Prior to Peat: Assessing the Hiatus between Mesolithic Activity and Peat Inception on the Southern Pennine Moors

Abstract

Palaeoecological investigation of soils exposed by eroding peat haggs on the moors above Tintwistle (Derbyshire) suggests that Mesolithic impact on upland soils between c. 360–500 m OD was not as dramatic, nor as long-lasting, as has sometimes been suggested. Despite evident erosion prior to peat inception, patterning has survived within Mesolithic scatters of artefacts. Neolithic activity is attested by both artefacts and charcoal-rich horizons suggesting intermittent burning of vegetation. Peat finally blanketed these uplands around the start of the second millennium cal. BC.

These results demonstrate radically different scenarios at different altitudes within relatively small distances across the southern Pennines, shifting our appreciation of the chronology of changes in vegetation and erosion, as well as contributing to wider debate on the causes of moorland development, which can inform future land management.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Thanks are due to English Heritage (now Historic England, HE) for fully supporting the project intermittently over decades (Pr 1119 - N Peak ESA); fieldwork was conducted 1991–93 (when DG was employed by Trent & Peak Archaeological Trust), with interim reports circulated after each season, then a hiatus due to DG’s work circumstances during which time the radiocarbon dates on the charcoals were achieved (1994-2001), with full archive reporting in 2009, a web paper in 2012 and drafting this paper 2012-16. DG’s greatest debt is to Ken Smith (PDNPA), project director and mentor, for much helpful advice over many years and keeping faith in a final product. One regret is not having completed this prior to the deaths of Pat Stonehouse and Roger Jacobi, who both willingly passed on their knowledge. Many others have also contributed to this project. The named authors are thanked for their extreme patience; HE staff (present and past) for their numerous contributions including Alex Bayliss, Bob Bewley, Andrew Brown, Kate Cullen, Peter Horne, Jonathan Last, John Meadows, Pete Marshall, Michael Russell and Pete Wilson, and Rowena Gale for charcoal identifications. DG is also grateful to Penny Spikins (University of York) for supplying information on the March Hill Carr basal peat dates prior to her own publication; to Andrew Myers and Nichola Manning (Derbyshire County Council), and to Jason Dodds (West Yorkshire Archaeological Advisory Service) for supply of information. Thanks to North-West Water and their agents, to the National Trust Marsden Moor Office and to English Nature for access and permission to conduct the fieldwork in areas of SSSI. The field-team was led by DG with Frances Green, Peter Hammond, Richard Jackson and John Watson; Frances Green is particularly acknowledged for her very significant influence on the thinking and presentation of the fieldwork results. In addition, staff, then of the Royal Commission on the Historical Monuments of England, were instrumental in providing survey control to enable accurate plotting of the find-spots (survey conducted before hand-held GPS available): Stuart Ainsworth, Mark Bowden, Marcus Jeacock and Dave McOmish. Latterly Caroline Wickham helped with producing the final drawings. DG is especially grateful to Andy Howard, Ken Smith and John Tallis for editing suggestions and for further reading which contributed to this final report; to Nick Barton for his comments on an earlier draft, and to Graeme Guilbert for his help with the English (in places) and his continued support. Positive inputs from anonymous referees that enabled significant improvements to the text are gratefully acknowledged. Errors and omissions remain the responsibility of DG.

SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIAL

The online supplemental files can be accessed at at http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00665983.2017.1320351, S01-S08: S01, report on the changing pattern of peat erosion by Andy J. Howard and Frances Green; S02 report on the field survey methods and the factors affecting artefact recovery by Daryl Garton and Frances Green; S03, report on the artefacts from field survey, including an assessment of damage to artefacts by Andrew Brown and commentary on the character of the artefacts and their wider links; S04 report on the soils particle size analysis by Matt Canti; S05 report on the pollen and microscopic charcoal methods by Elizabeth Livett and John Tallis; S06 report on the radiocarbon legacy data for Table 6 by Alex Bayliss; S07 a note on the provenance of sample Q-799 from Dunford; S08 HER 14811 record of lithics close to the Ryan and Blackford sampling point in Bradshaw Clough; S09 additional bibliography for supplemental data.