Possible evidence for large scale ploughing in the Late Bronze Age, Pilgrim's Lock, near Bidford-on-Avon

1 A geomorphological study of a 5.25m section during the construction of the lock recorded a reddish-buff clay. This was interpreted as potentially representing a change in agricultural practice, such as the advent of ploughing on a large scale. A number of radiocarbon dates were obtained from organic constituents of associated deposits. This produced a date for the end of silt sedimentation of 2600 yrs BP (in the Late Bronze Age). The author suggests that the onset of alluviation, producing the red clay, happened soon after and was related to widescale changes in agricultural practices at this time. It is acknowledged that this requires further substantiation from other sections. Also contains details of snails present. Radiocarbon dates.
2Quotes 1; ‘evidence collected by Shotton may indicate that intensive cultivation at this time resulted in heavy soil erosion causing the build up of sediment in the valleys’.