Log boats, wooden structures, peat and palaeochannels, the challenges and opportunities afforded by decadal monitoring of an active quarry: A case study from Shardlow quarry, Middle Trent Valley, UK

Abstract

The River Trent, UK, is renowned for a rich palimpsest of alluvial archaeological remains buried within the Holocene sands and gravels of the valley floor. Since the late 1990's extraction of these postglacial deposits at Shardlow quarry in the middle reach of the valley, close to the confluence of the River Trent and River Derwent, has been investigated and monitored on a weekly basis by a project team including geoarchaeologists. Such monitoring of large exposures of floodplain sand and gravel and adjacent Pleistocene terrace deposits, initially by volunteer activity, but latterly, funded by the aggregate company under a formal planning agreement, has revealed significant alluvial archaeological remains including two logboats, a possible brushwood platform, several fish weirs and organic-rich palaeochannel deposits. This paper provides a summary of the wealth of this resource, but also reflects on the challenges of undertaking geoarchaeological studies in complex alluvial environments over such an extended time period. It concludes by providing advice for best practice that could be applied to other long term studies within similar environments.