The Boxgrove Palaeolithic site is a complex of internationally important Lower Palaeolithic archaeological sites in the former Eartham Quarry, north-east of Boxgrove in West Sussex, dating to around 480,000 years ago during the Middle Pleistocene. The oldest human remains in Britain, designated "Boxgrove Man", have been recovered from the site, possibly attributable to Homo heidelbergensis. Boxgrove is also one of the oldest sites in Europe with direct evidence of hunting and butchering by early humans. Only part of the site is protected through designation, one area being a geological Site of Special Scientific Interest, as well as a Geological Conservation Review site.
Other key Lower Paleolithic sites in the UK include the Happisburgh footprints (the oldest evidence of humans in Britain), Kents Cavern, and Swanscombe.
The site is close to a fossil shoreline and has a interglacial, temperate climate fauna in deposited in sediments representing initially coastal marine, transitioning upwards into coastal mudflat and later grassland and woodland environments. The site was discovered by Andrew Woodcock and Roy Shephard-Thorn in 1974. They recorded the geological sequence, in-situ artefacts and fossil mammal remains. Parts of the site complex were later excavated between 1982 and 1996 by a team led by Mark Roberts of the Institute of Archaeology, University College London. The site is situated in an area that features a buried chalk cliff that overlooked a flat beach (which contained a waterhole) stretching approximately half a mile (1 km) south to the sea.
Geological context
The site is located in the West Sussex coastal plain, immediately to the south of the South Downs, a chalk ridge that extends across much of Southeast England.xix The Boxgrove site was deposited on top of a wave-cut platform of chalk, when the site was located on the coast;xix it is now part of a raised beach. At the time, Boxgrove was on the north shore of an enclosed bay with a narrow entrance to the English Channel to the south, and Britain was a peninsula of mainland Europe, with southeast England being connected to northern France and the Netherlands by a land bridge, which separated the English Channel and North Sea. The Boxgrove deposits make up part of the Slindon Formation, and were just south of a (now completely buried) chalk cliff face, estimated to have reached a height of formed by marine erosion of the chalk. The site is now some inland and above present sea level, because of later tectonic uplift of the area after the deposition of the Boxgrove site. The earliest member of the Slindon Formation, the Slindon Sand member, comprising layers of gravel and sand, records near-shore marine conditions at the Boxgrove site. Above the Slindon Sand Member is the Slindon Silt Member, the main unit of archaeological and paleontological interest at site, which records the transition of the site from being underwater to emergent land, and consists of silt and an upper thin paleosol (preserved soil) layer, deposited in a temperate climate, which records a transition from mudflats (unit 4b) in the lower part of the member, up to a terrestrial grassland along with woodland and water pools (units 4c, 4d and 4u), subsequently transitioning upwards into a horizon of mineralized organics representing fen or carr (unit 5a). Above this lies clay and gravel deposits of the Eartham Lower Gravel Member, comprising cliff scree. This is covered by periglacial gravel deposits of the Eartham Upper Gravel Member (with both members being part of the Eartham Formation) deposited under cold arctic conditions.21-149
The Slindon Formation is thought to have been deposited during an episode of relatively high sea level. The Slindon Silt Member is dated to the interglacial period at the end of Marine Isotope Stage 13, around 480,000 years ago, based on biostratigraphic analysis of the species of mammal found at the site, with the Eartham Formation representing deposits of the subsequent Anglian glaciation during Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 12. The fossiliferous terrestrial paleosol horizon of the Slindon Silt Member present at Boxgrove, though only relatively narrow at wide, extends some distance from the site following an east-west axis along the base of the buried chalk cliff face, spanning between Slindon Park and Adsdean Farm. Another site containing this horizon, Valdoe Quarry, to the west of Boxgrove, has also yielded animal fossils and stone tools.
Contents The site is considered important for the degree of preservation of ancient land surfaces, the extent of the palaeolandscape beyond the quarries (over 26 km wide), its quantity of well-preserved animal bones, its flint artifacts, and its hominin fossils that are among some of the most ancient found yet in Europe. Some fossils of animals are the oldest known specimens of their species. The combination of bones, stone artifacts, and the geology of the landscape gives a detailed look into the coastal plain as it existed half a million years ago.Pitts, M. & Roberts, M. "Fairweather Eden". Fromm International: New York, 1997.
Fauna
Fauna of the Boxgrove site158-159TaxonNotesImagesSmooth newt (Triturus vulgaris)Present in modern BritainNorthern crested newt (Triturus cristatus)J.A. Holman. (2000). New herpetological records from the Middle Pleistocene Boxgrove Hominid Site, England. Cranium, 17(2), 112–120.Palmate newt (Lissotriton helveticus)Common toad (Bufo bufo)Natterjack toad (Bufo calamita)Common spadefoot (Pelobates fuscus)Species extant but no longer occurs in BritainMoor frog (Rana arvalis)Common frog (Rana temporaria)Present in modern BritainCommon parsley frog (Pelodytes punctatus)Species extant but no longer occurs in BritainMarsh frog (Pelophylax ridibundus)Species extant but no longer occurs in BritainSmooth snake (Coronella austriaca)Species extant but no longer occurs in BritainGrass snake (Natrix natrix)Species identification was made prior to the split between Natrix natrix (which is not native to modern Britain) and Natrix helvetica, (the barred grass snake), which isSlow worm (Anguis fragilis)Present in modern BritainViviparous lizard (Zootoca vivipara)Whooper swan (Cygnus cf. cygnus)Greylag goose (Anser anser)Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos)Eurasian wigeon (Anas penelope)Garganey (Spatula querquedula) Eurasian teal (Anas crecca)Tufted duck (Aythya fuligula)Common goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) Grey partridge (Perdix perdix) Common moorhen (Gallinula chloropus)Scolopacidae or CharadriidaeIndeterminate shorebird remainsBlack-headed gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus)Present in modern BritainKittiwake (Rissa cf R. tridactyla)†Great auk (Pinguinus impennis)Native to Britain until historical times (extinct 1844). Boxgrove record one of the oldest of the species.Tawny owl (Strix aluco)Present in modern BritainCommon swift (Apus apus) European robin (Erithacus rubecula)Dunnock (Prunella cf P. modularis)Common starling (Sturnus vulgaris)Erinaceus sp.Closely related to the modern European hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus), which is present in Britain todayNeomys sp.Closely related to the modern Eurasian water shrew (Neomys fodiens), which is present in Britain todayEurasian pygmy shrew (Sorex minutus)Present in modern Britain†Sorex runtonensisAn extinct species of shrew†Sorex (Drepanosorex) saviniEuropean mole (Talpa europaea)Present in modern Britain†Talpa minorAn extinct species of moleCommon long-eared bat (Plecotus auritus)Present in modern BritainWhiskered bat (Myotis mystacinus)Bechstein's bat (Myotis bechsteinii) †Canis mosbachensisA smaller ancestor of the modern grey wolf (Canis lupus)†Ursus deningeriA large bear, ancestral to the later cave bear (Ursus spelaeus)Stoat (Mustela erminea)Present in modern BritainEuropean mink (Mustela lutreola)Species extant but no longer occurs in BritainLeast weasel (Mustela nivalis)Present in modern BritainMeles sp.Closely related to the modern European badger (Meles meles), which is present in Britain todayCrocutaOriginally assigned to the living spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), though the taxonomy of Middle Pleistocene European Crocuta is complex and some authors consider remains form this time period to belong to extinct species distinct from the living spotted hyena, such as Crocuta spelaea.European wildcat (Felis cf F. silvestris)Still present in Britain today. One of the oldest known records of European wildcats, and displays transitional characters with earlier F. lunensis†Panthera fossilisA large lion, originally assigned to the modern lion (Panthera leo), ancestor of the later cave lion (Panthera spelaea)ElephantidaeIndeterminate elephantid remains likely assignable to the steppe mammoth (Mammuthus trogontherii) or straight-tusked elephant (Palaeoloxodon antiquus)Wild horse (Equus ferus)Still extant but no longer present in Britain (extinct c. 8000 BC)†Stephanorhinus hundsheimensisAn extinct large species of rhinoceros belonging to the genus StephanorhinusRed deer (Cervus elaphus)Present in modern BritainRoe deer (Capreolus capreolus)†Dama robertiOriginally referred to the living European fallow deer (Dama dama)†Praemegaceros dawkinsiModerately sized "giant deer"†Praemegaceros cf. verticornisLarge sized "giant deer"Bison sp.Originally assigned to the steppe bison (Bison priscus)CaprinaeIndeterminate goat-antelopeSciurus sp.A tree squirrelWood lemming (Myopus schisticolor)Still extant but no longer present in BritainNorway lemming (Lemmus lemmus)Bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) Present in modern BritainGrey-sided vole (Craseomys rufocanus) Still extant but no longer present in Britain†Pliomys episcopalisExtinct species of vole†Arvicola terrestris cantianaExtinct species ancestral to or paleosubspecies of the European water vole (Arvicola amphibius/terrestris), which is present in Britain todayEuropean pine vole (Microtus cf. subterraneus)Still extant but no longer present in BritainField vole (Microtus agrestis)Present in modern BritainCommon vole (Microtus arvalis)Still extant but no longer present in BritainNarrow-headed vole (Stenocranius gregalis)Tundra vole (Alexandromys oeconomus)Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber)Historically native to Britain until 16th century. Reintroduced.Hazel dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius)Present in modern BritainGarden dormouse (Eliomys quercinus)Still extant but no longer present in BritainNorthern birch mouse (Sicista betulina)†Apodemus maastrichtensisExtinct species of field/wood mouseWood mouse (Apodemus sylvaticus) Present in modern BritainMountain hare (Lepus timidus)European rabbit (Oryctolagus cf. cuniculus)Present in modern Britain due to introductions in Antiquity and the Middle Ages