The boar with the apples on his tusks

Once upon a time, 7500 years ago to be precise, a family lived in a hut on the edge of the Severn in Wales. This is the story of that family.

Written and illustrated by Dr Jennifer Foster, the book follows a family of prehistoric hunter-gathers as they return to their summer camp on Goldcliff Island and their subsequent adventures.

Dr Foster has spent many years studying the intertidal archaeology of the Severn Estuary. Along with her husband, Prof. Martin Bell, she has uncovered evidence of some of the earliest human visitors to Goldcliff, including worked animal bones, flints and wooden objects, charcoal from firepits, and the remains of wooden fishtraps. Most incredibly, Dr Foster has been studying the footprints of these ancient people, which have been preserved in the fine estuary silt for almost 7500 years.

Gradually exposed by tidal erosion, these footprints of men, women and children have helped build a picture of Mesolithic life at Goldcliff. In one area, the footprints of two children aged about 5 and 11 could be seen chasing about in the mud, which was one of the inspirations for this book.

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Pick up a copy of ‘The boar with the apple on his tusks’ from the Newport Wetlands Visitor Centre, priced £8.00.