In 2020, a series of large features were identified, set within two arc-like structures, to the north and south of Durrington Walls henge (Gaffney et al. 2020). Based on geophysical survey and borehole investigation, combined with the results of previous, commercial fieldwork, 15 features were interpreted as either large pits or probable pits. Five additional features were identified from aerial photography or topographic modelling as being of potential interest. Some of these features, on the 'northern arc', were assessed by their original investigators to be naturally occurring sinkholes (Leivers 2021). Following the interpretation of these features as a single pit alignment, some discussion has taken place relating to the origin and nature of these features and their association with Durrington Walls henge (Ruggles and Chadburn 2024). This debate has taken place without the benefit of the results of more recent research undertaken both in the field and laboratory. In 2021, further investigations were carried out over 'northern arc' features 13D and 16D, as well as over the 'southern arc' features 1A, 2A, 3A, 4A. This work also provided an opportunity to survey anomaly ii at Larkhill, and to revisit 'southern arc' features 5A, 7A and 8A. The latter three had been surveyed and cored in 2019 and identified as pits. New fieldwork also provided the occasion to utilise a wider range of analytical techniques than previously, and the application of novel geochemistry and sedaDNA methods generated sediment stratigraphies and detailed environmental histories for individual pits. The results of geophysical survey and borehole investigations reinforce the overall similarity between those features previously identified as pits or probable pits, as well as those investigated in the recent field campaign. Consequently, with confirmation of pit 16D as a new addition to the 'northern arc', the total of pits/probable pits in the overall series has risen to 16. However, to the west of Durrington Walls, in Larkhill, a magnetometer survey over anomaly ii did not reveal a magnetic response consistent with a large pit-feature, although this area is heavily disturbed by later development and the survey results at this location cannot be regarded as conclusive. Currently, the majority of features identified during the two seasons of work at Durrington continue to be interpreted as corresponding to large pits or modified features which, irrespective of any possible natural origin, emerged during the later Neolithic to form part of a larger, prehistoric pit structure surrounding Durrington Walls.

The Solent Region and Sussex coastal plain in southern England have preserved palaeo-sea-level indicators from multiple interglacial periods, with a particularly complete record of deposition throughout the last interglacial. However, as yet, none of the research on these indicators has fully addressed the relationship of the different types of deposits preserved to mean sea-level. In this paper we apply recent approaches to estimating past relative sea-levels based on applying modern analogues to understand the indicative meaning of these indicators. We also apply a synchronous correlation model previously developed on rapidly uplifting coastlines to assess uplift rates. The uplift rates required to match the elevations of sequences suggest a significant decrease in uplift rates between the Late Wolstonian Substage and Ipswichian Stage; that is, the c. 240 and c. 125 ka sea-level highstands, broadly equivalent to marine isotope stages (MIS) 7 and 5e. This coincides in time with the final opening of the Straits of Dover. Supplementary material: Fossil data from sites that have not previously been published are available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.7172532

The Revell batholith is located within the Western Wabigoon terrane of the Superior Province, Northwestern Ontario, Canada, and is a potential site for a deep geological repository (DGR). This batholith is considered to have favourable geoscientific characteristics for hosting a DGR, including a sufficient volume of relatively homogenous rock. The subsurface geometry of the batholith plays an important role in determining its volume, as well as assessing regional-scale hydraulics, rock mechanics, and glacial stress disturbances on the bedrock, which are other important features and processes that can impact the batholith over the timeframes of concern for longterm storage of used nuclear fuel. Subsurface geometry is complicated to unravel, and surface mapping alone is inadequate to obtain the information at depth. However, gravity, magnetic, or seismic data can be used to enhance understanding by approximating the geometry.This study aims to refine the subsurface geometry and distribution of the Revell batholith from a constrained forward and inverse geophysical model, incorporating high-resolution geophysical data together with a compilation of historic and recent geological field data. The Revell batholith was previously cited as a flat-based pluton with a depth of 1.6 km, where our findings suggest the batholith is deeper than previously thought, with an uneven contact geometry at its base that extends slightly deeper than 3.5 km. Model uncertainties were assessed by varying probabilistic constraints on volume overlap/commonality and shape within GeoModellerTM. Results indicate that overall batholith-greenstone contact is generally unchanged when the geological constraints are varied, providing a high degree of confidence that the Revell batholith has a sufficient volume of relatively homogeneous bedrock.

This paper will present initial results from excavations at Maritime Academy, Frindsbury which produced several handaxes, two of which can be classed as ‘giant handaxes’. Artefacts were recovered from fluvial deposits in the Medway Valley and are thought to date from the Marine Isotope Stage 9 interglacial. This paper will focus on the largest of these handaxes and will present metrical data for the artefact and initial comparison with similar artefacts from the British Palaeolithic.

Caroline was a prolific, dedicated and accomplished academic of Scotland’s prehistory with an exemplary publication record.

– Comprehensive geophysical assessment of huge pits; ERT, GPR, mag and EM.– Novel approach to testing and interpreting pits via coring.– Largest pit circuit confirmed in both the Stonehenge landscape and the UK.

Ring-Ditch 1 under excavation with Kemsley Marsh

Thirteen permanent fully erupted teeth were excavated at the Paleolithic site of La Cotte de St Brelade in Jersey in 1910 and 1911. These were all found in the same location, on a ledge behind a hearth in a Mousterian occupation level. They were originally identified as being Neanderthal. A fragment of occipital bone was found in a separate locality in a later season. Recent dating of adjacent sediments gives a probable age of <48 ka. The purpose of this article is to provide an updated description of the morphology of this material and consider its likely taxonomic assignment from comparison with Neanderthal and Homo sapiens samples. One of the original teeth has been lost, and we identify one as nonhominin. At least two adult individuals are represented. Cervix shape and the absence of common Neanderthal traits in several teeth suggest affinities with H. sapiens in both individuals, while crown and root dimensions and root morphology of all the teeth are entirely consistent with a Neanderthal attribution, pointing toward a possible shared Neanderthal and H. sapiens ancestry (the likely date of this material corresponds with the time in which both Neanderthals and H. sapiens were present in Europe). The occipital fragment is stratigraphically more recent and does not exhibit any diagnostic Neanderthal features.

Detecting association between archaeological sites and physical landscape elements like geological deposits, vegetation, drainage networks, or areas of modern disturbance like mines or quarries is a key goal of archaeological projects. This goal is complicated by the incomplete nature of the archaeological record, the high degree of uncertainty of typical point distribution patterns, and, in the case of deeply buried archaeological sites, the absence of reliable information about the ancient landscape itself. Standard statistical approaches may not be applicable (e.g., X(2)test) or are difficult to apply correctly (regression analysis). Monte Carlo simulation, devised in the late 1940s by mathematical physicists, offers a way to approach this problem. In this paper, we apply a Monte Carlo approach to test for association between Lower and Middle Palaeolithic sites in Hampshire and Sussex, UK, and quarries recorded on historical maps. We code our approach in the popular 'R' software environment, describing our methods step-by-step and providing complete scripts so others can apply our method to their own cases. Association between sites and quarries is clearly shown. We suggest ways to develop the approach further, e.g., for detecting associations between sites or artefacts and remotely-sensed deposits or features, e.g., from aerial photographs or geophysical survey.

A series of massive geophysical anomalies, located south of the Durrington Walls henge monument, were identified during fluxgate gradiometer survey undertaken by the Stonehenge Hidden Landscapes Project (SHLP). Initially interpreted as dewponds, these data have been re-evaluated, along with information on similar features revealed by archaeological contractors undertaking survey and excavation to the north of the Durrington Walls henge. Analysis of the available data identified a total of 20 comparable features, which align within a series of arcs adjacent to Durrington Walls. Further geophysical survey, supported by mechanical coring, was undertaken on several geophysical anomalies to assess their nature, and to provide dating and environmental evidence. The results of fieldwork demonstrate that some of these features, at least, were massive, circular pits with a surface diameter of 20m or more and a depth of at least 5m. Struck flint and bone were recovered from primary silts and radiocarbon dating indicates a Late Neolithic date for the lower silts of one pit. The degree of similarity across the 20 features identified suggests that they could have formed part of a circuit of large pits around Durrington Walls, and this may also have incorporated the recently discovered Larkhill causewayed enclosure. The diameter of the circuit of pits exceeds 2km and there is some evidence that an intermittent, inner post alignment may have existed within the circuit of pits. One pit may provide evidence for a recut; suggesting that some of these features could have been maintained through to the Middle Bronze Age. Together, these features represent a unique group of features related to the henge at Durrington Walls, executed at a scale not previously recorded.

Around 8150 BP, the Storegga tsunami struck North-west Europe. The size of this wave has led many to assume that it had a devastating impact upon contemporaneous Mesolithic communities, including the final inundation of Doggerland, the now submerged Mesolithic North Sea landscape. Here, the authors present the first evidence of the tsunami from the southern North Sea, and suggest that traditional notions of a catastrophically destructive event may need rethinking. In providing a more nuanced interpretation by incorporating the role of local topographic variation within the study of the Storegga event, we are better placed to understand the impact of such dramatic occurrences and their larger significance in settlement studies.

ABSTRACTSediments deposited in the Loch of Stenness (Orkney Islands, Scotland) during the Holocene transgression, previously dated to between ~5939–5612 bp, were analysed for molecular fossils – lipids and chlorophyll pigments from primary producers – that complement conventional microfossil and lithological approaches for studying past sea‐level change. While microfossil and lithological studies identified a transgression between 102 and 81 cm core depth, key molecular fossils fluctuate in occurrence and concentration between 118 and 85 cm, suggesting an earlier start to the transgression. Terrestrial lipid concentrations decreased and algal‐derived, short‐chain, n‐alkanoic acid concentrations increased at 118 cm, indicating a disruption of the freshwater lake conditions associated with the early stages of the marine transgression. The lipid and pigment analyses provided information that complements and extends that from microfossil analysis, presenting a more complete record of Holocene sea‐level changes and local vegetation changes in the Loch of Stenness. The isostatic stability of Stenness during the Holocene points towards other factors to explain the transgression, such as regional factors and/or melting of the Antarctic ice sheet (which occurred up to 3 ka).

Doggerland was a landmass occupying an area currently covered by the North Sea until marine inundation took place during the mid-Holocene, ultimately separating the British landmass from the rest of Europe. The Storegga Event, which triggered a tsunami reflected in sediment deposits in the northern North Sea, northeast coastlines of the British Isles and across the North Atlantic, was a major event during this transgressive phase. The spatial extent of the Storegga tsunami however remains unconfirmed as, to date, no direct evidence for the event has been recovered from the southern North Sea. We present evidence of a tsunami deposit in the southern North Sea at the head of a palaeo-river system that has been identified using seismic survey. The evidence, based on lithostratigraphy, geochemical signatures, macro and microfossils and sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA), supported by optical stimulated luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon dating, suggests that these deposits were a result of the tsunami. Seismic identification of this stratum and analysis of adjacent cores showed diminished traces of the tsunami which was largely removed by subsequent erosional processes. Our results confirm previous modelling of the impact of the tsunami within this area of the southern North Sea, and also indicate that these effects were temporary, localized, and mitigated by the dense woodland and topography of the area. We conclude that clear physical remnants of the wave in these areas are likely to be restricted to now buried, palaeo-inland basins and incised river valley systems.