Holland-on-Sea Cliff Holland-on-Sea Cliff Holland-on-Sea Cliff is a 0.1 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest in Holland-on-Sea, north-west of Clacton-on-Sea in Essex. It is a Geological Conservation Review site. This site is of great importance in understanding the evolution of the London Basin, and it is the type site for two different gravels. The "Lower Holland Gravel" was the final terrace laid down by the River Thames before the river was diverted south during the Anglian glaciation around 450,000 years ago. The "Upper Thames Gravel" was deposited when the Thames was blocked by ice and not reaching the area. As the
Clacton-on-Sea The "Clacton Spear", a wooden (yew) spear found at Clacton in 1911 and dated at 450,000 years ago, is the oldest such spear to have been found in Britain. Great Clacton was founded by the Celts around 100 BC. There are some vague traces of Romans using the Clacton area as a seaside resort. The name Clacton dates from around AD 500, when the area was settled by Saxons. The original name, Claccingaton, means "the village of Clacc's people". The Domesday Book records the village as "Clachintuna". Clacton was repeatedly surveyed by the Army in the Napoleonic Wars as a