EWX699 - Mother Siller's Channel, Stanpit, Christchurch; excavation 1970

Susan Palmer excavated a site by the Stanpit Nature Reserve on Christchurch Harbour during 1970. Excavation followed on from the surface collection of a number of Mesolithic artefacts in the area. The excavated area was on the lowest part of a sandy prominence known as Crouch Hill, surrounded by low-lying marshes. Hengistbury Head lies across the harbour. The site is only flooded by very high tides and storms. Palmer believes the site was, in ancient times, outside the reach of tidal water though the sea level was generally at its present level by around 4000 BC. Two trenches were dug. The first trench produced artefacts in all layers though the majority of the finds came from the base the light grey sandy layer. Two hearths were revealed in this trench and both had large areas of burnt concreted sand around them also at the base of the grey sandy layer. One hearth was made from two slabs of Purbeck limestone placed together while the other used one big slab of limestone with an adjoining area of compact yellow clay. Palmer noted the sand around the hearths was stained grey (presumably from ash) and little charcoal was found. Artefacts were spread all over the trench but there were small isolated clusters of waste flakes. Two microliths were found in the sand around the hearths. All of the flints retrieved from trench one are believed to be Mesolithic. Trench two also produced a hearth. It consisted of three large Purbeck limestone hearth-stones. Similar to the hearths in trench one, the sand around this hearth was burnt to a great depth and concreted. Some later features were noted by Palmer. At one point the light grey sandy layer is replaced by a dark brown sand reaching down to the top of the hearth stones. Palmer could not determine the nature of this feature as so little was exposed but suggests that at some point a hollow was scooped out of the sand from the foreshore. Some Saxon and possible bronze age pottery sherds were found in the dark sandy layer. Fewer artefacts were found in trench two (90) than in trench one (278).