Abstract
Archaeological and palaeoecological evidence relating to human activity in the English Midlands is scant compared to elsewhere in Britain. Knowledge of human activity in pre-Roman and Roman times is often fragmentary and disparate in parts of the region where it could be assumed that the resident population was small with little Roman impact. To examine these contentions, a palaeoenvironmental investigation from Aqualate Mere near Newport, Staffordshire, has been undertaken on the sediment record extending back to c. 1300 cal. BC. An analysis of microfossils, microscopic charcoal, sediment chemistry and mineral magnetism from a core dated by 14C, SCPs, 210Pb and 137Cs has provided an opportunity to reconstruct land use changes and atmospheric pollution from the later prehistoric period onwards. The results challenge the idea this region was a backwater as there is near-continuous agricultural activity around the mere since the Late Bronze Age through to modern times. This is characterised by phases of woodland decline, an intensification of farming, soil erosion, evidence for possible eutrophication and regional lead pollution.
Original language | English |
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Number of pages | 26 |
Journal | Environmental Archaeology |
Early online date | 15 Mar 2023 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | E-pub ahead of print - 15 Mar 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Open Access via the T&F AgreementAcknowledgements
We wish to thank Coventry University for funding a PhD
project (Pittam), Bob Hollyoak and Liz Turner for laboratory assistance, Alison Sandison and Jenny Johnson at the University of Aberdeen for drawing the diagrams and Neil Rose kindly provided advice with regard to the SCP analysis.
Disclosure Statement No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).
Funding
This work was supported by Coventry University.
Keywords
- Prehistory
- Romans
- English Midlands
- land-use
- vegetation change
- pollution