Landscapes of Failure: The Archaeology of Flooded Wetlands at Titchwell and Thornham (Norfolk), and Broomhill (East Sussex)

The archaeological evidence for flood events in reclaimed salt marshes is examined by considering three areas. The first is Titchwell Marsh in Norfolk which was flooded in 1953. It is shown that the landscape was not destroyed, and even areas of marsh close to the site of the breached embankment remain much as they were at the time of the flood event. The adjoining marsh at Thornham was probably flooded in the seventeenth century. The evolution of the creek system within the flooded area and in the area of salt marsh which has formed subsequently behind the coastal barrier is outlined. The third area, at Broomhill in East Sussex, was flooded in the late thirteenth century, but earlier flood events are identified from a study of the earthworks. The position of thirteenth-century scour holes was recorded and evidence for the medieval pre-flood landscape noted. The studies allow general conclusions to be drawn about the archaeological methods to be used for the study of flooded salt marshes and suggest that the character of flood events can be recovered from field evidence.