Mr Marcus Hatch
PhD student

School of Geography
Queen Mary, University of London
Mile End Road, London E1 4NS
m.hatch@qmul.ac.uk

Research interests:

Thesis Title: Palaeolithic Archaeology of the Solent River: Human occupation in its stratigraphic context


Research outline:
The Solent River was the largest river of southern England during the Quaternary Period and a major gateway for early human populations entering Britain. Abundant early Palaeolithic artefacts, notably handaxes, are found in the gravel terraces that the river left behind. The archaeology of the Solent River region, comparable in importance to the River Thames, could shed light on issues such as the first appearance of hominins in Britain, technological change and innovation, and population change as Britain became an island. The main aim of the project is to improve understanding of the nature and dating of this immense archaeological resource. My research will focus on the development of the Solent River system and its contained archaeology through the investigation of terrace sediments. Existing modelling of the Solent terrace stratigraphy will be critiqued via a comprehensive review of the region’s borehole record. Issues of correlation of terrace deposits between different parts of the system will be addressed, with fieldwork at key sites using optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating to develop a chronology for the sequences. The project’s development of a new Solent River chrono-stratigraphic framework will significantly improve the potential to understand changes in the archaeological record of the Solent region.

Key words: Solent River, Terraces, Palaeolithic, OSL.


Research questions:

  • When did humans first appear in the Solent River region according to the lithic record?
  • When did major technological innovations (the introduction of handaxes and the first evidence of Levallois technology) take place in the Solent area?
  • Can the evidence of population decline and human absence that has been suggested for the Thames be identified in the Solent River region?
  • Can the patterning of the lithic record from the Solent River be related to the changing palaeogeography of southern Britain, particularly the formation of the English Channel?   

The Solent River project is a collaboration between Queen Mary, University of London, the University of Reading and the British Museum.


Supervisors: Dr Simon Lewis (Queen Mary, University of London), Dr Becky Briant (Birkbeck, University of London) and Mr Nick Ashton (British Museum)


Funding: Arts & Humanities Research Council 


Background:
MA The Archaeology of Human Origins, Distinction, University of Southampton
BA (Hons) Archaeological Practice, First, University of Winchester


Memberships:
Quaternary Research Association (http://qra.org.uk/)
Lithic Studies Society (http://lithics.org/)
Geologists’ Association (http://geologists.org.uk)
British Society for Geomorphologists (http://www.geomorphology.org.uk)
International Association of Sedimentologists (http://www.iasnet.org/)