Human History

There is a long history of settlement on the Jurassic Coast. The human connection to geology is subconsciously ingrained within our culture. The geology of the Jurassic Coast and the pebbles found along its 95 miles show great variety. 

The way we feel about a place can be influenced by its geology without us even realising it. People interact with geology on a daily basis. It can inspire art in all its forms. It influences the fertility of soils and therefore the crops that grow, rivers that flow and their formations, and even the habitats that can survive for plants and wildlife. It impacts where people live and the food we eat. It gives us building stones for houses, memorials and tools. 

Often, it can dictate which beach we decide to visit on holiday - a secluded alcove or ones with a large area to sit away from cliffs, a lovely sandy beach or one with rockpools or pebbles and shells. 

The geological influence on coastal life was arguably more important through early history, when valuable resources, such as flint, being readily available from the local cliffs and beaches enabled quick manufacture of stone tools and structures. Although it is important to remember that with the constantly eroding coastline, features that now have cliffside locations were likely further inland when inhabited. 

Being close to raw materials would have been invaluable for early human settlers, evidence of this has been found in many places along the coast. A keen example comes from Beer in East Devon, the last location going West along that coast, where flint outcrops. The darker seams of flint rock seen running through the chalk cliffs would have been capitalised to make flint stone tools. There was perhaps Mesolithic (roughly 9000-4300 years ago) occupation of the area but there is an abundance of evidence that by the Neolithic (roughly 4300-2000 years ago) settlers were crafting flakes and tools from the flint in Beer. 

Evidence of early human settlement can be seen at hillforts, such as Flowers Barrow as well as Bronze Age barrows on the top of Golden Cap. 

Through Dorset and East Devon, evidence of a vibrant culture can be found with the remains of many Iron-Age hillforts, including Maiden Castle, near Dorchester, one of the largest  and most important hillforts in Britain, as well as Abbotsbury Castle near to the village of Abbotsbury.