Site Event/Activity record EEM14685 - 2008: CoS - Comerslade, Mires Project

Palaeoenvironmental samples of the site taken in March 2008 were subject to pollen analysis and radiocarbon dating. Up to 1.8 metres of peat was noted at the site and at least three distinct tephra horizons were also noted in the sequence. Four pollen zones were recorded but few testate amoebae were recovered and at insufficient concentrations to make a meaningful, representative count. The Radiocarbon results indicate that peat developed at the site during the later Mesolithic, shortly before 6350-6080 cal BC, and it is thought that the top of the Comerslade sequence falls between cal AD 1570-1890. The site is not currently accumulating peat but there has been little loss of peat from the upper levels of the sequences. It is one of only four sites known on Exmoor which include significant wood within the stratigraphy. The exact site from which core samples were taken is not specified in the report.