England's Historic Seascapes: Withernsea to Skegness

Museum of London Archaeology, 2010. https://doi.org/10.5284/1000104. How to cite using this DOI

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`https://doi.org/10.5284/1000104`
Sample Citation for this DOI

Museum of London Archaeology (2010) England's Historic Seascapes: Withernsea to Skegness [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1000104

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David Bowsher
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Museum of London Archaeology
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Resource identifiers

ADS Collection: 935
ALSF Project Number: 4730
DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1000104
How to cite using this DOI

Digital Object Identifiers

Digital Object Identifiers (DOIs) are persistent identifiers which can be used to consistently and accurately reference digital objects and/or content. The DOIs provide a way for the ADS resources to be cited in a similar fashion to traditional scholarly materials. More information on DOIs at the ADS can be found on our help page.

Citing this DOI

The updated Crossref DOI Display guidelines recommend that DOIs should be displayed in the following format:

https://doi.org/10.5284/1000104

Sample Citation for this DOI

Museum of London Archaeology (2010) England's Historic Seascapes: Withernsea to Skegness [data-set]. York: Archaeology Data Service [distributor] https://doi.org/10.5284/1000104

Haile Sand Flat Character Area

Present Day Form

Haile Sand Flat character area is located in the western part of the study area in open water on the edge of the Humber Estuary mouth. It is next to Haile Sand character area and adjacent to the Cleethorpes to Mablethorpe coast. The geology of the area is a wave cut platform of Cretaceous Chalk overlain by glacial till (clay, sand and gravel debris deposited from ice sheets) called the Upper Marsh Till along with some early Holocene deposits of peat known as the Huttoft Beds. The Huttoft Beds formed in the hollows of the Mesolithic land surface which developed on the Upper Marsh Till. The early land surface was inundated by a marine transgression leaving a clay deposit known as the Ingoldmells Beds. The Beds have been dated to periods between the Bronze Age and the Roman period and represent localised marine flooding over the area as the sea level rose.

The action of the sea in this area causes accretion rather than the erosion seen on beaches further to the south between Mablethorpe and Skegness. As a result the coast is characterised by wide sandy beaches, muddy areas, dunes and salt marsh where mariculture activities take place along with recreational activities. By contrast the beaches further to the south require regular replenishment and are used almost solely for recreation purposes. The actions of the sea have strongly influenced patterns of historic land/sea use in the area.

Sea Use: Present

The dominant characteristic of the area is navigation because of its position in open water at the mouth of the estuary. The main channel up the Humber passes through part of the area. Although mostly below sea level, the area does contain drying areas which pose a hazard to navigation.

Lots of fishing industry is carried out in the area at various times throughout the year. There are sole spawning areas along with ell fishing, whitefish longlining and sole, sprat and plaice nurseries. Sole trawling also takes place in the area. The area also falls with the Humber Estuary mouth SSSI.

Sea Use: Past

It is not documented exactly how long the navigation, fishing and maritime activities have been carried out in the area but it is likely to have taken place for as long as human beings have occupied the area. These particular activities, therefore, have considerable time depth.

Archaeological Potential

The area has potential for the presence of drowned land surfaces resulting from the fact that sea level has fluctuated between -120 metres and +10 metres over the past 500,000 years. From the period 500,000 BP to 22,000 BP (before present), human population levels were low, and little more than stray finds may be expected, although these may still be of considerable archaeological importance.

From 22,000 BP to 2100 BP parts of the North Sea were dry land and human population levels were higher. Over the last 6000 years (if not more), humans have used sea faring vessels and so wrecks and related material may lie buried in the intertidal area or beneath the sea floor.

Character Perceptions

The area is important for mariculture industries and is a named location on navigation chartsThe area is important for mariculture industries and is a named location on navigation charts.