the kesgrave sands and gravels: ‘pre-glacial’ quaternary deposits of the river thames in east...

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The Kesgrave Sands and Gravels: 'pre-glacial' Quaternary deposits of the River Thames in East Anglia and the Thames valley James Rose,* Colin A. Whiteman ", Peter Allen* and Rob A. Kemp * ROSE, J., WHITEMAN, C. A., ALLEN. P. & KEMP, R. A. 1999. The Kesgrave Sands and Gravels: 'pre-glacial' Quaterna ry deposits of the River Thames in East Anglia and the Thames valley. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association. 110, 93-116. This paper reviews the Kesgrave Sands and Grave ls as evidence for the pre-glacial history of the River Thames and its main tribut aries. Attention is given to the definitions of the deposi t. the lithological and sedimentological properties. and the geographical and stratigrap hical variations of these properties. Also described are the terrace landforms formed by the Kesgrave Sands and Gravels and the lithostratigraphical and geomorphological basis by which individual terraces are correlated across the region. The relationship of the Kesgrave Sands and Gravels to the palaeosols developed on their surfaces. to contemporaneous coastal sedimentation and to neotectonic uplift in the headwater regions and subsidence around the North Sea margins is outlined. along with possible evidence for glaciation in the head water regions. The paper concludes with a review of the palaeoclimatic and stratigraphical evidence which indicates that most of the unit was deposited by periglacial river activity during the late Early Pleistocene and the early Middle Pleistocene between about 1.81 and 0.46 Ma BP. A possible scenario explaining the factors forcing river activity in this part of the Quaternary is proposed. The paper also outlines the role of Richard Hey in the identification and interpretati on of this sediment body. "Depurtmrnt of Geography. Royal Holloway. University of London. Egham, Surrey n V20 0EX (email: [email protected]). ' School of the Environment, University of Brighton. Cockcroft Building. Moulsecoomb. Brighton BN2 4GJ. 1. INTRODUCTION The Kesgra ve Sands and Gravels and the 'pre-glacial' River Thames The Kesgrave Sands and Gravels are the sediments of the 'pre-glacial' River Th ame s, that initially flowed southeas twards from Wale s and the West Midl and s, eastwards through the region of the middle Thames valley into East Anglia where it flowed northeastwards, then progressively eastwards to a contemporaneous shoreline in the northern and eastern part of this region (Fig. I). The deposits are lithologically distinctive and record the behaviour of a river system over a period of about 1.35 Ma of Early and early Middle Pleistocene time. The position and elevation of the Kesgrave Sands and Gravels provide ev ide rrce for progressive changes in catchment size, differential subsidence in East Anglia towards the centre of the North Sea basin and incision in the headwater regions due to progressive uplift in the central parts of the British land area. The most complete set of palaeosols of the British Pleistocene are developed on the terraces formed of the Kesgrave Sands and Gravels and fragmentary bio- stratigra phy provides a basis for corre lation with the chro nostratigraphies de vel op ed in the Netherlands, suggesting deposition between Ti gli an C4c (Oxygen Isotope Stage 68) and the early Anglian (OIS 12). Together, the Kesgrave Sands and Gravels constitute the largest body Proceedings of the Geologists ' Association. 110, 93- 116. of sorted Quaternary sediments within the British land area. With the extension of lowland glaciation across East Anglia and Midland England during the Anglian Stage, much of the River Thames and its north bank tributaries were overri dden by ice and the Kesgrave Sands and Gravels ceased to be deposited. Aims This paper describes the properties of the Kesgrave Sands and Gravels in East Anglia and the Thames valley in order to reconstruct the extent, behaviour and historical development of the River Thames in the Early and early Middl e Pleistocene prior to the Anglian glaciation. Attent ion is give n to the litho- , morph o- and biostratigraphy in order to relate this history of development to the chronostratigraphy of northern Europe, and to evaluate the significance of this sedimentary unit within the history of the British Quaternary. The paper also desc ribes and explains the contribution made by Richard Hey in research on the Kesgrave Sands and Gravels. Definitions The term Kesgrave Sands and Gravels (KSG) was first used in Rose, Allen & Hey (1976) for 'pre-glacial' sands and gravels deposited by the River Thames when this river 00 16- 7878/99 $ 15·00 © 1999 Geologists' Associa tion

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Page 1: The Kesgrave Sands and Gravels: ‘pre-glacial’ Quaternary deposits of the River Thames in East Anglia and the Thames valley

The Kesgrave Sands and Gravels: 'pre-glacial' Quaternary deposits ofthe River Thames in East Anglia and the Thames valley

James Rose ,* Colin A. Whiteman", Peter Allen* andRob A. Kemp*

ROSE, J., WHITEMAN, C. A., ALLEN . P. & KEMP, R. A. 1999. The Kesgrave Sands and Gravel s:' pre-glacial' Quaterna ry deposits of the River Thames in East Anglia and the Thames valley.Proceedings of the Geologists ' Association. 110, 93-116. Th is paper reviews the Kesgra ve Sands andGrave ls as evidence for the pre-glacia l history of the River Thames and its main tribut aries. Attent ion isgiven to the definitions of the deposi t. the litholog ical and sedimentological pro pertie s. and thegeog raphical and strat igrap hica l variations of these prop erties. Also descr ibed are the terrace landformsformed by the Kesgrave Sands and Gravels and the litho stratigraph ical and geomorphological basis bywhich individual terraces are corre lated across the region . The relationship of the Kesgrave Sand s andGravels to the palaeosols de veloped on their surfaces. to cont emporaneous coastal sedimentation and toneotectonic uplift in the hea dwater regio ns and subsidence arou nd the North Sea margins is outlined.along with possible eviden ce for glaciation in the head water regions. The pape r concludes with a revie wof the palaeocli matic and stratigraphical evidence which indic ates that mos t of the unit was deposited byperiglacial river activity dur ing the late Early Plei stocene and the earl y Middle Ple istocene between about1.81 and 0.46 Ma BP. A possible scenario explain ing the fac tors forcin g river activity in this part of theQuaternary is proposed . The paper also outlines the role of Richard Hey in the ident ification andinterpretati on of this sediment body.

"Depurtmrnt of Geography. Royal Holloway. University of London. Egham, Surrey n V20 0EX(email: j .rose @rhbnc.ac.uk).' School of the Environment, University of Brighton. Cockcroft Building. Moulsecoomb. BrightonBN2 4GJ.

1. INTRODUCTION

The Kesgrave Sands and Gravels and the 'pre-glacial'River Thames

The Kesgrave Sands and Gravels are the sediments of the' pre-glaci al' River Th ame s, that initially flowedsoutheas twards from Wale s and the West Midl and s,eastwards through the region of the middle Thames valleyinto East Anglia where it flowed northeastwards, thenprogressively eastwards to a contemporaneous shoreline inthe northern and eastern part of this region (Fig. I). Thedep osits are lithologically distinctive and record thebehaviour of a river system over a period of about 1.35 Maof Early and early Middle Pleistocene time. The positionand elevation of the Kesgrave Sands and Gravels provideevide rrce for progressive changes in ca tchment size,differential subsidence in East Anglia towards the centre ofthe North Sea basin and incision in the headwater regionsdue to progressive uplift in the central parts of the Britishland area. The most complete set of palaeosols of the BritishPleistocene are developed on the terraces formed of theKesgrave Sands and Gr avel s and fragmentary bio­stratigra phy provides a basis for corre lation with thechro nostratigraphies devel oped in the Nether lands,sugge sting deposition bet ween Tigli an C4c (OxygenIsotope Stage 68) and the early Anglian (OIS 12). Together,the Kesgrave Sands and Gravels constitut e the largest body

Proceedings of the Geologists ' Association. 110, 93- 116.

of sorted Quaternary sediments within the British land area.With the extension of lowland glaciation across East Angliaand Midland England during the Anglian Stage, much of theRiver Thames and its north bank tributaries were overri ddenby ice and the Kesgrave Sands and Gravels ceased to bedeposited.

Aims

This paper describes the properties of the Kesgrave Sandsand Gravels in East Anglia and the Thames valley in orderto reconstruct the extent, beh aviour and historicaldevelopment of the River Thames in the Early and earlyMiddl e Pleistocene prior to the Anglian glaciation.Attent ion is given to the litho- , morpho- and biostratigraphyin order to relate this history of development to thechronostratigraphy of northern Europe , and to eva luate thesignificance of this sedimentary unit within the history ofthe British Quaternary. The paper also desc ribes andexplains the contribution made by Richard Hey in researchon the Kesgrave Sands and Gravels.

Definitions

The term Kesgrave Sands and Gravels (KSG) was first usedin Rose, Allen & Hey (1976) for 'p re-glacial' sands andgravels deposited by the River Thames when this river

00 16- 7878/99 $ 15·00 © 1999 Geologists' Associa tion

Page 2: The Kesgrave Sands and Gravels: ‘pre-glacial’ Quaternary deposits of the River Thames in East Anglia and the Thames valley

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Kesgrave Sand s and Grav els(Colchester Formation)

Bytham sands and grav els

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Over-ridden by Angl ian glaciogenic depos its

Kesgrave Sands and Gravels(Sudbury and Colchester Fms)

Bytham sands and gravels

shallow offshore rnanne deposits

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Kesgrave Sands and Gravels(Sudbury Formation)

Bytham sands and gravels

shallow offshore manne deposits

possible contemporary coastline

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veinquartzpebbles

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,quartzite andvein quartzpebbles

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m Nettlebed Formation

possible contemporary coa stline

5:ll Red and Norwich Crag(Early Pleistocene marin e deposits)

acidvolcanic acid

rocks volcan ic "'­rocks

Fig. I. Drainage and coastal patterns during the deposition of the Kesgrave Sands and Gravels. the preceding Nettlebed Formation. and the succeeding Anglian Glaciation. (a) TheNeulebed Formation and contemporaneous marine Crag deposits. (b) The Sudbury Format ion of the Kesgrave Gro up and the associ ated Bytham sands and grave ls and marine faciesof the Kesgrave Sands and Gravels . (c) The Colchester Formation of the Kesgrave Gro up and the associat ed Bytharn sands and gravels. (d) Anglian outwash in the Thames valleyand the extent of the Kesgrave Sands and Gravels at the surface and buried beneath glaciogenic deposits.

Page 3: The Kesgrave Sands and Gravels: ‘pre-glacial’ Quaternary deposits of the River Thames in East Anglia and the Thames valley

THE KESGRAVE SANDS AND GRAVELS 95

flowed across East Anglia. These deposits were recognizedas being separated from the overlying glacial deposits by awell developed palaeosol and being characterized by adistinctive clast lithology with a high quartzite and veinquartz fraction. The KSG were formally defined as alithostratigraphic unit and allocated Formation status inRose & Allen (1977) (this paper was submitted andaccepted prior to the submission of Rose et al., 1976).Subsequently, the sedimentary unit was elevated to Groupstatus in Whiteman (1992) and Whiteman & Rose (1992)due to the recognition of two distinctive lithostratigraphicunits: the older Sudbury Fm and the younger ColchesterFm, and the terms were applied to the whole of the Thamescatchment (Table I). Individual aggradations of sedimentare defined as members (Table I). At the same timeWhiteman & Rose (1992) defined the contrast between thedistinctive lithology of the Kesgrave Group and therelatively quartzite- and vein-quartz-free lithology of thepreceding fluvial or estuarine sediments (Nettlebed Fm/Crag) and the lithology with fresh, far-travelled rocks andminerals of the succeeding fluvial deposits with a glacialcomponent (Maidenhead Fm) or overlying glaciogenicdeposits (Lowestoft Fm). Whiteman (1992) identified 10terrace landforms and associated sediment bodies andWhiteman & Rose (1992) described the relationship ofthese to changes in the shape and extent of the Thamescatchment. Kemp, Whiteman & Rose (1993), Read (1994)and Read, Kemp & Rose (1996) summarized the character­istics of the palaeosols that are developed on the surface ofthe KSG, emphasizing the contrasting complexity anddevelopment that coincides with the differentiation of theSudbury and Colchester Fms.

Independently, West (1980) described the palynology oforganic deposits preserved within the KSG and allocatedthe biostratigraphy of the earlier units to the Pre-PastonianStage of the Lower Pleistocene and the later units to theCromer Forest-bed Fm of the early Middle Pleistocene. Thelatter association was developed further by Bridgland,Gibbard & Preece (1990), Bridgland (l988a, 1994) andBridgland, Allen, Currant, Gibbard, Lister, Preece,Robinson, Stuart & Sutcliffe (1988), and the wider relation­ship of the KSG to the chronostratigraphy of northwesternEurope was explored in Gibbard, West, Zagwijn, Balson,Burger, Funnell, Jeffery, De Jong, Van Kolfschoten, Lister,Meijer, Norton, Preece, Rose, Stuart, Whiteman &Zalasiewicz (1991).

The locations of all the sites referred to in this paper aregiven in Fig. 3 and their National Grid references are listedin Appendix I.

Role of Richard Hey in the study of the KesgraveSands and Gravels

In 1965 Richard Hey published, in the Proceedings of theGeologists' Association, a paper on the 'highly quartzose'gravels in the eastern end of the London Basin in which hedescribed deposits of the 'ancestral Thames' (p. 413),separating these from other Quaternary deposits in the area:

Pebble Gravels and 'Westleton Beds', both of which had,hitherto, been considered of marine origin (Prestwich,1890). The paper was also significant for the quantitativeapproach to the analysis of clast lithologies in order toprovenance the source of the river, and the use of elevationof the sediment body to correlate the river deposits andreconstruct the former terrace level. He called the new unitthe Westland Green Gravel from a site in east Hertfordshire.This paper also noted the wide range of quartzite and vein­quartz in the deposit, the distinctive heavy mineralassemblage, the possible 'bleached' condition of thequartzose pebbles and the role of ice-floes in transportinganomalously large clasts.

The implications of this work were developed in 1971,1976 and 1977 when he sought to determine thedepositional processes responsible for these deposits, and totrace, more precisely, the source of distinctive indicatorrocks. In Hey, Krinsley & Hyde (1971), he used theevidence of sand-grain surface texture to re-affirm that theWestland Green Gravels were deposited by fluvialprocesses and to distinguish these deposits from the marinePebble beds. In 1976 he reviewed the geomorphology of theThames terraces (Hey, 1976a) and established the BunterPebble Beds of the Midlands as the source of the quartzitesand vein-quartz (Hey, 1976b), and the Lower Palaeozoicrocks in north Wales as the source of the acid volcanicrhyolites and tuffs (Hey & Brenchley, 1977). In these lasttwo papers he extended his region of study to the whole ofEast Anglia and, in Hey & Brenchley, he correlated hisWestland Green Gravels with the Kesgrave Sands andGravels of Rose et al. (1976), and Rose & Allen (1977).This work was continued in Green, Hey & McGregor(1980) using very large samples collected by hiscollaborators.

In 1980, in another paper in the Proceedings of theGeologists' Association, he subdivided the KSG on thebasis of altitude of the sediment body and colour of thequartzose fractions, proposing a High Level KSG whichincluded the Westland Green Gravels Member of theKesgrave Formation characterized by colourless quartziteand vein-quartz, and a younger, Low Level KSG with alower elevation and higher proportion of coloured quartziteand vein-quartz. He explained the differences of colour onthe basis of post-depositional bleaching (p. 288). In thispaper he correlated the KSG with the palynostratigraphi­cally defined sub-Stage Pre-Pastonian a of West (1980).Additionally, he proposed the existence of a left banktributary in the area of Bury St. Edmunds which has sincebeen identified as the regionally and stratigraphicallyimportant Bytham River (Rose, 1987, 1994; Lewis, 1993),and noted the relationship of the KSG to similar sedimentsin northeast Norfolk that have been interpreted by Krinsley& Funnell (1965) as estuarine, noting that if this were thecase 'then this correlation would entail downwarping'(p. 288). This work in north Norfolk was developed (Hey,1982) with differentiation of the KSG from the earlier,marine deposits composed predominantly of flint clastswith a relative absence of far-travelled material.

Page 4: The Kesgrave Sands and Gravels: ‘pre-glacial’ Quaternary deposits of the River Thames in East Anglia and the Thames valley

Group

Kesgrave Group(Kesgrave Sandsand Gravels)

Lithostratigraphy

Formati ons

Maidenhead Fm

Colchester Fm

Sudbury Frn

Nettlebed Fm

\00'

Table 1. Lithostratigraphy and possible chronostratigraph y of the Kesgrave Sands and Gravel s

Morphostratigraphy Chronostratigraphy Oxyge n Age andIsotope environment

Members Terrace Britain Netherlands Stage*

LowlandAnglian Eisterian glaciation

12 Co 0.45 Ma-Lower St Osyth (LSO)~ Lower St Osyth hitherto defined as 'TruncatedWivenhoe (W!)~ Wivenhoe Cro merian 'C romerian Thames'Ardleigh (A) ~ Ardleigh and Complex' river :-Waldringfield (WF)~ Waldringfield Beestonian catchment ;0

21 c.O .90Ma- 0Vl

Gerrards Cross (GC)~ Gerrards Cross 'Bavel rnBeaconsfield ( B )~ Beaconsfield hitherto Complex' 'Great ' tlJ

'iSatwell (S )~ Satwe ll defined as Menapian Thames' ~

Westland Green (WG)~ Westland Green pre-Pasioni an Waalian river r-Waterman 's Lodge (WL)~ Waterman's Lodge Eburonian catchmentStoke Row (SR)~ Stoke Row

57 c.I .70Ma-Pastonian Tiglian C5-6 Low

65 energypre-Pastonian Tiglian C4c rivers

• After Funnell, 1996§ Code to key used on Figs 2. 4 and 5.

Page 5: The Kesgrave Sands and Gravels: ‘pre-glacial’ Quaternary deposits of the River Thames in East Anglia and the Thames valley

T I-IE KESGRAVE SANDS AND GRAVELS 97

With the publication in 1986 of his paper on the NorthernDrift of Oxfordshire, Richard Hey completed his study ofThames river deposits throughout the whole length of thepresent catchment. His work on the Northern Driftconcluded that the clay-rich, quartzite and vein-quartzdominated sediment was, in the main, a decalcified residueof river sediments, that could be resolved into 5 terracelevels. In this paper he confirmed earlier views that the ratioof quartzite to vein-quartz changed as the deposit becameyounger, suggesting that this was probably due to changesof provenance brought about by changes of catchmentshape. He then used this lithostratigraphic property, alongwith the elevation of sediment bodies, to correlate terracefragments throughout the catchment. Finally, he reinforcedhis ear lier correlations with the palynostratigraphy inexistence at the time and emphasized the large scale of thisancestral Thames by reference to an 8 km wide floodplainin the region of the lower Evenlodel Windrush valleys(pp. 299-300). In his final paper on the subjec t in 1991,Richard Hey noted, in particular, that the pre-glacial riverreached the north Norfolk coast and that glaciation in theupland areas of western Britain, and maybe even theCotswold hills, contributed to the sedime nt body.

On a perso nal level it is worth recordi ng the visit that JRand PA made to see Richard Hey at the Sedgwick Museumin Cambridge , to discuss the results of the work in southeastSuffolk. The following day they received a letter suggestinga number of sites that would be worth a visit. On the basisof this recommendation PA set off to west and north Suffolkand JR to Essex . The outcome of these travels was a greatlyincreased number of sites that showed the same strati­graphic sequence as existed in southeast Suffolk. It was this

exercise that confirmed the view that the bulk of the sandsand grave ls in southern East Anglia and Essex wereseparated from the deposits of the Anglian glaciation bypalaeosols and were sediments of an ancestral Thamesrather than glaciofluvial outwash as had previously beenproposed. The work resulted in the publication of Rose,Allen & Hey in Nature in 1976.

2. DISTRIBUTION OF THE KESGRAVE SANDSAND GRAVELS

The distribution of the KSG is shown in Figs I and 2 andthe distribution of sites in East Anglia, Essex and the lowerThames valley with a lithology diagnostic of the KSG isshown in Fig. 3. Deposits have been mapped on the hillsidesof the Cotswolds adjacent to the Evenlode valley, along theslopes of the upper and middle Thames valley from Oxfordto the region of Bourne End. From here the KSG leave thepresent valley of the Thames and continue northeastwardsinto the Vale of St. Albans where they are buried by Anglianglacial deposits (Gibbard, 1974, 1977; Cheshire, 1986). TheKSG then extend northeastwards across west and centralEssex and much of Suffolk. but beneath glaciogenicdeposits, and only in the region around Colchester andClacton in Essex (Bridgland, 1988a; Bridgland et al., 1988).and the coastal part of southeast Suffolk, do the KSGremain at the surface (Fig. 1d). KSG have also beendescribed as being located in Norfolk and along the northNorfo lk coast (Hey & Brenchley, 1977; Green & McGregor,1990, 1996) on the basis of the clast lithology, but Hopson& Bridge (1987) and Hamblin & Moorlock (1995) havequestioned this, and Hamblin , Moorlock & Rose (1996),

260

200 tN

0,Km

430

Colchester Fm

Sudbury Fm

['-'//--:]

Lower SI Osylh Member (LSO)Wlven hoe Member (WI)Ardlelgh Member (A)Waldnngflcld Member (WF)

Gerra rds Cross Member (GC)Beaconsfield Member (B)Satwell Member (S)Westland Grecn Member (WG)Waterman's Lodge Member (WL)Stoke Row Member (SR)

530 550

Fig. 2. The distribution of the Kesgrave Sands and Gravels along the Thames and Evenlode valleys and East Anglia. For fuller details seeFig. 2 of Whitema n & Rose (1992) _

Page 6: The Kesgrave Sands and Gravels: ‘pre-glacial’ Quaternary deposits of the River Thames in East Anglia and the Thames valley

98 J. ROSE F:T AL.

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08.

•CAMBRIDGE

Fig. 3. Localities where sediments with the lithology of the Kesgrave Group have been recorded. The key to these sites is given inAppendix 1.

Rose, Gulamali, Moorlock, Hamblin, Jeffery, Anderson,Lee & Riding (l996b), Rose, Lee, Candy & Lewis (in press)and Briant, Rose, Branch & Lee (in press) have suggestedthat these sediments were deposited in a coastalenvironment rather than directly by the ancestral RiverThames, although the River Thames was still the source ofmuch of the sediment.

3. GEOMORPHOLOGY AND TERRACESTRATIGRAPHY

The KSG exist as bodies of sand and gravel that aredistributed according to altitude and position and formterrace surfaces. In total, 10 individual terrace levels havebeen identified (Figs 2, 4 and 5, Table I). The highest levels

Page 7: The Kesgrave Sands and Gravels: ‘pre-glacial’ Quaternary deposits of the River Thames in East Anglia and the Thames valley

THE KESGRAVE SANDS AND GRAVELS 99

100

"'< Nettlebed Fm

Cotswold escarpment -.250

50 ~~"'~~ SUdbury Fm.8 divers ion Tham es~~ --...:.:::...... r : . " Colchester Fm~ 0 - A ...,. WF~ 0 km 40 80 120 160 200 240 LSO W

Fig. 4. Terraces of the pre-glacial Thames shown in relation to the elevation of the lowest col through the Cotswold escarpment.

survive as thin, discontinuous, and often heavily weatheredfragments on the upper slopes of the Cotswold and Chilternhills, the middle Thames valley and in northeast Essex andnorthwest Suffolk (Fig. 2) (Wooldridge, 1938; Hare, 1947;Hey 1986). At lower levels the terrace landforms are lessdegraded, especially beneath the glaciogenic sediments ofEast Anglia where Whiteman (1992) has mapped them onthe basis of palaeosol records in numerous borehole logs. Inother places in East Anglia, however, such as GreatSampford (Read, Rose & Kemp, submitted) the terracesfragments beneath the till have been glaciotectonized.

Numerous attempts have been made to correlate theterrace fragments on the basis of elevation (cf. Gibbard,1985) although only a limited number of these studies havebeen applied to the whole or most of the catchment(Clayton, 1977; Gibbard, 1983; Whiteman, 1991, 1992;Whiteman & Rose, 1992; Bridgland 1994). None of theseschemes agree (see Whiteman & Rose, 1992, table I)because of relatively poor quality landform evidence andthe absence of strict lithostratigraphic/ geochronometriccontrol. The scheme used here is based on a detailedreconstruction of terrace surfaces buried (and hencepreserved) below the glacial deposits of north Essex andsouth'Suffolk (Whiteman, 1992). The gradients derivedfrom this region are used to project the surface elevationsacross the catchment (Fig. 4). The names and position ofthese terraces fragments are shown on Figs 2 and 5, arelisted in Table I and the type site of each member is listedin Whiteman & Rose (1992, table 3). Although thiscorrelation is not proven, this proposal does coincide withthe lithological constraints (see below) and is consistentwith the higher group of terraces projecting above thelowest col of the Cotswold escarpment through into theregion of west Midland England and the source areas of thefar-travelled lithologies. The lower group of terraces,

however, do not reach the elevation of the lowest col of theCotswold hills and are related to a river system that isconfined within the region of the present River Thamescatchment (Whiteman, 1992).

In eastern Essex the terrace stratigraphy of the KSG hasbeen resolved using a more complex approach based on thepresence of organic temperate- and cold-climate sediments(Fig. 5) (Bridgland & Allen, 1996) This provides a highlevel of resolution that is not readily apparent in thelandforms, and is not yet applicable elsewhere because ofthe scarcity of organic material.

4. LITHOSTRATIGRAPHIC PROPERTIES

The KSG are defined by the relatively high far-travelledcomponent of clasts in the 8-16 mm and 16-32 mm sizefractions, dominated by quartzite and vein-quartz from theTriassic Kidderminster Conglomerate of the West Midlandsand Carboniferous and Devonian sandstones from southernWales and possibly the southern Pennines (Fig. I, Table 2)(Whiteman & Rose, 1992, fig. 4; Hey & Brenchley, 1977;Bridgland, 1988b). In addition, there are smaller, but per­sistent frequencies of acid volcanic rocks from Snowdonia(Whiteman, 1983, 1990) and possibly the Welsh borderland(Hey & Brenchley, 1977), Greensand chert from south ofthe Thames (Hey, 1976b; Gibbard, 1985), and smallamounts of Carboniferous chert from the southern Pennines(Hey, 1980).

The occurrence of these lithologies distinguishes theKSG from the pre-existing Quaternary deposits. In theregion of the Middle Thames the Nettlebed Fm is domin­ated by flint in the fraction >8 mm, although there isan abundance of vein quartz (33%) in the 4-8 mmrange (Moffat, 1986; Moffat & Catt, 1986). In Hertfordshirethe Pebble Gravel is likewise dominated by flint (Hey,

Page 8: The Kesgrave Sands and Gravels: ‘pre-glacial’ Quaternary deposits of the River Thames in East Anglia and the Thames valley

200

- ..

~ Kesgrave Sands and Gravels

~ decalcified deposits

... org anic deposits

~ non-Kesgrave deposit s

COLCHESTER FM

ILillie Oak ley Silts & Sand s

o +p.'.:~.:~! ~.:~.:.t':..v.e.!· _ · . ._ '._. '_'.' . '_'. '.POST·KESGRAVE DEPOSITSMersea Island! Wigborough GravelClacton Channel organic Deposits

Clacton Channel Gravel

50

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EASTERN ESSEX REGION

SUDBURY FM

PRE-KESGRAVE DEPOSITS

Red Crag (lill ie Heath! l ane End deposits 01Mollal and Call, 1996)

Ncttlcbcd Gravel

COLCHESTER FMRassler Gravel (WI)-~

Winter Hill Lo wer Gr avel (LSO)~ _

POST·KESGRAVE DEPOSITS "Black Park Gravel

Boyn Hill Gravell ynch Hill Gravel

Taplow GravelKempton Park Gravel

Shepperton Gravel (Floodplain terrace).- .-. _._._.-._ ._ ._._.-._ . _ . _.- ._. _. _. - ._._.-._._.-. _.- ._._._ ._._._ ._.-Indication of present floodplain level in region

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150

MIDDLE THAMES REGION

200

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Hanborough GravelWolvercote Gravel

Eynsham GravelStanton Harcourt Gravel

Northmoor Gravel (Floodplain terrace)j~d;c~ iion 'Qi'p;es'iriif;oodp/;;in'i-';;elinregion

a

50

a

c:io'"2'"

~1i):2

SUDBURY FM

100

150

UPPER THAMES REGION

Fig.5. Elevation of terraces of the 'pre-glacial' Thames in the Upper, Middle and Lower Thames region, based, with modifications, on Bridgland (1994). Underlined gravel names indicatethe representative area. Leiters in brackets after gravel names indicate the type member name for the ancestral Thames catchment. The locations of the regions are given on Fig. 2.

Page 9: The Kesgrave Sands and Gravels: ‘pre-glacial’ Quaternary deposits of the River Thames in East Anglia and the Thames valley

Table 2. Clast lithology of the Members of the Kesgrave Sands and Gravels, overlying and underlying lithostratigraphic units, gravels of tributary rivers and of the cont1uence zone forsome tributary rivers

Upper Thames

Percentage values

Formations and Members

Flint Qzt Green- Carbo Non-+ sand Chert durableVQ Chert lithologies

Maidenhead F

Igneous Qzt:VQ

Flint:Qzt+VQ

Middle Thames Essex, Suffolk & south Norfolk

Percentage values Percentage values

Flint Qzt Green- Carbo Non- Igneous Qzt: Flint: Flint Qzt Green- Carbo Non- Igneous Qzt: Flint:

+ sand Chert durable VQ Qzt + sand Chert durable VQ QztVQ Chert lithologies +VQ VQ Chert lithologies +VQ

187.8 09.9 1.75 0.05 0040 0.04 0047 8.89 269.8 19.3 0.26 104 7.55 0.64 1.09 3.62

Colchester FmLower St Osyth 301.3 9804Wivenhoe

ArdleighWaldringfield

0.3* 0.00 0.00 2.00 0.01 479.0 1804 2.07 0.06 o.zs 024 0040 4.29 580.0 16.3 o.n lAO 0.00 0.52 0.71 4.89577.7 1804 0.62 2.05 0.00 0.50 0.88 4.22677.7 19.3 2.6* (100 1.00 1.10 4.03

"8204 1404 2.6* 0.00 0.30 0.96 5.n

Sudbury Fm

Gerrards Cross 33.2 95.7 0.00 0.80 0.00 0.30 1.54 0.03 461.1 36.5 1049 0.05 0.26Beaconsfield 33.2 96.0 0.00 1.00 0.00 0.00 1.36 0.03 754.0 4404 0.73 0.10 0.10

Satwell 33.5 96.5 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 1049 0.04 732.3 53.9 0.00 0.00 0.00

Westland Green 3104 95.8 000 2040 0.00 0.50 1.04 0.01

Waterman's Lodge 35.2 93.0 0.00 1.20 0.00 0.50 0.62 0.06

Stoke Row 746.1 53.7 0.00 0.27 0.00

Nettlebed Fm "97.8 00.7 0.9* (100

River LoddenRivers Molel Wey (Dollis Hill Gravel)KSG below confluence with River Medway

Lower St Osyth (Lower Holland Gravel)Wivenhoe (Cooks Green Gravel)Ardleigh (Oakley Gravel)

Bytham River

Confluence zone between KSG and the Bytham river

Qzt =Quartzite. VQ =Vein-quartz. FI =Flint.* chert not differentiated.I Black Park Gravels, after Gibbard, 1985, p. 147,8-32 mm fraction.2 Barham and Sandy Lane Gravels, after Allen, 1984, p. 34, 16-32 rnrn fraction.3 After Hey, 1986, p. 284, Whiteman, 1990, 16-32 mm fraction.4 After Gibbard, 1985, p. 147,8-32 mm fraction.5 After Bridgland, 1994, pp. 288-299." After Whiteman & Rose, 1992, p. 369, 16-32 mm fraction.7 After Gibbard, 1985, p. 148,8-32 mrn fraction.S After Gibbard, 1979 p. 37, 8-32 mm fraction.9 After Lewis et al., 1999, 11.2-16.0 rnrn fraction.10After Rose et al., in press, 18-32 mm fraction.

78804 0004 11.17 0.00 0.00890.3 01.8 7.37 0.00 0.00

0.25 0.36 1.67 {,66.6 29.0 3.0* 0.00 0.70 0.92 2.30

0.50 0.38 1.22 "64.9 31.0 3.0* 0.00 060 0.73 2.09

098 0.26 0.60 667.5 29.8 204* 0.00 0.80 0.54 227

"75.0 23.3 1.7* 0.00 0.70 0041 3.22

0.00 0.08 0.86

0.00 0040 139.70

0.00 0.11 2100450.00 n/a 49.88

582.0 1204 3048 1.32 0.00 0.22 0.67 6.61583.3 12.0 2.55 1.20 0.00 0.20 0.50 7.01

'79.7 15.2 2.05 1.10 0.00 0.70 0.65 5.26934.9 5504 0.00 5.77 0.00 0.00 3.21 0.631062.6 33.6 0.11 2.15 0.10 0.23 0.91 1.85

Page 10: The Kesgrave Sands and Gravels: ‘pre-glacial’ Quaternary deposits of the River Thames in East Anglia and the Thames valley

102 J. ROSE ET AL.

1965) and in Hertfordshire, Essex, Suffolk and Norfolk, theRed and Norwich Crag deposits, including the WestletonBeds, are also dominated by flint to the exclusion of almostall else (Hey, 1967, 1976b, 1982). These groups ofsediments, which were deposited before the KSG, representa Thames drainage system capable of transporting only thefine fraction except for coarse material derived from localsources (Rose, 1988, 1994), and a coastal system trans­porting sediment derived locally by wave and tidal currentaction (Hey, 1967).

The contrast between the pre-Kesgrave deposits and theKSG is clearly visible at coastal exposures such asCovehithe in East Anglia, where the KSG overlie NorwichCrag gravels and the quartzite- and vein-quartz-richdeposits contrast with the gravels that are virtually free ofthese rocks. This difference was also shown statisticallywithin the Middle Thames region by Gibbard (1985, fig. 53)using canonical variates analysis.

River deposits younger than the KSG are distinguishedby the occurrence of non-durable lithologies such as shale,soft sandstones, Jurassic fossils, limestone and chalk, ornewly introduced far-travelled lithologies such as micaschist, granites, basic porphyries and Rhaxella chert derivedfrom Anglian glaciogenic sources (Rose & Allen, 1977;Bridgland, 1980, 1986; Green, McGregor & Evans, 1982;Gibbard, 1985). These lithologies reflect the introduction ofnew material into the region by the Anglian ice sheet, or theice-proximal provenance of soft rocks washed out of tills. Inthe Thames valley, Gibbard (1985) named this deposit theMaidenhead Fm, while in East Anglia it is known as theBarham Sands and Gravels (southeast Suffolk, Rose &Allen, 1977) or the Coney Weston Sands and Gravels (northSuffolk, Lewis, Rose & Davies, 1999). Green et at. (1982)demonstrated a statistically significant difference betweenthe clast content of the KSG and the glaciogenic deposits.

As with the boundary between the KSG and theunderlying sorted sediments, the boundary between theKSG and the Barham Sands and Gravels is alsoconspicuous in terms of colour, sedimentary structures, andpresence of non-durable clasts, and can be recognized withconfidence at such sites as Barham in southeast Suffolk,even when a palaeosol, that usually separates the deposits,is absent (Rose & Allen, 1977; Allen, 1983).

Regional variations

The frequencies of the various lithologies vary along thecatchment according to the input and persistence of thelocal rock types. For instance in the Upper Thames region,the KSG (known as Northern Drift) are dominated byquartzite and vein-quartz with the virtual exclusion of allelse because of decalcification (Table 2). In the MiddleThames region the quartzite and vein-quartz remains amajor component ofthe KSG, but is diluted by the presenceof angular flint and chattermarked flint eroded from theChalk of the Chiltern Hills and the Tertiary gravels of theLondon Basin. Around Southwold in east Suffolk thefrequency of chattermarked flints within the KSG increases

because of the inclusion of Westleton Beds (Hey, 1980).Elsewhere variations exist where the Thames is joined bytributary rivers (see below).

Variations between the Sudbury and Colchester Fms ofthe Kesgrave Group

Lithological differences define the Sudbury and ColchesterFormations of the Kesgrave Group. Hey (1980)demonstrated that the 'high level' or 'Westland Green Sandsand Gravels' contained >60% white or colourless quartzite+ vein-quartz clasts, contrasting with the 'low level' sandsand gravels which contain <40% of these lithologies.Independently, Whiteman & Rose (1992) demonstrated thatthe Sudbury Fm had persistently a higher quartzite: vein­quartz ratio, and a higher flint: quartzite + vein-quartz ratiothan the Colchester Fm (Table 2).

Experimental work by Hey (1980) suggested that thecolour differences are a function of bleaching by acidgroundwater, and that the degree of bleaching is therefore afunction of age. Thus the older formation is more bleachedthan the younger. The differences in the proportions ofquartzite and vein-quartz appear to reflect the extension ofthe headwater regions of the catchment from areas with apreponderance of vein-quartz (Carboniferous and Devonianpebble beds) to areas dominated by quartzite (Triassicconglomerates) (Whiteman & Rose, 1992). The greaterfrequency of flint in the Colchester Fm, however, is due toerosion and entrainment of this lithology from Chalkbedrock within the catchment at a time when the sources ofquartzite and vein-quartz were beyond the catchmentwatershed (Fig. I).

Lithological variations between the members of theSudbury and Colchester Formations

Individual members of the KSG show a diminishing fre­quency of vein-quartz to quartzite for the reasons explainedabove, and varying frequencies of acid igneous volcanicrocks (see below). Unlike the frequencies of colourlessquartzite and vein-quartz that distinguish the two for­mations and are apparent in the field, these variations canonly be identified as a result of laboratory analyses. How­ever, they are persistent and provide a basis for correlatingand differentiating the individual members of the KSG.

5. SEDIMENTOLOGY

There are few detailed sedimentological descriptions andsection drawings of the fluvial facies of the KSG other thanthose in unpublished PhD theses (Allen, 1983; Whiteman,1990), QRA Field Guides (Rose & Turner, 1973; Rose,1983; Allen, 1984; Gibbard & Zalasiewicz, 1988, Lewis,Whiteman & Bridgland, 1991) and Cambridge UniversityPress monographs (West, 1980; Gibbard, 1985), althoughcoastal facies in northeast Norfolk have recently been thesubject of detailed work (Rose et al., 1996b; Briant et al., in

Page 11: The Kesgrave Sands and Gravels: ‘pre-glacial’ Quaternary deposits of the River Thames in East Anglia and the Thames valley

THE KESGRAVE SANDS AND GRAVELS 103

press). It is for this reason that many of the sites recorded onFigure 3 are shown as undifferentiated in terms ofdepositional process. These sites have been described andclassified in terms of their lithostratigraphic signature, buthave not been described in terms of sedimentology.Typically, the KSG is a bedded, gravelly sand with c1ast­supported gravel units and beds of fine sand. Up to 12 m ofsorted sediment has been recorded at sites shown on Fig. 3.Typically the sand and gravel facies are dominated bymodes in the medium sand and fine, medium and coarsegravel ranges, and size and sorting distributions ret1ecttransport by saltation and as bedload. Sedimentary struc­tures are predominantly horizontal- and cross-bedded sandand gravels and sands, with frequent channelling, althoughtrough cross-bedding is limited. Cross-beds with amplitudesof 0.05-0.5 m are common representing deposition oncascade slopes formed in the lee of the ripples, dunes andbars, and indicating water depths in the order of the cross­set amplitude. Occasionally large-scale cross-beds c. I minamplitude and unrelated to horizontal bedding indicate thedevelopment of large sub-aquatic dunes formed by highflow regimes in channels with water depths in the order of6 m (Allen, 1985; Rose & Allen, 1977; Whiteman, 1983).Locally, there are channel-fills offiner-grained sand and siltreflecting rain-out of suspended load in isolated poollocations and emphasizing the variability of the flow regimeassociated with the deposition of the KSG.

Palaeocurrent measurements on depositional foresetstructures show modal directions towards the east andnortheast in Essex and southern East Anglia, representingcurrent flow parallel with the trends of the terraces. Innortheastern Norfolk, however, diametrically opposingpalaeocurrent directions are recorded (Fig. 6, Appendix 2).Throughout the Thames valley and southern East Anglia theKSG are interpreted as having formed predominantly as aresult of braided river processes but, in Norfolk, depositionis considered to be the product of tidal current transportwith flow directions determined by the configuration of theadjacent coastline.

The upper part of the Lower St Osyth Member of theKSG, which is the youngest member of the Group(Bridgland, 1988a) is composed predominantly of sand withinterbedded horizontal silt laminations, and is consistentlyfiner than other members of the KSG (Rose, 1986).Although the reason for this finer texture is not clear, it isworth recording that the youngest member of the Bythamsands. and gravels is also persistently fine grained,dominated by sand with silt interbeds (Rose, 1987; Lewis,1989, 1993).

Isolated, anomalously large clasts of flint, siliceoussandstone, quartzite, vein-quartz and acid volcanic igneousrocks are distributed throughout the KSG (Hey &Brenchley, 1977; Whiteman, 1990). At localities such asGreat Waltham, Great Blakenham and Ardleigh, excavationfor aggregate has revealed a concentration of these largeclasts at the base of the KSG sediment body. Hey (1965)first proposed that these cobbles and boulders may betransported by floe ice during the spring melt, and the

likelihood of this occurring is reinforced by the record ofice-wedge casts in the KSG showing deposition in aperiglacial climate.

Locally, the KSG shows deformation structures below thelevel of pedogenesis (Rose & Allen, 1977, fig. 3) which areassociated with fine-grained sediments and inverse densitygradients. At some sites, such as Broomfield and GreatWaltham in Essex (Rose, Sturdy, Allen & Whiteman, 1978),these deformation structures include diapirs of LondonClay. These structures are attributed to loading and waterescape from sediment bodies with very high pore-waterpressures and are likely to indicate periods of rapidsedimentation or degradation of permafrost (Rose & Allen,1977; Allen, 1984).

Also recorded within the KSG are intraformationalwedges (Great Waltham: Rose et al., 1978; Whiteman,1990; Barham: Rose & Allen, 1977; Trimingham: Briant etal., in press, a number of sites on the north Norfolk coast:West, 1980). While some of these structures do not havegenetically diagnostic characteristics and cannot be relatedto a particular process, others show evidence of marginalupturning indicative of lateral stresses and are thereforeinterpreted as casts of permafrost thermal contractionpatterns and indicate that the KSG formed by braided riversedimentation in a periglacial environment.

6. ORGANIC MATTER CONTENT

Organic material is rare within the KSG, being restricted todetritus concentrated along bedding planes or to organicbeds filling channels within the sands and gravels. NorthernEast Anglia is different as the Cromer Forest-bed forrnsextensive organic matter accumulations, providing evidenceof complex vegetational development (West, 1980), buthitherto it has been difficult to relate these accumulations tothe activity of the ancestral River Thames.

Cold climate faunas and floras

In the Cromer Forest-bed of Norfolk, West (1980) hasdescribed organic deposits indicative of open vegetationand cold climate from sediments of the Sudbury Fm(Sidestrand, Beeston), and the Colchester Fm (a largenumber of sites). Elsewhere, cold climate faunas and florashave been described from the Colchester Fm at localitiessuch as Broomfield (Gibbard, Aalto, Coope, Currant,McGlade, Peglar, Preece, Turner, Whiteman & Wrayton,1996a) and Ardleigh (Fig. 5) (Bridgland, 1988a, 1994;Bridgland et al., 1988). These deposits indicate tundravegetation with much open ground and suggest climaticconditions similar to those indicated by the periglacialstructures in the KSG. It is within this type of environmentthat braided river sedimentation took place and the bulk ofthe KSG were deposited. West (1980) has used this evid­ence to define the Pre-Pastonian Substages and thePastonian and Cromerian Stages, but these vegetationalassemblages have little biostratigraphic significance.

Page 12: The Kesgrave Sands and Gravels: ‘pre-glacial’ Quaternary deposits of the River Thames in East Anglia and the Thames valley

104 J. ROSE ET AL.

O~0]/-­34

30I

IN

20!

10,km

oI

NORWICH. ~r06

y

)02 /04 10

09!1f.

12

~/' IPSWICH

13

14

TF TG

TL TM

site number (see Appendix 2)

Modal palaeocurrentdirection of sedimentary unit

02

•CAMBRIDGE

24

\ 2~716~ ~ ~ ...J--

1------1~

Fig. 6. Palaeocurrent directions in the Kesgrave Sands and Gravels. The key to these sites is given in Appendix 2.

Temperate climate faunas and floras

Temperate faunas and floras have been described from theCromer Forest-bed Fm in north Norfolk, from organicdeposits of the Colchester Fm at Little Oakley (Bridgland etal., 1990; Lister, McGlade & Stuart, 1990; Gibbard &Peglar, 1990; Preece, 1990), Ardleigh and Wivenhoe(Bridgland, 1988a, 1994; Bridgland et al., 1988) in east

Essex (Fig. 5). In addition, temperate climate faunas andfloras have been described from Broomfield in mid-Essex(Gibbard et al., 1996a), and from Sugworth in Oxfordshire(Briggs, Gilbertson, Goudie, Osborne, Osmaston, Pettitt,Shotton & Stuart, 1975; Shotton, Goudie, Briggs &Osmaston, 1980). All these organic remains show evidenceof diverse animal and plant assemblages with abundantbiomass formed during temperate climate conditions. In all

Page 13: The Kesgrave Sands and Gravels: ‘pre-glacial’ Quaternary deposits of the River Thames in East Anglia and the Thames valley

TH E K E S GR A V E S A NDS AN D GR A V E L S 105

cases except the Cromer Forest-bed , which is an extensivefloodplain developed close to a contemporaneous coastline,these deposits are of limited extent and form in channelseroded into the cold climate sands and gravels that make upthe bulk of the KSG. The depositional modes associatedwith these temperate climate deposits are considered to besingle thread , probably meande ring streams, with fine­grained sediment transport. It appears that temperateclimate condit ions contributed little to the deposition of theKSG, but that during these times soil formation was thedominant process on the terrace surfaces and river activitywas responsible only for the development of relativelysmall channels, which were probably relatively stable.

The temperate climate pollen assembles have been usedto define the Pre-Pastonian b Substage and the Pastonian,Beestonian and Cromerian Stages, but correlation with else­where, even the Cromerian Complex of the Netherlands,has been difficult and differentiation of the Pastonian andCromerian using pollen evidence, even within the BritishIsles, remain s problematic .

There is no clear environmental or stratigraphic evidenceto indicate precisely when and how the incision between thesand and gravel aggradations/ members took place, leadingto the abandonment of floodpl ains and the development ofa terrace, although the patterns of change are sufficientlyrepetitive for Bridgland & Allen ( 1996) to use terracestratigraphy from the KSG in eastern Essex as a model forterrace development.

7. PALAEOSOLS

Palaeosols have been identified on the surface of the KSGthroughout the region. Across large parts of the area, suchas in the Upper Thames, in the Middle Thames valley andin east Essex beyond the limit of the Anglian glaciation,relict pal aeosol s (Valentine & Dalrymple, 1976 ) aredeveloped on the terrace representing soil formation sincethe floodpla in was abandoned by the river (Rose et al.,1976; Rose & Allen, 1977; Kemp et al., 1993; Kemp &Faulkner, 1998). Further north in East Anglia the palaeosolsare buried by glaciogenic sediments (Fig. Id) and provide arecord of soil-forming process es over the time between theabandonment of the floodplain and glaciation in the AnglianStage. The soils were recognized on the basis of typicalpedological properties, includ ing horizonation determinedby colour, particle size distribution, clay and iron content,macroscopic and microscopic structures and changes insand and clay mineralogy, as well as the presence of smallamounts of organic matter and the association with wind­blown sediments (Rose & Allen, 1977; Rose, Boardman ,Kemp & Whiteman, 1985b; Kemp et al. , 1993).

Two soil types have been recogn ized: a complex argillicsoil, known as the Valley Farm Soil (Kemp, 1985a), formedpredominantly by temperate climate processes over variouslengths of Early and Middle Pleistocene time, and arelatively simple arctic soil, known as the Barham Soil(Rose, Allen , Kemp, Whiteman & Owen, I985a), formed ina periglacial climate during the latter part of the Cromerian

Interglacial and the early part of the Anglian glacial Stage,prior to overriding by the Anglian ice.

The Valley Farm Soil

Originally this was called the Valley Farm rubified sollessive by reference to analogous argillic soils in France(Rose et al., 1976; Rose & Allen, 1977), but this name hassince been abandoned because of variations in horizonationand textural properti es. Detailed studies of this soil (Kemp,1985a, 1987a, b; Kemp et al ., 1993; Kemp & Faulkner,1998; Whiteman, 1990: Whitem an & Kemp, 1990; Read ,1994) have shown that the upper part of the soil profile hasusually been removed by glacial erosion, deflation, particu­late movement by rainwash, or mass movement processes,but that the clay- and iron-oxide-enriched B horizon sur­vives having developed in KSG parent material. The iron­oxides present are predominantly goethite and haematite(Kemp, 1985b). The haematite gives the soil a distinctiv ered colour, and a possible palaeoclim atic significance, as itsformation is believed to be favoured by seasonally humidwarm-temperat e soil climates (Schwertmann & Taylor,1981). although other factors includ ing time, may haveplayed a significant role (Kemp, 1985b).

Micromorphological anal yses show evidence fortranslocation and accumulation of clays of different texture ,and complex patterns of disruption and accumulation sug­gesting sequential development by different soil-formingprocesses at different times (Kemp, 1984, 1987a, b; Kempet al., 1993: Kemp & Faulkner, 1998; Read, 1994). Thesemicrostratigraphic arrangements show that the Valley FarmSoil can be exceed ingly complex, having formed during anumb er of temp erate climatic episodes (not ju st theCromerian, as was originally sugges ted by Rose et al ., 1976and Rose & Allen, 1977 ), with disruption by cold-climatephysical stresses on a number of occasions.

The Valley Farm Soil forms a soil chronosequenc e(Huggett, 1998) across the 10 terrace surfaces of the KSGwith the potential to differentiate the terrace levels accord­ing to degree of soil development, as has been done else­wher e (Vreeken, 1975; Harden, Taylor, Holl, Mark ,McFadden, Reheis, Sowers & Wells, 1991: Kemp et al.,1993). This issue has been studied by Read (1994) usinghorizonation developm ent, soil micromorphology and theweathering offeldspar grains (Read et al., 1996). This workhas identified trends between soil complexity and age at thelevel of the lithostratigraphic format ions, with the soils onthe Sudbury Fm being thicker and more complex, whereasthose on the Colchester Fm are less well developed. This isexemplified most clearly by comparing the highly complexsoil at Great Blakenham (Kemp, 1987a) which is developedon the Beaconsfield Member/ terrace, with the relativelysimple soil at Ipswich Airport (Kemp, 1987b) which isdeveloped on the Waldringfield Member/ terrace. A similardifferentiation is indicated by the degree of weathering offeldspar grains (Read. 1994; Read et al.. 1996). However,the study has also demonstrated that fine resolution is onlypossible through a limited number of climatic cycles, and

Page 14: The Kesgrave Sands and Gravels: ‘pre-glacial’ Quaternary deposits of the River Thames in East Anglia and the Thames valley

106 J. ROSE ET AL.

that sequences of change within soil-forming processescannot be identified beyond two temperate-cold climaticcycles. Thus, the patterns of change recognized from theburied soil on the Waldringfield Terrace at Ipswich Airport(Kemp, 1987b) provide new evidence for climate changeduring the last stages of the formation of the KSG, but donot provide information about soil environments that extendback much before the glacial/interglacial/glacial sequencepreceding the site being overridden by the Anglian icesheet.

The Barham Soil

Originally this was called the Barham Arctic Structure Soilbecause of its dominant characteristics (Rose et al., 1976;Rose & Allen, 1977), but like the Valley Farm rubified sollessive this name has also been abandoned because of thediscovery of additional variations in form and structure.Detailed studies of this soil (Rose & Allen, 1977; Allen,1983, 1984; Rose et al., 1985b; Kemp, 1985a, 1987a, b;Whiteman & Kemp, 1990; Read, 1994; Murton, Whiteman& Allen, 1995) have shown that the soil is represented byproperties such as iron oxide staining, translocated silt andcoarse clay coatings, duplex textural lamellae features(banded fabric), disrupted clay coatings, fractured grainsand large-scale thermal contraction structures which aretypical of polar desert soils (Tedrow, 1978). Additionally,soil profiles with limited horizonation and significantamounts of organic carbon (0.17-1.58%) have also beenobserved and are typical of arctic brown soils (Bockheim,1978; Tedrow, 1978).

All of these soil properties are evidence of cold climatesoil formation. Some of the larger scale structures such asice-wedge casts, sand wedges and some involutions(Murton et al., 1995) are permafrost features, while otherstructures such as cryoturbations and banded fabric areformed in active layer environments. Both have palaeo­climatic significance. The largest of the ice-wedge casts(>4 m deep at Barham) and the nature of the parent materialsuggest mean annual temperatures in the order of -12°C(Price, 1972) and the sand wedges, with well-developedvertical laminations in the sand infill, suggest aridity. Activelayer processes extending to mean depths of 0.75 m indicatesubstantial summer melt and marked seasonality.

The Barham Soil, superimposed on the Valley Farm Soil,and unmodified other than by glacial deformation, isevidence of climatic conditions just prior to glacierizationof the region by Anglian ice. In northeast Norfolk, theBarham Soil is developed on late Cromerian and earlyAnglian fluvial sediments associated with local riveraggradation during the last stage in the development of theKSG (West, 1980; Rose et al., 1985b; Fish, Carr, Rose,Hamblin & Eissmann, 1997; Briant et al., in press). TheBarham Soil provides evidence 'for the period of mostsevere cold and regional aridity yet recognized in the BritishPleistocene' (Rose et al., 1985b, p. 226).

The Valley Farm and Barham palaeosols provide clearevidence of the surface of the KSG and the climatic

processes that operated while the KSG were beingdeposited, and in the case of the Valley Farm Soil,subsequent members of the KSG were deposited. Detailedinformation is restricted to the period of deposition of theyoungest members of the KSG, prior to the Anglianglaciation. In addition, the palaeosols provide clearevidence for a major break between the deposition of theKSG by the ancestral River Thames and the deposition ofthe Anglian glaciogenic sediments.

9. RELATIONSHIP WITH CONTEMPORANEOUSTRIBUTARY STREAMS

Distinctive assemblages of clast lithologies at certainlocations within the KSG provide evidence of relationshipswith contemporaneous tributary streams (Table 2). Theincreased frequency of Greensand chert in the regionsoutheast of Reading, around Ware in Hertfordshire, andaround Ongar, Chelmsford and Clacton in Essex is evidencefor the confluence of the ancestral Thames with theLodden-Blackwater tributaries (Gibbard, 1982, 1985), theMole-Wey tributaries (Gibbard, 1979) and the ancestralCray, Darent and Medway river systems (Gruhn, Bryan &Moss, 1974; Green et al., 1982; Bridgland, 1988a, 1994;Bridgland et al., 1988) respectively; all of which drained theregion of the Weald, south of the London Basin (Fig. Ibandc). Further north, Hey (1980), Clark & Auton (1982) andRose (1987, 1989; Rose et al., in press) recognized anincrease in the quartzite, vein-quartz, Carboniferous chertand Spilsby Sandstone content associated with theconfluence zone between the Bytham and Thames drainagesystems, and Lewis (1993) has established the equivalenceof terraces of the Thames and Bytham river systems. Innortheast Norfolk the KSG includes Rhaxella chert from theregion of the North York Moors and Carboniferous chertfrom the southern Pennines, reflecting an influx of sedimentfrom a hitherto uncharted 'Northern rivers' system (Green& McGregor, 1990; Rose et al. 1996b; Briant et al., inpress), and Green & McGregor (1990) have identified alithological unit with a mixed Thames-Bytham clastassemblage.

10. CONTEMPORANEOUS GLACIATION

The occurrence of lithologically distinctive acid volcanicporphyries, chloritic tuffs and banded rhyolites in the KSG(Hey & Brenchley, 1977; Hey, 1980; McGregor & Green,1978; Green et ai., 1982; Whiteman & Rose, 1992) has beeninterpreted as evidence for glaciation in the upper part of theancestral Thames catchment, and has been supported by theanomalously large size and angularity of these far-travelledclasts and the presence of glacially generated fractures onthe surface of sand grains (Hey, 1980). Many of the far­travelled rocks are lithologically distinctive and can betraced to particular source areas in Snowdonia and possiblythe Berwyn mountains (Fig. Ib) (Hey & Brenchley, 1977;Green et al., 1980; Whiteman, 1983, 1990; Bowen, Rose,McCabe & Sutherland, 1986; Whiteman & Rose, 1992),

Page 15: The Kesgrave Sands and Gravels: ‘pre-glacial’ Quaternary deposits of the River Thames in East Anglia and the Thames valley

T H E K E SG RAVE SAN D S AN D G RAVELS 107

Typically these clasts occur at the base of individualmembers and analyses of their frequencies have shown thatthey vary in abundance between different members of theKesgrave Group. The concentration at the base of the unitmay be explained by preferential transport by floe ice, andconcentration as a lag, between a phase of erosion whenriver energy generated by peak discharges exceeded sedi­ment load and the phase of sediment aggradation generatedby increased sediment supply ca used by continuedglaciation and periglaciation in the headwater regions of thecatchment. The varying frequencies of these far-travelledclasts in differe nt members have been considered to be anindicator of the effectiveness of particular glacial events(Hey, 1980, 1991; McGregor & Green, 1978; Green et al.,1982; Bowen et al., 1986) and have therefore been con­sidered as evidence for at least 10 glacial episodes duringthe Early and early Middle Pleistoc ene.

The occurrence of relatively high frequencies of thesefar-travelled lithologies in the Colchester Fm introduces aproblem as the ancestral Thames was restricted to thepresent catchment area and was no longer linked to theheadwater source regions, and such lithologies as the acidvolcanic rocks are not likely to survive re-working as theyweather relatively easily. To partly exp lain this problem ithas been suggested that lowland glaciation may havereached the area of the Cotswold Hills, and this suggestionis supported by the record of a diamicton in the area ofBruern Abbey (Hey, 1986; Whiteman & Rose. 1992). butthis is an issue that is in need of further research.

By lithostratigraphic defini tion the Anglian glaciationdoes not contribute to the formati on of the KSG, but it isinteresting to note that the mineralo gy of the coversand andloess associa ted with the Barham Soil indicates that thesesediments were derived primarily from Anglian glaciogenicsources (probably outwash).

11. CONTEMPORANEOUS SEA-LEVEL

The composition of the sands and gravels in northern EastAnglia, with a mixed assemblage of indicator lithologiesfrom Thames, Bytham and 'Northern Rivers' catchments,along with sedimentary structures indicative of tidal currentsedimentation (Rose et al., 1996b, Briant et al., in press)and marine Mollusca (Hey, 1976; West 1980) are indicativeof coas tal sedimentation during the deposition of theSudbu ry Fm. West (1980, table 41) record s marine depositsof this type reaching an elevation of between +3.4 m and-3.0 m in the region between Beeston and Pakefield. Theassociation with particular members of the Sudbury Fm isnot yet possible and the actual position of the shorelinebetween the river and coastal sediments has yet to beidentified, although it is likely to be in the region betweenBury St. Edmund s and Norwich (Rose et al., in press).These river and coas tal sedi ments represent thenorth western margin of the southern North Sea delta(Cameron, Crosby, Balson, Jeffery. Lon, Bulat & Harrison,1992; Funnell, 1987, 1990, 1996) and the associated off-

shore sediments are known as the Winterton Shoal andYarmouth Roads Fms.

Direct evidence of contemporaneous sea-level associatedwith the deposition of the Colchester Fm is also notavailable because the fluvial sediments extended beyond thepresent coastline in the region of Suffolk and Essex.although Gibbard, Boreham, Roe & Burger (J 996c) havelink ed the oldest member of the Maidenhead Fm(Asheldham Gravel) with the level of a proglacial lake inthe region of the southern North Sea, immediately after theformation of the Lower St Osyth Member of the ColchesterFm and during the maximum extension of the Angl ian icesheet. In north Norfolk , howe ver, the Cromer Forest-bedFm does provide evidence of sea-level and sea-levelchanges during the deposition of the Colchester Fm (West,1980, tables 36, 38 . 40) although again the specificrelation ship of these sediments to individual members of theColchester Fm is not established. It is also not yetestabli shed whether the fluviatile sediments in this regionare related to the large river catchments that are the subjectof this paper (Thames. Bytham, 'Northern Rivers' ), orwhether they are the lowland floodplains of small valleysdrainin g the adjacent Chalk escarpmen t. Nevertheless, thesea-levels at this time fluctuate around present level withsea-level during the Pastonian and Cromerian temperateclimates reaching 9.5 and 7.5 m a.D. respectively, and sea­level reaching 7.8 m a .D. during the cold Beestonianclimate. The offshore equivalent of these deposits is theYarmouth Roads Fm (Cameron et al., 1992).

12. CONTEMPORANEOUS AND POST­FORMATIONAL TECTONICS

There is no direct record of faulting of the KSG, but thedistr ibution, elevation and development of the sedimentmembers of the Kesgrave Group appear to provide clearevidence of deformation over their period of formation, andsubsequentl y. The separation of the KSG into separateaggrad ations (members) throughout the surviving ancestralcatchment has been proposed as evidence for uplift in theheadwat er regions of the present catchment with rates in theorder of 0.07 m ka- t (Maddy. 1997). It is argued that thisuplift is the consequence of 'Alpine orogenic movementsand eros ion driven isostasy' (Maddy, 1997, p. 539) and thisis in accord with a pattern of deform ation proposed byFunnell (1990) with a depo-centre focused on the VikingGraben in the southern North Sea (Cameron et al., 1992)and a subsidence rate of 0.15 m ka! in the region of themedian line with the Netherl ands.

The 'hinge line' for this deform ation runs roughly nonh­south then southeast from the region around Cromer to theregion around Felixstowe. Such a model clearly explains theincreasing gradients of the terraces of the ancestral Thamesshown on Fig. 4 and the ele vation of the sea-level indica torsin the Cromer region being relatively close to present-daysea-level. Additionally such a pattern represents a tectonictilt towards the east and explains the eastward migration of

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108 1. ROS E ET AL.

the ancestral River Thames in Eas t Ang lia with the pro­gressive eastw ard shift of the gravels/ terra ces of theSudbury Fm toward s the centre of deposition (Rose et al.,1976), although it is probable that this uniclinal shift wasenhanced by di fferential erosion of relatively so ft rockslocated on the eastern side of the ancestral Thames valley inEast Anglia (Bridgland, 1985). On the basis of thi s model,the Waldringfield Gra vell Terrace in the area of Ipswich isat its ori gin al level , the gravels/ terraces in the MiddleThames valley have been uplifted at a rate of about0.58 m ka" and support is provided for Hey' s (1980)suggestion of [limit ed] down warpin g in northe astern Eas tAng lia.

It is interest ing to note that properti es of the KSG co ntras twith tho se of the underlyin g Crag marine deposits in EastAnglia that are depo sited in structurally controlled basinsand are displaced and possibly di slocated by tectonic upliftand subsidence (Hamblin, Moorlock, Booth, Jeffrey &Morigi, 1997 ), If this difference is correct, then locallydifferentiated de formation int o basin and ridges thatocc urred during the marine sedimentation of the EarlyPlei stocen e wa s replaced by region ally uniform tiltin g in thelater Early Pleistocene through to the pre sent day.

13. STRATIGRAPHIC POSITION AND AGE OFTHE KESGRAVE SANDS AND GRAVELS

The stratigraphic position of the KSG has long-thwartedco nventional Quaternary str ati graphic re const ructions,probably because of the absence of diagnostic poll en strati­graphy. Indeed the period represent ed by the deposition ofthe KSG has been described or represented as a 'hiatus ' insome Briti sh Quatern ary stratigraphic schemes (Zagwijn,1975; Gibb ard et al., 1991 ) even thou gh the KSG forms themost substantial body of Quatern ary sorted sediment on theBriti sh land area . Howe ver, it is possible to establish thestratigraphic position of the sedime nt bod y with a degree ofco nfidence by co mparison with the widely accepted schemeder ived from the Netherlands (G ibbard et al., 1991 ), usingthe lithostrati graphic relati onships de scribed above.

Critically, the KSG overlie Baventian fossiliferous siltyclays at sites like Covehithe in Suffolk, and the Baventiansilty clays can be correlated with the Tiglian C4c of theNetherlands on the basis of the cold climate con ditionsrepres ented in both sub-stages . Addi tiona lly, this co ld eventocc urs after the dep osition of sediments with diagnos ticmolluscan (p resence of Macoma pra etenu is and Myaarenariai , rode nt (presence of Mimomys stanzendorfensisand the evolutionary stage of Mimomys pliocaenicus) andplant taxa (occ urrence of Tsuga sp. and Azalia tegeliensisi(Gibbard et al., 1996b) cha rac teris tic of Tigli an C3(Gi bbard, Allen, Fie ld & Hall am, 1991 ). Th e upperboundary of the KSG is defined by overlying glac iogenicsediments of Anglian age (Barh am loess and co versand,Barham Sands and Gravels, North Sea Drift till s, LowestoftTill ) at a large number of site s throughout the region . Theseboundaries are reinforced by the occurrence of po llenassemblages from marine deposits associ ated with the

Sudbury Fm in east Suffo lk and Norfolk ascribed to the pre­Pastonian Substages (West, 1980 ), and po llen assemblagesfro m marine dep osits o f the Cro mer Fores t-bed Fm inNorfo lk (West , 1980 ) and flu viatile deposits of theColchester Fm in Essex (Bridgland, 1988a, 1994; Br idglandet al. , 1988, 1990 ; Gibbard et al., 1996a) and Oxfordshire(Briggs et al. , 1975 ; Shotton et al.. 1980) that havesimilarities with the pollen assemblages of the CromerianComplex of the Neth erl ands (Zagwijn, 1996).

The boundary between the Sudbury and Colch ester Fm sis not observed in section as it is associated with an inci siveand sometimes off-lapping se dime nt/terrace seq uence.Cr itically, the boundary between the two form ations isdem on strated by the geomorpho log ica l position of theByth am sands and grave ls in the Vale of Evesh am below theCotswold escarpment , which had bee n eroded after theTh am es catchment had been truncated, and the Sudbury Fmhad ceased to form (Ros e, 1994; Whiteman & Rose, 1997 ).Th e Bytham sand s and gravels in this area (Baginton Fm)ha ve been ascribed to depo sition du ring the latter part of theCro me rian Complex on the basis of small verte brate andmolluscan faun a and am ino-aci d geoc hrono logy (Shotton,Keen , Co ope , Currant, Gibb ard , Aalto, Peglar & Robinson ,1993).

On the basis of the ev ide nce descr ibed above. theSudbury Fm of the Kesgrave Group is considered to haveformed during pre-P astonian a nd Pastonian St agesaccord ing to the British scheme (note that the Britishscheme is incomplete), equivalent to the Tiglian C5-6,Eburonian, Waali an , Menapian and Bavelian o f th eNetherl ands and bet ween DIS 65 and 22 of the marineisotope stratigraphy (Funnell, 1995 ). On the basis of thesame ev ide nce, the Co lches ter Fm is co nsidered to haveformed during the Beestoni an and Cromerian of the Briti shscheme and the Cro merian Complex of the Netherl and s.which is betw een DIS 2 1 and early 12 of the marine isotopestrat ig raphy. In terms of the ca lib ra te d timescal e ofSh ackl eton , Berger & Pelti er ( 1990) , the Sudbury Fmformed between 1.81 Ma and 0.86 Ma, and the Colcheste rFm between 0 .86 Ma and 0.46 Ma (F unnell, 1995).

14. CONCLUSIONS

I. Th e Kesgrave Sand s and Gr avels are the flu viatil edeposits of the ances tra l River Thames .

2. Sha llow offshore mar ine deposits in northeast Norfolkare correlated with the KSG, having been formed ofsediment primaril y transport ed to the area by theancestral River Th ames.

3. Th e KSG are lithostratigraph ically distinctive, be ingchar acterized by high frequencies of far-tra velled clastsin contrast to earlier deposits without the high fre­quencies of these clasts and late r deposits that co ntainlithologies derived from the An gli an glaciation.

4 . The Sudbury Fm was formed by the River Th ameswh en its cat chm ent extended into the west Mid land sand Wales, and is defined lithostr atigraphically by highfrequencies of whi te/ colourless quartzite and vein-

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T HE KESG RAV E S ANDS AND GRAVELS 109

quartz, and low frequencies of quartzi te relative tovein-quartz and low frequ encies of flint relative toquartz ite + vein-quartz.

5. The Colchester Fm was formed by the River Th ame swhen its ca tchment had been trun cated and wascontained within an area roughly similar to the presentwat ershed. Lithostratigraphi cally it is characterized byhigh freque ncies of coloured quart zite and vein-quartzand high frequencies of quart zite relative to vein-quart zand high frequencies of flint relative to quartzite +vein-quartz .

6. The KSG are tilted by upl ift toward s the head of thecatchment and subsidence to the North Sea with ahin ge zo ne extending rou ghl y north-south fromCromer to Felixstowe. Upli ft is respon sible forseparating the individual aggradation! terrace levels.

7. The KSG are formed predominantly by periglacialrive rs supplied by glaciation in the headwater regions,with eac h aggradation! member rep rese nting a coldstage or stages.

8. The KSG include temperate clima te deposits but theseare very limited in extent and appear to be associ atedwith single-channel rath er than multi- channel riverac tiv ity.

9. Palaeosol s are preserved on the surfaces of the KSGprovidi ng integrit y for the recogn ition of the terracesurfaces and pro viding a chronosequence . The mostcomplex soils developed on the Sud bury Fm and theleast co mplex soils on the Co lchester Fm.

10. Links ca n be establish ed wi th tribu tary sys temsthro ugh charac teristic clast lithologies, and in the caseof the Bytham river through correlation of the terraces.

II. Onl y very tentat ive link s ca n be established withco ntempora neous sea-level due to the effec ts of post­fo rma tio na l deformation and erosion of critical

evidence in the region now covered by the North Sea.Co nte mpo ra neo us sha llow marine de posi ts wereformed in northern East Anglia during the form ation ofthe Sudbury Fm and sea -level appears to havefluctuated arou nd the pre sent level at least for part ofthe time when the Co lchester Fm was being deposited.

12. The Sudbury Fm formed over the period betweenTiglian C4c and the end of the Bavelian, acco rding tothe Nether lands chro nostratigraphy, whic h equateswith OIS 65-22 ex tendi ng from 1.81-0.86 Ma BP. Th eColches te r Fm for med over the period of theCro mer ian Complex whi ch equates with O IS 2 1-1 2,ex tendi ng from 0.86-0.46 Ma BP.

13. The cl imatic system that forced the deve lopment of theKSG is predominantly the 44 ka, moderate amplitude,moderate duration cycles that stimulated mountainglaciation in temperate latitudes, although in the laterstages 100 ka high amplitude, long dur ation cycles mayhave stimulated larger-scale glaciation .

14. The Anglian glac iation of lowl and Britain irreversiblyaltered the catchment of the ance stral Thames and theKSG ceased to be deposited.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Th is paper is ded icated to Richard Hey as an appreciation ofthe stimulus give n to the authors, and the great pleasure ofhis company, at hom e, in his office and in the field. Also ,most sincere thanks are expressed to Brian Moorlock andRichard Hamblin who have stimulated many of the recentdevelopm ent s about the understandi ng of the KesgraveSands and Grave ls and to Ch ris Green and Dun canMcGregor who have pro vided challengi ng discussio ns andco-operation ove r a grea t man y years.

APPENDIX 1

Sites at which Kesgrave Sands and Gravels have been identified

100 Grid ref. Site Site Borehole Height Palaeosol Depositional Citationkm2 no. name (E) or (m above at surface process *grid Exposure ODfor (YIN)

(E) top of unit )

TG 377 197 0] How Hill E >07 Ni39046 02 Caistor SI Edmund E 25 Y

204028 03 Swa rdeston E209064 04 Eaton E234 130 05 Catton E267076 06 Whitlingham E193 432 07 West Runton E169434 08 Beeston Regis E273405 09 Sidestrand E137435 10 Sheringham E141 435 I I Sheringham E151435 12 Sheringham E

M Rose et al., 1996bM+R Hey, 1980; Postma & Hodson,

1988Hey, 1980Hey, 1980Hey, ]980Hey, 1980

M Green & McGregor. 1990M Hey, 1976M Green & McGregor, 1990M Green & McGregor, 1990M Green & McGregor, 1990M Green & McGregor, 1990

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110 J. ROSE ET AL.

Appendix 1 continued

100 Grid ref. Site Site Borehole Height Palaeosol Depositional Citationkm2 no. name (B) or (m above at surface process*grid Exposure OD for (YIN)

(E) top of unit)

246174 13 Frettenham E CPG pers. obs.246208 14 Coltishall E CPG pers. obs.238047 15 Caistor St Edmund E CPG pers. obs.248 104 16 Norwich E CPG pers. obs.277 391- 17 Trimingham E >06 N M Briant et al., in press274-393

TL 641361 01 Great Sampford E c. 76 Y W Hey, 1980; Read, 1994520218 02 Birchanger E N R Hey, 1980871 357 03 Alphamstone E 58 Y R Rose et al., 1976; Hey, 1980932432 04 Edwardstone E 53 Y R Rose et al., 1976; Read, 1994529309 06 Widdington E >95 Y W Rose et al., 1976671 233 07 Stebbing E Y R Whiteman, 1983;

Whiteman & Kemp, 1990.442267 08 Furneux Pelham E N R Hey, 1983422215 09 Westland Green E R Hey, 1965; Whiteman, 1992995693 13 Badwell Ash E 44 Y R Rose et al., 1976; Hey, 1980;

Allen, 1984988686 14 Badwell Ash E N R Allen, 1984; JR pers. obs.956627 15 Tostock E 50 Y R Rose et al., 1976536072 16 Moreton E 60 Y R Rose et al., 1976563024 17 Hallsford E N R Rose et al., 1976647064 18 Newney Green E 58 Y R Rose et al., 1976; Read, 1994;

Bridgland, 1994656064 19 Twitch Cross E >60 N R Rose et al., 1976662093 20 Roxwell E N R JR pers. obs.687 117 21 Great Waltham E 50 Y R Rose et al., 1976;

Whiteman, 1983, 1990685 124 22 Great Waltham E Y R Read, 1994718107 23 Broomfield E 50 Y R Rose et al., 1976; Whiteman,

1990722113 24 Broomfield E 50 Y R Rose et al., 1976; Whiteman,

1990724117 25 Broomfield E Y R JR pers. obs.082 116 26 Hatfield Peveril E 35 Y R Rose et al., 1976; Whiteman,

1990789321 27 Cutmaple E c. 80 Y W JR pers. obs.774318 28 Gosfield B Y JR pers obs817 215 29 Coggeshall E N R JR pers. obs.815208 30 Bradwell E N R JR pers. obs.733 193 31 Show Ground B N JR pers. obs.741 287 32 Beazley End E 80 Y Rose et al., 1976; Hey, 1980772 283 33 Shalford E Rose et al., 1976; Hey, 1980896342 34 Bures E R JR pers. obs.945235 35 Stanway E 35 Y R Rose et al., 1976944229 36 Stanway E R JR pers. obs.953226 37 Stanway E R JR pers. obs.928 196 38 Birch E 40 Y R Rose et al., 1976881 162 39 Tiptree E 61 Y R Rose et al., 1976750613 40 Denham E 90 Y W Rose et al., 1976; JR pers. obs.891626 41 Rushbrooke B BGS - IMAU

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THE KESGRAVE SANDS AND GRAVELS III

Appendix 1 continued

100 Grid ref. Site Site Borehole Height Palaeosol Depositional Citationkm2 no. name (B) or (m above at surface process*grid Exposure ODfor (YIN)

(E) top of unit)

896626 42 Blackthorpe B BGS - IMAU886606 43 Rushbrooke B Bridgland & Lewis, 1991620215 44 Great Dunmow E Hey, 1980651274 45 Lindsel1 E Hey, 1980773333 46 Sible Hedingham E Hey, 1980873635 47 Bury St. Edmunds E Hey, 1980987483 48 Chelsworth E Hey, 1980472219 49 Bishop's Stortford E Hey, 1965; Whiteman, 1992988688 50 Badwel1 Ash E CPG pers. obs.683 122 51 Great Waltham E 50 Y R JR pers. obs.

TM 059596 01 Stowmarket E N JR pers. obs.134513 02 Barham E 42 Y R Rose et al., 1976; Allen, 1984135 SIS 03 Barham E 42 Y R JR pers. obs.; Hey, 1980129482 04 Bramford E Y BGS guide; Hey, 1980; Al1en,

1984095526 05 Darmsden E N R Al1en 1984; JR pers. obs.111503 06 Great Blakenham E 53 Y W Rose et al., 1976; Allen, 1984;

Kemp 1987b; Allen, 1988031445 07 Hadleigh E N R JR pers. obs.013399 08 Layham E Y JR pers. obs.116434 09 Valley Farm E 41 Y R Rose et al., 1976; Rose & Allen,

1977; Hey, 1980; Allen, 1984245465 10 Marlesham E N R JR pers. obs.260448 II Waldringfield E 24 Y R Rose et al., 1976; Al1en, 1984227464 12 Kesgrave E 26 Y R Rose et al., 1976; Allen, 1984049284 13 Ardleigh E 35 Y R Rose et aI., 1976055283 14 Ardleigh E R Bridgland, 1994047229 IS Wivenhoe E 30 Y R Rose et al., 1976; Bridgland,

1994036198 16 Fingringhoe E N R Rose et al., 1976059206 17 Arlesford E 23 Y R Rose et al., 1976123 170 18 St. Osyth, E c. 18 Y R Rose, 1986

WellwickFm117172 19 St. Osyth E N R Rose et al., 1976191216 20 Thorpe Ie Soken E 25 Y R Rose et al., 1976187409 21 Ipswich E Y Kemp, 1987a; Allen, 1984

248383 22 Levington Marina E N JR pers. obs.203 751 23 Denham B N BGS - IMAU239759 24 Wingfield Hall B Y BGS - IMAU256787 25 Fressingfield B Y BGS - IMAU203 809 26 Brockdish B N BGS -IMAU525 812 27 Covehithe E N R JR pers. obs.526815 28 Covehithe E Y R JR pers. obs.528818 29 Covehithe E N R JRI PA pers. obs.311 941 30 Hedenham B Y BGS - IMAU318921 31 Ditchingham B Y BGS - IMAU326942 32 Thwaite St. Mary B Y BGS -IMAU

053592 33 Stowmarket E Hey, 1980

061 536 34 Battisford E Hey, 1980

095555 35 Creeting E Hey 1980; Al1en, 1984

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J . ROS E E T A L.112

Appendix 1 continued

100 Grid ref. Site Sitekm2 no. namegrid

194492 36 Tuddenham348692 37 Peasenhall238438 38 Foxhall Heath270 378 39 Trimley2 18288 40 Little Oakley07 1 187 41 Moverons

405 776 42 Holton438 872 43 Ellough427 932 44 Waterloo295864 45 Hi xton446 965 46 Haddiscoe410 767 47 Wenhaston405 773 48 Holton040388 49 Lower Raydon422 728 50 Thorrington05 1 232 5 1 Wivenhoe182 974 52 Flordon

Borehole(B) orExposure(E)

EEEEEE

EEEEEEEEEEE

Height(m aboveOD fortop of unit )

Palaeosolat surface(YIN )

Y

Depositionalprocess *

Citation

Hey 1980Hey 1980Allen 1984; Whiteman, 1992Allen 1984; Whiteman, 1992Whiteman, 1990, 1992Bridgland, 1988; Whiteman ,

1992CPG pers. obs.CPG pers . obs.CPG pers . obs.CPG pers. obs.CPG pers. obs.CPG pers . obs.RWH pers. obs.Hey, 1980JMS pers. obs.Kemp & Faulkner, 1998Hey 1980

*River (R). Marine (M). Indeterminate/weathered (W).Pers. obs. =personal observation (unpublished). ePG =CP Green. JR =J. Rose. JMS =J.M. Sinclair, RWH =R.W. Hey, BGS - IMA U =British GeologicalSurvey, Industrial Mineral Assessment Unit. These resu lts are covered in the IMA U Report covering the National Grid location concerned.c. = estimated height. all other heights have been surveyed into Ordnance Datum . ;

APPENDIX 2

Palaeocurrent measurements in Kesgrave Sands and Gravels

100 Grid ref. Site Site Moda l Number of Depositional Citationkm2 no. name directions obser vations process* or operatorgrid

TG 377 197 01 How Hill 330° & 1700 24 M Rose et al., 1996267 076 06 Whitlingham c. 020° Hey, 1980277 391- 17 Trimingham 0050 & 12SO 32 M Brian t et al. , in press274-393

TL 52021 8 02 Birchanger c.015° Hey, 19805202 18 02 Birchan ger 070 0 04 R JR, pers. obs.871 357 03 Alphamstone c. 060° Hey, 1980932 432 04 Edwardstone 040° 02 R JR, pers. obs.67 1 233 07 Stebbin g 045° 04 R Whiteman & Kemp, 199067 1 233 07 Stebbin g 170° 06 R Whiteman & Kemp, 1990671 233 07 Stebbing 1300 17 R Whiteman & Kemp, 1990995693 13 Badwell Ash 0750 49 R Rose & Allen, 1977988686 14 Badwell Ash 3450 11 R JR pers. obs.536 072 16 Moreton 1600 03 R JR pers. obs.563024 17 Hallsford 11 0° 03 R JR pers. obs.647064 18 Newney Green 1050 48 R JR & PA pers. obs.662093 20 Roxwell 1350 0 1 R JR pers. obs.687 117 2 1 Great Waltham 0600 59 R Whiteman, 1983

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THE KESGRAVE SANDS AND GRAVELS 113

Appendix 2 continued

100 Grid ref. Site Site Modal Number of Depositional Citationkm2 no. name directions observations process* or operatorgrid

722113 24 Broomfield 080° 47 R Whiteman, 1990082116 26 Hatfield Peveril 090° 53 R Whiteman, 1990896342 34 Bures c. 075° Hey, 1980928196 38 Birch 100° 04 R JR pers. obs.

TM 134513 02 Barham 010° 46 R Rose & Allen, 1977129482 04 Bramford c.030° Hey, 1980116434 09 Valley Farm 050° 50 R Rose & Allen, 1977245465 10 Marlesham 110° 12 R JR & CAW pers. obs.260448 II Waldringfield 070° 50 R Rose & Allen, 1977227464 12 Kesgrave 020° 50 R Rose & Allen, 1977049284 13 Ardleigh 015° 13 R JR pers. obs.055283 14 Ardleigh 047° 35 R Bridgland, 1994036198 16 Fingringhoe 135° 03 R JR pers. obs.059206 17 Arlesford 120° 02 R JR pers. obs.123 170 18 St. Osyth, 140° 13 R JR pers. obs.

WellwickFm526815 28 Covehithe 020° II R JR pers. obs.095555 35 Creeting c.070° Hey, 1980

*Marine (M),River(R)Pers. obs. = personal observation (unpublished), JR = J. Rose,PA= P.Allen,CAW= CA. Whiteman.

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-- 1988a. The Pleistocene fluvial stratigraphy and palaeo­geography of Essex. Proceedings ofthe Geologists' Association,99,291-314.

-- 1988b. The Quaternary derivation of quartzites used byPalaeolithic Man in the Thames Basin for tool manufacture. In:Non-flint stone tools and the occupation of Britain. BritishArchaeological Report. British Series, 189, 187-198.

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Manuscript received 4 January 1999; revised typescript accepted 1 February 1999.