Synopses & Reviews
The sands and gravels laid down by rivers contain perhaps the most important archives of the Ice Age that we possess, in the form of sediments, fossils and human artefacts. Quarrying opens up these archives. It enables Ice Age climates, environments, plants and animals to be reconstructed in remarkable detail. It shines a light on human evolution. However, quarrying is also destructive. Only if we know what to look for, and make a positive effort to adequately record and recover what is found, can the benefits of quarrying for research into the Ice Age be realised. This handbook, packed with practical information, and with more than 140 illustrations, contains full guidance on working in British quarries, what to look out for and what it can tell us, and how to record sites and finds.
Synopsis
For over a hundred years, sand and gravel quarrying has been of enormous benefit to geology, palaeontology and archaeology - quarries have been the main source of Ice Age fossils and finds. It is because of deep excavations into Ice Age sediments that the geological sequences, the fossil remains of plants and animals, and the stone tools of Britain's earliest human inhabitants have come to light. This handbook, packed with practical information and guidance is written for all charged with caring for the natural and historic environment, geologists and archaeologists and anybody with an interest in our past and future, and not least those working in the quarry industry.