An important aspect of the QAEJ project is the mapping of the existing preservation state of the La Cotte site. This surveying work started in the summer of 2010 under the direction of Dr. James Cole.
The aim of this part of the project is to look at the so-called bone heap layers afresh. Previous excavators under Charles McBurney’s direction carefully recorded the position of all bones and artefacts in 3D, but lacked the computing power necessary to fully interrogate the data they generated. Through constructing a 3D model of the interior of the fissure system at La Cotte de St Brelade we hope to replace all the artefacts and bones within the bone heaps, and re-examine the relationship between them – effectively, re-excavating the site in virtual terms. This will allow us to assess whether the bone accumulations are really the result of cliff fall hunting, or perhaps of some other process – perhaps the use of bone as building material, or fuel – or even whether the bone heaps only look “special” because the site was abandoned by Neanderthals immediately after the bones were discarded.
The linked video file shows the reconstructed 3D model of the interior of the La Cotte de St Brelade fissure system highlighting the concrete sections (with rectangular drainage holes) left in place at the back of the cave to preserve sediments for future exploration by the Société Jersiaise. The 3D model, based on the results of the 2010 campaign, also shows the old railway line used by excavators of the site in the early 20th Century to dump spoil from the site into the intertidal zone located at the mouth of the fissure system.
This surveying work is currently ongoing and results of the 2011 campaign are expected soon.
