Storm flooding,coastal defence and land use around the Thames estuary and tidal river c.1250–1450

Climatic deterioration in the later middle ages was associated with an increasing frequency of marine storm surges affecting the coasts of the southern North Sea. This paper investigates the impact of storm surges upon the lands bordering the Thames estuary and tidal river between the mid-thirteenth and mid-fifteenth centuries. Land use in the coastal and riverine marshes is reviewed, and the means and costs of defence against marine flooding explored. The impact of flooding upon human use of the marshlands, upon the suburbs of medieval London and upon the Thames fisheries are all investigated. Stress is placed upon the complex interaction of economic and environmental factors in determining the response to the threat of marine flooding.     

Radiocarbon age determinations of fossil Margaritifera auricularia (Spengler) from the River Thames in West London

In the early 1900s shells of a large freshwater mussel, Margaritifera auricularia (Spengler), were discovered in calcreted gravel dredged from the channel of the Thames at several sites between Mortlake and Battersea in west London. These specimens were said to have been associated with Neolithic polished stone axes, supposedly as food remains. M. auricularia is now extinct in Britain, but it has been reported living in several large rivers in southern Europe although apparently not in recent years. Three radiocarbon dates of 4140±50, 4340±45 and 4860±40 bp have been obtained from Thames specimens, supporting a Neolithic age for these shells. The theory that the shells represent debris from imported human food is discounted and it is considered more likely that M. auricularia was actually living in the Thames in Neolithic times. Its extinction in Britain should be seen as part of a general recession during the Post-glacial, as revealed by fossil occurrences to the north and east of its present-day range.     

Resilience unpacked – framing of ‘uncertainty’ and ‘adaptability’ in long-term flood risk management strategies for London and Rotterdam

Resilience is held as a promising concept to produce a paradigm shift from traditional flood control to an integration of flood risk management and spatial planning. Central ideas to the resilience narrative are that ‘nothing is certain except uncertainty itself’ and ‘adaptability’ is key to ‘governing the unknown’. However, this terminology is far from clear, yet increasingly used, which raises the question how it is made sense of in practice. To answer this question, we examine two long-term flood risk management strategies in the London and Rotterdam region with a policy framing perspective (i.e. the English Thames Estuary 2100 Plan and the Dutch Delta Programme). In both strategies, uncertainties are a key concern, leading to adaptive strategic plans. Reconstructing the framing processes shows that the English adopted a ‘scientific pragmatism’ frame and the Dutch a ‘joint fact-finding’ frame. While this led to different governance approaches, there are also striking parallels. Both cases use established methods such as scenario planning and monitoring to ‘manage’ uncertainties. Similarly to previous turns in flood risk management, the resilience narrative seems to be accommodated in a technical-rational way, resulting in policy strategies that are maintaining the status quo rather than bringing about a paradigm shift.     

New books

Climatic deterioration in the later middle ages was associated with an increasing frequency of marine storm surges affecting the coasts of the southern North Sea. This paper investigates the impact of storm surges upon the lands bordering the Thames estuary and tidal river between the mid-thirteenth and mid-fifteenth centuries. Land use in the coastal and riverine marshes is reviewed, and the means and costs of defence against marine flooding explored. The impact of flooding upon human use of the marshlands, upon the suburbs of medieval London and upon the Thames fisheries are all investigated. Stress is placed upon the complex interaction of economic and environmental factors in determining the response to the threat of marine flooding.     

Admiral: a 19th‐century Tyne‐built paddle tug

This paper reports on the discovery in the Thames Estuary and the partial recovery and recording of the remains of a 19th‐century Tyne‐built paddle tug. The wreck is believed to be that of Admiral built in Newcastle in 1870 and sunk following a collision in the estuary in 1872. This unexpected discovery provided a rare opportunity to examine the archaeological assemblage of one these once‐familiar working vessels and revealed the continuities and innovations of a specific type of engine used on paddle tugs.     

Lightening the Load: Five 19th-Century River Lighters at Erith on the River Thames, UK

Five early-19th-century Thames lighters, up to 22 m long, in an excellent state of preservation, were recorded during pre-construction archaeological works. The lighters had been used as the main structural elements in a mid-19th-century river-wall. The lighters and river-wall are described, and aspects of the construction discussed. The craft exemplify utilitarian trends in early industrial age boatbuilding, and were essential in the development of the international port. Although comparatively recent in date, details of their 'bottom-up' construction are not well known.
© 2009 The Authors