Abstract The use of soil evidence to identify an unknown location is a powerful tool to determine the provenance of an item in an investigation. We are particularly interested in the use of these indicators in nuclear forensic cases, whereby identification of locations associated with, for example, a smuggled nuclear material, may be used to indicate the provenance of a find. The use of soil evidence to identify an unknown location relies on understanding and predicting how soils vary in composition depending on their geological/geographical setting. In this study, compositional links between the mineralogy of 40 soils and the underlying bedrock geology, as documented in local-scale geological maps, were established. The soil samples were collected from locations with broadly similar climate and land use across a range of geological settings in a ‘test bed’ 3500 km 2 area of SW England. In this region, the soils formed through chemical weathering of the bedrock, representing a worst case scenario for this type of forensic geolocation owing to the high degree of alteration of the parent rock during soil formation. The mineralogy was quantified using automated scanning electron microscopy–energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry analysis based on QEMSCAN technology. Soil mineralogy and texture as measured using this technique are consistent with the underlying geology as indicated by regional-scale geological mapping. Furthermore, differences between individual units of the same bedrock lithology, such as different granites, were identified by examining trace mineralogical signatures. From an investigative viewpoint, this demonstrated that rapid automated mineral profiling of soil samples could be used, in conjunction with readily available geological mapping or similar datasets, to provide indication of the areas from which a soil sample of unknown origin could, or could not, have been sourced.

Abstract The largest UNESCO World Heritage Site in the UK is found in Cornwall and west Devon, and its designation is based specifically on its heritage for metalliferous mining, especially tin, copper and arsenic. With a history of over 2000 years of mining, SW England is exceptional in the nature and extent of its mining landscape. The mining for metallic ores, and more recently for kaolin, is a function of the distinctive geology of the region. The mining hazards that are encountered in areas of metallic mines are a function of: the Paleozoic rocks; the predominant steeply dipping nature of mineral veins and consequent shaft mining; the great depth and complexity of some of the mines; the waste derived from processing metallic ores; the long history of exploitation; and the contamination associated with various by-products of primary ore-processing, refining and smelting, notably arsenic. The hazards associated with kaolin mining are mainly related to the volume of the inert waste products and the need to maintain stable spoil tips, and the depth of the various tailings’ ponds and pits. The extent of mining in Cornwall and Devon has resulted in the counties being leaders in mining heritage preservation and the treatment and remediation of mining-related hazards.

Abstract In the summer of 1794 William George Maton, together with his friends Charles Hatchett and Thomas Rackett, embarked on a tour into Cornwall visiting the more southerly parts of Dorset and Devon en route . Rackett and Maton completed a second tour two years later, covering the rest of Dorset and Devon together with Somerset. An account of the tours was subsequently published by Maton, providing a contemporary description of SW England during the latter part of the eighteenth century. This was perhaps the first description of the region by scientifically aware travellers. They explored valleys, descended mines, visited smelters and collected minerals and must be regarded as among the earliest geotourists. Many sites which they visited, such as Roche Rock in Cornwall, Kent’s Cavern in Devon and Wookey Hole in Somerset, became major attractions for geoscientists in the following centuries. Discussions in the text suggest that the travellers looked at the rocks with neptunist eyes. Maton summarized the geological and mineralogical references on a map which used shading with lines rather than colour to differentiate individual strata. Although rudimentary and inaccurate, the map is of considerable historic importance.

In Britain, the majority of Lower and Middle Paleolithic archaeological finds come from river terrace deposits. The impressive “staircase” terrace sequences of southeast England, and research facilitated by aggregate extraction have provided a considerable body of knowledge about the terrace chronology and associated archaeology in that area. Such research has been essential in considering rates of uplift, climatic cycles, archaeological chronologies, and the landscapes in which hominins lived. It has also promoted the view that southeast England was a major hominin route into Britain. By contrast, the terrace deposits of the southwest have been little studied. The Palaeolithic Rivers of South West Britain (PRoSWEB) project employed a range of geoarchaeological methodologies to address similar questions at different scales, focusing on the rivers Exe, Axe, Otter, and the paleo-Doniford, all of which were located south of the maximum Pleistocene glacial limit (marine oxygen isotope stage [MIS] 4–2). Preliminary analysis of the fieldwork results suggests that although the evolution of these catchments is complex, most conform to a standard staircase-type model, with the exception of the Axe, and, to a lesser extent, the paleo-Doniford, which are anomalous. Although the terrace deposits are less extensive than in southeast Britain, differentiation between terraces does exist, and new dates show that some of these terraces are of great antiquity (MIS 10+). The project also reexamined the distribution of artifacts in the region and confirms the distributional bias to the river valleys, and particularly the rivers draining southward to the paleo–Channel River system. This distribution is consistent with a model of periodic occupation of the British peninsula along and up the major river valleys from the paleo–Channel River corridor. These data have a direct impact on our understanding of the paleolandscapes of the southwest region, and therefore our interpretations of the Paleolithic occupation of the edge of the continental landmass.

Underlying all archaeological investigations in riverine environments, there needs to be as full an understanding as possible of the history of the fluvial system in question because fluvial history influences taphonomy and archaeology. Detailed investigation of five sites on the Holocene floodplain of the Exe River, southwest England, has extended our knowledge of channel change and fluvial sedimentation in this area. New dating from optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) has been combined with previous radiocarbon dates from the Upper and Lower Exe, and the resulting chronology is in approximate agreement with the phases of fluvial change described from southern Britain that appear to relate to Holocene climate shifts. Over the mid–late Holocene, avulsion and reoccupation of former channels have occurred, while in historic time, channel systems have been relatively stable, with some oscillation around channel bars or islands. The recognition of this change in channel behavior in the very late Holocene at a classic site has solved what had been a “floodplain paradox”—a contradiction between the rates of historical channel lateral migration and archaeology found on, and in, UK floodplains. The reoccupation of former channels allows lateral deposits to be stacked and is part of floodplain aggradation by overbank and bed sedimentation. This has significant implications for the preservation of archaeological material, including artifacts. Mesolithic artifacts have been found on the valley floors within the Exe catchment; their preservation has, to a large extent, been controlled by the style of Late Glacial and Holocene floodplain development.

Abstract The delineation of lineations, natural linear features on imagery that represent fractures, is a particularly difficult task in areas that have long human histories. Man-made linear features may also be visible and can either lead to erroneous interpretations or assist the interpreter to correctly identify the lineations. It is thus often useful to obtain information about the history and culture of an area, particularly if human occupancy has occurred over millennia. Dartmoor in southwest England has a human history dating from at least 4000 B.C., and examples from this region are used to illustrate the impact of past human activity on the interpretation of lineations on aerial photography. Bronze Age field boundaries (reaves) extend for great distances across the landscape, and unless one knew such features existed, they would surely be interpreted as natural linear features. Reaves are long, linear, and often parallel, and tend to cross the landscape in the same manner as lineations, regardless of the terrain. Features associated with the long mining history on Dartmoor also affect the interpretation of linear features. Surface mining of stream gravels inhibits the use of stream courses as indicators of lineations and also affects the use of valley boundaries. Linear surface excavations and rows of shafts, on the other hand, can often be used as indicators of lineations. Skill and experience are thus required to accurately interpret lineations; the greater the skill, experience, and knowledge of the human history of the area, the more complete and accurate the delineation will be.