Late Holocene palaeoecology and environmental archaeology of six lowland lakes and bogs in north Shropshire

Abstract

The pollen spectra from four lakes and two peat bogs in lowland north Shropshire show that in the Neolithic and earlier Bronze Age periods human impact on the woodlands of the area was localised and mainly slight Impact increased in the later Bronze Age and during the Iron Age wide areas were denuded of woodland. Land abandonment led to woodland regeneration over much of the area at the end of the Iron Age although some clearings remained in use; woodland clearance was renewed in the mid Roman period. Evidence for Anglo-Saxon farming is seen and wider areas of pasture appear to have been created in later historic times.

Inter- and intra-site comparisons of the pollen spectra are made. Inter-site contrasts in the pollen spectra suggest that the dominant pollen source areas at the smaller sites were very restricted. There are also indications that relatively localised pollen sources were important at the larger sites. Numerical zonation of the pollen spectra shows that the most significant change in the pollen content of the lake sediments occurred in the later Bronze Age; mineral magnetic analyses point to intensified soil erosion during the later Bronze Age and early Iron Age. Theoretical models relating basin size to pollen source area are reviewed in the light of the results of this study: multiple-coring is confirmed as a productive strategy in palaeoecology.

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