IAP-24-065

Communicating Pleistocene fluvial environments and human occupation from the terraces of principal rivers (PhD by creative portfolio)

The principal rivers of Britain and Portugal are the Thames and the Tagus (Tejo), respectively. The evidence from these rivers, often in the form of river terraces deposits (commonly gravels, but including finer-grained materials, sometimes fossiliferous), provide records of hominin occupation, mainly related to stone-tool manufacture. These records begin ~0.96 Ma in Britain (Happisburgh: Key and Ashton, 2023) and ~0.9 Ma BP in Iberia (Cueva Victoria cave, Spain; Blain et al., 2021). The oldest dated occupation in Portugal is 300-400 ka, comprising lithic assemblages from Tagus Terrace 4 and a skull from nearby Gruta da Aroeira (Cunha et al., 2017, 2023; Daura et al., 2017). There is much in the British record from a similar period, with hominin occupation well documented from the Thames. The latter has significantly contributed to understanding of both British Lower and Middle Palaeolithic artefact variation (notably handaxe form and morpho-technological features; e.g., classification systems devised by Roe (1968) and Wymer (1968)) and terrace formation by rivers in response to changing climate (Bridgland, 2000). This foundation was developed further by Bridgland and White (2014, 2015), correlating specific Roe (1968) handaxe-groups with Marine Isotope Stages, providing a framework within which the relationship between the British Lower-Middle Palaeolithic record and climatic cycles can be more comprehensively understood. In contrast, there is little to no consensus on whether there is a morphotypological scheme applicable to the Portuguese Pleistocene record and addressing this question based on analysis of major collections will be a key aim of the project.
The chosen principal rivers have significant deposits with good preservation, yet differences in the type and level of formal and informal protection and public dissemination, with less ‘bottom-up’ outreach for the Thames than the Tagus (Cunha et al., 2023). A key element within communicating wider understanding of the importance of sites, leading to bottom-up community support for protection measures in addition to top-down regulation of land-use, is representing the research in a visual and accessible manner. Therefore, a major methodological component will be the illustration and 3D scanning of artefact assemblages from relevant sites, to become part of a wider database. This will be linked to the AHRC-funded project ‘Digital Technologies, Acheulean Handaxes and the Social Landscapes of the Lower Palaeolithic’ (Mark White as P-I), which already has a scanned database of ~6000 objects, to be made publicly accessible in 2026. The assemblages recorded by this project will be used as a pilot informing wider archaeological public outreach and dissemination. In this the media experience and related expertise of supervisor Duckworth (presenter on Channel 4’s The Great British Dig, author of accompanying book, New Scientist Live speaker, and columnist for British Archaeology magazine) will be invaluable.
There is potential for development of STEM learning materials for schools, an opportunity to raise awareness of prehistory in high-school students, e.g. Key Stages 3 and 4 (up to GCSE), while finding an unusual and engaging approach to teaching STEM subjects.
Given its inherent visual nature, with both lithic illustration and 3D scans, this project will lead to a thesis by creative portfolio: max. 60,000 words + significant Portfolio of Artefacts (i.e. a ‘substantial physical, visual, audio, digital or textual artefacts approved by the relevant Board of Studies’).

Fieldwork – aimed at providing contexts for artefact collections from early manual quarry excavation:
1-Section cleaning and recording; documentation of any artefacts found, with GPS and 3D location of finds (e.g., Alpiarca, Portugal; Upper Dovercourt, Essex (part of wider Thames system).
2-Geological survey: Section clearing, logging, description and sampling for sediment analyses and dating.
3-Sample analysis: clast lithologies, to verify drainage system; dating by luminescence or electron spin resonance.
Museum-work
1-Locating museums with appropriate assemblages (aim: study material from sites selected for excavation/investigation plus correlative and comparative sites regionally).
2-Cataloguing artefacts with accompanying documentation: 3D scanning of artefacts; photography for illustration; photography of paper documentation (especially for historical collections).
Laboratory-work
1-Preparation of samples for dating using laboratory resources at the University of Coimbra (with Cunha).
2- Preparation and analysis of gravel samples.
Outreach
1-Preparation of online assemblage in an easily accessible format (collaboration with participating museums anticipated), as well of using University Press Offices and supervisor Duckworth’s network to develop news stories around the online assemblage (leading to student appearances on radio, podcasts, etc.).
2-Student to run workshops in local communities in UK research areas (including schools, community groups, etc., with aim to engage members of lower participation demographic).
3-Student to maintain an ongoing blog or podcast on the research, or other social media presence, to garner a following.
4-Interaction with organised events such as the CBA’s Festival of Archaeology.

Year 1

Literature research.
Methods-training: dating-sample preparation; using R and/or Python; 3D scanning artefacts and processing data in AGMT3D (Herzlinger and Grosman, 2018).
Data collection from museums (e.g. British Museum, Lisbon Museum) and fieldwork.
Conference attendance, including Fluvial Archives Group Tubingen.
Engagement with training and material preparation for outreach.

Year 2

Continuing data collection, fieldwork and outreach.
Conference attendance: annual conferences and International Union for Quaternary
Research (INQUA) congress, Lucknow, India (if separate funding is obtained).

Year 3

Continuing data collection, fieldwork and outreach. Start of thesis and portfolio preparation. Annual conferences.

Year 3.5

Thesis and portfolio preparation. Annual conferences.

Training as follows:

Artefact recognition, characterization, analysis and illustration (+ dissemination of information therefrom)
Analysis and interpretation of sedimentary contexts
Preparation of samples for dating
Resulting in expertise on the Palaeolithic within Quaternary science
Training in outreach and media presentation (Duckworth will train student in the development of outreach materials for various age ranges).