The Itchen River Project: 1997 - 2002
The Itchen River Project was set up to highlight and assess the remaining maritime heritage. It aims to identify and record the diminishing archaeological archive before it is lost.
Between 1997 and 2002 a range of inter tidal structures in the river were recorded. These included hulks, structures, prehistoric landscapes and previously unrecorded anomalies lying in the mud flats. The fieldwork was carried out by the HWTMA, Southampton City Council Archaeological Unit, local community volunteers and students from Southampton University and University College London.
Recording a hulk near Cobden Bridge
prior to its removal
To aid the survey, equipment was provided by the Department of Geography, University of Portsmouth which has developed a GIS survey for the project and facilitates a website. An underwater imaging survey was conducted by a team from the School of Ocean and Earth Science, University of Southampton.
The project highlighted several important sites which were the subject of indepth study. The most exciting find was wooden posts at St Denys opposite Bitterne Manor, the site of the Roman settlement Clausentum. Dendrochronological analysis dated the posts to AD 201, suggesting it is the remains of an Roman waterside structure with a pier, jetty and wharf.
The Roman waterside structure at St Denys
For further information on the project:
http://www.geog.port.ac.uk/webmap/itchen/