Middle Pleistocene Hoxnian Stage interglacial deposits at Hitchin, Hertfordshire, England

Abstract

Interglacial lake deposits resting on till and glaciofluvial gravels, and overlain by ‘brickearth’ 1 km south of Hitchin town centres are correlated with the Hoxnian Stage. These deposits are shown to be equivalent to those oreviously described by Clement Reid at the turn of the century. The sediments fill a basin-like depression or depressions that may have originated as a kettle-hole. The inorganic character of the sediments suggests that the basin may have been fed by a stream. The basal part of the deposit formed under late-glacial conditions indicated by Hippophae and Betula scrub. The upper part of the deposit represents the development of thermophilous woodland. Vertebrate remains and Palaeolithic artefacts associated with the sediments are discussed. Later infill of the basin by ‘brickearth’ probably took place under a periglacial climate. In common with many other Hoxnian sites in Hertfordshire, the sequence records only part of the interglacial. Such incomplete sequences have been attributed to climatic variation in water supply through the period.