Dredged Up

Issue 28
Spring 2021

Archaeology Finds Reporting Ser vice Newsletter

Welcome to Issue 28 of
Dredged Up, the newsletter of the
Marine Aggregate Industry
Archaeological Protocol. Since the
last newsletter in autumn 2020,
17 finds have been reported
though 14 reports.
On pages 2 and 3, we celebrate another amazing
round of finds awards, naming best attitude
by a wharf, best attitude by a vessel and best
find. The competition was tough this year so
congratulations to all our winners!

Pages 4 and 5 showcase a selection of finds

that have been reported since the last issue of
Dredged Up. We appreciate every find that has
been reported, especially in light of changes to
operations due to Covid-19.

Munitions and firearms are a hot topic in this

issue. See pages 6 and 7 to learn more about
them.

On page 8, we meet some of the wonderful

Nominated Contacts that represent some of the
aggregate companies involved with the Protocol.

New promotional material!

This spring, we’ve introduced the new Marine
Aggregate Industry Archaeological Protocol pens
that we hope you love just as much as we do.

If you need any more or if you would like to

get in touch with the team for any remote training
or mugs and photo scale cards, then please contact
us by emailing protocol@wessexarch.co.uk or call
01722 326867.

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 2019−2020 Finds Awards

It’s time to celebrate the annual Finds Awards! In

this issue, we are pleased to announce the winners
and runners up from the 2019−2020 reporting
year which runs from 1 October 2019 until 30
September 2020. Anything found after this date will
be considered for the Finds Awards in spring 2022.
For details about all of the discoveries that were
made during the 2019–2020 reporting year, you can
access and download a copy of the Annual Report
online: https://tinyurl.com/3397m4u7

Best Attitude by a Wharf

This year, the winner of the best attitude by a wharf is
Hanson Dagenham Wharf. In November 2019, staff at the
wharf discovered a collection of worked flints (including
handaxes) and animal bones from Licence Area 240 in the
East Coast dredging region. Within a few days of the reports
being made, an Operational Sampling visit was carried out
by a team of archaeologists alongside the wharf staff. During
this visit, 30 flint artefacts including five handaxes dated to
the Middle Palaeolithic, and 111 pieces of animal bone were
recovered including a rhinoceros scapula with hyena teeth marks
(pictured). Subsequently, the wharf has been visited frequently
to monitor these cargoes and several more finds of handaxes
and animal bones have been made. A designated shovel driver
is assigned to the team so that the sampling is done efficiently
by spreading the material thinly so that it can be inspected. The
drivers also show their interest and assist the archaeologist
with their work. A new bay was designed and constructed at
the wharf of their own accord in order to isolate the desired
cargoes to make the job easier. A large new finds cabinet has
also been purchased in order to display all the finds discovered
at the wharf. The enthusiasm of the staff at the wharf and their
attitude towards the archaeology and archaeologists alike has
been exemplary and we can’t thank them all enough. We would
like to give our special thanks to Aaron Chidgey (pictured), Troy
Porter and Michael Perkins.

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Best Attitude by a Vessel
This year we would like to congratulate Hanson’s Arco Avon for
winning this award, and especially the finder, Darryl Mason.
Thank you to each vessel that has reported finds through the
Protocol over the past reporting year.

Hanson’s Arco Avon discovered a mammoth tooth

(Hanson_0935) from Licence Area 240 in the East Coast
dredging region, approximately 10 km east of Great Yarmouth.

The tooth is virtually complete with visible roots and measures Best Find
300 mm long by 160 mm wide. Images of the find were sent to
Professor Adrian Lister at the Natural History Museum for further The best find of this reporting year goes to DEME_0957; a
identification, who said that it is a nice specimen of a mammoth post-medieval jug that was discovered from Licence Area 340 in
tooth. He said it’s the third (last molar) of an animal about 35 the South Coast dredging region, approximately 8.5 km south-
years old that dates very probably to the Late Pleistocene woolly east of the Isle of Wight. Gerard Kegel discovered it at DBM
mammoth (Mammuthus primigenius), although he would have to Vlissingen wharf in the Netherlands.
take measurements to rule out the earlier (Middle Pleistocene)
Mammuthus trogontherii. He said much of the cement has This metal jug measures approximately 130 mm wide by
been eroded between the plates, presumably through its time 130 mm tall. It has an ornate decoration on the pouring spout in
at the bottom of the sea, but the roots are so complete that he the design of a bearded man, a stamp in its centre and an oval
wouldn’t be surprised to find the skull, or parts of it, still on the cross section. The handle and spout appear to be made from a
seabed. Mammuthus primigenius or woolly mammoth were in different metal to the body due to the corrosion visible on them.
existence in Europe during the late Middle and Late Pleistocene, It is complete apart from damage to the reverse and the base
dating from 350,000 to 10,000 years ago, while the early Middle is missing.
Pleistocene Mammuthus trogontherii (0.7 to 0.5 million years
ago) (Lister and Sher 2001). Important changes can be seen in Images were sent to Wessex Archaeology’s Senior Archives
the teeth of the mammoths as each species evolves; there is an Manager, Lorraine Mepham, who said that she had never seen
increase in the number of enamel bands (plates) in the molars anything like it. She said it is definitely post-medieval, and
and thinning of the enamel. The dental changes resulted in deliberately oval in cross-section rather than just squashed. The
increased resistance to abrasion, which is believed to indicate a spout and handle appear to have some sort of plating which
shift from woodland browsing to grazing in open grassy habitats has differentially corroded. She said that the details of the
of the Pleistocene. stamp aren’t clear, but it is in script lettering and is probably a
set of initials or a monogram, though whether this relates to the
The mammoth tooth is now being conserved and it is hoped that manufacturer or the owner is not clear, although it’s probably
it will find a home in the Natural History Museum. the latter. Although there are no direct parallels to the jug, a
similar spout was found on a mid-19th century English silver
Reference coffee pot. Similarly, a Dutch silver hot chocolate pot, dated to
Lister, A M and Sher, A V 2001 The Origin and Evolution of the c. 1853–1859 was noted as having a bearded seaman as the
Woolly Mammoth. Science (volume 294(5544), 1094-7). spout. Lorraine suggested that the shape of the handle, and the
style of the script lettering on the stamp, suggest that it is 18th
or 19th century in date. The age of the pots displaying similar
spouts also support this.

Images were also shown to Steve Beach, Project Manager at

Wessex Archaeology, who said that the jug may be made of
pewter. He said that different batches of pewter will corrode
differently depending on its composition, which may explain why
the handle and the spout are corroding differently to the body.
Steve also said that the mark is reminiscent of an ‘owners mark’.

Owners often applied their own marks to pewter. On plates,

dishes and chargers these were usually just a simple triad of
initials stamped on the rim, the centre initial being the surname
and the other two the forenames of the husband and wife. Marks
with two or four initials are also found while some owners had
crests or shields engraved on their pewter, whilst institutional
owners might stamp their name or symbol.

On drinking vessels such as this one, owners tended to engrave

either a monogram or the full name and address. These are
particularly common on drinking vessels used in pubs during the
19th and 20th century as a deterrence against theft.

All our winners receive a £100 cheque

and a certificate of their achievement.
Congratulations to all of you!

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 Finds reported since the Autumn London Clay formation and possibly reworked through Plio-
Pleistocene crags. He said that the tooth is not identifiable, but
the general shape fits with a lateral tooth of Striatolamia, the
commonest larger shark in the London Clay. The London Clay
formation is a British marine deposit that is significant in the
history of palaeontology generally, and palaeoichthyology (the
scientific study of prehistoric fish) specifically. Striatolamia is an
extinct species of sharks belonging to the family Odontaspididae.
These extinct sharks lived from the Early Paleocene to Late
Miocene (61.7 to 10.3 million years ago). The Latin genus name
Striatolamia refers to the striations on the surface of the teeth.
Striatolamia species could reach a length of about 3.5 m. The
anterior teeth have elongated crowns, with striations on the
lingual face and small lateral cusplets. The lateral teeth, such
as the one discovered are smaller and broader, with weaker
striations. Finds like this one, whilst very interesting, are not
technically archaeological as archaeology covers only the human
past, and people have lived in Britain for only around 900,000
years. This find is palaeontological in origin, however, and every
credit should be given to the wharf for finding such a small
object and for reporting it.

Tarmac_0977
Tarmac_0977 is a small cast iron cannonball that was
discovered by Barry Gardner at Marchwood Wharf in
Southampton. The Licence Area it came from is unknown. The
cannonball has a diameter of 45 mm or 1.8 inches. Charles
Trollope, an expert in historical ordnance, studied the images
of the find and based on the measurements provided with the
scale, said that the cannonball seems to be compatible with
an English 18-pounder but could be for a Dutch or French
16-pounder. A sign of a mark on the surface, for example
a Broad Arrow, could narrow the possibilities down. The
18-pounder long gun was an intermediary calibre piece of
artillery mounted on warships of the Age of Sail (mid-16th to the
mid-19th centuries). They were used as main guns on the most
typical frigates of the early 19th century. As the 18-pounder
calibre was consistent with both the French and the British
calibre systems, it was used in many European navies between
the 17th and the 19th century. The Canon de 16 Gribeauval was
a French cannon and part of the Gribeauval system developed by
Jean Baptiste Vaquette de Gribeauval during the 18th century. It Tarmac_0978
was part of the siege artillery. The canon de 16 Gribeauval was
used extensively during the wars following the French Revolution, Tarmac_0978 is a white ensign flag that was recovered
as well as the Napoleonic wars. Cannonballs are a common from Licence Area 254 in the East Coast dredging region,
find around the south and east coasts of England as, with an approximately 10 km north-east of Great Yarmouth. Jack Tate
extensive naval history, military training and battles have taken discovered it on board Tarmac’s City of London. This flag is the
place along this stretch of coastline for hundreds of years. It is top left corner of a larger white ensign flag. The larger, whole
not possible to say whether it was fired during training, battle flag would comprise a white flag with a red cross, like the St
or perhaps just lost overboard, however, the flattened edges George flag with the addition of the union jack in the upper left
indicate it may have been used in combat. corner. This find is believed to be relatively modern. Royal Navy
ships and submarines wear the White Ensign at all times when
underway on the surface. The logo of the Royal Navy features a
CEMEX_0980 waving White Ensign at the top. The white ensign is also flown on
shore establishments including all Royal Marines establishments
CEMEX_0980 is a shark tooth that was recovered from Licence as well as yachts of members of the Royal Yacht Squadron and
Area 512 in the East Coast dredging region, approximately by ships of Trinity House escorting the reigning monarch. The
14.5 km east-north-east of Lowestoft. Andrew Lingham White Ensign is worn at the mastheads when Royal Navy ships
discovered it at Northfleet Wharf. This measures 10 mm by are dressed on special occasions such as the Queen’s birthday,
7 mm. Images of this find were sent to the Natural History and may similarly be worn by foreign warships when in British
Museum where they were shown to the shark specialist, Charlie waters when dressed in honour of a British holiday or when firing
Underwood. He said that this is clearly a shark tooth, and the a salute to British authorities. The Ensign was first introduced
dark colour of the specimen shows it is not modern. He said in the 15th century when it consisted of a Tudor ensign, with
that as it was found off Suffolk, it is almost certainly from the the current version of flag developed in 1707. Other versions of

4
the ensigns are also used. A Red Ensign is the official flag used
for merchant vessels while the Blue Ensign indicates a ship
commanded by an officer of the Royal Naval Reserve.

Hanson_0972
Hanson_0972 is a handaxe that was recovered from lane
F10 in Licence Area 240 in the East Coast dredging region,
approximately 10 km south-east of Great Yarmouth. Aaron
Chidgey discovered it at Dagenham Wharf. The handaxe
measures approximately 110 mm long and 60 mm wide. It
was recovered from lane F10 that is now a part of the new
Archaeological Exclusion Zone in Area 240 which means no
more dredging can take place in the lane. The images were
shown to Phil Harding at Wessex Archaeology who said that he
would need to see the handaxe in the flesh to be able to analyse
it. It is hoped that this can be done once travel is once again
permitted. It is likely that the handaxe dates to the Palaeolithic
period when the seabed around the United Kingdom was dry
land due to water being ‘locked’ in the ice sheets that covered
much of North Western Europe. During these periods of low
sea levels, the current North Sea and the English Channel were Clubbs_0975
exploited by humans and animals. If the provisional dating
proves to be correct, these tools were made by Neanderthals Clubbs_0975 comprises three pieces of metal debris recovered
(Homo neanderthalensis). from Licence Area 512 in the East Coast dredging region,
approximately 14.5 km east-north-east of Lowestoft. Kevin
Cruickshank discovered it at Clubbs Marine Aggregates Wharf,
Gravesend. Three metal pieces were reported and thought to
belong to aircraft due to the visible rivets and rivet holes on all
of the pieces. The measurement of the largest piece is unknown
however the second longest piece measures approximately
300 mm in length and has a curved profile. The object shaped
like a cross is 260 mm at its widest point. Images of the possible
aircraft related pieces were sent to external aircraft specialist,
Steve Vizard, who said that despite the rivet holes, these parts
do not appear to be aircraft related. He said that the shape and
form of the cross shaped part does not look like any aviation
item that he is familiar with, and the longer section looks to have
steel rivets or fasteners in the aluminium section which is not
usual. Steel rivets were sometimes used in high stress areas on
the aircraft, but it wasn’t normal practice. Despite this, he said
he would be inclined to conclude that these are not airframe
components. Instead, they could be related to a more modern
wreck site as rivets were used to join iron or steel components
together in ship building and other construction works before
the use of welding in shipbuilding during the Second World War.
However, images were sent to Senior Naval Engineer, Anthony
Mansfield, who said he does not recognise them as part of a
ship, therefore their origins are unknown. As the finds are not
thought to be aircraft fragments, the remains are not considered
to be contentious, although the discovery of further remains
from the same area should be reported immediately as they
could provide clues to identify the type of site that these finds
derived from.

5
 Munitions – A Guide
All marine aggregate dredgers and wharves should have
emergency procedures in place that apply in the event that any
ordnance (guns, bullets, shells and cannonballs) be recovered
- these procedures take precedence over any archaeological
reporting requirements. However, discoveries of ordnance may
be of archaeological interest, and they should be reported
through the Protocol if it is possible and safe to do so.
Munitions are the weapons, or the weapons systems used in
combat, while ammunition refers to the charges needed for the
weapons or the weapons systems.

What to do?
When a munition is found, a competent person will need to make
a decision on what action to take and whether the munition is
assessed as inert or other (live or blind). This initial assessment
may be carried out by an appropriately trained employee or
contractor who holds a current, approved Explosive Ordnance
Disposal (EOD) qualification defined as Level 1 trained. Where
a competent person or contractor has not been appointed
then the munition must be assumed to be live or blind and the
appropriate action taken. In the event that items are assessed
to be blind or live munitions they will need to be rendered safe
either by military EOD or an appropriate third-party commercial
EOD contractor with equivalent competence defined as Level 2
trained.

Retaining live/blind munitions at a site beyond 24 hours of

discovery is an offence under the Manufacture and Storage of
Explosives Regulations 2005 unless held in a licensed store.

Further information on dealing with munitions in marine

sediments published by The Crown Estate and Mineral Products
Association in 2010 can be found online: https://bmapa.org/
documents/Dealing-with-munitions-in-marine-sediments.pdf

Firearms Act 1968 Section 5

A Section 5 authority is needed to handle prohibited weapons,
component parts and prohibited ammunition as holding them
without one is an offence. This relates to firearms, therefore, if
any firearms or parts of firearms are recovered by a vessel or on
a wharf, these also need to be reported to the police or EOD and
rendered safe if it is to be kept for display purposes.

6
Tarmac_0985 case study
This machine gun was discovered in January 2021 from a mixed gun body). These were reasonably distinctive as to what aircraft
cargo deriving from Licence Area 509/3 in the Thames Estuary the guns were fitted to, for example, quite different for static
and Licence Area 460 in the East English Channel. Jamie Wallis fixed in a fighter wing, as opposed to a gun turret in a bomber.
discovered it at Greenwich Wharf. And invariably this attachment bracketry would have part
numbers denoting manufacturers. It’s a bit like trying to identify
This machine gun was reported in two parts and displayed a particular car model just by looking at a generic engine block
several markings including a serial number ‘B194.466’ that the fitted to a variety of cars when it is actually the attachments
wharf took excellent close-up photographs of. and ancillaries that are specific to a particular model and the
difference is in the installation and attachment. It is just the
Images were sent to Graham Scott of Wessex Archaeology’s same with the standard Mk II Browning, fitted in dozens of
Coastal & Marine team who provisionally identified the gun as a different types, but differentiated by attachments. The only other
Browning .50 calibre ANM2 fixed aircraft machine gun. He also clue is the fluted end to the muzzle of the barrel, as opposed
said that the calibre was questionable and could be a .30 or to the flash eliminator. That can sometimes denote fighter or
.303 –as the 0.50 calibre barrel seems to have had a different bomber, but sadly is completely missing from this example.
part number from the one on this example.
The .303 Browning was an adaptation of an American design
Images were also sent to Jonathan Ferguson, Keeper of Firearms adopted by the RAF in 1937. During the Second World War the
& Artillery at the Royal Armouries Museum, Leeds. He said that Browning armed a variety of British aircraft, either mounted in
this is a Browning .303 and the B prefix on the serial number the wings or in power-operated turrets. The eight-gun armament
denotes manufacture by Birmingham Small Arms Company of the Hurricane and Spitfire was predicated by the perceived
(BSA). Through comparison of other guns, Jonathon estimated a need to deliver a sufficient volume of fire to destroy an enemy
date of 1941 for this machine gun. The barrel of the gun is bomber in a burst lasting not more than two seconds. The
Mk. III while the breech casing is a Mk. II*, and the only way to eight guns could deliver 320 rounds in this time. In reality, the
know whether this was built as a Mk. II and converted or not dispersion of this fusillade still made it difficult to bring down a
would be via production information. large aircraft, meaning that cannon-armed fighters became the
norm from 1941 onwards.
As the gun is known to be from an aircraft, the images were sent
to external aircraft specialist, Steve Vizard, in order to determine As per the Firearms Act 1968, the machine gun was reported to
what kind of aircraft it may have originated from. He said that the police as a Section 5 firearm as withholding it would be an
it is very difficult to even begin to guess at an aircraft type for a offence. Although the gun is in two pieces and not functioning,
Browning like this. Unfortunately, the vital clues are not there. it is still viewed as a weapon as it could be used for parts. The
It’s the mounting attachments that would provide evidence of police are now in possession of the find.
type (the lug bracket with the two holes on the bottom of the

7
 Nominated Contacts
Each of the registered BMAPA companies has a Nominated Contact that we correspond with directly.
They are crucial in the running of the Protocol as they report the finds directly to us after having received
the information from the wharf and vessel staff. We would like to thank you all for your support and the
extra miles you go to, to ensure the level of reporting is kept to a high standard.

Dr Nigel Griffiths (Resources Manager)

Hanson Marine

I have been at Hanson Marine for 10 years and the Palaeo-Yare story we have
been involved with has been fascinating. Becoming aware of the importance,
age (250,000 years +) and rarity of these finds and appreciating early man’s
development in NW Europe is incredible. A particular moment of interest came
in visiting the Natural History Museum with a bone recovered from Dagenham
Wharf from cargo dredged from Licence Area 240 showing scratch marks (axe
/ knife marks or natural?). Specialists were able to show the true origins of the
marks (teeth marks from a hyena) and compare with man-made toolmarks from
the famous Boxgrove site another 200,000 years older. The whole concept of
geological time and our part in it has been very thought provoking.

Richard Fifield (Marine Resource & Compliance Manager)

Britannia Aggregates Ltd
I am really proud of the very effective Protocol and reporting process that
our industry has developed and adopted and that is administered so well
by Wessex. It is really interesting to read Dredged Up and to see some of
the artefacts that our vessels have found. With a geological background I
am of course keen to see what fossils have been unearthed but am equally
fascinated by the WWII and more ancient objects. I very much hope that this
valuable and useful record keeping can continue well into the future.

Edward Skinner (Resources Project Manager)

Tarmac

I have been at Tarmac for almost nine years now and one of my most
memorable moments was handing over a propeller blade with bullet hole to
Tangmere Military Aviation Museum. This fascinating fragment of crashed
aircraft was dredged up with sand and gravel from a licence area seven miles
south-west of Selsey Bill. I handed the blade to the museum’s chairman and in
the background of the photograph shown here are the remains of the British
fighter aircraft that most probably shot down the German Stuka dive bomber
from which this propeller blade and several other engine fragments originated.
The British Hawker Hurricane fighter was stationed at Tangmere RAF Base, now
a museum, which is just a two minute drive from our office. This is definitely
the archaeological highlight for me and exemplifies what I think is great about
the Protocol. From something seemingly small and insignificant found in the
cargo, you can uncover some amazing historical stories. I really appreciate the
enthusiasm and engagement from the teams on all the wharves and ships in
finding and reporting objects of interest, whatever they might be. The protocol
is proving to be such a success with their continued support.
Long may it continue.