Taming the tide: The evolution, exploitation and occupation of Lydd from the Bronze Age to the modern day.

From shifting shorelines to rich pastures, the long-running archaeological excavations at Lydd Quarry on the Dungeness Peninsula (1991–2018) made discoveries that trace the dramatic evolution of this coastal landscape, from its Bronze Age origins through Roman industry and medieval revival, through to the post-medieval period.

In its earliest phase, Bronze Age communities navigated an unfamiliar and rapidly transforming terrain. Centuries later, Roman pastoralists and salt producers took advantage of its rich natural resources—until rising sea levels in the mid-Roman period flooded large portions of the Dungeness Peninsular, pausing human activity for hundreds of years. Only in the medieval period did activity re-emerge, when drainage and reclamation of the landscape provided a fertile environment on which to graze livestock in an emerging fieldscape that developed into the post-medieval period.

While this volume focuses primarily on the East Sussex portion of the excavations, it also draws insights from neighbouring Kent, weaving together findings from the largest archaeological investigations ever undertaken within Romney Marsh. By contextualising this developer-funded work within broader historical and geographical research, the volume offers not just a record of discoveries—but a compelling backbone for future research.

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louise.rayner@ucl.ac.uk