Last night we built this. It's a terrain model of the landscape between Brighton and Seaford.
Exploring landscape on foot and digitally is important if you are going to understand prehistory, and the landscape of Brighton and the nearby hills is spectacular.
In this model I've exaggerated the details of the landscape by increasing the vertical scale, so that every tiny valley is readable. On the left is the huge valley system that runs through Brighton (you cna clearly see the flat ground of the Old Steyne, towards the right is the wide floodplain of the River Ouse.
Between Brighton and Newhaven you can see the dry valleys of Whitehawk Bottom, Roedean, Ovingdean, Rottingdean, Saltdean and Portabello meeting the sea at the Chalk cliffline.
Whitehawk has a view over, and is visible from, big areas of this spectacular coastal Downland. The Downs provided farmland, grazing, wood and flint for the Neolithic people there, the coastal areas provided fish and shellfish which were and important foods. Water would have still been flowing in the stream now lost under the Old Steyne.
On this sunny day, get up and visit Whitehawk Hill, and try to see the beautiful Downland of the Brighton area with stone age eyes.
