Title: |
LAND ADJACENT TO PEARSON HOUSE, EDINBURGH GATE, HARLOW, ESSEX Geoarchaeological Deposit Model Report |
Series: |
Quaternary Scientific (Quest) unpublished report series
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Downloads: |
quaterna1-317077_1.pdf (3 MB)
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Download
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Licence Type: |
ADS Terms of Use and Access
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DOI |
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Publication Type: |
Report (in Series)
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Abstract: |
A programme of environmental archaeological assessment was undertaken at the Pearson House site. The results of the deposit modelling indicate that the site lies towards the edge of the floodplain and the edge of a former channel, the main axis of which probably traverses the north-western area of the site. Overlying the bedrock is a sequence of probably Late Devensian Gravel, Holocene alluvium and modern Made Ground. The alluvial sequence consists of a tripartite sequence of sandy Lower Alluvium, Organic Clay, and the clay-rich Upper Alluvium. Significantly, the organic unit at the site is indicative of a transition towards semi-terrestrial (marshy) conditions. It is generally present at elevations between ca. 38.5 and 35.5m OD, in thicknesses of between 2.6 and 0.18m. Radiocarbon dating of the base of the Organic Clay in borehole WS16 has provided a Late Roman/Early Medieval age for the onset of organic accumulation. The results of the pollen assessment are consistent with this age for the sequence; an open environment dominated by herbaceous taxa is indicated, with limited trees and shrubs and indications of human activity in the form of disturbance and/or cultivation indicators, including cereals. The floodplain environment is likely to have been relatively damp, dominated by sedge fen or reed swamp type vegetation. The pollen assemblage is relatively consistent throughout the Organic Clay and is poorly preserved. In addition, no identifiable macrofossil remains were found within the organic unit in WS16. On this basis, no further palaeoenvironmental analysis of the sequence is recommended. As stated in Young (2018), from an archaeological perspective, the site's location towards the margins of the floodplain (and potentially a former channel) suggest that the archaeological potential is considered to be limited to where the Gravel surface lies above ca. 37m OD. |
Author: |
Daniel Young
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Publisher: |
Quaternary Scientific (Quest)
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Other Person/Org: |
Historic England (OASIS Reviewer)
Essex County Council Historic Environment (OASIS Reviewer)
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Year of Publication: |
2018
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Locations: |
Site: |
Land adjacent to Pearson House |
County: |
Essex |
District: |
Harlow |
Parish: |
HARLOW |
Country: |
England |
Grid Reference: 544908, 211265 (Easting, Northing)
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Subjects / Periods: |
EARLY MEDIEVAL
(Historic England Periods)
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PEAT
(Monus)
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ROMAN
(Historic England Periods)
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PEAT
(Monus)
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Identifiers: |
OASIS Id: |
quaterna1-317077 |
OBIB: |
Quaternary Scientific (QUEST) Unpublished Report May 2018; Project Number 044/18 |
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Source: |
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Relations: |
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Created Date: |
30 Apr 2020 |