Event/Activity EPM279 - North Portsea Island Coastal Flood and Erosion Management Scheme - Tipner Lake (Frontage 1) Watching Brief

Pre-Construct Archaeology Ltd (PCA) carried out an archaeological watching brief on the construction of the Tipner Lake (Frontage 1) section of the North Portsea Island Coastal Flood and Erosion Management Scheme between the 18th May 2017 and 12th April 2019. The work was commissioned by the East Solent Coastal Partnership and formed part of a staged approach to addressing archaeological implications of the development. Archaeological monitoring was a condition of planning permission for the scheme which primarily consisted of the removal of an existing apron wall spanning the length of the Tipner Lake shoreline and the construction of a new reinforced concrete seawall to aid in flood and erosion risk management. Intermittent archaeological monitoring took place on groundworks associated with the construction of the new seawall and the development of the surrounding area. Work took place in two zones. The work in Zone 1 included the monitoring of three trial pits excavated in the foreshore, stripping of turf and limited excavations for service works and landscaping in parkland behind the seawall. Work in Zone 2 included the monitoring of 19 trial pits and other groundworks along the foreshore together with groundworks behind the seawall. Parts of Zone 2 were adjacent to the Hilsea Lines Scheduled Monument and fell within the Hilsea Lines Conservation Area. No significant archaeological deposits, artefacts or ecofacts were observered. Possible evidence of the remodelling of Portscreek was observed in the form of chalk on the northern limit of the site (bordered by the creek) which had probably been brought in to remodel the area. No dating evidence was recovered for this event.