23rd November 2004 - Roy Underdown Pavilion

At our meeting in November, Julie Satchell of the Hants & Wight Trust Marine Archaeology Unit told us about her work. Although she is a fully qualified diver and visits submerged wrecks, much of her job involves wading in the mud at low tide. She showed us a map of the 'Europe' of 9,000 years ago. You could have walked to France then, albeit you would have had to cross the River Solent. People lived on that land which is now under the sea, and artifacts like arrow heads and flint knives are often dredged up. In shallower waters, like the Hamble River, you can find lots of ancient timber. This includes wooden walkways used by pre-historic people to gather food from the marshes, wrecks like the Grace Dieu, and planks which were the foundations for boat slipways. Out in the Solent there are dozens of known wrecks, but the Hamble River has it's share. Julie showed us pictures of a Roman site at the top of the river, and the remains of a variety of vessels all the way down to Warsash jetty. Next time I am on the beach at low water, I will treat those 'sticky uppy' bits of wood with more respect!

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