Volume 52 of the Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society contained two articles (Salisbury 1986; Tipping 1986) critical of our paper ‘The stratigraphy of Kirkhead Cave, an upper palaeolithic site in northern England’ (Gale and Hunt 1985). Here we reply.

Before dealing with the criticisms made by Salisbury, we correct the factual errors in his paper.

1. Bolton and Morris ‘… excavated through, and ultimately removed some 5 to 7 metres of cave earth…’ (Salisbury 1986, 321). In fact, the reports indicate a maximum depth of excavation of 7 ft (2.1 m) (Bolton 1864, cclii) or 8 ft (2.4 m) (Morris 1865–66, 360, 361; 1866, 169, 170; Bolton 1869, 167–68).

2. Bolton and Morris's ‘… publications are of little value today, and both may be considered to have been “bone hunters” and collectors’ (Salisbury 1986, 321). The assertion that Bolton and Morris's excavation reports are of little value suggests that Salisbury is not familiar with the wealth of early literature on this site. The reports provide a picture of a rich and varied assemblage of artefacts and macrofauna in the unit overlying the stalagmite floor in the cave. Information is also provided on the lithology of that unit. Interpretation of these reports allows the reconstruction of the stratigraphic context of the finds: we direct Salisbury's attention to Gale and Hunt (1985, 296–97) for an indication of the stratigraphic reconstruction possible from the information given in these early publications.

A Lower Palaeolithic handaxe found a few years ago at St Catherine's Hill, Christ church, is described. Various aspects of its technology and morphology appear archaic, and although it was found in a secondary context, with no clear geological evidence for its true age, relatively old Pleistocene gravels do occur at the summit of the hill. At the Ballast Hole, Corfe Mullen, a few miles west, J. B. Calkin and J. F. N. Green recorded some 25 years ago a number of handaxes very similar to this one, in a hill-wash deposit below bluff gravels; they suggested that the implements had originally been dropped on the surface of the Sleight (170 ft) terrace while the 130 ft terrace was forming nearby. These implements were demonstrably older than the well-made later Acheulian ovate handaxes from the same pit. They were called Middle Acheulian by Calkin and Green, but it is suggested that Earlier Acheulian would be a better description. Their likely context in the British sequence is briefly discussed. Early Acheulian occurrences in situ in early deposits are rare in Britain and Europe.

The excavations of the Iron Age site at Little Woodbury were carried out by the Prehistoric Society in 1938–39 under the direction of Dr Gerhard Bersu. The first part of the report, published in Proc. Prehist. Soc. VI (1940), 30–111, was Dr Bersu's account of the structures revealed by excavation. This second part deals with the pottery, by far the most abundant material recovered, and discusses its significance for the history of the site and its relation to other Iron Age settlements in Wessex. The general conclusions are given first, and the detailed evidence on which they are based follows, with a catalogue of the pottery and two appendices.

An excavation at the Iron Age Promontory Fort at Embury Beacon is described. Most of the work was concentrated on the inner rampart, its entrance and the small remaining portion of the interior, where structures revealed by post holes were associated with Glastonbury style pottery. The outer rampart was also sectioned and areas within the wide intervallum space investigated.

A series of implements were collected during the summer and autumn of 1914 from an area of some twenty square miles lying between the Cray Valley and Kingsdown in North Kent. The specimens were not distributed uniformly over this area, but confined more or less to a few localities where they occurred in considerable numbers. It is, moreover, significant that these localities are on high land commanding extensive views of the surrounding country, and especially of the river valleys. The sites were presumably chosen for this and another reason—the local abundance of green-coated flint, a material which was largely employed in the manufacture of implements.

The sites had been inhabited by a succession of peoples who left their implements behind them. Among these the commonest are assignable to the Neolithic period, but Palæolithic implements are by no means rare. There are, moreover, localities where only Palæolithic forms are found, and these all of one pattern, namely, the pointed ovate. Many possess the familiar reversed S twist, and all are deeply patinated, either pure white, pinkish-yellow, or cream.

The site occupies the top and upper slope of the gravel plateau O.D. 200 feet, ¾ mile West by South of Weybourne Station. (See Ordnance Datum Map, Norfolk, Sheet X., S.W., 6-ins. to 1 mile). It consists of unploughed heathland, mainly undisturbed, though during the war some trenches were dug, whilst, at some past date, heather “turves” have been cut for the making of a turf bank, possibly an old boundary bank. As a result stony patches occur among the heather, and it was the discovery in August, 1923, by my daughter, Olive, of a worked point (Fig. 11) on one of these patches that led to the investigation of the site.

The parish boundary between Weybourne and Kelling lies at the foot of the eastern slope of the plateau at this spot. 1,100 yards East by South is a tumulus, adjoining which are the “Weybourne Pits,” whilst just over a mile west by north lie a series of tumuli on Salthouse Heath.

From the Marine Parade, Tankerton, Whitstable, looking East, one obtains a capital view of Tankerton Bay, Swalecliffe, in which my discoveries have been made which are to form the subject matter of this paper. The grassy cliff at Priest and Sow corner at the end of the road stands at 55 O.D. This height gradually declining round the arc of the bay, to die out entirely in the Long Rock occupying the middle distance and through which the Swalecliffe Brook discharges into the sea. Just beyond, a little to the right, are the disused Swalecliffe Brick Works, with Stud Hill and Hampton lying further back. To the left and edging the horizon, Herne Bay Pier is clearly discernable. The accompanying copy of (Plate I.) the 25-in. Ordnance map of this Tankerton Bay section gives the exact position of the 650 yards from the Parish Boundary Stone eastwards indicated thereon with a X in which are found the gravels and brick-earths which have proved so rich in archaeological treasure trove. The whole of this south-easterly directioned well-drained gently sloping ground, from the Priest and Sow corner to the Swalecliffe brook, forms an ideal camping site. Last April a paper was read by me before the Geological Association, at University College, London, entitled “An Examination of the Contents of the Brick Earths and Gravels of Tankerton Bay, Swalecliffe, Kent,” in which the geological aspect of this section was fairly exhaustively treated, so that in this particular it will be unnecessary for me to do more than give a brief summary of the results of that examination as to the relative age and stratigraphical sequence of the Drift material found here overlying the London Clay.

This paper describes the results of two seasons of excavation and associated palaeoenvironmental analyses of a wetland site on Beccles Marshes, Beccles, Suffolk. The site has been identified as a triple post alignment of oak timbers (0.6–2.0 m long), over 100 m in length, and 3–4 m wide, running north-west to south-east towards the River Waveney. It was constructed in a single phase which has been dated dendrochronologically to 75 BC, although discrete brushwood features identified as possible short trackways have been dated by radiocarbon to both before and after the alignment was built. It is unclear if the posts ever supported a superstructure but notches (‘halving lap joints’) in some of the posts appear to have held timbers to support the posts and/or aid in their insertion. In addition, fragments of both Iron Age and Romano-British pottery were recovered. A substantial assemblage of worked wooden remains appears to reflect the construction of the post row itself and perhaps the on-site clearance of floodplain vegetation. This assemblage also contains waste material derived from the reduction splitting of timbers larger than the posts of the alignment, but which have not been recovered from the site. Environmental analyses indicate that the current landscape context of the site with respect to the River Waveney is probably similar to that which pertained in prehistory. The coleoptera (beetle) record illustrates a series of changes in the on-site vegetation in the period before, during and after the main phase of human activity which may be related to a range of factors including floodplain hydrology and anthropogenic utilisation of Beccles Marshes. The possible form and function of the site is discussed in relation to the later prehistoric period in Suffolk.

Sir Grahame Clark's interests in wetland archaeology were not restricted to his pioneering work at Star Carr and much of his writing was illuminated by his wide knowledge of the fruits of wetland research in many parts of the world. The paper presents the case for wetland archaeology, to show how it has expanded our knowledge of the past and has made prehistory more colourful and dynamic to both archaeologists and the public. In seeking the patterns of behaviour that existed in the past, six key elements contribute to our studies: environment and change; economy and subsistence; stratification and context; structures and activities; chronology and precision; and range of material culture. The evidence for all of these aspects is well-preserved in many wetland environments, and a number of key sites are identified and assessed for their contribution to prehistoric studies.