NHER 59946 (Find Spot record) - Prehistoric peat sample and Palaeolithic, modern and undated finds, North Sea

This record details archaeologically significant material recovered during off-shore dredging within Aggregates Extraction Licence Area 251. These discoveries were reported to English Heritage/Historic England through the Marine Aggregate Industry Protocol for Reporting Finds of Archaeological Interest. See (S1) and (S2) for further information on the reporting protocol. See NHER 69596 for information on additional, poorly-located finds that were potentially from Licence Area 251.

April 2007. Off-shore Dredging.
See NHER 69596 for details of two poorly-located objects found at Northfleet Wharf amongst a mixed load comprising material from both this location and Licence Area 102 (Humber Region).
P. Watkins (HES), 15 November 2025.

Pre 7 August 2007. Off-shore Dredging.
Found at Dover Wharf:
1 ?post-medieval worked piece of timber into which a hole has been crafted. Too worn to ascertain origin or function but possibly from a wreck. Fragments of coal were also found but they were not necessarily associated with the timber.
See Discovery Report (S12) and reporting protocol annual report (S3) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 12 January 2026.

Pre 10 November 2008. Off-shore Dredging.
See NHER 69596 for details of a poorly-located object found at Dover Wharf amongst a mixed load likely to comprise material from both this location and Licence Area 451 (South Coast Region).
P. Watkins (HES), 15 November 2025.

2010-2011 (exact date unknown at present). Off-shore Dredging.
Found on board the Sand Falcon:
1 undated piece of oak timber ship frame.
See reporting protocol annual report (S9) for further details. Discovery Report awaited.
P. Watkins (HES), 15 November 2025.

Pre 28 January 2010. Off-shore Dredging.
Found at Angerstein Wharf, Greenwich:
3 modern aircraft fragments. See photograph (S4). The colour of the paint on the fragments indicates that they probably originated from an aircraft associated with the United States Air Force. The fragments came from a Douglas F-4 Phantom which was flown from the mid-1960's and are still in use today. There is no recorded loss site in this area and so these remains could be from an unidentified crash site.
See Discovery Report (S5) and reporting protocol annual report (S6) for further details.
S. Howard (NLA), 10 September 2010. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 29 March 2016.

Pre 22 March 2010. Off-shore Dredging.
Peat sample found at CEMEX and Britannia's joint venture wharf in Dover, amongst a cargo of aggregate. The environmental evidence found within the sample suggests that it came from the boggy ground beside a river bank.
See Discovery Report (S7) and reporting protocol annual report (S6) for further details.
J. Page (HES), 28 January 2014.

Pre 1 July 2010. Off-shore Dredging.
Found at Angerstein wharf:
1 Palaeolithic aurochs metatarsal.
See Discovery Report (S13) and reporting protocol annual report (S6) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 15 November 2025.

Pre December 2011. Off-shore Dredging.
Found on board the Sand Fulmar:
1 Palaeolithic mammoth bone. Right proximal radius or right top-end lower forelimb of a woolly mammoth. Not closely datable, as mammoths occurred in Britain from the Wolstonian ice age (380,000 - 130,000 years ago) to the end of the Devensian ice age (10,000
years before present).
See Discovery Report (S8) and reporting protocol annual report (S9) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 30 March 2016.

2013-2014 (exact date unknown at present). Off-shore Dredging.
Found at Northfleet Wharf:
1 modern unidentified metal object. Probably from a vessel - possible interpretation include a support for electrical cabling or pipes or a support or brace for railings.
See reporting protocol annual report (S10) for further details. Discovery Report awaited.
P. Watkins (HES), 15 November 2025.

2022-2023 (exact date unknown at present). Off-shore Dredging.
Found at Angerstein Wharf:
1 modern probable aircraft component fragment. Probably part of the engine or gearbox casing from an aircraft that appears to have suffered a violent explosion or high-speed impact.
See reporting protocol annual report (S11) for further details. Discovery Report awaited.
It should be noted that although the detailed report on this find in (S11) gives its provenance as Licence Area 251, an preceding list of all objects reported during the 2022/2023 period gives its location as Licence Area 512 (NHER 63800). It is hoped the Discovery Report will resolve this confusion.
P. Watkins (HES), 17 November 2025.