Waller, M. P., Long, A. and Schofield, J. E. (2006). Interpretation of radiocarbon dates from the upper surface of late-Holocene peat layers in coastal lowlands. Holocene 16 (1). Vol 16(1), pp. 51-61.
 Title The title of the publication or report |
Interpretation of radiocarbon dates from the upper surface of late-Holocene peat layers in coastal lowlands | ||||
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Issue The name of the volume or issue |
Holocene 16 (1) | ||||
Series The series the publication or report is included in |
The Holocene | ||||
Volume Volume number and part |
16 (1) | ||||
Page Start/End The start and end page numbers. |
51 - 61 | ||||
Biblio Note This is a Bibliographic record only. |
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Publication Type The type of publication - report, monograph, journal article or chapter from a book |
Journal | ||||
Abstract The abstract describing the content of the publication or report |
The paper examines the assumptions underpinning the use of radiocarbon dates to provide a chronology for the replacement of freshwater peats by marine/brackish clastic sediments in the stratigraphic column of many coastal lowland areas bordering the North Sea during the late Holocene. The results of investigations from thirteen sites in the Rye area of Romney Marsh are reported. Dates from apparently gradational contacts of a highly humified, laterally persistent, peat layer range from 3170--2840 cal years BP to 1290--1050 cal years BP. Multiple inundations or prolonged gradual inundation are nevertheless rejected, as discrete post-peat bodies of sediment are absent and because peat growth appears to have slowed down or ceased at many sites in advance of inundation. Additionally in the Rye area, sharp contacts are widespread and the pollen assemblages rarely indicate the occurrence of transitional plant communities. A review of the dating evidence from other coastal lowland regions reveals that multiple dating of the upper surface of peat beds invariably produces diachronous results. As a consequence time transgressive processes feature prominently as causal mechanisms underlying this shift. However, many of the dating difficulties recognized in the Rye area appear to apply to other regions. The authors conclude that radiocarbon dates from the upper surface of peat layers should in most instances only be regarded as limiting ages for the deposition of the overlying clastic sediments. New chronologies need to be built without a priori assumptions as to the underlying processes, ideally through the direct dating of the clastic sediments. | ||||
Year of Publication The year the book, article or report was published |
2006 | ||||
Locations Any locations covered by the publication or report. This is not the place the book or report was published. |
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Source Where the record has come from or which dataset it was orginally included in. |
BIAB
(The British & Irish Archaeological Bibliography (BIAB))
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Relations Other resources which are relevant to this publication or report |
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Created Date The date the record of the pubication was first entered |
02 May 2007 |
