Stepping stones to the Neolithic? Islands, maritime connectivity and the 'western seaways' of Britain, 5000-3500 BC

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Research contextThe Neolithic is the term used for the period in our past when the shift from hunting and gathering wild animals and plants to a farming lifestyle occurred. This change happened at different times and in different ways throughout the world, beginning around 10,000 BC in the Middle East and around 4,000 BC in Britain and Ireland. The process by which the Neolithic arrived in Britain and Ireland is currently a hotly debated topic. Some scholars argue that colonists moved wholesale from the continent (bringing farming, pottery, etc. with them from France and/or Belgium), but others have suggested that the indigenous population of Britain gradually adopted the farming lifestyle on their own terms (possibly as a result of a broad shift in their worldview). What is agreed is that some contact between Britain, Ireland and the European mainland must have occurred in the centuries around 4000 BC for the change to happen at all, and that this most likely happened across the 'western seaways' - an arc of sea extending approximately from the Channel Islands in the south, through the Isles of Scilly, the Isle of Man and the Hebrides, around to Orkney in the north.Aims and objectivesThe Stepping Stones project places the islands around Britain firmly at the centre of this key contemporary archaeological debate. This project contends that a detailed understanding of Late Mesolithic and Early Neolithic activity within this important zone of contact has the potential to make a crucial contribution to our understanding of the processes of transition, both within the western seaways and on either side. Our central research questions are:- When did the Neolithic arrive on each island group within the western seaways? - What is the earliest Neolithic evidence on each island group? Does the presence of 'foreign' artefacts suggest the arrival of colonists from the Continent?- What was the sea like during this period, and how did any changes affect seafaring practices?In order to answer these questions, we will: - Create a new database of all known Late Mesolithic and Early Neolithic sites (and associated radiocarbon dates) within the western seaways zone- Excavate one site on each of three different island groups, to find new evidence where very little is currently known - Carry out a major programme of radiocarbon dating to date the arrival of the Neolithic on each island group - Undertake a new programme of oceanographic modelling, in order to establish where the sea actually was, and what sailing across it would have been like, between 5000 and 3500 BCApplications and benefitsWe feel that it is vital for the project to benefit both the academic community and the wider public. We will publish our academic results via a series of journal papers, and will also hold an international conference about prehistoric connections between Britain, Ireland and the Continent (leading to an edited book on the same theme). We will also disseminate our findings to public sector bodies in order to ensure that they are able to use them when drafting policy documents designed to safeguard coastal sites in future.In order to ensure that the wider public are able to find out as much as possible about the project, we will hold a number of outreach events to coincide with our excavations (open days, public lectures, museum displays, etc.). We will also develop a series of educational web resources linked directly to the project's research. These will include:- A website, setting out the project's results in accessible language- A 'western seaways' navigation game, designed to give children (and others) a fun angle on prehistoric seafaring- A Google Earth 'plugin', enabling users to visualise changing sea levels in the past, providing an important deep-time context for modern andfuture environmental change.