The archaeological remains at Howick consist of a Mesolithic hut site and an Early Bronze Age cist cemetery located on a modern cliff edge overlooking a small estuary. This volume is devoted solely to the reporting and interpretation of the Mesolithic remains. Three huts had been constructed on the Howick site, all on the same footprint, with no evidence to indicate a gap between these occupations, and the remains inside the hut were all consistent with its use as a habitation site. The lithic material from Howick is the most accurately dated assemblage from any British Mesolithic site and is a classic example of a narrow-blade industry. Typically for Britain these sites date from around 7500 cal BC but the Howick dates indicate an earlier start for this type of industry. The chipped stone assemblage from Howick is all made from locally occurring beach pebble flint which fits into the wider pattern of localised raw material acquisition by groups elsewhere in North-East England. A wide variety of tool types were found within the hut reflecting the diverse activities that appear to have taken place there. With such a wide range of resources on offer on a year-round basis, the site is interpreted as a base camp settlement that was used by the same group and their descendants over a period of several generations lasting for somewhere in the region of 200 years. The size of the hut indicates its use by a family-sized group. The Howick excavations have forced a rethink of the scale and nature of Mesolithic settlement in North-East England, as well as the relationship between this and other regions around the North Sea Basin. It is hoped that this work will help encourage further research into the Mesolithic of the region and its interactions with adjacent areas of upland, other North Sea Basin communities, as well as groups occupying the lands further north and south.

• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• LIST OF CONTRIBUTORS
• ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
• SUMMARY
• RÉSUMÉ
• ZUASAMMENFASSUNG
• SAMENVATTING
• DANSK RESUMÉ
• 1 INTRODUCTION
  • Setting the Scene
  • Scope of the Volume
  • Site Discovery
  • Aims
  • Field Research Strategy
  • Site Location
  • Previous Archaeological Work in the Howick Area
• 2 GEOPHYSICAL SURVEY
  • Objectives
  • Location and Geology
  • Methods Statement
  • Results and Discussion
  • Conclusions
• 3 FIELDWALKING
  • Introduction
  • Method Statement
  • Taphonomy
  • Density
  • Distribution
  • Assemblage Chronology
  • Raw Material
  • Types
  • Activity in the Wider Landscape
• 4 TEST PITS
  • Methods Statement
  • Distribution and Artefact Density
  • The Lithic Assemblage
• 5 EXCAVATION OF THE HOWICK HUT
  • Methods Statement
  • Site Stratigraphy
  • The overburden
  • Mesolithic Hut
  • Phase 1a Hut (see Figs. 5.6–5.9)
  • Phase 1b Hut (see Figs. 5.10–5.12)
  • Phase 2 Hut (see Figs. 5.13–5.16)
  • Phase 3 Hut (see Figs. 5.17–5.20)
  • Phase 4 Hut Re-Occupation (see Fig. 5.21)
  • Features and Activity Outside the Mesolithic Hut
  • Conclusions
• 6 ABSOLUTE DATING
  • Introduction
  • General Approach
  • Objectives
  • Sampling
  • Radiocarbon Analysis and Quality Assurance
  • The Results
  • Calibration
  • Analysis and Interpretation
  • Sediment Sequence
• 7 CHIPPED STONE TOOLS
  • The Lithic Assemblage
  • Stratigraphic and Spatial Distribution
  • Overall Summary and Discussion
• 8 BEVELLED PEBBLES, COARSE STONE TOOLS AND OCHREOUS MATERIAL
  • Ochreous Material
• 9 RESIDUE AND USE-WEAR ANALYSIS OF STONE TOOLS
  • Residue Analysis
  • Method
  • Results
  • Discussion
  • Use-Wear Analysis
  • Results
  • Cluster analysis
  • Cluster 1
  • Cluster 2
  • Cluster 3
  • Cluster 4
  • Cluster 5
  • Cluster 6
  • Cluster 7
  • Cluster 8
  • Microliths
  • Scrapers
  • Unretouched tools
  • Core rejuvenation blades
  • Discussion
  • Tool use and activities at Howick
  • Conclusion
• 10 FAUNAL REMAINS
  • Introduction
  • Bone analysis
  • Shell analysis
  • Conclusions
  • Acknowledgements
• 11 PLANT REMAINS AND CHARRED WOOD
  • Summary
  • Method Statement
  • Archaeobotanical Residues
  • Phase 1a
  • Phase 1b
  • Phase 2
  • Phase 3
  • Phase 4
  • Features outside the Mesolithic hut
  • Charcoal Analysis
  • Discussion
  • Conclusions
• 12 GEOMORPHOLOGY AND PALEOENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS
  • Geomorphological Setting
  • Description and Classification of Shoreline and Coastal Plain Morphology
  • Summary of Sedimentary Units
  • Archaeological Potential and Erosion Threats
  • Late Glacial to Holocene Palaeogeography and Sea Level Change
  • Sedimentary Analysis of the Site
  • Holocene Palaeoenvironmental Reconstruction
  • Howick Burn Sediments
  • Calcareous Microfossil Analysis
  • Pollen Analysis
  • Interpretation of Pollen Analysis
  • Environmental Summary
• 13 EXPERIMENTAL CONSTRUCTION
  • Introduction
  • Construction 1
  • Construction 2
  • Conclusions
• 14 HOWICK: DISCUSSION AND INTERPRETATION
  • Introduction
  • Site Taphonomy
  • Site Recording
  • The Huts
  • Phase Summaries (see Fig 14.1 for exploded view of the phase plans)
  • External Activity
  • Bevelled Pebble Tools
  • Permanency
  • Site Type
  • Settlement Organisation and Economy
  • The Mesolithic Environment
  • Conclusions
• 15 HOWICK IN ITS NORTH SEA CONTEXT
  • Re-calibration of other 8th Millennium cal BC sites in the British Isles
• Bibliography