preserving South Gloucestershire Council: footsteps of those from the past – with footprints of Mesolithic humans visible in the the monuments of Wales, managing Somerset County Council The Historic Environment Section of muds of the Gwent levels, and the imprint of the boots of Roman soldiers on tiles at several of the sites around the Severn: the Unitary Authority Website: 01823 355455 www.cadw.wales.gov.uk the Roman Barracks at Caerleon. Trackways of the Bronze Age, villages of the Iron www.southglos.gov.uk Age and fi sh traps of the mediaeval period can also be found in the Estuary and its Sedgemoor District Council English Heritage: 01278 435435 The Severn Estuary and Levels Levels whilst more modern elements, relating to the defence of Britain in the 20th The body tasked with preserving the Research Committee: monuments of England: Century also have historic signifi cance. Generally speaking, older archaeological The Environment Agency Website currently under construction Local Flood Risk Managers can be www.english-heritage.org.uk deposits are buried deeper, with more recent deposits above them. In the Severn contacted via the national contact Estuary however, one can fi nd prehistoric remains on the surface of the muds in the centre Tel 0845 8506506). inter-tidal zone. Finds Liaisons Officers: Officers at the following locations are able to offer advice about archaeological finds recovered by members of the public within their local area. Gloucestershire and Avon: Somerset: Wales: Bristol City Museum, Somerset County Museums Service Glamorgan-Gwent Archaeological Trust, Queens Road, Bristol BS8 1RL Taunton Castle, Taunton Heathfield House, Heathfield, Tel 0117 922 2047 Somerset TA1 4AA Swansea, West Glamorgan. [email protected] Tel 01823 320200 SA1 6EL Tel 01792 655208 [email protected] [email protected] Gloucestershire County Council contact details are: Tel 01452 425705 [email protected]. uk 2 11 Archaeological deposits are a fi nite resource and they can be What are the impacts affected in different ways. Developments, by their very nature, generally require ground disturbance. Such ground works can The River Severn meanders over a course that has altered over time – areas that are that development or destroy in situ remains and therefore the processes outlined in now well inland may once have been inter-tidal with huge potential for archaeological this guide should be followed in order to minimise this risk and to deposits – much of this land has been reclaimed from the River. Furthermore maritime projects could have? mitigate the effects where they are deemed likely. In addition, large areas also contain incredible archaeological elements; after all, the Mary Rose was scale extraction works within the river could alter tidal movements, found in the Solent. The Severn has a rich maritime heritage, including the remains of exposing different areas on the inter-tidal and inland zone and boats at Newport (medieval), Barland’s Farm (Roman) and Caldicot (Bronze Age). affecting submerged archaeological deposits. It is imperative to remember that the river has not always followed the same course It is not simply the route and former course of the river that is signifi cant – the adjacent – areas that were once river are now land and currently submerged Levels are an essential element of the Severn landscape that contain archaeological areas were once dry. Extended use of sites for leisure purposes could remains arising from the activities that took place along the river – its industries, its Mesolithic human footprints subject now-stable monuments to weathering and erosion and thus transportation routes, and the way of life of the people living on its shores. require future protection measures. Changes in land regime can alter From prehistoric times to the present day, artefacts link the Severn to the European the natural equilibrium and thus expose archaeological deposits to pressures that were not there previously – for example changing land mainland. Trading vessels from Europe made use of the river to deliver goods, traders use from grazed pasture could result in scrub encroachment and bought new ideas, and conquering armies travelled by river, and this is refl ected infestation of burrowing animals within archaeological monuments. throughout the archaeological record. Thus, not only does the tidal river, its estuary Wherever possible, developments should avoid disturbing potential and the Levels share similar attributes and issues with