MICROSCOPIC ANALYSIS OF FLANDRIAN VALLEY SEDIMENTS EXPOSED DURING THE CONSTRUCTION OF THE NEW CHELMER BRIDGE, CHELMSFORD BY-PASS, ESSEX.
Author(s): P E J Wiltshire
During the construction of the Chelmsford By-Pass in 1984-85, samples were taken from two exposed sections from the main Chelmer Valley (Section 1 and Section 2). Samples for Pollen analysis were taken only from Section 1 while macrofossil analysis was carried out in both sections by Peter Murphy (see AML Report 120/87). Microfossils were exceedingly sparse and in poor state of preservation so that a detailed description of vegetation was impossible. However the site appears to have been an abandoned river channel which was prone to periodic inundation, and there was evidence of human activity throughout the sediments. The very marked changes in the micro fossil assemblage at the transition from detritus mud to silty clay might indicate a drastic change in land use. The pollen assemblage also suggests that the sediments in Section 1 are not contemporaneous with those of Section 2.
- Report Number:
- 197/1988
- Series:
- AML Reports (New Series)
- Pages:
- 5
- Keywords:
- Plant Remains
