Russel, A. (2014). Written Scheme of Investigation for a watching brief and peat sampling during development of the Acorn Business Centre, 1-16 Empress Road, Southampton. Southampton City Council Archaeology Unit.

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Title:		 Written Scheme of Investigation for a watching brief and peat sampling during development of the Acorn Business Centre, 1-16 Empress Road, Southampton
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Number of Pages:		 16
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SOU1678_WSI.pdf (2 MB) : Download
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Publication Type:		 Report
Abstract
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Abstract:		 The Acorn Business Centre at 1-16 Empress Road, Southampton was redeveloped in 2014-15. An archaeological condition on the application resulted in an archaeological watching brief on the ground investigations and the retrieval and analysis of a sleeved core taken through the below ground deposits, which included prehistoric peat. The lowest deposit observed in the piling was the London Clay. This was overlain from -5.27m OD by sands and gravels of the Whitecliff Sand Member. These were cut by the valley of the Itchen in the Pleistocene period. The earliest surviving river valley deposits were sand and silt that included pond weed remains indicating standing fresh water. This was followed by increased organic content suggesting vegetation encroachment leading to peat formation. The peat was a mix of sedge and alder with alder becoming more prevalent towards the top, after which tidal inundation began to affect the area. The base of the peat, which was at c.-4m OD, was radiocarbon dated to the early Mesolithic period (10225 to 10165 cal BP) and the top of the peat, which was at c.-1.55m OD, was radiocarbon dated to the mid-Mesolithic period (7715 to 7620 cal BP). This would give a total rise in relative sea level of 2.45m over approximately 2250 years being on average just over 1mm a year. The changes in lithology, vegetation and hydrology seen in the deposits undoubtedly resulted from positive relative sea-level change, well documented for the Solent. The prehistoric deposits were overlain by disturbed tidal flat deposits and 19th century made ground. The base of the peat (10225 to 10165 cal BP), is the earliest date to be obtained from a layer of peat in the Itchen valley. The Empress Road site therefore provides important new evidence for the early chronology of the river Itchen. The earliest peat (dated to the early-Mesolithic) probably lay in a narrow channel and this is the first time it has been found; the later peat ties in with the dates from two nearby sites suggesting a wider deposit of peat in the mid-to late-Mesolithic period.
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Author:		 A Russel
Publisher
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Publisher:		 Southampton City Council Archaeology Unit
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Year of Publication:		 2014
Locations
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Locations:
County: Hampshire
Location - Auto Detected: Empress Road
Location - Auto Detected: Southampton
Country: England
Subjects / Periods
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Subjects / Periods:
prehistoric (Auto Detected Temporal)
Pleistocene (Auto Detected Temporal)
MESOLITHIC (ENG)
19th century (Auto Detected Temporal)
early Mesolithic (Auto Detected Temporal)
watching brief (Auto Detected Subject)
alder (Auto Detected Subject)
CORE SAMPLING (Event)
EXCAVATION (Event)
radiocarbon (Auto Detected Subject)
PEAT (Object England)
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Project archive: https://doi.org/10.5284/1056103
Created Date
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Created Date:		 22 Aug 2019