Bouldnor Cliff

What are we doing?

The Maritime Archaeology Trust is looking to raise awareness and funds to save the Mesolithic boat building site of Bouldnor Cliff, just off the coast of the Isle of Wight, UK.

Bouldnor Cliff is a heritage site of international importance, but one that is rapidly being lost to time and tide. Every year more material is being lost as the underwater cliffs on which Bouldnor sits are eroded away. The MAT is racing against time to record this unique and irreplaceable source of knowledge before it is gone for good.

Sadly, our funds to do this are limited, and unless further funding is found, Bouldnor Cliff risks being lost forever. In order to save our shared heritage, and to preserve this knowledge for future generations, we are asking for donations to enable us to carry out this vital work.

Any money raised will go towards another season of diving and research on the site. Every little helps, so whether you can donate £1 or £100, your contribution is gratefully received.

How can you help?

If you would like to help save Bouldnor Cliff, you can donate any amount (we suggest £5) here:

It would also help if you could share information about Bouldnor Cliff on social media so we can raise public awareness of this fascinating site.

We are also working with Dig Ventures to raise our profile with their audience. You can also find more information about their great work and fascinating articles on Dig Ventures here.

More on Bouldnor Cliff

Bouldnor Cliff is a submerged pre-historic site eleven metres below the surface and approximately 500 meters offshore off Bouldnor, near Yarmouth on the Isle of Wight.

Excavations have been on-going at Bouldnor Cliff since the 8,000 year old Mesolithic settlement was first identified in 1999, when a lobster was seen throwing Stone Age worked flints from its burrow. Since then the site has yielded numerous secrets, including the oldest piece of string and more than a quarter of all the worked Mesolithic timber that has ever been recovered in this country. The material so far recovered has already demonstrated that the technology of the era was over 2,000 years ahead of what archaeologists previously believed.

It is an internationally important site which is changing our understanding of the past. So far, the site has provided new insights into prehistoric woodworking techniques, pushed back the date wheat introduction to the UK by over 2000 years, and provided important data on coastal change and sea level rise. New archaeological horizons are constantly being uncovered as the sediments covering them are eroded; they promise tantalizing glimpses of more knowledge to be uncovered.

Find out more about the site of Bouldnor Cliff and previous investigations here.