Landscape Section - Conference and AGM 2006

'Introducing the National Ice Age Network:
Migration and geology, palaeontology and archaeology in the Ice Age'

Abstract

The National Ice Age Network (NIAN) is an initiative concerned with the archaeological, environmental and sedimentary evidence of the Ice Age that is uncovered as a result of commercial sand and gravel extraction. NIAN is funded by the Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund (ALSF) through English Heritage and English Nature, and aims to strengthen the relationships between archaeologists, geologists, quarry companies and the general public, creating a 'network' of those interested in the Ice Age.

Commercial sand and gravel (aggregates) quarrying has been of enormous benefit for those of us with an interest in the geology, palaeontology and archaeology of the Ice Age. These large, deep extraction sites provide a window into the Ice Age world, allowing us to access geological sequences, fossil animal and plant remains, early stone tools (such as Palaeolithic handaxes) and perhaps even the bones of our hominid ancestors, that otherwise would be outside the scope of standard archaeological excavation practises. Indeed without aggregates extraction our understanding of England's environments during the Ice Age, and what people were doing during these periods would be very different; there would be no Boxgrove, no Lynford, no Whitemoor Haye and none of the countless smaller sites across the country which have all contributed to the increasingly detailed picture of life during the Ice Age which continues to emerge after many decades of research.

From four regional centres in Birmingham, Leicester, London and Southampton NIAN is striving to build good working relationships with the quarry industry so that active sand and gravel extraction sites in England can be monitored and their potential for preserving Ice Age evidence assessed. NIAN is also hoping to raise the profile of the Ice Age among the commercial and academic community and to provide user friendly education and outreach resources to the wider community with each centre of the four centres acting as a regional hub for a range of research, fieldwork, educational and outreach activities such as seminars, public lectures, artefact handling and recognition sessions.

This talk will describe the Network's progress, with reference where possible to Hampshire and the South of England, to date and outline how people can continue to be involved with the National Ice Age Network.