Cheviot Quarry 2 – Sediment Coring

A sediment core after extraction showing fine grained sediment to the right and coarse grained sediment to the left. © Copyright ARS Ltd 2018
A petrol-driven percussion corer is used to remove sediment for analysis. © Copyright ARS Ltd 2018
The River Tweed. © Copyright ARS Ltd 2018

Sediment coring is a useful technique used by archaeologists to recover evidence for past vegetation and land use. Sediments can tell us a lot about a site without having to strip back the ploughsoil. A steel rod with a chamber, known as an auger, is driven into the ground and a column of the sediment removed for analysis.

A sediment core was taken at the south end of Cheviot Quarry 2 close to the River Glen. Once the core was extracted it was cleaned, photographed and the organic sediments analysed. Some material from the cores was also suitable for Radiocarbon Dating. The dates that were gained range from the Late Neolithic, around 2500 BC, and extend through to the Late Iron Age at around 200 BC.

For more information about the results of the Cheviot 2 sediment core see the Cheviot Quarry 2 Pollen Analysis Report.

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