Microfossils are an abundant component of the sedimentary rock record. Their analysis can reveal not only the environments in which the rocks were deposited, but also their age. When combined, the spatial and temporal distribution patterns of microfossils offer enormous utility for archaeological and forensic investigations. Their presence can act as a geological 'fingerprint' and the tiniest fragment of material, such as a broken Iron Age potsherd, can contain a microfossil signature that reveals the geographical source of the materials under investigation. This book explores how microfossils are employed as tools to interpret human society and habitation throughout history. Examples include microfossil evidence associated with Palaeolithic human occupation at Boxgrove in Sussex, alongside investigations into human-induced landscape change during the Holocene. Further examples include the use of microfossils to provenance the source materials of Iron Age ceramics, Roman mosaics and Minoan pottery, in addition to their application to help solve modern murder cases, highlighting the diverse applications of microfossils to improving our understanding of human history.
The Willingdon Levels hold some of the best-preserved prehistoric archaeological and palaeoenvironmental remains in south-east England. This study aims to characterise the previously unexplored coastal limits of the Willingdon Peat and compare the chronology with known sites. The degree of anthropogenic influence on vegetation cover in prehistory is of significant interest to archaeologists, and this paper aims to strengthen the case for human-induced landscape alteration surrounding the Willingdon Levels in the Bronze Age. Lithological, palynological, entomological, ostracod, foraminifera, diatom and radiocarbon analyses were applied to a sequence of deposits at Seaside Recreation Ground. This paper palaeoenvironmentally reconstructs the coastal edge of the Willingdon wetland and proposes a timing for the main period of peat initiation that occurred across the Levels. A decline in woodland taxa and the presence of cereal pollen allude to human presence in the landscape. The results have contributed to the Willingdon Levels modelling project.
This paper describes the results of two seasons of excavation and associated palaeoenvironmental analyses of a wetland site on Beccles Marshes, Beccles, Suffolk. The site has been identified as a triple post alignment of oak timbers (0.6–2.0 m long), over 100 m in length, and 3–4 m wide, running north-west to south-east towards the River Waveney. It was constructed in a single phase which has been dated dendrochronologically to 75 BC, although discrete brushwood features identified as possible short trackways have been dated by radiocarbon to both before and after the alignment was built. It is unclear if the posts ever supported a superstructure but notches (‘halving lap joints’) in some of the posts appear to have held timbers to support the posts and/or aid in their insertion. In addition, fragments of both Iron Age and Romano-British pottery were recovered. A substantial assemblage of worked wooden remains appears to reflect the construction of the post row itself and perhaps the on-site clearance of floodplain vegetation. This assemblage also contains waste material derived from the reduction splitting of timbers larger than the posts of the alignment, but which have not been recovered from the site. Environmental analyses indicate that the current landscape context of the site with respect to the River Waveney is probably similar to that which pertained in prehistory. The coleoptera (beetle) record illustrates a series of changes in the on-site vegetation in the period before, during and after the main phase of human activity which may be related to a range of factors including floodplain hydrology and anthropogenic utilisation of Beccles Marshes. The possible form and function of the site is discussed in relation to the later prehistoric period in Suffolk.
Abstract Doggerland was a land mass occupying an area currently covered by the North Sea until marine inundation took place during the mid-Holocene, ultimately separating the British land mass from the rest of Europe. The Storegga Slide, which triggered a tsunami reflected in sediment deposits in the Northern North Sea, North East coastlines of the British Isles and across the North Atlantic, was a major event during this transgressive phase. The spatial extent of the Storegga tsunami however remains unconfirmed because to date no direct evidence for the event has been recovered from the southern North Sea. We present evidence that Storegga associated deposits occur in the southern North Sea. Palaeo-river systems have been identified using seismic survey in the southwestern North Sea and sedimentary cores extracted to track the Mid Holocene inundation. At the head of one palaeo-river system near the Outer Dowsing Deep, the Southern River , we observed an abrupt and catastrophic inundation stratum. Based on lithostratigraphic, macro and microfossils and sedimentary ancient DNA (sedaDNA) evidence, supported by optical stimulation luminescence (OSL) and radiocarbon dating, we conclude these deposits were a result of the Storegga event. Seismic identification of this stratum to adjacent cores indicated diminished traces of the tsunami, largely removed by subsequent erosional processes. Our results demonstrate the catastrophic impact of Storegga within this area of the Southern North Sea, but indicate that these effects were temporary and likely localized and mitigated by the dense woodland and topography of the area. We conclude clear physical remnants of the wave are likely to be restricted to inland basins and incised river valley systems.
ABSTRACT Rapid sea‐level rise during the Early Holocene around the North Sea coastal lowlands provided conditions under which estuarine and coastal features, with no modern equivalents, could be created. Investigation of nearshore sediments within the Outer Humber Estuary, UK, has identified a tidal lagoonal system, created between c. 9000 and 7800 cal a bp . These sequences show the initial flooding of a carr woodland, prior to the establishment of more saline conditions as the tidal lagoonal system developed. Inter‐core comparisons, based on diatom and pollen analyses, suggest variations in the structure of a tidal lagoon setting, which probably lasted for only a brief period before being submerged by rising sea levels. The absence of an erosive contact in several of the sequences studied has permitted the creation of the oldest sea‐level index points for the Outer Humber Estuary, providing validation for the current glacial isostatic adjustment models for the region.
The value of understanding the landscape context within which sites of human occupation are situated is key to understanding their function and locality. The recovery of a borehole adjacent to the current course of the river Chelmer during the replacement of the existing A138 Chelmer Viaduct and river bridge allowed the palaeoenvironmental analysis and radiocarbon dating of floodplain sediments. The results of which demonstrated that woodland clearance and possible exploitation of the valley floor were occurring by early Bronze Age, despite a lack of archaeological evidence for settlement at this time. The nearby sites of Springfield Lyons and Great Baddow demonstrate a lack of human activity in this period although unexcavated cropmark evidence from within the wider valley may yet demonstrate the presence of earlier human activity. This study demonstrates the potential of the Chelmer valley to preserve palaeoenvironmental records and potentially for the preservation of archaeological sites in the floodplain deposits.
This paper describes the results of excavations and associated palaeoenvironmental analyses at Barsham Marshes, Suffolk, England. The site is a triple post alignment of oak stakes built at the edge of a palaeochannel of the River Waveney. The alignment has been traced for over 30 m but neither terminus of the site has been excavated. Dendrochronological dating of the timbers has produced a range of felling dates between 8 BC and AD 8 indicating a late Iron Age date for the structure. No other cultural material was recovered. Palaeoenvironmental analyses of the associated deposits indicate that the site was located at the edge of a shallow channel of the River Waveney with local aquatic and alder carr vegetation and evidence for more open scrub and pastoral environments in the wider landscape. This channel appears to have infilled by the 11th century AD and is overlain by a thin layer of humified peat, corresponding to the uppermost level of preservation of the stakes. It is likely that any superstructure originally supported by the stakes had finally decomposed or been dismantled by this time. The site is compared to that of Beccles some 3 km down river where excavations have revealed a triple post alignment also dating to the late Iron Age but with evidence for activity during the Romano-British period. The possible form and function(s) of the sites are discussed.
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