Area 240

...one of the most significant Palaeolithic discoveries

Wessex Archaeology has just begun a large scale

investigation into an area of seabed which lies 13km
east of Great Yarmouth. This area, known as Area 240,
is targeted by aggregate dredgers collecting sands and
gravel for use in construction projects in the UK and on
the continent. ICE LAND

In February 2008 75 flint tools and the remains of

mammoth, bison, deer and rhino were dredged from this
area. The tools are thought to date to around 100,000
years ago - before the last ice age. Prior to this discovery
many experts believed that deposits of this date had been
destroyed or disturbed by glaciation. These discoveries
demonstrate that in some areas at least, they were not,
making this one of the most significant Palaeolithic Area 240

discoveries ever to come from the North Sea.

Wessex Archaeology

This project is funded through the

Aggregate Levy Sustainability Fund

British archaeological award 2008

Design by K.Nichols Wessex Archaeology
 Area 240
...crucial to our future ability to identify and protect

Over the next two years Wessex Archaeology will be

conducting intensive studies into Area 240. This involves
mapping the seabed and the layers beneath it with
geophysical equipment, studying submerged deposits
using geoarchaeological techniques and investigating
samples of the seabed for artefacts.

The aim of the project is to determine which methods

are most effective for this type of investigation. This
research is crucial to our future ability to identify and
protect our most ancient heritage. It also gives us
the opportunity to explore the background of the
enigmatic remains retrieved
from Area 240.

Boomer data Parametric Sonar data Pinger data

Holocene sandwaves Holocene sandwaves Sandwaves and sandripples

and sandripples on seabed and sandripples on seabed on seabed
Position of parametric sonar and pinger example

Shallow channels at or near the surface Shallow channels below Holocene Sediments Sub-bottom not resolved due to diffraction
on sand ripples and very hard sediments

Yarmouth Roads Formation overlain by Holocene Sediments

Design by K.Nichols Wessex Archaeology

Westkapelle Ground Formation

8m

8m

8m

Wessex Archaeology
500 m 250 m 250 m
 Area 240
...one of the biggest groups of marine archaeologists

Wessex Archaeology's coastal and marine team is one

of the biggest groups of marine archaeologists working
anywhere in Europe. The team consists of a core of
specialist staff trained in all aspects of marine and
coastal archaeology. This includes commercial divers,
geoarchaeologists, marine geophysicists and coastal and
marine archaeologists. We also have strong links with
other organisations working in the marine environment
which has allowed us to investigate how archaeology
interacts with geology, geography and ecology.

The project is supported by Wessex Archaeology's marine

and coastal outreach project Time Travelling by Water.
For more information search for
'Time Travelling by Water' on the web.
Design by K.Nichols Wessex Archaeology
Design by K.Nichols Wessex Archaeology

Area 240
Design by K.Nichols Wessex Archaeology

Area 240