Aspects of the Flandrian Vegetational History of South-West Scotland
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ASPECTSOF THE FLANDRIANVEGETATIONAL HISTORY OF SOUTH-WESTSCOTLAND, WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO POSSIBLEMESOLITHIC IMPACT by P.J. NEWELL A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Science of the University of Birmingham for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY School of Geography University of Birmingham P0 Box 363 Birmingham B15 2TT England August 1990 4. ' 4: University of Birmingham Research Archive e-theses repository This unpublished thesis/dissertation is copyright of the author and/or third parties. The intellectual property rights of the author or third parties in respect of this work are as defined by The Copyright Designs and Patents Act 1988 or as modified by any successor legislation. Any use made of information contained in this thesis/dissertation must be in accordance with that legislation and must be properly acknowledged. Further distribution or reproduction in any format is prohibited without the permission of the copyright holder. 1st of 2 files Main body of text Photos and Pullouts are in an additional file SYNOPSIS The potential factor of Mesolithic impact on the vegetation of south-west Scotland from c. 10 000 - 5000 b. p. was investigated by pollen and charcoal analysis of small peat-filled basins and blanket peat near to the sites of lithics and in the context of subsequent vegetational history (from c. 5000 b. p. ). Attention focused on upland sites by Loch Doon and Loch Dee. Upland areas by ClatterinSshaws Loch and a site at - Palnure near the coast provided a late and relatively incomplete record respectively. - Two cores were collected at each of Loch Doon and Loch Dee to Loch enable comparison -of microfossil stratigraphies. At Doon several cores were analysed across the rise in Alnus. Preliminary counts -'were made from a core from Loch Doon itself. Radiocarbon dating gave framework. additional confidence to the chronological -, " The availability of comparable pollen data enabled some distinction between local and more regional vegetational events. The charcoal profiles were more problematical to interpret, but the contrast between a very Iow level of charcoal prior to a rise in the early postglacial (Fl I) at both Loch Doon and-Loch Dee may prove to be of regional significance. The strongest evidence for local Mesolithic disturbance came from Loch Dee. The results from the small-basin sites were contrasted with those previously recorded from larger mires and loch sediments. I. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The basis of the work is that of a project funded by the Science and Engineering Research Council. I would like to thank Dr. K.J. Edwards for offering the opportunity to express the results in the form of a thesis, and Profs. D. Thomas and G. Cherry for granting provision for this within the School of Geography. The fieldwork was done in collaboration with Drs. Edwards and K.R. Hirons, and the late Mr. T. L. Af f leck (University of' Glasgow) introduced us to several sites of discoveries of lithics. Dr. W.G. Jardine (University of Glasgow) provided details by which to locate the Palnure borehole. Dr. Edwards has carried out the charcoal analysis of most of' the cores, with the remainder having been analysed by Dr. Hirons, who also analysed the core from Loch Doon -and peat- from near the loch (LDi and LDiv, Chapter 6). Mr. A.G. Moss prepared many of the samples for pollen analysis. Prof. A.G. Smith and Miss L. A. Morgan (University College, Cardiff) kindly demonstrated the operation of their computer programs for pollen data handling and plotting, and gave assistance in transferring these to Birmingham and in iniital operation here. Later, Mr. G. Bryan (Centre for Computing and Computer Science) was especially helpful in advising of necessary changes for plotting using the Birmingham facilities. I am grateful to Miss E. Sanford and Mrs. J. Bradshaw for typing the original drafts of Chapters 1 5, and Chapters 6-8 respectively; also to Dr. Edwards for his comments-'as writing proceeded. Mrs'. 1. Dowling and Mr. K. Bulrkhill, the final versions of many of the Figures and the 1 -Idrafted former labelled Diagrams 6.3.1 8.5.2. Mr. G. Dowling took and processed the photograph of Fig. 6.7. - CONTENTS Page Chapter-1 Introduction to the study Section 1.1 Introduction 1.2 Thesis plan 4 1.3 Mesolithic pr eamble - environment and archaeology 4 Chapter 2 Archaeological and methodological framework 10ý Section 2.1 Aspects of the British Mesolithic 10, 2.2 Aspects of vegetational history and Mesolithic occupation in Britain 12 2.3 The detection of Mesolithic woodland clearance 16 2.3.1 Introduction 16 2.3.2 Site selection 17 2.3.3 Factors to consider-Jor sampling in the field - spatial dimension 18 2.3.4 Factors to consider for laboratory sub-sampling - temporal dimension; and choice of pollen counting sum 21 2.3.5 ' The'interpretation of pollen and charcoal studies in the context of possible Mesolithic disturbance 24 2.4 Specific objectives of the research 29 Chapter 3 Environmental history and archaeology of south-west Scotland 31 Section 3.1 Introduction 31 3.2 The study areas 31 3.3 Geology and landscape evolution 32 3.4 Climate 34 3.5 Soils and peat 35 3.6 Vegetation 37 3.7 The,, development, of, Flandrian vegetation in south- west Scotland 39 3.8 Anthropogenic-Ampact on the Flandrian vegetation of Scotland 46 . south-west 3.9 Postglacial settlement of south-west Scotland with particular reference to the Mesolithic 55 ChaRter 4 Methods 63 Section 4.1 Field methods 63 4., 2' Laboratory methods 65 4.2.1 Sediment description 65 4.2.2 Loss-on-ignition determination 65 4.2.3 Pollen preparation 66 4.3 Pollen analysis 68 4.3.1 Pollen counting and identification 68 4.3.2 The pollen diagrams 68 4.3.3 Errors associated with the preparation technique and counting statistics 71 4.4 Charcoal analysis, 73 4.5 Radiocarbon dating 76 4.6, The presentation of concentration values 77 1 11C- Chapter 5 Preliminary . investigations 79 Section 5.1 Introduction 79 5.2 Moss Rapýoch 79 5.2.1 Introduction 79 5.2.2 Site and sediment stratigraphy- 80 5.2.3 Pollen zonation 81 5.2.4 Dating of the deposit 82 5.2.5 The history of Pinus 83 5.3 Lo ch Doon 85 5.3.1 Introduction 85 5.3.2 Site and sediment stratigraphy 85 5.3.3 Starr I Trench 1 87 5.3.3,1 Sediment stratigraphy 87 5.3.3.2 Pollen zonation 88 5.3.4 Starr 1'Trench 3 88 5.3.4.1 Sediment stratigraphy 88 5.3.4.2 Pollen zonation 89 5.3.5 Starr 1 Trench 4 89 5.3.6 Discussion 90 5.4 Loch Dee, Road I 5.4.1 Introduction 90 5.4.2 Site and sediment stratigraphy 91 5.4.3 Pollen zonation 92 5.4.4 Loss on ignition 93 5.4.5- Charcoal 94 5.4.6 Pollen concentration 94 5.4.7 Radiocarbon dating 94 5.4.8 Discussion 94 5.5 Loch Dee Peninsula Flint Site 98 5.5.1 Site and sediment stratigraphy 98 5.5.2 Pollen zonation 99 5.5.3 Discussion 99 ghapter 6 Loch Doon - detailed investigations and synthesis 102 Section 6.1 Introduction 102 6.2 The study area 103 6.3 Loch Doon IV 105 6.3.1 Sites and sediment stratigraphy 105 6.3.2 Radiocarbon dating 107 6.3.3 Pollen zonation 109 6.4 Loch Doon 111 114 6.4.1 Site and sediment stratigraphy 114 6.4.2 Pollen zonation 115 6.5 Investigation of the Alnus rise at Loch Doon 117 6.5.1 Sites and sediment stratigraphies 117 6.5.2 Pollen zonation 119 6.6 Excavation of the lithics site to the west of Loch Doon 121 6.6.1 Excavation 121 6.6.2 Discussion 123 6.7 Inferred vegetational history by the southwestern shore of Loch Doon 125 6.7.1 Introduction 125 6.7.2 Vegetational history 125 6.7.3 The composition of the mid-Flandrian woodland . around Loch Doon in a regional setting 154 Chal2ter 7 Loch Dee - detailed investigations and synthesis 157 Section 7.1 Introduction 157 7.2 The area of study 157 7.3 Loch Dee Peninsula Bog 11 158 7.3.1 Sites and sediment stratigraphies 158 7.3.2 Radiocarbon dating 158 7.3.3 Pollen zonation 161 7.3.4 Sites LDPBIII and LDPBIV 161 7.4 Loch Dee Peninsula Bog 1 165 7.4.1 Site and sediment stratigraphy 166 7.4.2 Pollen zonation 166 7.5 Inferred vegetational history 167 7.5.1 Summary of the possible impact on the Flandrian vegetation by Loch Dee 184 7.5.2 Early to mid-Flandrian vegetational history by Loch Dee in a regional setting 186 ChaRter 8 Investigations at Palnure 189 Section 8.1 Introduction 189 8.2 Area of study 190 8.3 Palnure 192 8.3.1 Site and sediment s' . ratigraphy 192 8.3.2 Radiocarbon dating 194 8.3.3 Pollen zonation 194 8.4 Inferred vegetational history 195 8.5 The dry-land woodland and the possibility of Mesolithic impact 201 8.6 Comparison with previous work 203 TABLES Table: (Following) Page 3.7 Radiocarbon dates (b. p. ) associated with events in the Flandrian forest history of south-west Scotland 40 Page 6.3 Radiocarbon dates from Loch Doon IV 107 6.5 Radiocarbon dates from Loch Doon (loch core) 118 7.3 Radiocarbon dates from Loch Dee Peninsula Bog 11 161 8.3 Radiocarbon dates from Palnure 194 ---0 00 -I- CHAPTERI IWMDUCTION TO THE STUDY 1.1 Introduction The idea that Mesolithic man may have had an effect on the vegetation of upland England of a magnitude that can be detected in pollen diagrams has been advanced particularly from investigations on Dartmoor (most recently Simmons et al.