Source/Archive record SEM341467 - Alderman’s Barrow Allotment Exmoor: Palaeoenvironmental Assessment

A palaeoenvironmental assessment was undertaken on peat deposits in a valley mire at the site of Alderman’s Barrow Allotment, Exmoor. Peatland restoration works at the site provided the opportunity to record and sample open sections of peat, and to recover large fragments of wood. The overarching aims of the assessment were to examine the nature, significance and date of the palaeoenvironmental remains preserved, and their potential to reconstruct the past woodland history of the site. To achieve this, one section was sampled using monolith tins and a vertical column sample was taken to recover plant macroremains, notably wood, and an insect fauna. In addition, wood remains recovered by the South West Peatland Partnership during monitoring works were submitted for species identification. A wood peat was recorded at the base of the section sampled, and this formed in the Late Neolithic (c. 2800–2500 cal. BC). The results of the palaeoenvironmental assessment indicate that a wet woodland environment composed of alder was established in the valley mire. There is slight evidence for birch, although this species was perhaps growing on the higher and slightly drier ground, and there is no evidence that dry woodland was growing locally. The insect fauna recovered contains species associated with aquatic conditions and a damp/wet waterside environment; some of these are characteristic of wet woodland environments. This woodland bordered a slow-moving stream in the base of the valley, although areas of still or stagnant water were probably also present. Wood charcoal fragments in the peat are associated with burning events, and the large-size of some of these fragments indicates locally occurring fire(s), and these are possibly associated with human activity. Between the Late Neolithic to the Middle Bronze Age (c. 1500 BC), the local environment appears to have gradually become more open in character. The wood remains recovered during monitoring works at the site by the South West Peatland Partnership have been identified as alder and willow.