NHER 54879 (Find Spot record) - Multi-period finds, North Sea

This record details archaeologically significant material recovered during off-shore dredging within Aggregates Extraction Licence Area 296. 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 details. See NHER 69597 for information on additional, poorly-located finds that were potentially from Licence Area 296.

August 2006. Off-shore Dredging.
Found at UMA's Ridham Dock, material dredged by the Arco Beck:
2 undatable perforated stone fishing weights. Such items have been used from the prehistoric to the post-medieval periods.
See Discovery Report (S3) and reporting protocol annual report (S4) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 30 March 2016.

Pre 24 November 2006. Off-shore Dredging.
Found on board the City of Westminster:
1 undatable animal bone. The end of a long bone from a large mammal, possibly bigger than a horse. Not datable from photograph.
See Discovery Report (S5) and reporting protocol annual report (S6) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 30 March 2016.

Pre 18 April 2007. Off-shore Dredging.
Found at UMA's Ridham Wharf:
1 modern metal fastener. Possibly from an aircraft or vessel.
See Discovery Report (S7) and reporting protocol annual report (S6) for further information.
S. Howard (NLA), 9 September 2010.

August 2007. Off-shore Dredging.
Found at UMA's Greenwich Wharf:
1 post-medieval cannon ball. The calibre suggests it is probably of 17th-century date and may have come from one of two battles thought to have taken place as part of the Anglo-Dutch wars: the Battle of Lowestoft in 1665 or the Battle of Sole Bay in 1672. The cannon ball would have been fired from a 42-pounder also known as a cannon of 7.
See Discovery Report (S17) and reporting protocol annual report (S10) for further information.
S. Howard (NLA), 8 September 2010. Updated by J. Page (HES), 21 January 2014.

16 September 2007. Off-shore Dredging.
Found at UMA's Ridham Wharf:
1 Palaeolithic mammoth tooth. Not closely datable. Mammoths were present in Britain between the Wolstonian Ice Age (380,000-130,000 years ago) and the Devensian Ice Age (c. 10,000 years ago).
See Discovery Report (S8) and reporting protocol annual report (S6) for further information.
S. Howard (NLA), 8 September 2010.

Pre 31 October 2007. Off-shore Dredging.
Found at UMA's Erith Wharf:
1 undatable large fragment from the right-side femur of either large a bovid or cervid.
See Discovery Report (S9) and reporting protocol annual report (S10) for further information.
S. Howard (NLA), 8 September 2010.

31 March 2008. Off-shore Dredging.
Discovered at UMA's Ridham Wharf:
1 undatable animal bone.
1 post-medieval cannon ball. Diameter approximately 130mm. 1/3 of the cannon ball is missing. Recovered from an area associated with the Anglo-Dutch wars during the 17th century. Two battles were fought in the area, the Battle of Lowestoft in 1665 and the Battle of Sole Bay in 1672.
See Discovery Reports (S11) and (S12) and reporting protocol annual report (S10) for further information.
S. Howard (NLA), 10 September 2010.

April 2008. Off-shore Dredging.
Found at UMA's Ridham Wharf:
1 undatable copper nail.
1 post-medieval ships log. Part of a device used in the past to gauge vessel speed. See photo (S13).
See Discovery Reports (S14) and (S15) and reporting protocol annual reports (S10) and (S16) for further information.
S. Howard (NLA), 8 September 2010. Updated by J. Page (HES), 21 January 2014.

Pre November 2008. Off-shore Dredging.
Found during metal-detecting at UMA's Greenwich Wharf:
1 World War Two Polish pistol. This was a Vis pistol, very popular in the Polish army then adopted by the German army for the duration of the war.
1 modern oil strainer. The part was identified as being produced by the company Auto Klean which still exists today, the particular model was first brought into production in 1926.
See Discovery Reports (S18) and (S19) and reporting protocol annual report (S16) for further details
J. Page (HES), 22 January 2014.

July 2010. Off-shore Dredging.
Found at Ridham Wharf:
1 World War Two fuse cap. This fuse was manufactured in 1944 possibly by Ferranti Ltd, a major UK electrical engineering firm. During World War Two Ferranti was a major supplier of electronics, fuses and valves as well as being heavily involved in the early development of radar in the UK. The No 207 Fuse was introduced into service in 1939 specifically for use with the 3.7in AA Gun.
See Discovery Report (S20) and reporting protocol annual report (S21) and for further details.
S. Howard (NLA), 11 October 2010.

Pre 1 October 2010. Off-shore Dredging.
See NHER 69597 for details of a poorly-located mammoth tooth found at Erith Wharf amongst a mixed load comprising material from both this location and Licence Area 447 (Thames Region).
P. Watkins (HES), 16 November 2025.

March 2011. Off-shore Dredging.
See NHER 69597 for details of a poorly-located mammoth tooth found at Erith Wharf amongst a mixed load comprising material from this location, Licence Area 430 (East Coast Region) and Licence Area 122/1A (Owers Region).
P. Watkins (HES), 16 November 2025.

June 2011. Off-shore Dredging.
Found at Greenwich Wharf and probably from Licence Area 296, but amongst material that was a blend of several cargoes so provenance uncertain:
1 World War Two Spitfire fuselage fragment. This attachment connected the tail wing to the fuselage of the plane.
See Discovery Report (S22) and reporting protocol annual report (S23) for further details.
P. Watkins (HES), 30 March 2016.

August 2013. Off-shore Dredging.
Found at Lafarge Tarmac's Ridham Wharf:
1 post-medieval/modern Muntz metal dumb bolt. This probably fell off the bottom of a wooden ship
See Discovery Report (S24) and reporting protocol annual report (S25) for further details
J. Page (HES), 23 January 2014.