Invertebrate remains from excavations at Low Hauxley, Northumberland (site code: LH94): an assessment (original) (raw)

Summary Marine erosion of dunes at Low Hauxley, Northumberland, has revealed an extensive humic horizon interpreted as a buried soil. This passes laterally into waterlain peats and muds in places and is associated with Bronze Age, and tentatively identified Mesolithic, human activity, Fifteen of the forty General Biological Analysis (GBA) samples submitted to the EAU, representing different areas of the site, have been analysed for invertebrates. A substantial proportion contained appreciable numbers of insect and other invertebrate remains, sufficiently well-preserved for identification. From the assemblages as a whole, the fauna consisted of a mixture of aquatic and terrestrial species. The former will provide a definition of the nature of the depositional basin, with a guide to water quality. The terrestrial species, if recovered in sufficiently large numbers, will allow reconstruction of vegetation and land-use (if any) of nearby 'dry land'. The molluscs from spot sample...