Haslett, S. K., Davies, P., Davies, C. F C., Margetts, A. J., Scotney, K. H., Thorpe, D. J. and Williams, H. O. (2000). The Changing Estuarine Environment in Relation to Holocene Sea Level and the Archaeological Implications. Archaeology in the Severn Estuary 11. Vol 11, pp. 35-53. https://doi.org/10.5284/1069476. Cite this via datacite

Title The title of the publication or report Title:	The Changing Estuarine Environment in Relation to Holocene Sea Level and the Archaeological Implications
Issue The name of the volume or issue Issue:	Archaeology in the Severn Estuary 11
Series The series the publication or report is included in Series:	Archaeology in the Severn Estuary
Volume Volume number and part Volume:	11
Page Start/End The start and end page numbers. Page Start/End:	35 - 53
Downloads Any files associated with the publication or report that can be downloaded from the ADS Downloads:	Haslett_Davies_Margetts_Scothey.pdf (8 MB) : Download
Licence Type ADS, CC-BY 4.0 or CC-BY 4.0 NC. Licence Type:	ADS Terms of Use and Access
DOI The DOI (digital object identifier) for the publication or report. DOI	https://doi.org/10.5284/1069476
Publication Type The type of publication - report, monograph, journal article or chapter from a book Publication Type:	Journal
Abstract The abstract describing the content of the publication or report Abstract:	Estuarine development has been previously modelled in relation to the rate of relative sea-level rise, suggesting intertidal surfaces attain different vertical positions within the tidal frame according the rate of sea-level rise. These model results are significant in the context of Holocene sea-level rise, which experienced a continuum of very rapid to low sea-level rise rates, in that the estuarine palaeoenvironment and its resource potential for prehistoric populations is suggested to have changed through time. The present study empirically investigates the palaeoenvironmental development of the Somerset Levels (UK), an extensive coastal wetland (palaeo-estuarine system) that is of international archaeological importance. A composite sequence of Holocene sediments is analysed using foraminiferal and molluscan-based palaeoenvironmental techniques, and dated through radiocarbon and chemostratigraphic methods. The results indicate that during the Early Holocene (Mesolithic) the estuary was dominated by low saltmarsh and mudflat palaeoenvironments dictated by the rapid rate of post-glacial sea-level rise. This intertidal surface, low within the contempory tidal frame, would have been characterised by soft mud and sparse vegetation due to frequent tidal indundation, and would have possessed a high hydraulic duty (cf the amount of tidal water accommodated by the surface) with associated large tidal creeks/channels. Towards the Middle Holocene (Neolithic) a transition to palaeoenvironments higher within the tidal frame is evident, so that mid and then high saltmarsh dominate the estuary. This transition was in response to a progressively decreasing sea-level rise rate, allowing the intertidal surface to elevate through the tidal frame. These intertidal surfaces are likely to have become progressively drier and more richly vegetated due to increasingly infrequent tidal inundation, with a corresponding reduction in hydraulic duty and creek/channel size, culminating in emergence and supratidal peat growth. The results also suggest that this sequence is reversed through the Late Holocene (late Neolithic, Bronze Age, Iron Age) so that Roman reclamation of the Somerset Levels took place against a rising sea-level. These data support previous theoretical models, and have significant implications for the resource potential of these changing estuarine palaeoenvironments for prehistoric populations.
Author The authors of this publication or report Author:	Simon K Haslett Paul Davies C F C Davies Anthony J Margetts K H H Scotney D J J Thorpe H O O Williams
Year of Publication The year the book, article or report was published Year of Publication:	2000
Locations Any locations covered by the publication or report. This is not the place the book or report was published. Subjects / Periods:	Molluscanbased Palaeoenvironmental Techniques (Auto Detected Subject) Radiocarbon (Auto Detected Subject) Holocene (Auto Detected Temporal)
Source Where the record has come from or which dataset it was orginally included in. Source:	ADS Archive (ADS Archive)
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Created Date The date the record of the pubication was first entered Created Date:	09 Oct 2017