Important geological sequence record TQ 96 NW 1180 - Mid Neolithic alluvium containing paleoenvironmental evidence, land at Kemsley Fields, Kemsley

Middle Neolithic alluvium containing paleoenvironmental evidence was identified during a borehole survey on land at Kemsley Fields, Kemsley in 2023. Analysis of material from 15 samples taken from a single borehole was carried out to understand the environmental conditions during the Holocene. The alluvium was dated to the mid-Neolithic period, with the uppermost sample dated to between 3340-3030 BC. (1, 2)

The alluvium formed in a backswamp or abandoned channel within a saltmarsh, potentially as a result of rising sea levels during this time. "The combined results of the paleoenvironmental assessment are consistent with a tidally influenced, brackish environment within a saltmarsh, likely with areas of freshwater and dryland within the wider area. The local vegetation is characterised by the goosefoot family, sea arrowgrass, thrift/sea lavender and sea plantain… A minor freshwater input is associated with alder, pondweed and bur-reed, and likely reflect local small pools across the Site. The dryland environment during the accumulation of organic alluvium was characterised by mixed woodland, dominated by oak, lime and hazel, consistent with a Middle Neolithic date for the deposits. A small decrease in oak pollen within the sequence could be indicative of human-driven deforestation, but there were no further indicators of human activity (e.g. cereal pollen or charcoal) within the sequence" (from the original report, 1).

<1> RPS Group, 2024, Palaeoenvironmental Evaluation, Land at Kemsley Fields, Kemsley, Sittingbourne, Kent (Unpublished document). SKE57381.

<2> Wessex Archaeology Ltd, 2023, Land At Kemsley Fields, Kemsley, Sittingbourne, Geoarchaeological Borehole Survey And Deposit Modelling (Unpublished document). SKE56601.