Monument record 2425/0/28 - River Nene Palaeochannels, Wollaston

Palaeochannels investigated prior to gravel extraction. Radiocarbon dating and pollen analysis of samples was undertaken

{1} Gravel extraction revealed a number of vertical exposures of unconsolidated deposits over wide areas of the floodplain; environmental data was generated from a series of monoliths and cores retrieved from numerous locations across the site. One monolith, through a palaeochannel fill, represents a remarkable section across a series of channel infills which date from the late Devensian into the late prehistoric period. The particular interest in this section is that it is one of few covering the Neolithic period.

Eight radiocarbon dates were taken from two sections and show that the fill of the palaeochannel was highly transgressive with probably short periods of deposition separated by hiatuses. The dates include early Mesolithic, late Neolithic, middle Bronze Age and early medieval periods.

<1> Northamptonshire Archaeology & University of Exeter, 2009, Nene Valley: Archaeological and Environmental Synthesis, Part 2/ p. 43-59 (Digital archive). SNN111339.

Record last edited

Mar 4 2025 4:58PM