Palaeoenvironmental Three Ways Wharf

A palaeoenvironmental context for TerminalUpper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic activityin the Colne Valley: Offsite recordscontemporary with occupation atThree Ways Wharf, UxbridgeMichael J. Grant1, Chris J. Stevens2, Nicki J. Whitehouse3,4, David Norcott5,Richard I. Macphail2, Catherine Langdon6, Nigel Cameron7, Catherine Barnett5,Peter G. Langdon6, John Crowder8, Nicola Mulhall5, Kevin Attree9,Matt Leivers5, Richard Greatorex10, Chris Ellis10

1Coastal and Offshore Archaeological Research Services (COARS), Ocean and Earth Science, NationalOceanography Centre, University of Southampton, European Way, Southampton, UK, 2Institute of Archaeology,University College London, London, UK, 3School of Geography, Earth and Environmental Sciences, PlymouthUniversity, Drake Circus, Plymouth, UK, 4School of Geography, Archaeology and Palaeoecology, Queen’sUniversity, Belfast, UK, 5Wessex Archaeology, Portway House, Old Sarum Park, Salisbury, UK, 6Geography andEnvironment, University of Southampton, University Road, Southampton, UK, 7Environmental Change ResearchCentre, Department of Geography, University College London, Pearson Building, Gower Street, London UK,8Archaeological Services (UWLAS), University of Wales, Trinity Saint David, Lampeter, Ceredigion, UK,9School of Geography, Geology and the Environment, Kingston University, Penrhyn Road, Kingston uponThames, Surrey, UK, 10Cotswold Archaeology, Stanley House, Walworth Road, Andover, Hampshire, UK

Multi-proxy analyses from floodplain deposits in the Colne Valley, southern England, have provided apalaeoenvironmental context for the immediately adjacent Terminal Upper Palaeolithic and EarlyMesolithic site of Three Ways Wharf. These deposits show the transition from an open cool environment tofully developed heterogeneous floodplain vegetation during the Early Mesolithic. Several distinct phasesof burning are shown to have occurred that are chronologically contemporary with the local archaeologicalrecord. The floodplain itself is shown to have supported a number of rare Urwaldrelikt insect speciesimplying human manipulation of the floodplain at this time must have been limited or episodic. By the LateMesolithic a reed-sedge swamp had developed across much of the floodplain, within which repeatedburning of the in situ vegetation took place. This indicates deliberate land management practices utilisingfire, comparable with findings from other floodplain sequences in southern Britain. With similarsedimentary sequences known to exist across the Colne Valley, often closely associated withcontemporary archaeology, the potential for placing the archaeological record within a spatially explicitpalaeoenvironmental context is great.

Keywords: Three Ways Wharf, Terminal Upper Palaeolithic, Mesolithic, Burning, Palaeoenvironment, Urwaldrelikt

IntroductionThe Late Pleistocene–Holocene transition was notonly a period of rapid climatic change but also wit-nessed the technological transition from the UpperPalaeolithic to the Mesolithic. The rapid climaticcooling at the onset of the Loch Lomond Stadial

(Younger Dryas; Greenland Stadial 1 (GS-1)),c. 10 700 cal BC, coincided with a change to eithersparse occupation, sporadic visitation or a short-livedwithdrawal of humans from the more northerly lati-tudes of northwest Europe (Barton 1997, 135; Bartonet al. 2003; Blockley and Gamble 2012; Conneller2007). Small hunting groups present during the laterGS-1 and subsequent abrupt Holocene climaticamelioration, c. 9700 cal BC, are usually associatedwith the appearance of ‘long blade’ flint assemblages

Correspondence to: Michael J. Grant, Coastal and OffshoreArchaeological Research Services (COARS), Ocean and Earth Science,National Oceanography Centre, University of Southampton, EuropeanWay, Southampton, SO14 3ZH, UK. Email: [email protected]

© Association for Environmental Archaeology 2014DOI 10.1179/1749631413Y.0000000015 Environmental Archaeology 2014 VOL. 0 NO. 0 1

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characteristic of the Terminal Upper Palaeolithic(Barton 1998, 1999; Lewis with Rackham 2011).However, dating of these sites within the Britishrecord is notoriously poor (Barton 1989, 264; Bartonand Roberts 2002; Currant and Jacobi 2011).Of the reported English long blade sites, the best

dated is that of Three Ways Wharf, Uxbridge, situated

on the western edge of the River Colne (Figs. 1 and 2).The site was excavated between 1986 and 1990 andrevealed a total of five in situ lithic and faunal scattersof Terminal Upper Palaeolithic and Early Mesolithicdate (Lewis 1991; Lewis et al. 1992; Lewis withRackham 2011). Scatter A (see Fig. 2) consisted of abruised-edge long blade lithic industry, of north

Figure 1 Map showing location of William King Flour Mill and other key sites in the local area. See Figure 2 for details of ThreeWays Wharf site excavations.

Grant et al. Palaeoenvironmental context for terminal upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithic activity

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German Ahrensburgian technocomplex, associatedwith wild horse and reindeer faunal remains (includingevidence of processing), with radiocarbon dates onhorse bone (albeit not definitely associated with thelong blade scatter; Lewis with Rackham 2011, 17,138) suggesting activity from the end of the 11th tothe middle of the 10th millennium BC (Table 1).In Scatter C two chronologically distinct occupationswere encountered: C east and C west. Scatter C eastcontained an assorted long blade lithic industrywith horse and reindeer faunal remains. Scatter Cwest, however, consisted of a dense concentrationof Early Mesolithic lithic material, typified bybroad, obliquely backed flint points, and a faunal

assemblage dominated by red deer. Radiocarbondates on teeth from butchered red and roe deer withthis scatter indicate a short phase of activity in themiddle of the 9th millennium BC (Table 1). Otherexcavated scatters contained smaller non-diagnosticassemblages.The presence of these chronologically and techno-

logically different assemblages in the same locationprovides an important link in understanding the chan-ging nature of the archaeological record spanning theclimatic amelioration and onset of the Holocene.Three Ways Wharf does not stand alone in the widerarea, with many long blade and Early Mesolithicsites within the Colne Valley known to exist (e.g.

Figure 2 Map showing the location of main scatter areas, within UX88, excavated at Three Ways Wharf. Relative density andspread of burnt flint is shown for each scatter. The stratigraphic sequence from the site is shown, showing the different identifiedStratigraphic Units (SU). Modified from Lewis with Rackham (2011).


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Lacaille 1963; Wymer 1977, 1999; WessexArchaeology 2005; Halsey 2006; Fig. 1).The archaeology at Three Ways Wharf was located

within predominantly fine-grained sediments (SU30and SU40; SU= Stratigraphic Unit; Fig. 2) overlyingbasal Colney Street Gravels (SU20). These artefact-bearing sediments were sealed by black humic clay(SU50), which, in turn, was overlain in places by athin calcareous tufa deposit (SU60). The palaeoenvir-onmental interpretation of the sequence was predomi-nantly derived from mollusc samples across the site,with some pollen obtained from SU50 (Bates andWiltshire 2011; Lewis et al. 1992). Although the mol-luscs indicated damp open grassland and some localwoodland, the faunal material provided an indicationof the general surrounding environment (e.g. horse=open grassland; deer=woodland/woodland edge;swan and beaver=wetlands). Generally, poor preser-vation and bioturbation of the sediments meant thatmost of the environmental reconstruction had to bederived from a generalised pattern of Late Glacial/Early Holocene vegetation and climate, by referenceto existing, but disparate, records from across theBritish Isles (Lewis with Rackham 2011, 196–216).This has meant that the environmental context forthe Three Ways Wharf site, and the nature of the occu-pants’ interaction with the landscape during this time,has, to date, been very limited.The recent discovery of stratified organic sequences

at the former William King Flour Mill (reported here)and Sanderson Site (Halsey 2006; Corcoran andHowell 2002), both adjacent to and contemporarywith Three Ways Wharf, provide an ideal opportunityto obtain ‘off-site’ records to place the latter within afirmer palaeoenvironmental context.

Study Site: William King Flour MillWilliam King Flour Mill is located upon an elongatedoval-shaped area of land of approximately one hectare,bounded by the Grand Union Canal to the east andthe River Colne to the west, and situated c. 200 mnorth-west of the Three Ways Wharf excavations(Fig. 1). Initial site investigations (Tait and Lara2003; Halsey 2005) indicated variable thicknesses ofmade ground across the site. In the south-westernarea this was directly underlain by sand/gravel, whilein the central area fine-grained alluvium was recorded

over sand/gravel, and in the north-east an alluvialsequence, including peat deposits, was present. A sub-sequent borehole survey (Wessex Archaeology 2009) inthe north-east of the site revealed a black clay depositc. 30-cm thick, matching the description of SU50 fromThree Ways Wharf, overlying up to 1 m of peat. Aradiocarbon date from the peat in BH8, 8430–8230 calBC (Beta-252220; see below), is contemporary withthe dated deer remains in Scatter C West at ThreeWays Wharf (Table 1) and charred hazelnut shell fromthe Early Mesolithic scatters at the Sanderson Site,8600–8300 cal BC (Beta-200075; 9230± 50 BP;Halsey 2006). These stratified organic deposits thereforehave the potential to provide an ‘off-site’ palaeoenvir-onmental record for the archaeology seen at theseaforementioned sites. Excavations in Areas A and Bexposed the full sedimentary sequence down to theunderlying Colney Street Gravels (Fig. 3), but noarchaeology was present (Wessex Archaeology 2011).

MethodsA series of columnar environmental samples andmonoliths were taken from the sequences in Areas Aand B (Fig. 3). Sediments within monoliths 16, 17(Area A), and 25 (Area B) were described accordingto Hodgson (1997; Tables 3 and 7). On each sequenceloss-on-ignition (LOI) was undertaken (Bengstssonand Enell 1986) with magnetic susceptibility (MS)recorded at 1-cm intervals using a Bartlington MS2Esensor (see Fig. 3). In the monolith sequence fromArea A, subsamples were extracted from monolith 17;black clay (context 21; 31.24–31.21 m OD) and theunderlying peat (context 27; 31.06–31.02 m OD) forLOI (Ball 1964) on the fine earth fraction (<2 mm).Three subsamples for soil micromorphology weretaken from monoliths 16 and 17 (Table 4). Sampleswere impregnated with a clear polyester resin– acetonemixture prior to curing and slabbing for very rapid75 × 50-mm size thin section manufacture (Goldbergand Macphail 2006; Murphy 1986). Thin sectionswere described (summarised in Table 4), according toestablished methods (Bullock et al. 1985; Courty2001; Courty et al. 1989; Goldberg and Macphail2006; Macphail and Cruise 2001; Stoops 2003).

Seven radiocarbon dates (Table 2) were obtainedfrom material within the monoliths from Areas A and

Table 1 Radiocarbon dates from Three Ways Wharf (recalibrated from Lewis with Rackham 2011, 17)

Scatter Material Laboratory code Radiocarbon age (BP) δ13C (‰) Calibrated date range (95.4% confidence)

A Horse (mandible) OxA-18702 10 060± 45 −21.5 9880–9380 cal BCA Horse (tooth) OxA-1788 10 270± 100 −21.0 10 570–9670 cal BCA Horse (mandible) OxA-1902 10 010± 120 −21.0 10 040–9270 cal BCC West Red deer (teeth) OxA-5557 9280± 110 −21.4 8800–8280 cal BCC West Roe deer (teeth) OxA-5558 9265± 80 −23.0 8710–8290 cal BCC West Red deer (teeth) OxA-5559 9200± 75 −21.3 8610–8280 cal BC



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B. Where possible, suitable identifiable plant materialwas selected for dating, but sediment (humic acid frac-tion) was used where these were absent. Dates are cali-brated against the IntCal09 Northern Hemisphereradiocarbon curve (Reimer et al. 2009) using OxCal4.1 (Bronk Ramsey 1995, 2001) and quoted as cali-brated years BC, with date ranges quoted using the 2σcalibrated range (95.4%) and end points rounded out-wards to 10 years (Mook 1986).Twelve samples were examined from the two areas

for waterlogged plant remains (Tables 5 and 8).Subsamples of up to two litres were processed; withthe flots and residues retained on 0.25-mm meshsieves. Where samples were particularly rich andabsolute counts were not possible, a general scale ofabundance of plant remains has been applied andsub-samples of a flot may have been taken (seeTables 5 and 8). Habitat groupings follow Hill et al.(2004). Pollen preparation followed standardmethods (Moore et al. 1991) with Lycopodiumtablets (Stockmarr 1971) added to calculate pollenand microcharcoal concentration, and silicone oilused as the mounting medium. Nomenclaturefollows Bennett (1994) for pollen/spores, whereasPoaceae were classified according to Küster (1988).A total land pollen (TLP) sum of a minimum of 400grains, excluding pteridophytes and obligate aquatics(calculated as a percentage of TLP+Group), wasobtained where possible. Microscopic charcoal wasquantified on the pollen slides using a methodadapted from Clark (1982) whereby a minimum of200 random fields of view were applied to a slide,and the number, and size, of each charcoal particleobserved recorded. Results are presented usingTILIA 1.7.16 (Grimm 2011), with local pollen assem-blage zones (LPAZ) defined using CONISS (Grimm1987) and described in Tables 6 and 9. Plant nomen-clature follows that of Stace (1997).Three samples from Area B were investigated for

insect remains (Table 10). Five-litre samples wereparaffin floated (Coope and Osborne 1968) and disag-gregated over a 300-μm sieve. Identifications were

carried out using the British Hope ColeopteraCollection (Museum of Natural History, Universityof Oxford). Coleoptera nomenclature follows Lucht(1987), with habitat information obtained from theColeopteran database BUGSCEP (Buckland andBuckland 2006) and following classification methodsdescribed by Robinson (1981, 1991), Whitehouse(2004) and Smith et al. (2010). For the sample fromcontext 53, which included a cold stenotopic fauna,the Mutual Climate Range (MCR) Method(Atkinson et al. 1987) was used to derive winter andsummer temperature estimates (Table 11). This wasundertaken using the BugsMCR function of theBugsCEP database (Buckland and Buckland 2006).The data are shown both as full potential MCRranges as well as the calibrated median point devel-oped using the correction factor of Walkling andCoope (1996).

Diatom samples were taken from BH8 and mono-lith 17 (contexts 27, 21 and 26), with preparation,counting and analysis following standard techniques(Battarbee 1986; Battarbee et al. 2001).

Three samples of 120 g from Area A were investi-gated for chironomid head capsules: contexts 26(31.39–31.49 m OD), 21 (31.17–31.39 m OD) and 27(31.17–30.93 m OD). Samples were prepared follow-ing the techniques of Brooks et al. (2007) and Ruizet al. (2006) with heating in 10% KOH for 10minutes and sieving through 180- and 90-μm sievesand treated with a sonic bath to break down thesamples from contexts 21 and 26, as employed byLang et al. (2003).

Results and InterpretationsArea AStratigraphy and radiocarbon datingExcavation exposed the Colney Street Gravels (17) at thebase (Fig. 3; Table 3) which dipped gently from 30.73 mOD in thewest to 29.98 mOD in the east, reflected in thethickening of the overlying alluvial sequence eastwards.In the west of the area, thin deposits of humic (peaty)gravel and calcareous gravel overlay the Colney Street

Table 2 Radiocarbon dates from William King Flour Mill

Monolith(Area)

Depth (m OD)(Context) Material Laboratory code

Radiocarbonage (BP) δ13C (‰)

Calibrated daterange (95.4%confidence)

17 (A) 31.40 (26) Sediment (humic acid) SUERC-41675 5356± 28 −27.5 4330–4050 cal BC17 (A) 31.23 (21) Sediment (humic acid) SUERC-41674 6578± 28 −27.4 5620–5470 cal BC17 (A) 31.14 (28) Sediment (humic acid) SUERC-41673 7539± 30 −28.5 6470–6370 cal BC17 (A) 30.59 to 30.62 (29) Carex sp. seeds SUERC-41672 9310± 28 −30.4 8640–8470 cal BC17 (A) 30.38 (31) Sediment (humic acid) SUERC-41671 10 065± 28 −28.5 9810–9450 cal BC25 (B) 31.04 to 31.06 (49) Carex sp. seeds SUERC-41680 7922± 28 −30.6 7030–6670 cal BC25 (B) 30.57 to 30.59 (49) Betula sp. bud scale and

seeds, Carex sp. seeds,Populus tremula buds

SUERC-41679 9403± 31 −27.6 8780–8610 cal BC

BH8 30.86–30.81 Crataegus monogyna stone Beta-252220 9080± 40 −27.8 8430–8230 cal BC



Gravels. These were overlain by a thin layer of finer allu-vium (31), dated 9810–9450 cal BC (SUERC-41671),and a humified peaty deposit (30), probably indicativeof soil formation. LOI increases through these two con-texts coinciding with a reduction in MS (from 0.75 to0.2κ). Above the peaty soil, a peat (29) was recorded,dated 8640–8470 cal BC (SUERC-41672), with a unitof more minerogenic peaty clay deposition at30.84–30.93 m OD. The top of the peat (27) was dated6470–6370 cal BC (SUERC-41673). Above the peat, ablack clay (21), dated 5620–5470 cal BC (SUERC-41674), was found, in turn overlain by a fine alluvium(26), dated to 4330–4050 cal BC (SUERC-41675). MSincreases within the black clay and overlying alluvium,while LOI reduces.Soil micromorphology of the black clay (21) indi-

cated that it was a compact and microlaminatedhumic clay (18.2% LOI on fine fraction) containingbands of sometimes extremely abundant very fine char-coal (<1 mm) and charred organic matter (Table 4).Generally, horizontally orientated fine charcoal andsometimes very abundant humified plant fragmentsalso occurred, along with ‘wetland’monocotyledonousroots. The black clay slowly accumulated under pondedconditions (possibly preceded by episodes of overbankclayey alluviation), with the input of large amounts offine and very fine charcoal.

Plant macrofossilsThe basal alluvium (31) was dominated by gametes ofChara sp., aquatic species and those associated withwet fen environments or those more characteristic ofdisturbed, possibly nitrogen richer, soils (Table 5).The overlying peaty soil (30) had woody roots and

possibly twigs, along with Moehringia trinervia,Ranunculus sp. and Urtica dioica, but few aquatics.Seeds of probable Betula pubescens/pendula from

the fine peat (29), along with M. trinervia, show atleast some woodland present locally, while others indi-cate disturbed soils. Occasional seeds, such as Lycopuseuropaeus, and stems of Phragmites australis, attest tothe presence of wet fenland environments but aquaticsare generally few. The overlying peat (28) was broadlysimilar in composition, with three of the seven taxarecorded being indicative of disturbed soils, whileEupatorium cannabinum, is commonly associatedwith overgrown grassy fenland, sometimes at theshaded edge of scrub or woodland.The upper peat (27) contained a distinctly different

assemblage to the underlying peats with notableincreases in seeds of Typha latifolia/angustifolia andfruits of Sparganium erectum indicative of largeexpanses of shallow water. The remainder of theassemblage was typical of open grassy fenland.Seeds of Stachys sp. (c. 3–4%) recorded wereprobably Stachys palustris, based upon size,morphology and environment indicated by theremainder of the assemblage. The overlying blackclay (21) was dominated by seeds of T. latifolia/angustifolia (>90% assemblage) with the remainderindicative of fenland marsh. The final sample fromthe upper alluvium (26) contained very few plantremains, but included seeds of Juncus sp. and a fewgametes of Chara sp.

PollenLPAZ M17-1 (contexts 31 and 30; Fig. 4; Table 6) isdominated by Cyperaceae and Poaceae indicating gen-erally open wetland conditions, also including

Table 3 Sediment description of Monoliths 16 and 17, Area A

Depth (m OD) Description

31.61–31.68 Modern overburden: 10YR 4/2 very dark greyish brown clay, gritty, small iron staining patches, boundary quitesharp but physically mixed with below (bioturbation)

31.49–31.61 Alluvium (26): Very dark greyish brown clay, occasional grit, clear but mixed boundary over 5 cm31.39–31.49 Alluvium (26): 2.5Y 4/3 olive brown silty clay loam, mixed 70/30 with above darker alluvium31.17–31.39 Black clay (21): 10YR 2/1 black clay (soapy texture of silty clay loam, but confident that is a product of high organic

content). Very sticky, highly organic, no inclusions or visible plant remains, one rootlet cast observed filled withbrowner clay. Presume comminuted charcoal but no lumps observed. Clear (not sharp but does not appearerosive) boundary

30.93–31.17 Fine peat (27): Black very fine peat, with some silt content. Very fine fibrous plant remains, no obvious horizontality/layering observed. Continues at 30.84 but interrupted by clayey layer below – sharp boundary

30.84–30.93 Organic peaty clay (28): Black silty clay loam to clay; still peaty and slightly fibrous but more of a highly organicsediment than a peat on balance. Sharp boundary

30.73–30.84 Fine peat (28): As (27); black very fine peat, with some silt content. Very fine recognisable plant remains, no obvioushorizontality/layering observed. Clear boundary

30.56–30.73 Peat (29): 7.5YR 2.5/1 black peat, similar to above but slightly less fine with more (and larger) recognisable plantremains, and horizontal layering observed. Wood/ root chunk at 30.58–56. Clear to sharp boundary

30.43–30.56 Probable peaty soil (30): 7.5YR 2.5/1 black very fine peat (or possibly very humic peaty soil). Speckled appearancefrom fine quartz sand content, but not gritty to feel. Boundary sharp but slightly interdigitated (some horizontallyaligned underlying grey alluvium in basal few cm)

30.36–30.43 Alluvium (31): 10YR 3/1 very dark grey silty clay loam, slightly sandy grittiness to top; darker possible humic band10 mm thick at 30.39 m OD. Gravel in base

Below 30.36 Colney Street Gravels (17): mid grey fine sand matrix containing abundant sub-rounded, sub-angular and roundedblue/grey and black flint gravel



Filipendula, Thalictrum and Sparganium emersum-type. Taxa such as Saxifraga granulata-type andPolemonium caeruleum are typically associated withLate Glacial assemblages and also indicative of localwetland/fen vegetation. The presence of Pinus sylvestrisand Betula in the pollen assemblage probably relates toan extra-regional presence as pollen production in localplants would have been severely suppressed due to theprevailing cold-climate. Microcharcoal is present inboth samples, indicating burning in the area.M17-2 (contexts 30, 29 and 28) contained an

increase in P. sylvestris and Salix. Microcharcoalvalues are reduced compared to M17-1. Betularemains a constant component with Populus,Viburnum opulus and Cornus sanguinea also recorded.Cold climate components are still present in the formof Saxifraga oppositifolia-type and Dryas octopetala.In general this shows a partially wooded environmentwith a rich understory of shrubs and herbs, notablythose associated with wetland communities.Within M17-3 (context 27) there is a shift in the veg-

etation with reductions in Betula and Salix and anincrease of Corylus avellana-type and Ulmus. Anincrease in microcharcoal, coinciding with a low pres-ence of Rumex acetosella, Plantago lanceolata andMelampyrum, may indicate some local ground dis-turbance and burning (e.g. Simmons and Innes1996a, b; Innes et al. 2004; Grant et al. 2009).Increases in Poaceae, Cyperaceae and Pteropsida(monolete) indet. coincide with an increase in S.

emersum-type and T. latifolia, implying increased sitewetness and/or reduced canopy cover.

M17-4 (contexts 21 and 26) shows the local domi-nance of Cyperaceae and other wetland vegetationtypes at the expense of the now diminished woodland.This reduction may be related to local flooding and thedeposition of the black clay (21). Microcharcoalremains comparatively abundant and there is anincrease, albeit as a minor component, of Quercusand Alnus. P. sylvestris values are low, suggesting itis either a minor component or not locally present.At 31.33 m OD the TLP count was very low (12TLP) while the assemblage was dominated byPteropsida (monolete) spores (>450 spores counted).

ChironomidsThe fine peat (27) yielded two chironomid head cap-sules from the Tanypodinae tribe; near Krenopelopiaand near Clinotanypus, the later preferring veryshallow water and tolerant of high organic loadings.The black clay (21) yielded one capsule from theTanypodinae tribe, identified as near Krenopelopia,typically living around springs and/or muddyseepage areas and can be remote from flowing water,favouring the terrestrial/aquatic boundary zone.

DiatomsDiatomswereabsent in the five samples investigated frommonolith 17, which may reflect cycles of prolongeddrying and rehydration leading to unfavourable con-ditions for diatom silica preservation (Flower 1993;

Table 4 Summary of soil micromorphology associated with black clay (context 21) in Area A

Sample no. anddepth (m OD) Summarised interpretation and comments

M1631.385–31.35

Partially disrupted and strongly burrow mixed compact humic clay containing small to large amounts ofmicrocharcoal. Very broad burrowing has introduced humic soil mixed with unsorted coarse to fine mortar(max. 15 mm), flints (max 4 mm), slaggy charcoal, possible metallic slag, burned sands, earthworm granules.Black clay also includes rare fine charcoal, a trace of ferruginised roots/stains; and an example of coarsephytolith (325 μm). Upper levels show laminated and microlaminated humic clay infills.

Here, black clay is less humic and includes fewer fine and very fine charcoal. The zone between this black clayand overlying yellow clay is also strongly influenced by calcareous soil mixing, in part by earthworms, mixing inanthropogenic soils, lime-based constructional material and more recent industrial waste.

M17A31.32–31.24

Massive and microlaminated, compact (10% voids), with current crack microstructure, and containing extremelyabundant very fine charcoal and charred organic matter, with occasional horizontally oriented fine charcoal(max. 1.5 mm) in laminae. There are also trace amounts of fine (max. 1 mm) monocotyledonous roots and rarefine (c. 1 mm) woody/fibrous roots, and very abundant humified plant tissues, are mainly horizontally oriented.Rare thin burrowing has mixed-in silty clay.

Slowly accumulated peaty clay containing very fine and fine charcoal, and formed under ponded conditions.

M17B131.21–31.13

Massive (now finely cracked), compact (5% voids) and commonly opaque clay, with diffuse laminae. Stronglyhumic clay is characterised by extremely abundant very fine charred organic matter and amorphous organicmatter, with rare fine charcoal (<1 mm) which is weakly horizontally oriented. In addition, abundant horizontallyoriented humified plant tissues occur. There is a trace of dusty clay void coatings and many fine reddish ironmottles with occasional thin (c. 200 μm) reddish brown amorphous FeO infills of channels/fissures as yellowishlepidocrite – sometimes affecting possible root traces – were noted. Many thin burrows mix silts and very fewsand and gravel down profile. These originate in the overlying laminated clay, which includes clasts of chalkand earthworm granules.

Dense, finely laminated and highly humic clay, which is often opaque because of the extreme abundance of veryfine charred organic matter. This may be the result of very slow overbank clayey alluviation/ponding in anenvironment highly charged with ‘charcoal’ dust. Ensuing alluviation is much more silty (silty clay) and muchless rich in charcoal. Post-depositional burrowing by earthworms slightly mixed the boundary between the twodeposits.



Ryves et al. 2001). Diatoms were similarly poorly pre-served at Three Ways Wharf (Lewis with Rackham2011, 26) with those few present indicative of desiccation.In BH8, diatoms from the top of the peat (30.90 m

OD) and overlying black clay (31.17 m OD) containedan assemblage dominated by a range of Fragilaria taxa(Fragilaria construens and var., Fragilaria pinnata,Fragilaria brevistriata, Fragilaria leptostauron) thatare able to colonise unstable, rapidly changingenvironments before the establishment of otherdiatom species. Other non-planktonic, epiphytic andbenthic diatoms were also present includingCocconeis placentula, Achnanthes minutissima,Amphora pediculus, Gomphonema angustatum,Synedra ulna and Tabellaria flocculosa.

Area BStratigraphy and radiocarbon datingColney Street Gravels (54) were exposed at similar levelsto Area A, between 30.10 and 29.80 m OD, although

with a thicker overlying alluvial sequence (Table 7 andFig. 3). The gravels were overlain by a fining-upwardsandy alluvium (53), possibly indicative of a channelpoint bar, which was in turn overlain by a finer low-energy alluvial deposit containing waterlogged roots(51), interpreted as channel-edge mud depositedaround colonising vegetation. LOI remains low(<10%) with MS generally between 1 and 1.5 κ.The overlying peat (50, 49) was noticeably coarser

than that recorded in Area A, and was c. 0.50 mthick. Radiocarbon dating of the top and bottom indi-cate peat formation between 8780-8610 cal BC(SUERC-41679) and 7030–6670 cal BC (SUERC-41680). LOI is >75% with low MS (<0.1 κ), althoughabove 30.84 m OD LOI values begin to reduce (drop-ping to 36%) with MS increasing to 0.5 κ in the over-lying black clay (48).

Plant macrofossilsThe sandy alluvium (53) contained the remains ofmany aquatic plant species all commonly found in,

Table 5 Plant macrofossils assemblage from Area A

Context 31 30 29 28 27 21 26Sample 23 22 21 20 19 18 24Depth of top (m OD) 30.43 30.56 30.73 30.93 31.17 31.39 31.49Depth of base (m OD) 30.36 30.43 30.56 30.73 30.93 31.17 31.39Volume (L) 2 2 2 2 2 2 2Flot Size (ml) 500 500 620 1000 750 570 50Percentage Examined 1 mm 100% 100% 50% 25% 10% 100% 100%

0.5 mm 10% 25% 10% 10% 10% 100% 100%0.25 mm 10% 25% 10% 10% 10% 100% 100%

Species Habitat

Chara (gametes) A +++ — — — — — +Ranunculus subg. Ranunculus (arb) S, G — 1 1 — — — —

Ranunculus lingua F — — — — ++ — —

Thalictrum flavum F 1 — — — 4+ 2f 1 —

Urtica dioica S, D, G, R 2 1 ++++ +++ — — —

Betula pubescens/pendula W — — 5 cf.1 1 — —

Chenopodium album D 1 — — — — — —

Atriplex sp. D — — — 1 — — —

Moehringia trinervia W — 1 cf.1 — — — —

Erica sp. (seed) H, B cf.2 — — — cf.1 — —

Erica cf. tetralix (capsule) H. B — — — — — cf.1 —

Potentilla erecta/reptans G — — — — — 1 —

Oenanthe sp. A, R. G, — — — — — cf.1 —

Hyoscyamus niger D — — 3 1 — — —

Stachys sp. Various — — — — 10+ 4 —

Lycopus europaeus F 1 — 2 — 1 — —

Mentha sp. Various — — — — +++ ++ —

Veronica sp. (seed small) Various ?+ — — — — — —

Senecio sp. Various — — — — — cf.1 —

Eupatorium cannabinum. F — — — 4 — 8f. —

Juncus sp. Various — — — — — — ++Carex sp. (trigonous) Various — 1 1 1 6 3 —

Phragmites australis (stems) F — — + + — — —

Sparganium erectum (fruit/achene) F 2 — — — 250+ — —

Sparganium erectum (embryo) F, R — — — — ++ — —

Typha latifolia/angustifolia F — — — — ++ ++++ —

Woody twigs/roots W, S — ++ ++ — — — —

Charcoal — — — — — — — +Roots — + — ++ ++ — — —

Worm cocoons — — — + — — — —

Habitat types: W, Woodland; S, Scrub, woodland edge; D, Disturbed ground; G, Grassland; H, Bracken & heathland; F, Fen, marsh;B, Bog; A, Aquatic/adjacent to water environments. R, Rivers; M, Inland rock/montane.Abundance: += 10–15; ++= 15–50; +++= 50–100; +++=> 100.



Figure 4 Pollen, microcharcoal, loss-on-ignition and magnetic susceptibility from Area A (top) and Area B (bottom) monolith sequences. In Monolith 17 at 31.33 m OD pollen taxa present areindicated by * due to a very low TLP count (12 TLP).

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or adjacent to, slow moving streams, rivers or ponds(Table 8). A reasonable number of clearly identifiableseeds of Betula nana and several Salix sp. catkin scales

were also present along with seeds of species of dis-turbed open ground. Associated with peat and mullsoils were seeds ofM. trinervia and fruits of Carex ros-trata. Seeds of Arenaria ciliata agg. were also recov-ered, classified following Godwin (1984) andincluding A. ciliata, which is only found today on lime-stone cliffs at Sligo, Ireland, and two other species:Arenaria norvegica and Arenaria moehringioides(Murr) (Jackson and Parnell 1987). The former isfound today in Scotland and Ireland, as well asnorth-west Europe in general, associated with baserich soils and occasionally thin peats, while the latteris more confined to Western Europe in the Alps,Jura and Pyrenees.The overlying alluvium (51) failed to yield any seeds

but the peat (49) yielded a richer assemblage, dominatedby seeds and bracts of Betula pubescens along withBetula pendula and more rarely B. nana. Also indicativeof more wooded environments were high numbers ofbuds of Populus tremula, stones of C. sanguinea andseeds of Glechoma hederacea, Carex paniculata andpotentially Carex laevigata and Verbascum cf. thapsus.Two tentative rarities were identified in this sample,though in two cases the seeds were fragmented.Viburnum lantana was probably represented by thelower half of the outer casing of the fruit stone with

Table 6 Local Pollen Assemblage Zone descriptions from Area A

Depth (m OD) (Context) Local pollen assemblage zone

31.14 to 31.42 (21 and26)

M17-4: Dominated by Cyperaceae (25–64%), Poaceae (10–58%) and Pteropsida (monolete) indet.(25–97% TLP+ pteridophytes). Pinus sylvestris (5–16%) and Corylus avellana-type (5–15%) arepresent throughout the zone, along with Ulmus (up to 1%), Quercus (2–3%) and Betula (1–3%), withAlnus glutinosa (up to 11%) increasing at the top of the sequence. Dwarf shrub and herb taxa presentinclude Vaccinium-type (up to 1%), Calluna vulgaris (up to 1%), Filipendula (1%), Plantago lanceolata(up to 1%) and Glyceria-type (up to 1%). Aquatics include Calltriche (up to 1%), Sparganiumemersum-type (2–8% TLP+ aquatics) and Typha latifolia (up to 1% TLP+ aquatics). Pollenconcentrations drop towards the top of the zone, from 348 600 to 39 000 grains cm−3. Low pollencounts were also encountered in the uppermost two samples. At 31.33 m OD the sample wasdominated by Pteropsida (monolete) indet. (466 spores) with only 12 pollen grains encountered.Microcharcoal concentrations peak with 32 000 particles cm−3 at 31.26 m OD before reducing to 7600particles cm−3 at the top of the sequence

30.90 to 31.14 (27) M17-3: Dominated by Pinus sylvestris (31–41%), Corylus avellana-type (18–43%), Cyperaceae (4–24%)and Pteropsida (monolete) indet. (11–70% TLP+ pteridophytes). Ulmus (1–6%), Betula (2–6%) andSalix (up to 2%) are also present, along with occurrences of Quercus (up to 1%). Dwarf shrub andherb taxa present include Vaccinium-type (up to 1%), Filipendula (1%), Plantago lanceolata (up to1%), Solidago virgaurea-type (1–2%) and Poaceae (5–14%). Sparganium emersum-type (1–4%TLP+ aquatics) and Typha latifolia (up to 1% TLP+ aquatics) were also present. Pollen concentrationsare between 127 300 and 674 000 grains cm−3. Microcharcoal concentrations peak in this zone at31.02 m OD with 53 400 particles cm−3

30.50 to 30.90 (30, 29and 28)

M17-2: Dominated by Pinus sylvestris (45–64%) with Betula (5–9%), Salix (5–13%), Cyperaceae (3–12%),Poaceae (8–16%) and Pteropsida (monolete) indet. (17–21% TLP+ pteridophytes) also notable.Populus (up to 1%) and Cornus sanguinea (up to 1%) were also present. Viburnum opulus (up to 1%),Thalictrum (up to 1%), Saxifraga oppositifolia-type (up to 1%), Filipendula (1–4%), Dryas octopetala(up to 1%), Solidago virgaurea-type (1%) and Artemisia-type (up to 1%) were also present.Potamogeton natans-type (up to 1% TLP+ aquatics), Sparganium emersum-type (up to 2%TLP+ aquatics) and Typha latifolia (up to 1% TLP+ aquatics) were also present. Pollen concentrationsincreased through the zone from 51 800 to 86 900 grains cm−3. Microcharcoal concentrations reducedfrom 29 200 to 7500 particles cm−3

30.38 to 30.50 (30 and31)

M17-1: Dominated by Pinus sylvestris (19–32%), Cyperaceae (24–25%), Poaceae (19–33%) andPteropsida (monolete) indet. (12–34% TLP+ pteridophytes). Betula (6–12%), Saxifraga granulata-type(up to 1%), Filipendula (1–10%), Polemonium caeruleum (up to 1%), Lactuceae undiff. (up to 6%),Solidago virgaurea-type (1%) and Sparganium emersum-type (up to 3% TLP+ aquatics) are alsopresent. Pollen concentrations were between 17000 and 27850 grains cm−3, with low TLP counts ofc. 101–115 grains. Microcharcoal concentrations were between 20 000 and 32 000 particles cm−3

Table 7 Sediment description of Monolith 25, Area B

Depth(m OD) Description

31.06–31.15 Black clay (48): 10YR 2/1 black clay (soapytexture of silty clay loam, but confident that isa product of high organic content). Highlyorganic, no inclusions or plant remainsvisible, Possible comminuted charcoal. Clear(not sharp) boundary

30.55–31.06 Peat (49): Black peat with recognisable plantremains. Sharp boundary

30.50–30.55 Peat initiation (50): 10YR 3/1 very dark greysilty clay loam, slight physical mixing withbelow, rare quartz sand flecks visible. Sharpto clear boundary

30.18–30.50 Alluvium (51): 2.5Y 4/2 dark greyish brown siltyclay loam, occasional waterlogged root, clearto sharp boundary

29.95–30.18 Sandy alluvium (53): 2.5Y 3/2 very dark greyishbrown sandy clay loam, sand size as well asquantity increasing downwards (finingupwards sequence). Gravel in base.Probable stream point bar

Below 29.95 Colney Street Gravels (54): Light grey-browncoarse sand matrix with abundant sub-rounded and sub-angular blue/grey flintgravel



identification based upon the size (4–5 mm width) andpresence of distinct deep grooves and an obtuse notchin the base of the seed. Scheuchzeria palustris, a rarespecies of Sphagnum bogs in Scotland, was tentativelyidentified based upon the general size and shape.Several further seeds of species associated with marsh-land fen were also present in the upper part of thisdeposit. The plant remains from the peat (sample 27)do not contain any evidence of the observed change in

the pollen (see below) within the peat (49) but domatch the vertically constrained sample (25;30.57–30.59 m OD) obtained from the monolith. Thisprobably infers that the majority of Betula seeds arederived from the base of the peat and thus does not faith-fully reflect persistence of this vegetation type for theentirety of this peat formation.

The sample from the black clay (48) was distinctfrom the other samples, and from the black clay (21)

Table 8 Plant macrofossils assemblage from Area B

Context 53 51 49 49 48Sample 29 28 25 27 26Depth of top (m OD) 30.18 30.5 30.59 31.06 31.15Depth of base (m OD) 29.95 30.18 30.57 30.55 31.06Volume (L) 2 2 1 2 2Flot Size (ml) 250 250 150 1750 500Percentage Examined 1 mm 100% 100% 100% 100% 100%

0.5 mm 100% 100% 50% 50%0.25 mm 10% 10% 10% 10%

Species Habitat

Chara (gametes) A 2 — — — —

Ranunculus subg. Ranunculus (arb) S, G — — — 1 —

Ranunculus lingua F — — 1 3 —

Ranunculus aquatilis A, R cf.1 — — — —

Urtica dioica S,D,G,R 6 — — — 100+Betula sp. (catkin) W, H, B — — cf.1 — —

Betula pubescens/pendula (seed) W — — +++ ++++ 2Betula pubescens/pendula (bract) W — — ++ +++ —

Betula pubescens (bract) W — — + ++ —

Betula pendula (bract) W — — — + —

Betula nana (seed) H, B, M 10 — + 1 —

B. nana (bract) H, B — — — 1 —

Betula sp./Alnus incana (seed) W,S,H,B — — — — ?1Corylus avellana W, S — — — — 22Arenaria ciliata agg. I 5 — — — —

Moehringia trinervia W 1 — — — —

Cerastium sp. S, G 1 — — — —

Polygonum aviculare D 2 — — — —

Populus tremula (bud) W, M — — ++ +++ —

Salix catkin (bud scale) H,F,R,M 4 — — — —

Barbarea vulgaris/stricta F,S,A,R 1 — — — —

Capsella bursa—pastoris D 1 — — — —

Cornus sanguinea W, S — — — 10 1+ 1fSolanum sp. D,S,F,R — — — 1 3Glechoma hederacea W,S — — 1 — —

Lycopus europaeus F — — — 5 —

Mentha cf. arvensis D,F — — — cf.1 —

Hippuris vulgaris F,A 1 — — — —

Verbascum cf. thapsus S — — cf.1 — —

Sambucus nigra S,D — — — — 2Viburnum lantana W,S — — — ?1 —

Carduus sp. S,G — — — 1 —

Eupatorium cannabinum F — — 1 — 1Scheuchzeria palustris B — — — cf.1 —

Potamogeton sp. F,A,R 18 — — — —

Carex sp. (trigonous) various 2 — — 2 —

Carex paniculata W,F — — — 1 —

Carex cf. rostrata (fruit) F 1 — — 3 —

Carex cf. laevigata (fruit) W,M — — — 10 —

Carex cf. aquaticus F,A 4 — — — —

Glyceria sp. F,A,R — — — — 1Bud indet. — 1 — — — —

Woody twigs/roots — — — — ++++ —

Twig wood — — — ++ +++ —

Roots — ++ ++ — — —

Habitat types: W, Woodland; S, Scrub, woodland edge; D, Disturbed ground; G, Grassland; H, Bracken & heathland; F, Fen, marsh,B, Bog; A, Aquatic/adjacent to water environments. R, Rivers; M, Inland rock/montane.Abundance: += 10–15; ++= 15–50; +++= 50–100; +++=> 100.



from Area A, as it contained twenty two fragments ofC. avellana nut shell and many seeds (>100) of U.dioica, along with a two seeds of Betula pubescens/pendula, and fruit stones of C. sanguinea andSambucus nigra. While some seeds of marshland fenwere present, aquatics were generally absent. Finallycf. Alnus incana, whose seed closely resembles Alnusglutinosa, was tentatively identified from this contextby its generally rounder shape and having wingswhich are generally as broad as the achene ratherthan narrower wings of Alnus glutinosa (Claphamet al. 1987, 314). Further, like Betula spp., the twostigmas separate more frequently at the base asopposed to fruits of Alnus glutinosa which are morefrequently fused at the base. The seed is generallylarger than those of Betula spp., but the possibilitythat it is a seed of Betula sp. that has become deformedthrough the presence of a gall, cannot be ruled out.

Pollen analysisM25-1 (contexts 51 and 50; Fig. 4; Table 9) containeda similar assemblage to M17-1, dominated byCyperaceae and Poaceae with Filipendula, Saxifragagranulata-type, P. caeruleum and Plantago maritima

illustrating open conditions with some typical coldclimate components. The presence of P. sylvestrisand Betula attest to some local woodland/scrub,with Juniperus communis and Populus also recorded.Microcharcoal is present throughout the zone in vari-able amounts. M25-2 (context 49) contains a similarassemblage to M17-2, but with higher amounts ofBetula and Salix and a lower P. sylvestris component,implying some spatial variability in tree cover betweenthe two sample areas at this time. Microcharcoalvalues are lower in this zone along with loweramounts of Cyperaceae and Poaceae, possibly reflect-ing the higher pollen input (and filtration effect) of thelocal woodland canopy. M25-3 (context 49) containsan increase of C. avellana-type and Ulmus, alongwith higher microcharcoal values, comparable toM17-3, though again spatial variations are identifiedwith the persistence of Salix and higher P. sylvestrisvalues, but lower amounts of Pteropsida (monolete)indet. and S. emersum-type.

ColeopteraThe sandy alluvium (53) yielded an assemblagecharacteristic of a cold climate, typically associated

Table 9 Local Pollen assemblage zone descriptions from Area B

Depth (m OD)(Context) Local pollen assemblage zone

30.80 to 31.08 (49) M25-3: Dominated by Pinus sylvestris (18–50%) and Corylus avellana-type (30–41%). Ulmus (1–7%), Betula(1–2%) and Salix (4–10%) are present throughout the zone along with occurrences of Quercus (up to1%), Alnus glutinosa (up to 1%), Populus (up to 1%), Cornus sanguinea (up to 1%), Hedera helix (up to1%) and Viburnum opulus (up to 1%). Dwarf shrub and herb taxa include Chenopodiaceae (up to 1%),Rumex sanguineus-type (up to 1%), Brassicaceae (up to 1%), Filipendula (up to 2%), Apiaceae undiff.(up to 1%), Plantago lanceolata (up to 1%), Solidago virgaurea-type (up to 1%), Cyperaceae (5–10%)and Poaceae (4–11%). Potamogeton natans-type (up to 1% TLP+ aquatics), Sparganium emersum-type(up to 1% TLP+ aquatics) and Typha latifolia (up to 1% TLP+ aquatics) are present in low amounts.Pteridophytes present include Pteridium aquilinum (up to 1% TLP+ pteridophytes), Dryopteris filix-mas-type (up to 1% TLP+ pteridophytes) and Pteropsida (monolete) indet. (3–8% TLP+ pteridophytes). Pre-Quaternary spores (up to 1%) are also present in low amounts. Pollen concentrations range between117 000 and 172 800 grains cm−3. Microcharcoal concentrations peak at 31.0 m OD with 84 400particles cm−3

30.56 to 30.80 (49) M25-2: Dominated by Pinus sylvestris (21%), Betula (36–51%) and Salix (4–21%). Occurrences ofJuniperus communis (up to 1%), Populus (up to 1%), Cornus sanguinea (up to 1%), Corylus avellana-type (up to 2%), Viburnum opulus (up to 3%) and Sorbus-type (up to 1%) are also recorded. Dwarf shruband herb taxa include Urtica dioica (up to 1%), Helianthemum (up to 1%), Saxifraga granulata-type (upto 1%), S. stellaris-type (up to 3%), S. oppositifolia-type (up to 1%), Filipendula (2–3%), Rubus-type (upto 1%), Dryas octopetala (up to 1%), Apiaceae undiff. (up to 1%), Solidago virgaurea-type (1%),Artemisia-type (up to 1%), Cyperaceae (4–14%) and Poaceae (2–7%). Pteridophytes present includeEquisetum (up to 1% TLP+ pteridophytes) and pteropsida (monolete) indet. (1–3% TLP+ pteridophytes).Pollen concentrations increase from 154 500 to 395 200 grains cm−3. Microcharcoal concentrations werebetween 2500 and 10 200 particles cm−3

30.20 to 30.56 (51and 50)

M25-1: Dominated by Cyperaceae (19–61%) and Poaceae (13–38%). Pinus sylvestris (6–24%) and Betula(4–12%) are present throughout the zone along with occurrences of Picea (up to 1%), Juniperuscommunis (up to 2%), Populus (up to 3%) and Salix (up to 5%). Dwarf shrub and herb taxa arerepresented by Ranunculus acris-type (up to 1%), Saxifraga granulata-type (up to 2%), Filipendula (up to4%), Rubus-type (up to 2%), Lotus (up to 2%), Apiaceae undiff. (up to 9%), Polemonium caeruleum (upto up to 2%), Plantago maritima (up to 1%), Lactuceae undiff. (including Cichorium intybus-type; up to3%), Solidago virgaurea-type (up to 2%) and Artemisia-type (up to 1%). Sparganium emersum-type (upto 2% TLP+ aquatics) and Typha latifolia (up to 1% TLP+ aquatics) are present in low amounts.Pteridophytes present include Ophioglossum (up to 7% TLP+ pteridophytes), Pteridium aquilinum (up to2% TLP+ pteridophytes) and Pteropsida (monolete) indet. (up to 17% TLP+ pteridophytes). Pre-Quaternary spores (up to 11% TLP+ PQS) are also present. Pollen concentrations were between 7300and 14 000 grains cm−3, with low TLP counts of c. 100–107 grains. Microcharcoal concentrations werebetween 9800 and 34 200 particles cm−3



with the late stages of GS-1, with low faunal diversityreflecting cool temperatures and limited ecotone diver-sity (Table 10). The landscape appears open and dry incharacter, with areas of heath and moorland support-ing dry heath vegetation (Fig. 5). A range of cold-adapted aquatic taxa are recorded includingHypnoidus riparius, Helophrus glacialis and Helophrussibiricus, the latter typical of shallow grassy poolsformed from melting snow. Other taxa includePcynoglypta lurida, Eucnecosum brachypterum andNotaris aethiops which are also typically found inassemblages of late GS-1 date. Cryptocephalus fronta-lis suggests the presence of a few isolated trees orshrubs; it is found on Betula spp., Corylus and Salixspp. (Koch 1992). A range of wetland and banksidespecies also flourished; build-up of moss, wet litterand a range of waterside plants are indicated by thefauna, including P. australis, Typha spp., Carex spp.,S. erectum and Iris pseudacorus. Aleocharinae arevery abundant (part of the dung/foul category) andare most likely to be associated with, in this context,rotting plant litter on the wetland edge. Several haloto-lerant species are present, especially Omalium laevius-culum which today is usually found exclusively inseaweed (Tottenham 1954). Halotolerant taxa arethose that are able to exploit saline habitats, but arenot exclusively saline obligates, with modern distri-bution most likely a reflection of differing dispersalabilities and an ability to exploit recently exposedsoils and sediments. Several halotolerant species com-monly occur in Late Glacial and Interstadial deposits,therefore likely reflecting cryoturbated, or juvenile,soils or exposed clays (Coope et al. 1961; P.C.Buckland, personal communication), and prevailingdry climatic conditions.The sample from the peat (49) contained a hugely

diverse assemblage typical of a well-establishedHolocene community and included several taxatypical of the undisturbed ‘wildwood’ forest environ-ment (e.g. Agelastica alni, Dryocoetinus villosus,Hylastes ater and Hylastes augustatus), indicating thepresence of Pinus, Corylus, Betula, Salix spp. and/orQuercus. The assemblage also included a number ofsaproxylic rarities including Melasis buprestoides,Teredus cylindricus and Rhysodes sulcatus, the lattera non-British ‘Urwaldrelikt’ (Horion 1953) associatedwith primary stands of deciduous woods, usuallyunder loose rotting bark of Fagus (Palm 1959), butalso rotting Quercus (Buckland 1979). Many of thesesaproxylic taxa are poor fliers and unlikely to straytoo far from their hosts. Dead wood would havebeen present in close vicinity to the sampling site,often building up to a considerable extent over time.The assemblage also indicated open areas, largely rep-resented by meadow and herb taxa (e.g. Apion spp.,Bruchus spp. and Brachypterus urticae), representing

c. 10% of the terrestrial assemblage, with woodlandtaxa represented by about the same values. Thesevalues are similar to those published for the EarlyHolocene byWhitehouse and Smith (2010), suggestingthat the landscape was not densely forested at thistime, at least within the immediate vicinity of thesampling site. Wetland habitats are well representedin the assemblage, with many species typical of miner-otrophic/mesotrophic fen conditions and local stand-ing water.

The sample from the black clay (48) was consider-ably less diverse. Some fossils had a ‘mottled’ appear-ance typical of material that has suffered from dryingout/degradation, possibly created by a fluctuatingwater table or flooding. Wetland and waterside planthabitats continue to remain important, alongsidestanding water bodies. Limnius volckmarimay indicateflooding from areas of faster flowing water. Thelimited assemblage suggests that tree and shrub habi-tats continue to be represented and areas of openground and grassland are present.

DiscussionThe two sequences from Areas A and B are broadlycontemporary (chronologically and stratigraphically)and therefore have been grouped together, providinga single narrative for the development of the local veg-etation from late GS-1 into the Holocene, covering thetime span of activity at Three Ways Wharf and theSanderson Site.

Late Glacial/Early Mesolithic: Basal Alluvium –Contexts 31, 50, 51 and 53The earliest alluvial deposits, overlying the ColneyStreet Gravels (31, 51 and 53), have been radiocarbondated in Area A to 9810–9450 cal BC, broadly con-temporary with the Scatter A dates from Three WaysWharf (Table 1), the accepted most reliable datebeing 9880–9380 cal BC (OxA-18702; Table 1).Microcharcoal attests to burning in the source areaand, given its coincidence with the abundance ofTerminal Upper Palaeolithic archaeology in the area,is likely to represent, in part, camp fires or otheranthropogenic activity.

The TMAX estimates (both range and mid points)from the insect assemblage in Area B (Table 11) arehigher than the mean GS-1 temperatures (based onbeetles and chironomids) for many sites across theBritish Isles, but not as high as many Holocenesites (Lang et al. 2010; Watson et al. 2010), implyingthat the material belongs to a transition period span-ning the very last part of GS-1 and start of theHolocene. The plant macrofossil, pollen andColeoptera assemblages support the persistence ofcold species that are either extinct or have a restrictedrange within the British Isles, including B. nana,



Table 10 Insect assemblage from Area B samples

Family TaxonContext (sample) number

53 (29) 49 (27) 48 (26)

Species not on the current British list of Coleopteraare denoted by*

29.95–30.18 mOD

30.55–31.06 mOD

31.06–31.15 mOD

Carabidae Carabus arvensis Hbst. 1Epaphius secalis (Payk.) 1Trechus obtusus/quadristriatus Er./(Schr.) 1Bembidion cf. varium (Ol.) 1Bembidion spp. 2Pterostichus diligens (Sturm) 4 4P. nigrita (Payk.) 1P. minor (Gyll.) 3Calathus fuscipes (Goeze) 1Agonum muelleri (Hbst.) 2Amara sp. 1

Haliplidae Haliplus confinis (grp) Steph. 1Haliplus spp. 2

Dytiscidae Hydroporus sp. 1Laccornis oblongus (Steph.) 2Agabus bipustulatus (L.) 1Agabus sturmii (Gyll.) 1Ilybius cf. guttiger (Gyll.) 4

Gyrinidae Gyrinus caspius Méné 1Rhysodidae Rhysodes sulcatus (F.)* 1Hydraenidae Hydraena britteni Joy 26

Hydraena testacea Curtis 4Hydraena spp. 8

Hydrophilidae Ochthebius minimus (F.) 11Ochthebius spp. 6Helophorus sibiricus (Mots)* 1H. aquaticus (L.) gp. 1Helophorus glacialis Villa* 15Helophorus spp. 1Coelostoma orbiculare (F.) 1Cercyon pygmaeus (Ill.) 1Megasternum obscurum (Marsham) 11 1Hydrobius fuscipes (L.) 1Anacaena globulus (Payk.) 3Anacaena limbata (F.) 1Anacaena limbata/bipustulata (F.)/(Marsham)Enochrus sp. 3

Silphidae Phosphuga atrata (L.) 1Silpha sp. 1

Ptilidae Ptiliidae indet. 8Staphylinidae Pycnoglypta lurida (Gyll.)* 2

Omalium laeviusculum Gyll. 2Omalium laticolle Kr. 2Omalium spp. 1 3Olophrum piceum (Gyll.) 2O. fuscum (Grav.) 2O. cf. Boreale (Payk.)* 2Eucnecosum brachypterum (grp) (Grav.) 14Lesteva punctata Er. 1L. heeri Fauvel 5Omaliinae indet. 1Carpelimus sp. 4 1Anotylus rugosus (F.) 2Stenus spp. 13Lathrobium cf. brunnipes (F.) 1L. cf. impressum Heer 1Lathrobium sp. 1Xantholinus sp. 1Philonthus/Quedius spp. 3 3Staphylinus sp. 1Tachinus sp. 1Aleocharinae gen. et sp. Indet. 23 3 1

Pselaphidae Bryaxis bulbifer (Reich.) 4Cantharidae Cantharidae indet. 2Elateridae Elateridae indet. 1

Denticollis linearis (L.) 1Hypnoidus rivularius (Gyll.) 1

Continued



Carex aquaticus, A. ciliata agg., P. caeruleum and thewater beetle Helophorus sibiricus. The vegetation atthis time was open and dry in character, with areasof heath and moorland indicated by the plant macro-fossils and beetles (though under-represented in thepollen). Areas of rough grassland and bare, nitrogenenriched disturbed soil, were also present, the latterpossibly associated with grazing herbivores, althoughcoleoptera taxa explicitly associated with dung (asopposed to dung/foul) was limited to single occur-rences of Aphodius prodromus. Wetland and banksidespecies are well represented and may be associatedwith shifting channels and build-up of wet litter androtting vegetation (probably responsible for the highabundance of foul/dung species), while the channelitself appears to have been relatively well vegetated,with slow flowing water and probably areas of stillwater within cut-off channels. Woodland componentsappear to be represented by scrub and low-stature

trees with little evidence of high-canopy woodlanddevelopment.

The archaeological and faunal record from ThreeWays Wharf for this period (Scatters A and C east)imply that only brief occupation took place by asmall highly mobile group of four to six humans fol-lowing herds of reindeer. Initial carcass butcherywould have taken place at the kill site before transpor-tation to the processing sites at Three Ways Wharf,with tools constructed from locally sourced flintnodules. At Scatter A the site was probably abandonedafter two to four days, whereas at Scatter C east, wherea greater number of tasks were undertaken, the site wasprobably utilised for two to three weeks before aban-donment, with the faunal material suggesting, albeitinconclusively, that such activities probably tookplace during late winter/early spring (Lewis withRackham 2011, 2), probably when temperatures hadjust risen above freezing (Table 11). Although the

Table 10 Continued

Family TaxonContext (sample) number

53 (29) 49 (27) 48 (26)

Eucnemidae Melasis buprestoides (L.) 1Scirtidae Cyphon spp. 1 15Elmidae Limnius volckmari (Panz.) 1Brachypteridae Brachypterus urticae (F.) 1Cryptophagidae Atomaria sp. 1 1Phalacridae Phalacrus caricis Sturm 11

Phalacrus sp. 1Lathridiidae Latridius minutus (grp) (L.) 1

Corticaria/Corticarina spp. 4Colydiidae Teredus cylindricus (Ol.) 2

Anaspis sp. 1Scarabaeidae Aphodius prodromus (Brahm) 1 1

A. consputus Creutz. 1Chrysomelidae Donacia aquatica (L.) 1

Donacia spp. 1Plateumaris sericea (L.) 10Cryptocephalus frontalis Marsham 1Cryptocephalus spp. 2Chrysolina marginata (L.) 1Chrysolina sp. 1Phaedon cf. armoraciae (L.) 1Phaedon sp. 1Prasocuris phellandrii (L.) 1Agelastica alni (L.) 2Altica lythri Aubé/longicollis (All.) 2Chaetocnema sp. 1Chrysolimelidae gen. et indet. 1

Bruchidae Bruchus loti Payk.Bruchus sp. 2

Scolytidae Hylastes ater (Payk.) 1Hylastes angustatus (Hbst.) 1Dryocoetinus villosus (F.) 3

Curculionidae Apion sp. 5 2Phyllobius maculicornis Germ. 2 1Phyllobius sp.Notaris aethiops (F.) 2 1Limnobaris dolorosa (Goeze) 1Ceutorhynchus spp. 1Rhamphus pulicarius (Hbst.) 2

Total Minimum number of Individuals (MNI) 89 236 15Total species 26 88 14Fisher’s α 11 55 20



palaeoenvironmental sequences provide a context forthe local archaeology, they do not provide any clearevidence (beyond burning) of human activity directlyaffecting these wetlands.

Early Mesolithic Contexts: Peat Formation –Contexts 49, 48, 30, 29, 28 and 27Peat development occurred across the site between c.8700 and 6400 cal BC. The dates, from the base ofthe peat, are contemporary with the dated EarlyMesolithic Scatter C west at Three Ways Wharf andthe Sanderson Site. Microcharcoal values reduce inthe lowermost parts of the peat, suggesting that theEarly Mesolithic occupation, or the use of burningin the Colne Valley landscape, was short-lived;increases in microcharcoal do not occur again untilthe uppermost peats (27 and upper 49), contemporarywith an increase inC. avellana. Although a date for theincrease in C. avellana has not been directly obtainedfrom these two sequences, Corylus is well established

in BH8 by 8420–8230 cal BC (Beta-252220) and atRiverside Way, Uxbridge (c. 1 km south), by8470–8270 cal. BC (9140± 40 BP; NZA-24079;Wessex Archaeology 2006), with charred hazelnutshell at the Sanderson Site dated to 8600–8300 calBC (Beta-200075; Halsey 2006). This suggests thatthe basal peat (Betula-Salix phase) accumulated overa period of only a few hundred years and is compar-able between the two areas investigated. This probablyrepresents a response to rising base levels which hadpreviously been linked to the abandonment of theEarly Mesolithic landsurface at Three Ways Wharf(Lewis et al. 1992; Macphail et al. 2010).The vegetation from the lower peat sequences (29,

28, 50 and lower 49) show a floodplain vegetationwith Betula pubescens/pendula and Salix scrub/wood-land along with Populus tremula and P. sylvestris. InArea B the scrub woodland appears to have been rela-tively dense (to the exclusion of species of more openconditions), and supported by plants indicative ofthe shaded edge of woodland (probably adjacent towater) including E. cannabinum, G. hederacea, C. pani-culata and possible Verbascum thapsus. In compari-son, Area A (29) contains flora indicative ofdisturbed moist to wet open floodplain soils support-ing areas of overgrown rough marshy grassland,being dominated by U. dioica with Hyoscyamusniger, possibly indicating some nutrient enrichment,and some evidence for wet grassland in the form ofThalictrum flavum, L. europaeus, Carex sp., Menthasp. and some P. australis.

Table 11 MCR reconstruction of temperatures from insectassemblage in context 53: Area B

Temperaturevariable

MCR reconstruction(°C)

Correctedmidpoint (°C)

Tmax (mean summertemp):

12 to 14 11.5

Tmin (mean wintertemp):

−10 to −3 −6.3

Trange (range): 16 to 23 N/A

Figure 5 Proportions of terrestrial and aquatic habitat categories represented by the fossil beetle fauna in Area B.




The upper peat (27 and upper 49) shows, in thepollen, local Betula-Populus tremula woodland wasreplaced by open C. avellana woodland with some C.sanguinea, while Ulmus and Quercus woodlandbegan establishing within the wider landscape,though P. sylvestris remains an important component.The increase in C. avellana coincides with an increasein microcharcoal in both records and may indicate anincrease in human activity locally, albeit probably laterthan the dated scatters nearby, and thus indicating thepersistence of Mesolithic activity along the ColneValley. However an element of caution should beattached to this change in the pollen assemblage as,in Area A, it coincides with a change in the peat stra-tigraphy that might indicate a hiatus in the sequence.In Area B no such stratigraphic change was observed(nor were there changes in LOI or MS) which couldimply peat development is unbroken. In Area B thebeetles attest to a largely open environment principallyrepresented by meadow and herb taxa, but with anotable build-up of dead wood over time. In Area A(27) the presence of large numbers of fruits of S.erectum and seeds of Typha sp. can probably be associ-ated with large expanses of shallow water. Within thislandscape is evidence again for overgrown fen marsh/grassland, with L. europaeus, Mentha sp., Ranunculuslingua and Carex sp.Local Mesolithic activity attests to the hunting of

red and roe deer, probably away from the wetlands,though the Scatter C west site appears to have beenconcerned primarily with the last stages of carcass pro-cessing to extract marrow, fat and grease. Thus theThree Ways Wharf scatter forms part of a largernetwork of activity sites within the Colne Valley(Lewis with Rackham 2011). Evidence of localwetland use is demonstrated by faunal remains ofbeaver and butchered swan, along with a number ofother bird remains (including duck), which mayrelate to opportunistic hunting in the wetlands,though the persistence of Urwaldrelikt insects (seebelow) implies activities at these sites were limited.The faunal material indicated a relatively long poten-tial period of occupation which may be related to theless mobile (in terms of total range) deer populationsupon which the group predated, in comparison tothe reindeer and horse populations hunted by theearlier valley occupants.In Area B some of the beetles present within the

peats are recognised as relicts of the British ‘wildwood’(also known as Urwald) – referred to as Urwaldreliktbeetles. The ‘wildwood’ is thought to have been astructurally complex and rich ecosystem characterisedby significant numbers of large, long-lived trees, withinwhich dead wood was an important component(Buckland and Dinnin 1993; Smith and Whitehouse2005). Although the structure of these woodlands,

particularly canopy cover, has been heavily debatedin recent years (Vera 2000; Svenning 2002; Mitchell2005; Hodder et al. 2005) the fossil beetle recorddoes indicate the heterogeneous nature of the land-scape (Whitehouse and Smith 2010). Differences inthe Area A and B pollen and plant macrofossilassemblages clearly attest to this floodplain hetero-geneity, though this spatial variation is likely to bedriven by proximity to the river, with variations inwaterlogging and soil fertility having a stronginfluence upon the vegetation cover (Bradshaw andHannon 2004).

The persistence of the Urwaldrelikt beetle taxa atthis site, placed in such close proximity to recordedMesolithic archaeology, does suggest a counterbalancebetween a view of widespread (though patchy)Mesolithic landscape manipulation within the flood-plain zone, as witnessed in the nearby MiddleKennet Valley (Chisham 2004; Barnett 2009), andthe continuity of floodplain woodland environs, withabundant old trees, allowing the establishment andsurvival of these saproxylic communities. The demiseof many Urwaldrelikt species has been attributed tothe combined loss of undisturbed forest habitats andparticularly of dead wood (Whitehouse 2006),notably due to the apparent poor mobility of manyof these saproxylics with the onset of forest fragmenta-tion and the loss of continuous forest corridors(Buckland and Dinnin 1993; Whitehouse 2006). It istherefore likely that habitat persistence, particularlywith veteran trees and dead wood accumulation, co-existed with an element of human activity, within thenon-dense floodplain woodland, during the EarlyMesolithic. Ultimately other processes may have hada greater influence upon some species’ survival(Whitehouse 2000, 2006; Buckland 1979) in thislocation. The modern distribution of R. sulcatus,found in warmer southerly climates, does suggestthat warmer climates in the Early Holocene may alsohave been particularly advantageous for some fauna(Whitehouse 2006). It is likely that a complex combi-nation of anthropogenic, edaphic and climaticchanges caused the extirpation, or at least reduction,in the distribution of numerous wood-dependentinvertebrates, bringing with it a dramatic increase inelements associated with open, disturbed ground andcleared landscapes.

Late Mesolithic: Black Clay – Contexts 48 and 21The radiocarbon date from the black clay (21) of5620–5470 cal BC is supported by dates from theunderlying peat (27) and overlying alluvium (26).This significantly post-dates the archaeology at ThreeWays Wharf, indicating that site abandonment (cer-tainly of the phases dated) was not the direct resultof freshwater inundation and ‘sedge swamp’



development (deposition of SU50) as previously pos-tulated (Lewis with Rackham 2011, 3). It appears tohave been a longer-phased change in rising baselevels over several hundred years which eventuallyled to the observed widespread sedge-reed swamp for-mation in the Late Mesolithic.Soil micromorphology has demonstrated the black

clay is similar to that recorded at Three Ways Wharfconsisting of both compact and microlaminatedhumic clay, while containing bands of sometimesextremely abundant very fine charcoal and charredorganic matter, including charred monocotyledonousepidermis (Bates and Wiltshire 2011, 37). The pollensequence from Area A demonstrates the transition tosedge-dominated swamp, with an increase inCyperaceae and gradual reduction in the local wood-land component (M17–3/4 boundary) through thetop of the peat (also recorded in BH8). The water-logged plant assemblages contained T. latifolia/angu-stifolia, Eupatorium cannabinum, Stachys sp., T.flavum, Potentilla erecta/reptans, Oenanthe sp. andCarex sp. in the two contexts (48 and 21). Thisimplies that although Cyperaceae (as implied fromthe pollen sequences) may be dominant within thewider wetland area, once again there is a greateramount of local diversity, notably with areas contain-ing a large reed component.The lack of chironomid remains suggests that the

depositional environment did not contain a significantwater body throughout the summer, and the environ-ment most likely suffered temporary and episodicinundation, with the water draining relatively rapidly.This is supported by the diatom flora from BH8 andpoor preservation of the beetles in Area B (48), bothsuggesting a fluctuating water table. At Three WaysWharf the mollusc assemblage from SU50 (Batesand Wiltshire 2011, 37) contained species indicativeof periodic drying out, such as Lymnaea truncatulaand Anisus leucostoma (also found in context 48),though overall the assemblage was indicative offlooding.The black clay can therefore be attributed to fluctu-

ating water levels (leading to fine overbank alluviationand ponding) and repeated local burning activitywithin an apparently widespread sedge-reed swamp.The burning episodes may even have driven some ofthe observed hydrological response, with clearanceby fire deliberately targeted at the driest periods, fol-lowed by a feedback response of increased run-off,reduced evapotranspiration and an increase in flashi-ness and short-term flooding.Similar black clay deposits have been found in other

Thames tributary river valleys associated withMesolithic activity, including the River Lea, dated atthe Olympic Park as 6070–5920 cal BC (SUERC-24531, 7130± 35 BP; Stevens et al. 2012, 387), and

the River Kennet (e.g. the Early Mesolithic site ofUfton Green; Chisham 2004; Barnett 2009). Lewiset al. (1992) suggested that the dense charcoal depositsat Three Ways Wharf may relate to more widespreadburning of woodland. However the presence ofcharred monocotyledon epidermis in the Three WaysWharf samples did lead the authors to suggest somein situ burning must have occurred, with the presenceof multiple discrete bands of charcoal indicating thatsuch burning was undertaken repeatedly.This evidence supports the view of Moore (2003)

and Bell (2007) that Mesolithic people expandednatural openings, including those at the edge ofwater, manipulating them through fire, rather thanburning large areas of closed forest. As postulated byBarnett (2009) and Mellars and Dark (1998), suchburning may have been utilised to remove the build-up of litter and encourage edible plants and tendernew growth that may have enticed game to specificlocations on the floodplain as well as maintainingroute ways through the wider landscape. The recordpresented here indicates a long period of Mesolithicactivity upon the floodplain, beyond that recordfrom Three Ways Wharf, and compliments otherlong palaeoenvironmental records containing episodicburning from river valleys in the area (e.g. Lea Valley:Chambers et al. 1996; Barnett et al. 2013). Althoughsuch burning occurrences may also be related tonatural causes (Marlon et al. 2013; Grant et al. sub-mitted), the weight of evidence available locally doesseem to attest to the wider use of fire in deliberatewetland management strategies.

ConclusionThe sequences fromWilliam King Flour Mill providesa detailed record of the changing floodplain environ-ment coincidental with the known local TerminalUpper Palaeolithic and Early Mesolithic occupationsat Three Ways Wharf and the Sanderson Site, allowingthe archaeology to finally be placed within a localpalaeoecological context. The two sequences clearlyhighlight considerable heterogeneity in the floodplainvegetation and it is clear from the archaeologicalrecord that the floodplain was being utilised at timesduring this period by hunting parties. However,William King Flour Mill does not stand alone in offer-ing palaeoenvironmental records closely associatedwith the Terminal Upper Palaeolithic and Mesolithicarchaeology from this part of the Colne Valley.Contemporary stratified (and dated) organicrecords from sites such as Denham (WessexArchaeology 2005), Sanderson Site (Corcoran andHowell 2002) and Riverside Way (WessexArchaeology 2006) attest to the considerable potentialfor spatially explicit palaeoenvironmental reconstruc-tions of the changing floodplain environment that



can be directly compared with the abundant localarchaeological resource.

AcknowledgementsThis project was commissioned by CgMs ConsultingLimited, acting on behalf of Weston Homes PLC.Thanks are extended to Gary Hurley (WestonHomes PLC), Duncan Hawkins (CgMs ConsultingLimited) and Eliza Alqassar (BuckinghamshireCounty Council) for their assistance. Fieldwork wasdirected by Chris Ellis with the assistance of MarkBagwell, under the management of RichardGreatorex. Post-excavation analysis was coordinatedby Michael Grant. Radiocarbon dating was under-taken at the SUERC Radiocarbon DatingLaboratory, East Kilbride. Craig Halsey is thankedfor providing information on the work undertaken atthe neighbouring Sanderson Site. Darren Mann isthanked for granting access to the Hope Collectionof British Coleoptera and the University of OxfordNatural History Museum. Illustrations were drawnby Elizabeth James (Figs. 1–4) and Ken Lymer (Fig.5). The project archive may be found underBuckinghamshire County Museum accession numberAYBCM:2010.195. Pippa Bradley, Tim Mighall,Scott Timpany and Richard Tipping are all thankedfor their very constructive comments on an earlierversion of this paper.

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