Reading University's archaeological dig at Goldcliff, on the Severn Estuary, revealed a site from the Mesolithic Period (approximately 8,000 years ago). As the site is only above water for a few hours each day the area to be dug is marked out in square sections and these are removed to dry land for excavation. Evidence of stone tools, charred elderberry seeds and pollen from reed beds have been discovered in the soil. Perhaps the most enigmatic finds are the trails of footprints in the silt left by adults and children of this hunter-gatherer society. A Time Team programme on the dig left me wondering what imprints modern farming methods will leave on the land.