The sea-level has varied from 29 m OD 18000 years ago to the present level (Craig 1991, fig 15.18, p525). The date of the site is very close to the age of the Low Buried Shoreline (LBS), when the sea reached its lowest level in the post-glacial period. As there are no records of the level of this shoreline for Fife Ness, it is necessary to extrapolate from locations where the LBS has been measured, or where sea level curves have been constructed (e.g. Upper Forth, Lower Strathearn, Ythan, Dornoch Firth, Solway Firth). This extrapolation cannot give a precise measurement for Fife Ness, because of the long distances involved, and the uncertainty of the exact gradient of the shorelines. Different extrapolations have produced a range of +2m to -3.5m OD for the altitude of the shoreline at Fife Ness at the time the site was occupied (Cullingford, pers comm). As the seabed is very shallow off the Fife coast, the lower estimate would shift the coastline some 200m out to the east, while the upper estimate would only shift the coastline a short distance inland, because of the sea cliffs next to the present shore. The main effect of the two estimates would be to change the width of the intertidal zone which would be significantly larger with the lower sea level, possibly affecting the marine resources available in the area.
From the available data it may be suggested that
the site was situated on the top of low cliffs between 70m and
300m from the sea. It is likely that the hinterland would be covered
in forest (Whittington, pers comm), but that the strip
of land along the cliff edge would be clear of trees. Hazel was
recovered on site and probably grew along the forest edge and
in front of the cliff to the east.
© Internet Archaeology
URL: http://intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue5/wickham/cwj5.html
Last updated: Wed Sep 30 1998