PATTERNS IN THE GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION OF THE EARLY FLANDRIAN CORYLUS RISE IN SOUTHWEST SCOTLAND

Abstract

SummaryThe timing of the early Flandrian Corylus rise in southwest Scotland is discussed, with reference to radiocarbon dates from nine sites. These sites cover a range of geomorphological regions and sediment types.The Corylus rise on the mainland of southwest Scotland appears to have occurred with some degree of synchroneity over a wide area at around 9200 to 9300 radiocarbon years before present. However, two dates from the island of Arran in the Firth of Clyde are considerably younger, and the Corylus rise on Arran appears to have occurred approximately half a millenium later than on the surrounding mainland. This is explicable in terms of the relative isolation of Arran from the mainland; the surrounding deep‐water troughs effectively halted the migration of Corylus. The later, apparently ‘normal’Corylus rise on Arran may relate to Mesolithic human activity. A similar, but shorter interval separates the date of the late Corylus rise on the island of Mull from that of the Corylus rise on the surrounding mainland.