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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This work is licensed under the ADS Terms of Use and Access.
Primary contact
David
Bowsher
Director of Research
Museum of London Archaeology
Mortimer Wheeler House
46 Eagle Wharf Road
London
N1 7ED
UK
Tel: 020 7410 2285
Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 935
- ALSF Project Number: 4730
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1000104
- How to cite using this DOI
Wainfleet Sand Character Area
Present Day Form
The Wainfleet Sand character area is in the south-west corner of the study area and is located in an intertidal area. It is located at the bottom end of the Lincolnshire coastal plain and Lincolnshire coastal grazing marsh, situated in the southern part of the county just before The Wash. The geology of the area is the wave cut platform of Cretaceous Chalk overlain by glacial till (clay, sand and gravel debris deposited from ice sheets). The area consists of sand and gravel terraces.
The action of the sea in this area causes accretion rather than the erosion seen on beaches further to the north 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 north are regularly replenished and used almost solely for recreation purposes. These different sea actions have strongly influenced patterns of historic land/sea use in the area.
Sea Use: Present
This area is has a dominant military character as it is located within the Wainfleet Sand military firing range and RAF practice area.
It also consists of a large expanse of historic drying area that becomes exposed at low tide. There is an active channel leading to the historic haven at Wainfleet.
The character area is formed of post-medieval reclaimed land.
Sea Use: Past
The character area has been shaped by thousands of years of dynamic sea level changes and erosion and deposition (Hull University 1994). The relatively shallow nature of the sea bed means that the area was dry land almost certainly in the Upper Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and probably in the Neolithic periods. Marine traffic would have crossed this area on a regular basis from the Roman period onwards but especially in the medieval period when Wainfleet St Mary was a busy port. Access to the sea gradually silted up and Wainfleet Haven was established nearer the coast to carry on the maritime trade. Continued silting and dune formation resulted in the last commercial vessels using the port in the1920s. Fishing activity would have been carried out in the area from the medieval period onwards.
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. The areas position in close proximity to the Ouse/Nene palaeochannel makes it prime habitation site. Consequently, there is some potential for surviving evidence of human activity within the area. Over the last 6000 years (if not more), humans have used sea faring vessels and so wrecks and related material may lie on the sea floor or be buried beneath the sea floor.
Character Perceptions
The area is perceived as a military practice area.
References
University of Hull, 1994, Humber Estuary and Coast, Institute of Estuarine and Coastal Studies, University of Hull, November 1994
Albert Close fishing chart 1953
