Barnes Chine is a geological feature on the south west coast of the

Isle of Wight The Isle of Wight (Help:IPA/English, /waɪt/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''WYTE'') is an island off the south coast of England which, together with its surrounding uninhabited islets and Skerry, skerries, is also a ceremonial county. T ...

, England. The

chine A chine () is a steep-sided coastal gorge where a river flows to the sea through, typically, soft eroding cliffs of sandstone or clays. The word is still in use in central Southern England—notably in East Devon, Dorset, Hampshire and the Is ...

lies just to the west of a small rise called Barnes High and south west of the hamlet of

Yafford Yafford is a hamlet on the Isle of Wight. It is located southwest from Newport, Isle of Wight, Newport in an area known as the Back of the Wight between Brighstone and Niton. It is in the civil parish of Shorwell. It has a non-operational wat ...

. It is a small sandy coastal ravine, one of a number of such chines on the island created by erosion of the cliff edge made of soft

Cretaceous The Cretaceous ( ) is a geological period that lasted from about 143.1 to 66 mya (unit), million years ago (Mya). It is the third and final period of the Mesozoic Era (geology), Era, as well as the longest. At around 77.1 million years, it is the ...

rock. This chine is difficult to identify as there is no obvious stream valley leading to the cliff edge, just a slight undulation of the gently sloping agricultural land. At the bottom of the undulation look over the cliff edge to see a small v-shaped gully descending rapidly to the beach below. The erosion of this chine is by underwater streams which emerge below the cliff top. The water probably comes from a small pond about 150m from the cliff edge near the A3055's

Military Road A military road is a type of road built by an armed force A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily Weapon, armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and ma ...

and from the small catchment area to the west of Barnes High. The Isle of Wight Coastal Path runs past the top of the chine.

History

Flint work dating from the Bronze Age through to the Mesolithic have been found as the result of archaeological excavations on the site. Roman era pottery and building materials have been excavated suggesting there was a Roman building on or close to the site.

References

{{Chines on the Isle of Wight Chines of the Isle of Wight