Solent river gravels at Barton-on-Sea, Hampshire SZ 230 930

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Description/Abstract

The fluvial gravels at Barton-on-Sea are important for two reasons: the possibility that they are associated with a minimally disturbed handaxe horizon including a significant proportion of twisted ovates, and their antiquity. OSL dating from this site is not without its problems, as discussed above. Nonetheless it is suggested that deposition of this unit dates to between 332 and 410 ka (MIS 9-11). However, contra to recent suggestions, it is not possible to relate any of the gravel terraces in the vicinity of Barton-on-Sea to a twisted ovate handaxe industry. The debate over the date of these gravels, and of other gravel formations westwards towards Milford-on-Sea, and indeed in the Western Solent system as a whole, could be substantially advanced if the source, or sources, of any distinct Palaeolithic industries could be identified, and further well-provenanced assemblages of reasonable size recovered