Claxton and Sand Hutton Heritage Group.

‘What lies beneath our feet( or plough!)’…field walking in Claxton, summer 2012.

The Claxton and Sand Hutton Heritage group has recently had a go at field walking in Park Field , Claxton( with kind permission from Karl Fawcett). This was a trial run to discover any artefacts of historical or heritage value. From the different types of rocks we found, it also gave us an insight into our geological heritage.

What did we find? Quite a lot, which surprised us! But no hoards of gold or silver( which did not surprise us!).

At the beginning, going back more than 300 million years…our geological heritage In North , many types of sedimentary rock are found. These range in age from 65 to more than 350 million years, forming familiar landscapes such as the Cretaceous Wolds, the Jurassic North Moors and the East coast, the Permian Pennine foothills, the Carboniferous Pennines and Dales.

BEDROCK GEOLOGY of

10000 plus years ago……. Although the solid bedrock beneath Claxton and Sand Hutton is Triassic mudstone, this has not been the only influence on our soils and landscape. This may be explained by the action of glaciers in the various ice ages of what is known as the Pleistocene Period (2.65 myrs to 10000 yrs ago). The glaciers brought rocks and material down from the north of , Scotland and Scandinavia. In the last glacial stage-the Late Devensian - two prominent areas of deposition( or moraines)- were created, the York Moraine(upon which our villages lie) and the Escrick Moraine……..

POSITION of the ICE SHEETS approx 18000 yrs AGO , showing the YORK-ESCRICK MORAINES:

10000 yrs to today…… In the post glacial period( or Holocene) the material left by glaciers( or other transporting agencies such as water, wind etc) covers the Vale of York and is generally called drift:

DRIFT MAP of CLAXTON/SAND HUTTON AREA

(lacustrine= deposits from within a lake, warp from within trapped water)

It is these drift materials, the transported northern rocks and the underlying bedrock which have all contributed to the soils and features of our area( ‘Sand Hutton’, ‘Gravel Pit’ farm,’ Thornton le Clay’,Claxton brickponds etc).

Rock types found in Claxton Park Field (identification of specimens subject to verification!)

Age : million Origin Geological Type yrs (my)? Features

period

Sedimentary Cretaceous 1 Flints 65-145my

grains of lime-(ooliths) Jurassic 2a Oolitic limestone 145my white:

white

Y ellow: Jurassic 2b Oolitic limestone 145my

Jurassic 3 Calcareous Grit 145my shelly fossils and crinoids

shelly fossils

Jurassic 4 Sandstones 180my `

traces of plant fossils carbonised leaves?

Jurassic 5 Mudstones 200my?

Jurassic 6 Ironstone ?

Triassic 7 Sandstones 230 -250 my

Triassic 8 mudstone ?

Layered mud/silt?

Permian 9 Sandstone 280my Red

Permian I0 Magnesian 280my limestone

(Dolomitic)

Carboniferous II Millstone grit 330my Coarse, very gritty

Igneous I2 Granite Coarse grained Hard

I3 Dolerite? Fine grained

Hard

I4 Basalt Hard,dark

I5 Quartzite white to pink to black

Metamorphic I6 Gneiss banded

Artefacts found in Claxton Park Field………………

Although we did not know what to expect to find , we set out in the hope of finding a few things of interest. We were not disappointed!

Our finds have not yet been properly identified, and we would welcome any suggestions from residents as to identification. To help us we have contacted the community archaeologist, Jon Kenny.

Artefacts found in Claxton Park Field:

From 19th century willow pattern plates?

18-19th century clay pipe?

Victorian pottery pieces?

17th -18th century pottery pieces?

Medieval pottery pieces?

ca 1810 coat button made by Bullivant of Birmingham

Clay marble?

An invitation………………

If you would like to see the rocks and artefacts from Claxton Park Field, come along to the next Social Morning at Sand Hutton Village Hall on Saturday 11th August 2012, 10.30-12.30… help us with the identification of our finds. Look out too for the next field walking event, for you might just be the one to come across the find of the year!

Posted by: Philip Orton Claxton and Sand Hutton Heritage Group July 2012