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Archaeology
Description
Wessex Archaeology was commissioned by Royal Haskoning DHV to undertake Stage 1 to 3 geoarchaeological and palaeoenvironmental assessment of borehole samples from the site of the proposed Dudgeon Offshore Windfarm. The Stage 1 work comprised the assessment of 27 borehole logs and 32 CPT (Cone Penetrometer Test) logs. The Stage 2 work comprised the geoarchaeological recording and subsampling of 63 samples from 6 boreholes (BH06, BH13, BH15, BH19A, BH21 and BH25). The following geological formations were interpreted from the Stage 1 and 2 work: • Chalk Bedrock • Swarte Bank Formation • Egmond Ground Formation • Bolders Bank Formation • Holocene terrestrial sediments • Seabed Sediment The Pleistocene sediments including the Swarte Bank, Egmond Ground and Bolders Bank formation were identified as glacial and shallow marine deposits thought to have been deposited during the Lower and Middle Palaeolithic archaeological periods. The Holocene terrestrial sediments were subjected to Stage 3 palaeoenvironmental assessment with two boreholes BH06 and BH21 providing the focus for study. Assessment for pollen, diatoms, foraminifera, ostracods, plants and molluscs was undertaken in conjunction with radiocarbon dating revealing interesting freshwater and estuarine environments dating to the Mesolithic archaeological period. In addition, the dating suggests that sediments within borehole BH06 might also relate to the Storegga slide tsunami which is thought to have affected Mesolithic communities in the North Sea area around 8100 years ago. Stage 4 analysis of pollen, foraminifera, ostracods, plants and molluscs and further radiocarbon dating is recommended in particular to better understand the interesting sediments within borehole BH06.
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