Record Details

NHER Number:35385
Type of record:Monument
Name:Lower Palaeolithic lithic working and butchery site (Happisburgh Site 1)

Summary

Archaeological investigations at this location between 2000 and 2012 revealed one of the county’s more significant Lower Palaeolithic sites, although it now appears that the evidence was not as old as initially believed. Archaeological work began following the chance discovery of a flint handaxe within ancient deposits known as the Cromer Forest-bed Formation, which are exposed intermittently along this part of the East Anglian coast. This discovery caused considerable excitement as despite 150 years of investigation it was the first undisputed artefact to be recovered from these deposits and had to be at least half a million years old. Archaeological work at the site over the following three years confirmed the provenance of the handaxe and recovered a number of additional worked flints as well as a range of animal bones. The first phase of excavation took place in 2004, with additional trenches opened during a series of annual summer excavations that took place between 2009 and 2012. The site has now produced a total of over 300 worked flints and a wide range of environmental evidence including animal bones, beetles, pollen and other plant remain. Significantly several of the bones display evidence for butchery. It appears that this material had accumulated in organic muds, close to freshwater during one of the comparatively warmer interglacial periods that occurred between much colder, glacial phases.
The exact date of the human occupation at this site does however remain a matter of some debate. At the heart of the issue is the age of the glacial deposits that overlie the archaeological horizons. Although the whole sequence has traditionally been associated with a particularly severe cold episode known as the Anglian glaciation, a number of researchers now argue that the lower material was actually deposited during an earlier glacial episode. This would mean that the underlying archaeological material must be at least 700,000 years old, which is one of the reasons that the site was initially regarded as being of such significance. The date suggested by the revised glacial stratigraphy is however contradicted by the environmental evidence recovered during the excavations, which suggests that occupation most likely occurred during the warmer interglacial immediately prior to the Anglian glaciation. This would date the human occupation to around 500,000 years ago and is more consistent with the traditional interpretation of the overlying geological deposits. At present this issue remains unresolved, although it should be noted that the presence of a handaxe is also more consistent with the later date proposed by the site’s excavators.
Although this site may not be as old as initially thought it remains significant, not least as it was the discoveries here that led to the identification of at least two other Lower Palaeolithic sites on the Happisburgh foreshore, one of which has now produced what is almost certainly the earliest evidence for the human occupation of north-west Europe (Happisburgh Site 3 - see NHER 54222 for further details).

Images - none

Location

Grid Reference:TG 38 30
Map Sheet:TG33SE
Parish:HAPPISBURGH, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK

Full description

Happisburgh Site 1.

In 2000 a handaxe was recovered on the foreshore at Happisburgh. Unlike most beach finds this handaxe was in notable good condition and, remarkably, apparently in situ within pre-Anglian Cromer Forest-bed deposits. These ancient deposits are exposed intermittently along this part of the East Anglian coastline, their name coming from the preserved tree stumps that became visible as the deposits were exposed. The Forest-bed deposits lie beneath material associated with the Anglian glaciation (which saw Norfolk and much of the rest of Britain covered by a massive ice sheet) and are therefore at least half a million years old. These highly organic deposits formed on the floodplains of ancient rivers and have been found to contain a variety of vertebrate remains including those of various extinct species. The chronological significance of the Forest-bed deposits has long been recognised and for over 150 years they have been searched for evidence of pre-Anglian human activity. Although a variety of supposedly worked flints were reported during the earlier part of the 20th century most are now regarded as having been flaked by natural processes. The Happisburgh handaxe was therefore the first truly convincing artefact that could be securely associated with the Forest-bed deposits. Coincidently, this discovery was made around the same time that a worked flake was recovered from a similar context on the Suffolk coast at Pakefield. The potential significance of these discoveries was immediately recognised and they saw the initiation of a programme of archaeological work that would subsequently uncover what was by far the earliest evidence for the human occupation of northern Europe (though not at this particular site - see NHER 54222).

INITIAL DISCOVERIES AND SITE INVESTIGATION

March 2000. Stray find.
Found by [1] on Happisburgh foreshore, in situ in patch of exposed sandy silt at median low tide level:
1 Lower Palaeolithic handaxe. See digital images and drawings (S1), (S2) and (S3).
Donated to Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2000.99.1). The NCM also holds a replica of this object (NWHCM : 2009.297).
Initially reported to P. Robins (NCM), see description in file.
This immensely important discovery was subsequently seen by J. J. Wymer and others. The silt in which it had been recovered was described by Wymer as a dark grey with irregular streaks of buff, includes copious wood fragments but only occasional fragments of black natural flint. Only a few mm of the object was protruding when it was found. Apparently the finder had previously found bone and antler fragments in the immediate area. See note in file.
This discovery was first reported in (S4) and was subsequently noted in (S5). It was also described and illustrated in (S6).
K. Hinds (NLA), 31 May 2000. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 28 July 2014.

8 June 2000. Field Visit.
Visit by J. J. Wymer, P. Robins and J. Rose (Royal Holloway, University of London) to location where handaxe had been discovered in March. Wymer recorded that at low tide a raft of dark clay with numerous wood fragments was well exposed in this area, which had suffered severe coastal erosion. The deposit appeared to be Cromerian and beneath two separate glacial tills.
See notes and photos in (S7).
P. Watkins (HES), 28 July 2014.

3 August 2000. Field Visit.
Visit to site by J. J. Wymer, P. Robins and [2]. The deposit that had produced the handaxe was well exposing in late afternoon at low tide. P. Robins found in situ within this deposit:
1 Lower Palaeolithic flint handaxe thinning flake. Donated to Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2000.99.2). Identified by P. Robins (NCM).
Information from museum records and (S7). See copy of drawing by J. J. Wymer (S8) (from British Museum Wymer Archive).
P. Watkins (HES), 28 July 2014.

2 September 2000. Borehole Survey.
Site evaluation by J. Rose (Royal Holloway, University of London) and students. J. J. Wymer, R. G. West and [1] also present.
Drilling of borehole on beach between the deposit exposed on foreshore and cliff in order to establish the contact between the exposure and the glacial deposits seen in the cliff. The difference in level between the surface of the till on the beach and foreshore deposit levelled and found to be 3.2m. Depth of bore at 4m failed to find it.
Information from (S7).
P. Watkins (HES), 28 July 2014.

15 October 2000. Field Visit.
Site visit by J. J. Wymer, S. Parfitt (Institute of Archaeology, UCL) and others. Foreshore deposit well exposed and samples collected. Some of the bone fragments recovered had cut marks on them. No micro-mammal bones or teeth found.
Information from (S7).
P. Watkins (HES), 28 July 2014.

November 2000-August 2001. Stray Find.
A number of worked (or potentially worked) flints recovered from deposit exposed on foreshore by J. J. Wymer, P. Robins and others:
13 Lower Palaeolithic flakes and flake fragments, 1 flake possible from hammerstone and 15 chips/shatter pieces. Mottled dark grey flint, some with small areas of cortex. Some possibly natural fragment. Donated to Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2000.99.4).
Information from NCM records.
P. Watkins (HES), 28 July 2014.

11 February 2001. Stray Find.
Found by [3], also in situ within the deposit that had produced the earlier finds:
1 Lower Palaeolithic retouched flint flake. Donated to Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2000.99.3).
1 Lower Palaeolithic utilised flint flake. Donated to Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2000.99.8).
Identified by P. Robins (NCM). Information from museum records. See digital photos.
P. Watkins (HES), 28 July 2014.

9 May 2001. Trial Trench Evaluation.
Investigation of site organised by J. Rose (Royal Holloway) and T. Stuary (UCL). S. Parfitt (UCL), B. Moorlock (BGS), P. Robins (NCM), J. J. Wymer and others also present.
At low tide a JCB was used to scrape a wide trench from the foreshore back towards the cliff. The archaeological deposit on the foreshore thinned out but it was possibly to confirm that it underlay the Happisburgh Till. The grey clay beneath the deposit was smooth and level. Simon Parfitt obtained large quantities of the deposit for sampling. Several mint condition flakes were recovered.
Information from (S7), which includes photographs of this work.
P. Watkins (HES), 28 July 2014.

1 December 2001. Stray Find.
Found by [1], also in situ within the deposit that had produced the earlier finds:
1 Lower Palaeolithic retouched flint flake. Donated to the Norwich Castle Museum (NWHCM : 2000.99.5).
Identified by P. Robins (NCM).
Information from museum records.
P. Watkins (HES), 28 July 2014.

In January 2002 a meeting was held at the Natural History Museum (London) to discuss the future investigations of the site at Happisburgh. By this time it was recognised that the discoveries made to date were potentially the earliest evidence for hominid occupation in Britain and possibly north-west Europe as a whole. It was reported that the finds recovered in situ comprised 1 handaxe, 18 flakes and 2 pieces of cut-marked bone (1 bovid femur and 1 unidentifiable fragment; presumably recovered during the October 2000 and May 2001 sampling).
See notes in file (S9).

Other summaries of the site produced around this time list the faunal remains recovered as including frog, deer (Capreolus capreolus; roe deer) and bovid. It was also noted that the archaeological deposit itself had produced a range of plant remains, including Silver birch, Trifid Bur-marigold, Starwort, Sedges, Common Spike Rush, Golden Dock, Norway Spruce, Curled Pondweed, Arrowhead and Watersoldier; suggestive of a slow-moving river with much foliage along its banks and trees nearby.
See (S10) in file and reconstruction by P. Rye (S11).
P. Watkins (HES), 28 July 2014.

14 July 2002 Field Observation.
Site visited by N. Larkin (NCM) and [4]. Archaeological deposit well exposed and several finds recovered over the course of a couple of hours:
1 Lower Palaeolithic flint flake ("a good flake").
3 bones (2 large limb bone fragments (1 possibly a femur head) and 1 duck coracoid; all lying parallel to surface).
Position of finds recorded in relation to datum point established at [5].
See notes by N. Larkin in file and digital photos.
The NCM holds a sharp black flint flake recorded as having been found in situ by N. Larkin (NWHCM : 2006.628).
This is probably the flake found in July 2002, although it may be one of the objects found in August 2002 (see below).
P. Watkins (HES), 28 July 2014.

12 August 2002. Field Observation.
Site visited by N. Larkin (NCM) and [4]. Several finds recovered from archaeological deposit:
2 Lower Palaeolithic flint flakes.
2 bone fragments.
See notes by N. Larkin in file and digital photos.
P. Watkins (HES), 28 July 2014.

7 September 2002. Field Visit.
Field trip by Geological Society of Norfolk.
See (S12) and (S13) in file, the latter of which includes a useful summary of the geological sequence at Happisburgh.
P. Watkins (HES), 28 July 2014.

By December 2001 the evidence being uncovered at Happisburgh and Pakefield was becoming increasingly widely known and several articles appeared in the natural and local press reporting these discoveries and their potential significance, albeit without revealing their exact locations. See (S14)-(S19). A draft press release relating to the discoveries at Happisburgh (S20) makes it clear that they were regarded by the researchers themselves as representing the earliest evidence for human activity, not only in Norfolk, but also potentially the whole of north-west Europe.

The initial discoveries at Happisburgh coincided with the development of a revised interpretation of the glacial stratigraphy of the North Norfolk coast and it is this that explains why the evidence came to be seen as being of such significance. The pivotal issue is the interpretation of glacial deposits known as the Happisburgh Formation, which overlie the Cromer Forest-bed deposits and have traditionally been seen as associated with the Anglian glaciation (Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 12), and therefore of a broadly similar age to the overlying Lowestoft Formation. Jim Rose (Royal Holloway) and others argue that lithographic analysis demonstrates that the Happisburgh formation relates to an earlier glacial event, most likely MIS 16. See (S21) and (S22) for further details. This theory has clear implications for the date of the Forest-bed deposits and the involvement of Jim Rose in the initial investigations at Happisburgh ensured that the revised glacial stratigraphy was taken into account when the potential date of the evidence was being considered. This can be seen in a synopsis of a lecture given by Jim Rose following the discovery of the handaxe, which explicitly states that the re-dating of the Happisburgh Till means that it must be at least 650,000 years old (S23). An article published by John Wymer and Peter Robins in 2006 (S24) also relies on geological evidence to suggest a possible date of 680,000 years for the Happisburgh finds – specifically Jim Rose’s suggestion that the deposit in question was a floodplain sediment associated with the ancient Ancaster river. A similar date is also quoted in (S25). As discussed below the revised glacial stratigraphy theory is by no means universally accepted and is at odds with the archaeological evidence recovered during the subsequent excavations at this site.

EXCAVATIONS 2004-2012

2004. Excavation.
In 2004 this site, now designated Happisburgh Site 1, was excavated as part of the Leverhulme-funded Ancient Human Occupation of Britain (AHOB) project, in conjunction with the British Museum and Norfolk Museum. This was a multi-disciplinary project, directed by C. Stringer and undertaken by staff from the Natural History Museum (NHM), the British Museum (BM), University College London (UCL) and Royal Holloway (University of London). A single 3m x 2m trench was excavated through the organic mud, with all sediment sieved through a fine mesh.
This work produced a small assemblage of 44 worked flints, comprising 38 flakes, 4 retouched pieces and 2 possible cores. The artefacts were thinly dispersed, with no obvious concentrations. They were however in fresh condition suggesting that they had no moved far from where they were originally deposit, even if they were not necessarily in situ.
See published interim report (S26) for further details.
In order to establish the wider context of the excavated evidence a number of additional sites were investigated along the coast between Happisburgh and Ostend, with sections cleaned and several test pits opened. This work resulted in the recovery of artefactual material from deposits beneath the glacial tills at two additional locations, designated Happisburgh Site 2 (NHER 55744) and Happisburgh Site 3 (NHER 54222). Subsequent work at Happisburgh Site 3 would reveal what appears to be the earliest evidence for the human occupation of north-west Europe.

June-July 2009. Excavation.
Two week excavation by Leiden University.
Three trenches were excavated by machine through the Till (2009-L1, 2009-L2 and 2009-L3), exposing organic clay and organic sandy silt. These organic deposits were subject to bulk sampling and large-scale sieving.
69 flint artefacts recovered, including 9 flakes tools, 50 flakes, 3 cores and 7 chips.
Information from British Museum. Further details awaited.

July 2010. Excavation.
Two week excavation by Leiden University.
Three trenches were excavated by machine through the Till (2010-L7, 2010-L8 and 2010-L9), exposing organic clay and organic sandy silt. These organic deposits were subject to bulk sampling and large-scale sieving.
42 flint artefacts were recovered, including 35 flakes, 3 cores and 4 chips.
Information from British Museum. Further details awaited.

July 2011. Excavation.
Two week excavation by Leiden University.
Two trenches were excavated by machine through the Till (2011-L1 and 2011-L2), exposing organic clay and organic sandy silt. These organic deposits were subject to bulk sampling and large-scale sieving.
65 flint artefacts were recovered, including 35 flakes, 3 cores and 4 chips.
Information from British Museum. Further details awaited.

July 2012. Excavation.
Two week excavation by Leiden University.
Two trenches were excavated by machine through the Till (2012-L2, 2012-L3), exposing organic clay and organic sandy silt. These organic deposits were subject to bulk sampling and large-scale sieving.
35 flint artefacts were recovered, including 35 flakes, 3 cores and 4 chips.
Information from British Museum. Further details awaited.

To date excavations at this site have produced nearly 300 worked flints, the majority of which are unmodified flakes and other debitage. These artefacts are generally in a fresh condition suggesting that whilst probably not in situ, they are unlikely to have been moved far from where they were originally discarded. The extensive programmes of sieving and sampling have also resulted in the recovery of a wide range of palaeoenvironmental evidence, including beetles, pollen and plant macrofossils. Although vertebrate remains are rare due to the acidic nature of the sediments a range of species have nevertheless been identified, including various fish, voles, rhinoceros, red deer, roe deer and indeterminate bovid. Notably, there is evidence for butchery with rhinoceros, roe deer and bovid bones identified that display either cut marks or breakage patterns typically associated with deliberate marrow extraction. Interestingly wood charcoal was also present in many of the samples although it is impossible to determine whether this was the result of fire-use by early humans or natural woodland fires. The vertebrate remains, coupled with the other environmental indicators suggest that the site was occupied during a period of cool-temperate climate. A moist, open, marshland environment is suggested, in close proximity to slow-flowing freshwater and surrounded by heathland and boreal forest. An underlying grey sandy silt (which has been the focus of the work by Leiden University) appears to have been deposited in a more tidally-influenced environment.

The age of the archaeological remains at Happisburgh Site 1 remains somewhat contentious as the date suggested by the revised glacial stratigraphy is not consistent with the excavated evidence. If the proposed re-dating of the overlying Happisburgh Formation to MIS 16 is accepted then the site must be associated with MIS 17 or an earlier warmer period – that is, it must be at least 700,000 years old. The vertebrate evidence, however, suggests that the main, upper archaeological horizon most likely dates to the latter part of the Cromerian Complex, during either late MIS 15 or, more likely, MIS 13 (the temperate period preceding the Anglian glaciation of MIS 12). This would suggest that the evidence uncovered at this site is not as old as that uncovered further along the coast at Pakefield (S27) and certainly not as old as the evidence subsequently revealed at Happisburgh Site 3 (S28). A key biostratigraphic indicator is the presence of the water vole Arvicola rather than its precursor Mimomys. The faunal assemblage as a whole also compares well with those from other sites believed to date to MIS 13. Such a date is also consistent with the presence of a handaxe, a technology for which there is no unequivocal evidence in Europe prior to MIS 13. An MIS 13 date makes it likely that we are seeing evidence for activity by Homo Heidlebergensis, rather than an earlier human species. At present the age of the lower horizon remains uncertain.

A final publication on the work at Happisburgh Site 1 is awaited. The above notes are derived primarily from the interim report produced following the initial excavation, which is currently the only published account of the work (S26). A detailed summary of the Happisburgh discoveries can also be found in (S29), which has a useful and balanced review of the issues regarding the dating of the site. See also (S30) for further discussion of the issues surrounding the revised glacial stratigraphy and its incompatibility with the so-called ‘biostratiphic age model’. See (S31) and (S32) for recent summary of the work by AHOB at Happisburgh and Pakefield and (S33) for limited additional information on the work by Leiden University at Happisburgh Site 1.

Although the discoveries at Happisburgh Site 1 has now been somewhat eclipsed by the potentially much earlier evidence recovered by AHOB at nearby Happisburgh Site 3 (NHER 54222) it nevertheless remains one of Norfolk’s most important Palaeolithic sites. The handaxe also continues to be one of the county’s most widely recognised prehistoric artefacts, as demonstrated by its inclusion in the BBC radio series ‘A History of the World in 100 Objects’ (S34)-(S36) and the ITV series Secret Treasures (S37). In both cases it was reported as being 700,000 years old, reflecting the persistence of the initial publicity rather than the results of the subsequent fieldwork.
P. Watkins (HES), 28 July 2014.

RECENT CHANCE DISCOVERIES

May 2012. Stray Find.
Recovered by [1] in vicinity of Happisburgh Site 1 (found loose, not in situ):
1 ?Middle Palaeolithic miniature flint handaxe. Pointed ovate in glossy buff to grey flint; undamaged, lightly rolled. See drawing (S38).
P. Watkins (HES), 28 July 2014.

Pre August 2012. Stray Find.
Found by [6]:
1 Lower Palaeolithic crude, unfinished flint handaxe. See drawing (S39).
P. Watkins (HES), 28 July 2014.

Monument Types

  • FINDSPOT (Lower Palaeolithic - 1000000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • KILL SITE (Lower Palaeolithic - 1000000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • LITHIC WORKING SITE (Lower Palaeolithic - 1000000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • FINDSPOT (Middle Palaeolithic - 150000 BC? to 40001 BC)

Associated Finds

  • HANDAXE (Lower Palaeolithic - 600000 BC to 500000 BC)
  • ANIMAL REMAINS (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • ANIMAL REMAINS (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • ANIMAL REMAINS (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • ANIMAL REMAINS (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • ANIMAL REMAINS (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • ANIMAL REMAINS (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • ANIMAL REMAINS (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • ANIMAL REMAINS (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • ANIMAL REMAINS (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • AXE TRIMMING FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • CORE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • CORE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • CORE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • CORE? (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • DEBITAGE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • DEBITAGE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • DEBITAGE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • DEBITAGE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • DEBITAGE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • DEBITAGE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • FISH REMAINS (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • HAMMERSTONE? (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • HANDAXE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • PLANT REMAINS (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • POLLEN (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • RETOUCHED FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • RETOUCHED FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • RETOUCHED FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • RETOUCHED FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • RETOUCHED FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • RETOUCHED FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • WATERLOGGED SAMPLE (Lower Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 150001 BC)
  • HANDAXE (Middle Palaeolithic - 150000 BC? to 40001 BC)

Protected Status - none

Sources and further reading

---Correspondence: 2001 to 2002. Correspondence regarding Happisburgh.
---Unpublished Document: NCM. Printout of Geology fossils Master for finds from Happisburgh.
---Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2012. Norfolk's archaeological treasures revealed on TV. 16 July.
---Secondary File: Secondary File.
---Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2014. Coastal finds go centre stage at national show. 17 January.
---Publication: West, R. G. 1980. The Pre-glacial Pleistocene of the Norfolk and Suffolk Coasts.
<S1>Illustration: Robins, P. 2000. Drawing of a Lower Palaeolithic flint handaxe from Happisburgh. Paper. 1:1.
<S2>Illustration: Wymer, J. J. 2000. Drawing of a Lower Palaeolithic flint handaxe from Happisburgh. Paper. 1:1.
<S3>Illustration: Gibbons, J. 2011. Drawing of a Lower Palaeolithic flint handaxe from Happisburgh. Find Illustration. Film. 1:1.
<S4>Article in Serial: Gurney, D. (ed.). 2001. Archaeological Finds in Norfolk 2000. Norfolk Archaeology. XLIII Pt IV pp 694-707. p 695.
<S5>Article in Serial: Robins, P., Wymer, J. J. and Parfitt, S. 2008. Handaxe Finds on the Norfolk Beaches. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol XLV Pt III pp 412-415. p 415.
<S6>Publication: Hobbs, R. 2003. Treasure: finding our past. pp 99-100; Fig 68.
<S7>Unpublished Document: Wymer, J. J. Journal. No 8. pp 33-38; 44-45.
<S8>Illustration: Wymer, J. J. 2000. Drawing of a Palaeolithic flint thinning flake from Happisburgh. Paper. 1:1.
<S9>Unpublished Document: Larkin, N.. 2002. Notes for meeting at NHM, January 2002 regarding Happisburgh.
<S10>Unpublished Document: The prehistoric site on the NE Norfolk Coast.
<S11>Illustration: Rye, P. 2002. Reconstruction of Happisburgh.
<S12>Article in Serial: 2002. Report of Field Trip at Happisburgh, 7th September. Newsletter of the Geological Society of Norfolk. No 55 p 4.
<S13>Unpublished Document: Lee, J. 2002. Geological Society of Norfolk Field Excursion - Happisburgh.
<S14>Article in Serial: Keys, D. 2001. The old country: Britain's first humans go a long way back. New Scientist. December 22.
<S15>Newspaper Article: The Times. 2002. 'Anglia Man' becomes earliest Ancient Briton. 4 June.
<S16>Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2002. 'Exciting' look at human history. 5 June.
<S17>Newspaper Article: East Anglian Daily Times. 2002. East Anglian site yields earliest human finds. 5 June.
<S18>Newspaper Article: The Independent. 2002. Flint axe rewrites history of ancient Britain. 5 June.
<S19>Article in Serial: Keys, D. 2002. The first Britons. Focus. September pp 35-43. pp 36-37.
<S20>Unpublished Document: 2002. Draft Press Release: The Earliest Occurrence of Mankind in Norfolk.
<S21>Article in Monograph: Rose, J. 2008. Palaeogeography of Eastern England during the Early and Middle Pleistocene. The Quaternary of Northern East Anglia. Field Guide. Candy, I, Lee, J. R. and Harrison, A. M. (eds). pp 5-41.
<S22>Article in Monograph: Lee, J. R et al. 2008. Pre-Devensian lithostratigraphy of shallow marine, fluvial and glacial sediments in northern East Anglia. The Quaternary of Northern East Anglia. Field Guide. Candy, I, Lee, J. R. and Harrison, A. M. (eds). pp 42-59.
<S23>Unpublished Document: 2002. Dating the Archaeology at Happisburgh - the oldest evidence for humans in northern Europe [synopsis of talk by J. Rose].
<S24>Article in Serial: Wymer, J. and Robins, P. 2006. Happisburgh and Pakefield: The Earliest Britons. Current Archaeology. No 201 pp 458-467.
<S25>Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2006. Precious artefacts may be lost to sea. 6 September.
<S26>Article in Monograph: Ashton, N., Parfitt, S., Lewis, S.G., Coope, G.R. and Larkin, N. 2008. Happisburgh 1 (TG388307). The Quaternary of Northern East Anglia. Field Guide. Candy, I., Lee, J. R. and Harrison, A. M. (eds). pp 151-156.
<S27>Article in Serial: Parfitt, S. et al. 2005. The earliest record of human activity in northern Europe. Nature. Vol 438 No 7071 pp 1008-1012.
<S28>Article in Serial: Parfitt, S. et al. 2010. Early Pleistocene human occupation at the edge of the boreal zone in northwest Europe. Nature. Vol 466 No 7303 pp 229-233.
<S29>Publication: Pettitt, P. and White, M. 2012. The British Palaeolithic: Human Societies at the Edge of the Pleistocene World.
<S30>Article in Monograph: Preece, R. C. and Parfitt, S. A. 2008. The Cromer Forest-bed Formation: some recent developments relating to early human occupation and lowland glaciation.. The Quaternary of Northern East Anglia. Field Guide. Candy, I, Lee, J. R. and Harrison, A. M. (eds). pp 60-83.
<S31>Article in Serial: Preece, R. C. and Parfitt, S. A. 2012. The Early and early Middle Middle Pleistocene context of human occupation and lowland glaciation in Britain and northern Europe. Quarternary International. No 271 pp 6-28.
<S32>Article in Serial: Shindler, K. 2014. Colonising Britain. One million years of our human story. Current Archaeology. No 288 pp 14-21.
<S33>Article in Serial: Field, M.H. 2012. The first British record of Actinidia faveolata C. Reid and E.M. Reid (Actinidiaceae family). Quarternary International. No 271 pp 65-69.
<S34>Website: http://www.bbc.co.uk/ahistoryoftheworld/objects/riRFjUQ5S_CX4VWEv4CzIQ.
<S35>Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2010. Artefacts help trace history of England. 18 January.
<S36>Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2010. The object is to celebrate our rich history. 13 February.
<S37>Newspaper Article: Eastern Daily Press. 2012. Handaxe is a top treasure. 23 July.
<S38>Illustration: Gibbons, J. 2012. Drawing of a ?Middle Palaeolithic miniature flint handaxe from Happisburgh. Film. 1:1.
<S39>Illustration: Gibbons, J.. 2012. Drawing of a Lower Palaeolithic crude, unfinished flint handaxe from Happisburgh. Find Illustration. Film. 1:1.

Related records - none

Find out more...

Norfolk County Council logo Heritage Lottery Fund logo

Powered by HBSMR-web and the HBSMR Gateway from exeGesIS SDM Ltd, and mojoPortal CMS
© 2007 - 2024 Norfolk Historic Environment Service