Reports from the Environmental Archaeology Unit, York 95/42, 26 Pp
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Reports from the Environmental Archaeology Unit, York 95/42, 26 pp. Assessment of soils and sediments from and exploratory evaluation at Low Hauxley, Northumberland by Robert W. Payton* and M. Raimonda Usai** Summary Soil survey and analysis were carried out on materials from a trench excavated in 1994 as part of an archaeological evaluation near Low Hauxley, Northumberland. The trench had been excavated following the discovery of two Bronze Age cairns and other Mesolithic and Bronze Age remains during an excavation in 1983. Earlier paleoenvironmental work associated with the 1983 excavation had suggested stratigraphic correlations between the cairn sites and a sequence of paleosols and peats buried under sand dunes. The assessment of soils and sediments provides information on the relationships between the soil hydrological sequence, slope and waterlogging, and on the initial stages of sand burial. This has allowed the formulation of hypotheses on the stages of evolution of the landscape adjacent to the cairns. The work shows that soil analyses (including micromorphological investigations, particle size analysis and diatom analysis on samples already available) has the potential to provide information for the definition of the paleo-groundsurface at the time of the construction of the cairns, to test the hypotheses of landscape evolution and highlight further paleo-environmental evidence. Keywords: Low Hauxley, Northumberland, paleosols, paleogroundsurfaces, soil, sediment, micromorphology, Bronze Age, Mesolithic. (*) University of Newcastle Dept. of Agricultural and Environmental Science Prepared for: King George VI Building Lancaster University Archaeological Unit Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 7RU Storey Institute Meeting House Lane Lancaster LA1 1TH (**)Environmental Archaeology Unit University of York Heslington York YO1 5DD 18 July 1995 Reports from the EAU, York, Report 95/42 Assessment: soils and sediments from Low Hauxley, Northumberland Assessment of soils and sediments from and exploratory evaluation at Low Hauxley, Northumberland Introduction and aims The aim of this assessment is to establish the potential of further work and analysis Coastal erosion to the south of Low on soil/sediments for understanding Hauxley (NU 284 018), at the North end of palaeoenvironmental conditions and Druridge Bay, Northumberland, has providing information that can be exposed Mesolithic and Bronze Age correlated with the archaeological archaeological remains, including burial evidence. cairns, cists, mammalian remains, midden deposits, artifacts and various layers of buried soils and sediments below more Site description recent sand dunes. The excavation site was located on the In 1983, after a cist and an inhumation had coast in the sand dune belt approximately been exposed by wind erosion to the South 1 km south of Low Hauxley behind a of Low Hauxley (NU 284 018), the small headland at the north end of Archaeology Department of Edinburgh Druridge Bay. A description of the district, University carried out an excavation which its geology, relief, climate and soils is revealed two Bronze Age cairns, cists, given by Payton and Palmer (1990). The cremations, inhumations and much earlier site is dominated by sand dunes overlying midden deposits containing shells of about Devensian Boulder Clay. Below this is the 7000 BP, together with typical late Upper Group of the Upper Carboniferous Mesolithic flint artifacts, and mammalian Coal Measures, comprising interbedded remains (Bonsall, 1984). Associated sandstone, siltstone, mudstone, shale and palaeoenvironmental studies were carried coal. These rocks are also visible directly out between 1983 and 1988 (Payton, below the dune sand along this section of Bonsall and Tipping, in preparation). the beach. In 1993, the Archaeology Department of Landward of the dunes, the Upper Tyne and Wear Museums carried out Carboniferous strata have been disturbed excavations on the same site which by extensive open-cast coal extraction and revealed a further cist (Tyne and Wear land reclamation. This has created an Museums, 1994). More details and the artificial, 'man-made', landscape, and has results of analytical work are yet to be affected the entire area to the south of published. Amble and immediately west of Druridge Bay, as far south as a line lying In 1994, the Lancaster University approximately between Ulgham and Archaeological Unit undertook an Widdrington. Much of the former coal explorative evaluation with the aims of workings have now been reclaimed and gathering together the results of the the land restored to agriculture, or, locally, excavations and studies carried out in the to a country park and a nature reserve. area, and of establishing the potential for further work. The evaluation revealed Along the seaward dune face, an irregular Mesolithic to Bronze Age flints, a few and discontinuous succession of narrow animal bones and well preserved wood, organic-rich layers is visible within the including tree stumps in a trench sub- dune sand sequence. Below the sand dunes parallel to the shoreline, and human bones, a toposequence of buried paleosols is flint fragments and wood along the cliff. exposed for more than 800 m to the north Samples were collected for 14C datings, of the cairn site, developed largely within thermoluminescence, pollen analysis and weathered Devensian till and/or glacially assessment of biological remains. disturbed bedrock. The paleosol toposequence extends down a gentle slope 2 Reports from the EAU, York, Report 95/42 Assessment: soils and sediments from Low Hauxley, Northumberland into a peat-filled depression. The buried peat is exposed along the cliff for more (c) the paleoenvironmental analysis of the than 500 m. buried peat at its thickest development in the former wetland depression 67.5 m Similar peat outcrops are found further north of the site, including north, near High Hauxley, and further lithostratigraphic analysis; pollen and South in outcrops at different depths near diatom analyses, and 14C dating. the village of Cresswell (Tooley, M.J., personal communication). Numerous other Such previous work identified the presence peat outcrops are exposed along the of buried paleosols beneath and around the Northumberland coast between Berwick cairns and demonstrated that the Bronze and Blyth, and further south on the Age cairns were built upon a low, well- Durham coast, including Hartlepool Bay. drained rise or hillock with wetland Similar lowland peat deposits (eutrophic depressions both to the north and south of reed swamp, grass sedge and humified the site and revealed a hydrological peat) are relatively uncommon in the sequence of soils characteristic of surrounding area (Payton and Palmer undulating terrain with waterlogged 1990, Burton and Hodgson 1987). depressions affected by fluctuating groundwater. The toposequence was The archaeological evaluation by the developed in variable, thin glaciogenic Lancaster University Archaeology Unit deposits strongly influenced by the included the excavation and sampling of underlying Upper Carboniferous an approximately N-S 50 m long trench sandstones, siltstones and mudstones. (D1) sub-parallel to the coast line, a smaller trench (D2, abandoned at an early Progressive soil changes related to stage), auger borings, and the survey and topographic site showed that well-drained sampling of various sections of the cliff brown earths on the convex hillock face. merged into imperfectly drained stagnogleyic brown earths on midslopes, then into seasonally waterlogged Previous palaeo-pedological stagnogley soils on concave slopes studies marginal to the peaty marshland, and finally into very poorly drained humic Palaeoenvironmental studies associated gleys soils and eutro-amorphous peat soils with the 1983 archaeological excavations in the lowest lying ground (soils classes were undertaken between 1983 and 1988 according to Avery 1980). (Payton et al., in preparation) as follows: The work also suggested that the (a) studies of the subdune paleosols and pedological evidence for this buried geological deposits beneath and around the hydrological sequence, together with cairns, including soil morphology, soil thin evidence of incorporation of blown dune section analyses; and soil chemical and sand into the buried A horizon beneath physical analyses; cairn No. 2 (one of the two cairns described by Bonsall (1984) and thin (b) studies of the subdune paleocatena of layers of blown sand in the surface layers soils and geological deposits then exposed of the peat soils in the depression to the in the dune face extending northwards north suggested that the buried land from the cairn site downslope into what surface beneath the same cairn was was formerly a wet peaty depression, contemporaneous with the upper 20 cm of including lithostratigraphic analyses, soil the peat. morphology, classification and variability in relation to the paleo-landsurface; and soil sampling for chemical and physical analyses; 3 Reports from the EAU, York, Report 95/42 Assessment: soils and sediments from Low Hauxley, Northumberland Methods employed. Semi-quantitative descriptions were carried out using comparative tables The evaluation included the excavation of from Bullock et al. (1985), and Hodgson a 50 m NE-SW trench (D1), sub-parallel to (1976). Sorting was described on the basis the coast line, through the dune sand and of comparative figures in Pettijohn et al. into the paleo-landsurface running (1973). northward from the site of the 1983 stone cairn excavation