History of the Isle of Wight

The Isle of Wight is rich in historical and archaeological sites. These range from prehistoric fossil beds which include dinosaur remains, to dwellings and artefacts of the Bronze Age, Iron Age, Roman period and beyond.

During the Mesolithic period, "sea levels in the North Sea and the English Channel were some 30 to 40m lower than those of today – Britain was a peninsula of northern Europe." The Isle is geologically linked to Armorica and there has been some cross-channel tilts that has affected sea level as the Channel can be considered as an active geological fault area. The island was formed at the end of the last Ice age. The River Solent was the largest tributary of the Channel River that drained the Hampshire Basin from the Early Pleistocene or late Pliocene. A rise in global sea level flooded the former river valley of the Solent to the north and the future English Channel to the south. This cut Wight off from the island of Britain and the Continental landmass. Once open to the sea, tidal scouring widened the Solent: the sequence of tidal ingress (whether from east, west or south) remains unclear. The English Channel flooded about 9,000 years ago.