Life below the waves: palaeolandscapes preserved within the sub-tidal Bristol Channel

Abstract

Geophysical and geotechnical surveys offshore of Hinkley Point have revealed an extensive, yet fragmentary, Early Holocene submerged palaeolandscape. Radiocarbon dating indicates peat formation beginning c 7500 Cal BC, with brackish and marine inundation taking place c 7000 Cal BC. The comprehensive dating strategy has also demonstrated the difficulties of obtaining robust chronologies from peat deposits within the sub-tidal zone. Results from a suite of palaeoenvironmental techniques provide detailed insights into an Early Mesolithic landscape. Of particular note was the frequent presence of charred remains of reeds, sedges and grasses in the sub-tidal basal freshwater peats which might implicate deliberate Early Mesolithic human activity. Significantly, the record revealed by the work here complements, and extends, that recorded previously from shallower intertidal and inland sites. This helps to extend our knowledge of the less accessible, but equally important, now submerged terrestrial landscapes of the Bristol Channel and Severn Estuary region.

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Identifiers

ORCID for Fraser Sturt: orcid.org/0000-0002-3010-990X

ORCID for Justin K. Dix: orcid.org/0000-0003-2905-5403

ORCID for Michael J. Grant: orcid.org/0000-0002-4766-6913

ORCID for C.E.L. Thompson: orcid.org/0000-0003-1105-6838

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