UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON FACULTY OF HUMANITIES Department of Archaeology Lithics, Landscape and People: Life Beyond the Monuments in Prehistoric Guernsey by Donovan William Hawley Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy April 2017 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHAMPTON ABSTRACT FACULTY OF HUMANITIES Archaeology Thesis for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Lithics, Landscape and People: Life Beyond the Monuments in Prehistoric Guernsey Donovan William Hawley Although prehistoric megalithic monuments dominate the landscape of Guernsey, these have yielded little information concerning the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Early Bronze Age communities who inhabited the island in a broader landscape and maritime context. For this thesis it was therefore considered timely to explore the alternative material culture resource of worked flint and stone archived in the Guernsey museum. Largely ignored in previous archaeological narratives on the island or considered as unreliable data, the argument made in this thesis is for lithics being an ideal resource that, when correctly interrogated, can inform us of past people’s actions in the landscape. In order to maximise the amount of obtainable data, the lithics were subjected to a wide ranging multi-method approach encompassing all stages of the châine opératoire from material acquisition to discard, along with a consideration of the landscape context from which the material was recovered. The methodology also incorporated the extensive corpus of lithic knowledge that has been built up on the adjacent French mainland, a resource largely passed over in previous Channel Island research. By employing this approach, previously unknown patterns of human occupation and activity on the island, and the extent and temporality of maritime connectivity between Guernsey and mainland areas has been revealed. Further, a greater understanding of the lithic industry on the island has been achieved through the cross referencing of assemblages with those of the adjacent French mainland. It is argued that this research has made an original contribution to the archaeological knowledge of Guernsey. Not only has the value of a comprehensive lithic research programme been proven, but the understanding of the prehistory of Guernsey has been enhanced and visibility of peoples’ lives beyond the monuments has been gained. Table of Contents Table of Contents .................................................................................................................... i List of Tables .......................................................................................................................... v List of Figures........................................................................................................................ ix DECLARATION OF AUTHORSHIP .................................................................................. xvii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. xix Definitions and Abbreviations ............................................................................................ xxi Chapter 1: Introduction ............................................................................................... 1 1.1 Background and Motivation .................................................................................... 1 1.2 Problem Outline ....................................................................................................... 2 1.3 Study Region ............................................................................................................ 5 1.4 Study Scope .............................................................................................................. 6 1.5 Timescales ................................................................................................................ 7 1.6 Thesis Structure ....................................................................................................... 8 Chapter 2: Environment, Islands and Archaeology .................................................... 9 2.1 Geology, Topography, Environment and Sea .......................................................... 9 2.2 Islands and the Sea ................................................................................................ 17 2.3 An Archaeological Overview .................................................................................. 21 2.4 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 39 Chapter 3: Lithic Research on Guernsey, Past and Present ...................................... 41 3.1 Antiquarians, Archaeologists and Guernsey ......................................................... 41 3.2 Research and Rescue ............................................................................................. 48 3.3 Guernsey and French Lithic Research ................................................................... 50 3.4 Lithic Research Jersey, Alderney, Herm and Sark ................................................ 54 3.5 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 55 Chapter 4: History of Lithic Research Methodologies .............................................. 57 4.1 Early Approaches ................................................................................................... 57 4.2 Culture History ...................................................................................................... 58 4.3 Processualism ........................................................................................................ 59 4.4 Post Processualism ................................................................................................ 64 4.5 The French Approach ............................................................................................ 69 4.6 Summary ................................................................................................................ 70 4.7 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 72 Chapter 5: Methodology ............................................................................................ 73 i 5.1 Thesis objectives .................................................................................................... 73 5.2 Trial Study and Initial Approaches ........................................................................ 74 5.3 Data Sources .......................................................................................................... 75 5.4 Data Gathering ....................................................................................................... 77 5.5 Data analysis .......................................................................................................... 78 5.6 Data Presentation ................................................................................................. 80 5.7 Data Interpretation ............................................................................................... 82 5.8 Establishing a Narrative from the Data: Taskscapes and Object Histories .......... 86 5.9 Conclusion ............................................................................................................. 89 Chapter 6: Site Analysis and Results ......................................................................... 91 6.1 The Airport (MGU5318) .........................................................................................92 6.2 Royal Hotel (MGU2765) ........................................................................................ 97 6.3 Albecq (MGU224) ................................................................................................ 100 6.4 Route de Carteret (MGU518) ............................................................................... 104 6.5 La Plaiderie (MGU2216) ...................................................................................... 109 6.6 Rousse Tower (MGU2767) ................................................................................... 112 6.7 The Savoy Hotel (MGU3164) ............................................................................... 116 6.8 The Tranquesous (MGU254) ............................................................................... 119 6.9 King’s Road (MGU528) ........................................................................................ 122 6.10 Delancey Park Gallery Grave (MGU135) ............................................................. 125 6.11 Crève Coeur (MGU various) ................................................................................. 129 6.12 Ruette Norgiots (MGU2117) ................................................................................ 133 6.13 Bailiff’s Cross (MGU2226) ................................................................................... 135 6.14 Les Prevosts (MGU1943) ..................................................................................... 138 6.15 Neuf Chemin (MGU1773) .................................................................................... 141 6.16 Lihou (GU582) ..................................................................................................... 144 6.17 Site Designation and Dating ................................................................................ 147 6.18 Conclusion ............................................................................................................