Stour Basin, Kent: Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dating of Brickearth and Terrace Deposits
Author(s): Jean-Luc Schwenninger, Bates, M R, Francis Wenban-Smith, Paul Cuming, Elizabeth Dyson
A series of 20 samples were collected for optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating from six sites representing a range of topographic and geomorphological locations along a transect up the east side of the Blean plateau to try and provide a more secure dating framework for the brickearth and terrace deposits of the Stour Basin area in northeast Kent. Over the last century the region has produced abundant Palaeolithic remains and represents an area of high development threat. Compared to other areas of Kent such as the Lower Thames and the Medway Valley or the Thames Gateway, which have been the focus of previous Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund projects, the Stour Basin has remained poorly studied. Given the rich and extensive Palaeolithic resources within Kent, the potentially unappreciated archaeological significance of either the Stour terrace deposits or the brickearth deposits near Thanet, Dover and Canterbury, as well as the high development pressure in these planning districts, a research project was initiated to improve the characterization and understanding of these types of deposits and to facilitate and expedite future curatorial responses. The OSL dating programme provides an improved chronological framework for the river terrace and head/brickearth deposits in the study area. The results confirm that most brickearths appear to have formed during the peak of the Last Glacial Maximum around 20,000 BP and may therefore be of lower Palaeolithic potential. However, the OSL dating has also shown that some of the outcrops are considerably older and may therefore hold greater potential for rare Neanderthal or pre-Neanderthal remains.
- Report Number:
- 19/2015
- Series:
- Research Report
- Pages:
- 38
- Keywords:
- Optically Stimulated Luminescence Palaeolithic
