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Substantial lithic scatters were recorded during the survey of this site, and several in situ scatters occur on the firm ground along the edges of palaeo-creeks. These probably date to the late Mesolithic to early Neolithic period and include large numbers of crude picks and tranchet axes, and microliths of edge blunted and geometric form.
The Neolithic Age, Era, or Period, or New Stone Age, was a period in the development of human technology, beginning about 9500 BCE in the Middle East[1] that is traditionally considered the last part of the Stone Age. The Neolithic followed the terminal Holocene Epipalaeolithic period, beginning with the rise of farming, which produced the "Neolithic Revolution" and ending when metal tools became widespread in the Copper Age (chalcolithic) or Bronze Age or developing directly into the Iron Age, depending on geographical region. The Neolithic is not a specific chronological period, but rather a suite of behavioral and cultural characteristics, including the use of wild and domestic crops and the use of domesticated animals.
Some of the lithic scatters were associated with large quantities of burnt and fire-cracked flint. Similar features were noted during field-walking in the hinterland but these are generally not associated with worked flint. Radiocarbon dating of charcoal from two hinterland sites suggests that these are Bronze Age. The recovery of large quantities of ceramics from the intertidal zone provided evidence for trade and maritime activities in addition to subsistence-based activities of fishing and fowling. The ceramics range from Neolithic to post-medieval in date and include a variety of exotic Roman and medieval imports. Amongst these were sherds from a unique Rheinzabern samian jar. Many of the pots were substantially complete and it is thought that some of these would have been lost overboard during the unloading of ships. Ceramics found in the intertidal zone were compared with those collected by trawlermen operating oyster dredges over Ryde Middle Bank, some distance offshore. Both groups included pottery from Holland, France, and the Orient. The late medieval Southampton port records were also interrogated to discover the full nature of the historic cargoes which had been shipped through the Solent. Also recovered from the beach were almost fifty cattle skulls, many of which showed evidence of slaughter by pole-axing. One of these was radiocarbon dated to the Roman period. Possibly the animals were brought to the beach to be slaughtered prior to being traded to the mainland.
Between Wootton Creek and Ryde, expanses of intertidal peats containing fallen trees were recorded and sampled. The courses of palaeo-channels running through the intertidal zone were traced by augering, and samples for pollen and diatom analysis were taken. These palaeo-channels were followed offshore using sub-bottom profiling and sidescan sonar systems. Other environmental samples were taken from deep cores both in the project area and elsewhere on the north coast of the Island. Information obtained from pollen and diatom analysis plus select radiocarbon dating was used to reconstruct the vegetational history of north east Wight and to produce a sea-level curve for the Solent area. Fifty-eight samples for dendrochronological dating were taken from the fallen trees and other suitable structural timbers. A chronology spanning 3463-2557 BC was produced, with a slightly older 268 year floating chronology and several undated ring sequences shown by radiocarbon dating to be younger. Eleven samples from an Iron Age post alignment previously radiocarbon dated produced a floating 111 year chronology which is yet to be fixed dendrochronologically.
The Wootton-Quarr survey has combined hinterland, intertidal, and offshore surveys into a fully integrated assessment of the archaeology of a stretch of coastline. The project is now approaching the conclusion of its analysis phase which will culminate in the production of a monograph. This should assist in the identification of the specific survey, recording and management needs of this coastal zone.