Archaeology Group Lecture: The late hunter gatherers of the Upper Kennet Valley

In our September talk, Abigail George from the University of Southampton will give an overview of the British Mesolithic period and explain the aims and strategies for learning more about the Mesolithic in the Upper Kennet Valley.

The Upper Kennet Valley (from Avebury to Hungerford) is well known for its Neolithic and Bronze Age archaeology, much of which is still clearly visible in the landscape today, including those monuments included in the Avebury World Heritage Site.

But what about those pioneering people who lived there before the monuments were built?

The Mesolithic spanned some 5,500 years (roughly 9,600 – 4,000 BC) and during this long period of time there was great change in climate, resources (flora and fauna) and technology.  At the beginning Britain was a high peninsula of the European mainland, and as the ice retreated northwards more land became available, people started to make use of this new land, adapting their technology to cope with the changing resources.  By around 6,200 BC, Britain had become separated from the rest of the continent by rising sea levels, in both gradual and dramatic ways.

We know that people were living and using the Upper Kennet Valley during this time but in comparison with the Lower Kennet Valley (Hungerford to Reading), data is currently sparse and fragmented. The wealth of well recorded sites in the Lower Kennet Valley, terminates at the point where the focus for research ended (at Hungerford), suggesting that the reason for the limited data for the Mesolithic period to the west of Hungerford may well be simply that no-one has looked.

Entry free to Museum Members, £3 for non-members.