Concerning the earliest Acheulean occupation of Britain: the geological context of a handaxe assemblage from Foxholes, Bournemouth, southern England

In recent surveys of the Palaeolithic record of the River Solent, a small handaxe assemblage recorded from Foxholes in the Bournemouth area of southern England has been identified as a candidate for evidence of the earliest Acheulean occupation of the Solent region, and among the earliest handaxe assemblages in Britain. However, archival material and cartographic evidence has been identified that indicates the provenance of the Foxholes material has previously been misunderstood. The correct provenance suggests that these handaxes are considerably younger than previously thought, with implications for the timing of the first appearance of handaxes in the Solent region. This paper serves as a cautionary tale of a potential pitfall when studying old collections recovered from gravels of Pleistocene rivers, and highlights the importance of conducting a thorough search for all available contextual information. Full reference: Davis, R.J. 2014. Concerning the earliest Acheulean occupation of Britain: the geological context of a handaxe assemblage from Foxholes, Bournemouth, southern England. Lithics: the Journal of the Lithic Studies Society 35: 33−39. Keywords: Lower Palaeolithic archaeology, early Acheulean occupation of Britain, handaxes, River Solent, antiquarian history