Palynological investigations at hallowell moss near witton gilbert, Durham a history of man's impact on vegetation

Abstract

Hallowe11 Moss, near Durham, contains a continuous pollen record from about 3,700 B.C. until, probably, the present day. Having studied the history of the area, an attempt is made, with the assistance of radiocarbon dating, to correlate the vegetational phases recorded in the bog with the various archaeological and historical periods. The area remained densely forested until Bronze Age times, when there is evidence for slight grazing pressure within the forest and a small temporary clearance. In the Romano-British period, an extensive clearance making the landscape about as open as that of today may be correlated with similar clearances in Weardale. This phase comes to a rather abrupt end, probably with the advent of Anglo-Saxon rule and throughout the Saxon and Mediaeval periods the area remains as managed woodland with some grass and arable land. Extensive, “permanent" clearance does not occur until probably the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Evidence for later afforestation is presented, and an explanation for recent changes in land use.