Paleolithic archaeology of the Solent River

The ancestral Solent River region has been known since the late 19th century as a prolific area for Palaeolithic artefacts and Pleistocene deposits but had, until the 1990s, been generally neglected for research. The meeting brought together the increasingly numerous Palaeolithic archaeologists and Pleistocene geologists working in the region to shae and discuss their preliminary results. The papers cover both Pleistocene geological and Palaeolithic archaeological themes and range in scope from regional syntheses and issues to more detailed studies of individual sites. The volume represents both an introduction to the Palaeolithic archaeology and Pleistocene geology of the Solent River and an up-to-date view of current research, as well as signposting directions for future work. Introduction. F.F. Wenban-Smith The Pleistocene geology of the Solent River system. J.K. Dix The Pleistocene evolution and Palaeolithic occupation of the Solent River. D.R Bridgland The meeting of the waters: raised beaches and river gravels of the Sussex Coastal Plain/Hampshire Basin. M.R. Bates Some Earlier Palaeolithic find-spots of interest in the Solent region. D.A. Roe As represented by the Solent River: handaxes from Highfield, Southampton. F.F. Wenban-Smith Priory Bay, Isle of Wight: a review of current knowledge. R.D. Loader The Broom Pits: a review of research and a pilot study of two Acheulian biface assemblages. G.D. Marshall The Lower Palaeolithic of the Solent: site formation and interpretive frameworks. R.T. Hosfield Prospecting the Palaeolithic: strategies for the archaeological investigation of Middle Pleistocene deposits in southern England. K. Wilkinson