The role of geomorphology and geology in
studies: a synopsis*
WGJardine, PhD, ScD,
Introduction
In attempting to solve the problems that inevitably
arise in the course of excavation and associated investi-
gations, modern archaeological studies frequently uti-
lise information and expertise supplied by two of
archaeology's cognate scientific disciplines, geomorph-
ology and geology. Since it is useful to know the role of
these disciplines in such a context, the parts these
branches of earth science play in archaeological studies
are considered briefly below.
The approach adopted differs from those taken
in recent articles with somewhat similar titles, Geo-
graphy, Archaeology and Environment (Renfrew 1983) and
Geomorphology and Archaeology (Davidson 1985). The first
of these examines the ways in which geographical
methods may be adapted for use in archaeological
studies, and the common ground that exists at present
between geography and archaeology is demonstrated.
The second article focuses on geomorphological map-
ping and geomorphological changes and processes
in relation to archaeological sites. In the synopsis
presented below, the practical contributions that
geomorphology and geology have made in archaeo-
logical studies are summarised. As far as possible, the
examples discussed are based on the author's personal
experience. First, however, the scope of geomorph-
ology and geology and the limitations of these disci-
plines in relation to archaeology are considered briefly.
Scope of Geomorphology and Geology
Geomorphology is concerned with the systematic
study of natural landforms, both those that occur on a
large scale and those that are present on a small scale on
the face of the earth. Geology covers a wider 'canvas',
being concerned with the scientific investigation of the
whole globe, especially those parts that may be
examined at the surface of the earth.
Arguably, geomorphology is a branch of geology as,
*
The substance of this review was delivered as the Presidential
Address to the Glasgow Archaeological Society on 15th
December 1983.
1
archaeological
FGS
indeed, it is regarded still in many countries, and was so
considered in the United Kingdom until a few decades
ago (cf. Dury 1983). In practice, geomorphology now
occupies a place between geology and geography, as a
discipline in its own right. Currently, the majority of its
exponents in Britain are geographers.
It is important to note that, as in the case of many
ancillary disciplines, the nature of the information that
geomorphology and geology can provide for use in
archaeological studies is more limited than many
archaeologists are aware. For example, it may not be
possible on geomorphological evidence to state with
confidence whether the incomplete remains of the walls
of a former fort located on a river terrace owe their
incompleteness to river erosion since the fort was aban-
doned, or the walls were incomplete during the exist-
ence of the fort because the cliff bounding the terrace
constituted a natural defence wall and, therefore, an
artificially-constructed wall was unnecessary where the
fort was adjacent to that cliff. Fortunately, to balance
such inadequacies, there are facets of geomorphology
and geology of which many practising archaeologists
are unaware as yet, but which may be usefully invoked
in the interpretation of situations encountered in exca-
vation and other archaeological field investigations.
Examples are included in the discussion below.
Scope of This Synopsis
Geomorphology and geology in combination cover a
vast variety of aspects of earth science, a comparatively
small number of which are directly of relevance in rela-
tion to archaeology. For practical reasons, only selected
facets of the relevant components of geomorphology
and geology are considered in this synopsis. Also, for
convenience of discussion, these facets are grouped
under a number of (short) headings. It should be under-
stood that there is considerable overlap among the facets
listed separately below:
1. The characteristics of small-scale natural landforms
2. The characteristics of stratified natural deposits
3. The characteristics and uses of certain rocks and
minerals
4. The local setting of an archaeological site
5. The regional setting of an archaeological site.

The Characteristics of Small-scale Natural

Landforms
The archaeological investigation of a site may be
regarded as comprising two phases, discovery and exca-
vation. Frequently 'discovery' of the site, whether in a
traverse over the ground or by examination of air photo-
graphs of the area concerned, involves the realisation
that a particular mound, ridge, hollow or other land-
form owes its origin to human activity rather than to
natural processes. Clearly, it is important to know the
characteristics (including the probable dimensions) of
every type of natural mound, ridge, hollow and other
small-scale natural landform that may occur in a given
region if such features are not to be mistaken for man-
made structures. For example, small natural mounds in
a region such as northern Britain may be moraines pro-
duced by the deposition of debris by glacier ice, kames
deposited by glacial meltwaters, or knolls of wind-blown
sand (to suggest but a few possibilities). Similarly, natu-
ral ridges (depending partly on their dimensions, their
straightness or sinuosity and their present positions in
relation to major physical features) may be recognisable
as lateral moraines produced by glacier-ice deposition,
eskers resulting from the choking of sub-glacial tunnels
with debris transported by ice meltwater, or uplifted for-
mer storm beaches bordering an ancient shore. Small
natural hollows may be kettle holes left when isolated
masses of 'dead' ice surrounded by ice-meltwater sedi-
ments eventually melted or, less frequently, in limestone
areas, swallow holes produced by solution-weathering. In
certain areas, e.g. parts of Cheshire, somewhat similar
semi-natural collapse-hollows are to be found at loca-
tions where salt mining has been carried out a few
FlG. 1. a. Map of south-western Scotland, showing the position
metres or tens of metres below the ground surface. of the 'Deil's Dyke' as suggested by Joseph Train prior to 1824,
In relation to the above, a searching question that and the 'offshoot' in the vicinity of Kirkconnel (upper Niths-
may be asked of the geomorphologist by the archaeol- dale) investigated by Barber (1982) and discussed by Tabra-
ham (1982).
ogist is, 'On what morphological criteria, and morpho- b. Map of the Lochmaben area, Dumfriesshire, showing the
logical criteria alone, is it possible to recognise a mound, position and form of the discontinuous esker ridge formerly
ridge or hollow as being natural rather than artificial in identified as part of the 'Deil's Dyke'.
origin?'. In reply, it must be said that the origin of an
individual mound, ridge, hollow or other distinctive
landform can seldom be determined by considering the teristically is produced by one or more specific physical
relevant landform in isolation. In contrast, if a mound or processes. For example, the process involved may have
ridge is present in terrain in which other mounds and/or been deposition by glacial meltwaters (to produce a
ridges are present, almost certainly it will be possible to hummock-and-hollow pattern of kames and kettle
decide the identity of the mound or ridge in question. holes) or, in rather different circumstances, wind action
Such a decision is possible because the relevant land- (to produce an assemblage or cluster of dune-ridges and
form constitutes part of a pattern of forms that charac- mounds with intervening hollows).

2
 The problems mentioned above are illustrated by the
uncertainties that for many years centred around the
nature and origin of the so-called 'Deil's Dyke' of
Galloway and Dumfriesshire. The concept of an artifi-
cial linear earthwork, extending across south-western
Scotland from near Cairn Ryan in the west to the neigh-
bourhood of Annan in the east, appears to have origin-
ated prior to 1824 as a suggestion of the Galloway anti-
quary Joseph Train (fig. la). Subsequently, several dis-
continuous lengths of the Dyke were recorded on Ord-
nance Survey maps as the result of several surveys made
between 1846 and 1850. A century later, in 1949, the
nature of the Deil's Dyke in certain parts of Galloway
was investigated in the course of a comparison of the
Dyke with the 'Catrail' of Roxburghshire, a study
initiated by the Royal Commission on the Ancient and
Historical Monuments of Scotland (Graham 1949). Be-
tween 1950 and 1954, the investigation was extended to
Dumfriesshire and southern Ayrshire (Graham and
Feachem 1956), and in 1981, as an independent investi-
gation, part of an important 'offshoot' from the (sup-
posed) main line of the earthwork in upper Nithsdale
was excavated (Barber 1982). On the basis of these inves-
the River Annan and its tributaries at a time between
approximately 18,000 and 13,500 years ago (cf. Graham
and Feachem 1956, 152).
The Characteristics of Stratified Natural
Deposits
Discovery of an archaeological site frequently leads to
excavation, and excavation in turn may lead to discovery
of both natural and artificial stratification. In such situa-
tions it is important for the excavator to be able to dis-
tinguish between stratification produced by natural
processes and that produced by human agency. Sites
where it is probable that natural layering will occur are
those located on river terraces, on raised beaches and
within areas of blown sand. Examples of problems
encountered in the first two types of location are dis-
cussed below.

tigations it has been established that,'... the Deil's Dyke

had no existence as a unitary work; that the various
lengths of it that were marked on the O.S. map were sim-
ply march dykes, agricultural divisions or disused track-
ways .' (Graham and Feachem 1956, 137), although
. .

the offshoot located in the vicinity of Kirkconnel, '.

may be a tangible sign of medieval forest management'
. .

(Tabraham 1982, 49).

In relation to the present discussion, the parts of the
so-called Dyke that are of greatest interest are those in
the vicinity of the town of Lochmaben (fig. lb). A nar-
_0 metres 200
row, discontinuous ridge, marked on (1:25,000) Ord- _

nance Survey maps published around 1950 as 'Murthat Horizontal scale for map and section —yS
or Deil's Dyke', extends in a SSE direction for approxi-
A B r10 C
mately 1 km in fields located c. 2 km to the west of Loch- Roman
m

maben. South of the town, the 'Dyke' is continued in a
rather more sinuous form as a discontinuous line of low,
curved ridges that extend for c. 3 km south-eastwards
from near Marlake Cottage (National Grid Reference
NY 076 804) to Mossburn farm (NY 088 785) on the
western margin of the village of Hightae. On the basis of
morphology alone there could be doubts concerning the
natural or artificial nature of this linear feature, but,
where the internal stratification of the ridge is exposed
(cf. remarks on 'The Characteristics ofStratified Natural
Deposits', below), the feature is clearly an esker, pro-
duced by natural deposition of gravel and sand in a sub-
glacial tunnel when the remnants of the last ice-sheet to
cover this area were wasting on the floors of the valleys of
|_ q
[>°Socl/'^^^77/y7/^^^^^
FlG. 2. Map and vertical section of the environs of the Roman
fort at Birrens, Dumfriesshire, showing the location of the fort
on elevated ground above the present floodplain of the Mein
Water, and the contrast between the siting of the northern part
of the fort on glacial till and the southern part of the fort on
gravel of a former floodplain of the Mein Water.
fn the case of the Roman fort at Birrens, Dumfries-
shire, the foundations of the northern part of the fort
were built on unstratified glacial till (a product of direct

3

deposition by ice action and, therefore, possessing little
or nosize-sorting or stratification as the result of water
flow). In contrast, the southern part of the fort was con-
structed on water-laid gravels of a former floodplain of
the adjacent Mein Water (fig. 2). The junction between
the pebbles of the intervallum street and the underlying
natural subsoil was readily determinable in trenches
excavated through the northern defences of the fort,
whereas in the southern part of the fort thejunction be-
tween the intervallum street and the underlying terrace
gravels was determinable only with difficulty. In the
latter case, the problem was compounded because the
stratification of both the man-made intervallum street
pebbles and the natural gravel that underlay the street
was horizontal or nearly so, and the sizes of the pebbles
in the natural and artificial deposits were similar. River-
terrace deposits occasionally exhibit cross-stratification
within their natural layering, the cross-stratified units
being products of deposition by flowing water. Had this
been the case at Birrens, a distinction between the inter-
vallum street gravels and the river-terrace gravels would
have been achieved more readily.
Closely allied with the problem encountered in the
southern part of the fort at Birrens is the necessity of
recognising that a pit-like feature with steep sides seen in
vertical section in a trench excavated in the course of
archaeological investigations occasionally may be a
'wash-out' structure, especially where the trench is cut
through sands and gravels. Such hollows (which are
really cross-sections of elongate channels) are produced
in natural conditions by swift-flowing streams eroding
previously-deposited sediments and the channels being
refilled later with further (commonly cross-stratified)
4
area formerly
covered by the sea
areas of
shell debris
ormer marine
horel ine
FlG. 3. Map of the area south of Grangemouth, showing the
positions of accumulation areas of shell debris at Polmonthill,
discussed by Stevenson (1948), and at Inveravon, discussed by
MacKie (1972), in relation to the approximate position of the
southern shoreline ofthe Forth estuary at the time of accumula-
tion of the shell debris (cf. Callander 1929). The approximate
position of the Nether Kinneil shell debris site discussed by
Sloan (1982) is also shown. Inset: the location of Inveravon in
relation to the present shoreline of the Forth estuary.
sediment. They may be mistaken for pits dug by the
inhabitants of what, on the basis of other evidence, is an
authentic site of former human occupation.
A coastal situation, contrasting with the inland loca-
tion at Birrens, is illustrated by sites in the vicinity of the
southern shoreline of the former estuary of the River
Forth near Grangemouth (fig. 3). In 1940, a 'shell-heap'
was discovered at Polmonthill (approximately NS 947
796), the shells being located on an inclined surface ris-
ing from c. 9.75 m to c. 14.33 m above Ordnance Datum.
The shell heap was c. 155 m in length, c. 23 m in width
and varied in thickness between c. 1.00 and 1.25 m
(Stevenson 1948, 136). The vast majority of the shells
were valves of Oslrea edulis L (oyster) which, it should be
noted, are discoidal in shape. The presence within the
shell heap of thin layers of burnt material in association
with numerous stones, together with charcoal (ident-
ified as that of Quercus), indicates that fires were lit inter-
mittently on the shell heap in the course of its accumula-
tion along the position of the contemporaneous (high-
tide) shoreline of the Forth estuary. No implements
were found in association with the shell heap.
During the laying of a gas pipe in 1970, a trench was
dug by mechanical excavator along the length of a sec-
ond shell heap, located at Inveravon (NS 951 798), a few
hundreds of metres to the east of Polmonthill (MacKie
1972; see also fig. 3). The maximum thickness of the
Inveravon shell heap was c. 1.80 m, and the shells, the
vast majority of which in this case also comprised valves
of Ostrea edulis L (oyster), rested directly on gravel at the
top of an area whose slope was steeper than the areas
bordering it to the north and to the south. A few lenses of
'dark earth containing flecks of charcoal and occasional
beach pebbles' (MacKie 1972, 413) were inter-stratified
with the shells. No implements were found in associa-
tion with the shell heap.
Stevenson (1948) implies, and MacKie (1972, 414)
claims that these extensive deposits of shell debris owe
their presence at Polmonthill and Inveravon almost
entirely to human activity. The writer, however, takes
the view that the majority of the Ostrea valves may have
been deposited along the contemporaneous high-water
shoreline by normal- and storm-tidal activity, although
clearly the shell heaps were the sites of at least temporary
human occupation on occasion. It is suggested that a
test that might be applied to the problem as to the natu-
ral or human accumulation of the majority of the Ostrea
valves at the Inveravon location (the Polmonthill shell
heap was destroyed during the commercial excavation
activities in 1940) would be to examine the disposition of
the Ostrea valves at that site. Sedimentological experi-
ments and observations of natural conditions have
shown that disc-shaped lithic fragments of approxi-
mately the same dimensions as valves of Ostrea com-
monly are arranged in the upper part of 'normal'
beaches and in storm beaches with the fragments dip-
ping seawards, as in a slanted pack of playing cards, to
give what is termed 'imbricate structure' (cf. Bluck
1967). Heaps of Ostrea valves accumulated as natural
shoreline deposits might be expected to be arranged
similarly, whereas Ostrea valves accumulated as human
food refuse might be expected to exhibit a more random
arrangement of the individual valves. At Inveravon, an
opportunity exists for sedimentology (a branch of
geology) to play a part in solving an archaeological
problem that is of considerable importance.
The Characteristics and Uses of Certain Rocks
and Minerals
Excavation, in addition to revealing stratification that
requires interpretation, frequently produces artifacts
and other material evidence of human activity. In the
case of rocks and minerals that have been used on sites of
former human activity, the sources (local or distant) of
these materials may be determinable by enlisting geo-
logical knowledge and expertise.
Perhaps the most obvious and most familiar example
of the application of geology to archaeological studies
5
within this context is the investigation of prehistoric
man's use of rocks and minerals in the form of 'stone'
axes and similar implements. At present 21 petrological
categories or 'Groups' of British stone axes have been
distinguished on the basis of examination of thin sec-
tions derived from collected specimens. The subject has
been discussed extensively by several authors or groups
of authors in a number of general and more-detailed
publications (e.g. Evens etal. 1962; Shotton 1969; Shot-
ton and Hendry 1979; Stone and Wallis 1951) and,
therefore, is not considered more fully here. It is worth
noting, however, that as Shotton and Hendry (1979, 78)
pointed out,'... it is easier to state that an artifact could
not have come from a particular source than to affirm
positively that it emanated from one'.
In more 'positive' terms, in the case of building-stone
used on a former site of human occupation (prehistoric
or early historic), occasionally it is possible to indicate
the nearest source of the material used, although the pre-
cise source cannot be stated. The Roman fort at Birrens
illustrates this point. The bulk of the stone-work on the
site consists of white or pale-pink sandstone similar to
the Carboniferous sandstone exposed in the Mein
Water c. 150-200 m to the east of the fort. The stones were
not quarried at this nearest exposure, but the source
need not have been far away. In contrast, most of the
paving of the buildings is of red sandstone (of New Red
Sandstone age). The nearest outcrops of similar sand-
stone are c. 3 km from the site of the fort (for details see
Jardine 1975, 256).
Comparison of artifacts found in three Scottish Meso-
lithic contexts illustrates a further aspect of the applica-
tion of geological information in archaeological investi-
gation. On the Inner Hebridean island of Oronsay, two
of the characteristic implements of the Mesolithic sites
are theso-called limpet hammersand limpet scoops, artifacts
fashioned from the local greywacke rock (broadly, a
form of sandstone). The Oronsay greywackes possess
both closely-spaced stratification planes and joint frac-
tures and, therefore, produce numerous elongate frag-
ments, many of which are ideal in size for use as 'limpet
hammers' or 'limpet scoops' with little or no modifica-
tion. The Mesolithic cave sites at Oban (e.g. MacArthur
Cave and Druimvargie Rock-shelter) yielded only a
handful of'stone' implements when the sites were inves-
tigated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries
although, collectively, the sites contained more than 150
artifacts of bone and antler (Anderson 1895; 1898). The
rocks in which the caves at Oban were carved by the sea
(several millennia prior to human occupation) consist of
Devonian conglomerates and friable red sandstone,
rocks which are quite unsuitable for the manufacture of
usable artifacts.
 Recently, at Girvan, southern Ayrshire, large quan-
tities of struck flint fragments have been found on the
surfaces of fields located 'landwards' of, but close to, the
position of the 'Mesolithic shoreline', which lies a few
tens or hundreds of metres inland from the present
shoreline (Morrison 1981, fig. 5). The cliffs of the old
shoreline for the most part consist of glacial till, a rock
material from which virtually no suitable 'stone' imple-
ments could be manufactured. At the foot of the till cliffs,
however, there are extensive spreads of contemporane-
ous beach deposits (now raised c. 7-10 m above present
mean sea level), which contain appreciable quantities of
pebbles of flint within their sand and gravel layers (as do
the present-day beach deposits). The ultimate source of
that flint artifacts predominate in the Mesolithic coastal
area at Girvan because no other suitable raw materials
that underlies the Tertiary basaltic lavas of Antrim,
Northern Ireland, or nodules within Chalk submerged
beneath the Firth of Clyde (cf. Jardine and Morrison
1976, 193). The origin is of secondary importance in the
present context. Of prime importance is the probability
that flint artefacts predominate in the Mesolithic coastal
area at Girvan because no other suitable raw materials
were available from the local rocks. It is unlikely that
more than a small percentage of the flint artifacts was
introduced by visitors or emigrants from Northern Ire-
land or elsewhere.
The problem of the transportation of the 'bluestones'
of Stonehenge to their present location from their orig-
inal sources in the Prescelley Hills, Pembrokeshire,
South Wales, illustrates another facet of geology in rela-
tion to archaeology. In this case geological opinion is
divided and, therefore, is not especially helpful to
6
Fig. 4. a. Map of the island of Oronsay (Inner Hebrides), show-
ing the positions of the five main Mesolithic occupation sites
and the position of the shoreline at the maximum of the Holo-
cene marine transgression (dashed line).
b. Vertical section, from NW (left) to SE (right), through the for-
mer shoreline preserved in unconsolidated sandy deposits a
few tens of metres to the north of Cnoc Coig, Oronsay.
c. Vertical section, from NW (left) to SE (right), through the
crest of Caisteal nan Gillean I (CNG I) and (raised) inter-tidal
shore sediments preserved below the floor of a blow-out hollow
in sand dunes adjacent to Caisteal nan Gillean I, Oronsay.
archaeology. According to one (minor) group of geol-
ogists, the bluestones may have been transported to
within a short distance of their present position by the
action of glacier ice in the course of the earliest (Anglian)
of the three proved major glaciations that occurred in
Quaternary times in the British Isles (Kellaway 1971).
This view, however, is not held by the majority of
Quaternary geologists; the blocks may have been trans-
ported by ice for a short distance from the outcrops
where they originally occurred, but they still would
require to have been moved by human agency a dis-
tance of more than 150 km to their present position.
The Local Setting of an Archaeological Site
Aspects of the physical environs of the Roman fort at
Birrens, Dumfriesshire, an inland site, were considered
briefly above and are discussed more fully elsewhere
(Jardine 1975). Examples of coastal archaeological sites
and their settings are now considered. The island of
Oronsay, located in the Inner Hebrides adjacent to the
larger island of Colonsay, was a focus of Mesolithic
occupation and activity in the 6th millennium bp. At
least five sites of occupation have been identified (fig. 4).
In Mesolithic times, the shoreline of Oronsay lay at least
a few tens of metres inland from its present position,
there being notably larger embayments near the centre
of the northern coast, on the western coast south-east of
the Priory, on the eastern coast between Cnoc Coig and
Gaisteal nan Gillean I and II and, in the north-east, in
the vicinity of Cnoc Sligeach. A suggestion that, in Mes-
olithic times, there may have been two islands where at
present there is the single island of Oronsay (Jardine
1977) is now discounted, but it is acknowledged that in
times of severe storm the narrow ridge that linked the
sites of Cnoc Coig and Caisteal nan Gillean II may have
been temporarily under water. The broad peninsula
that at present extends south-westwards from the vicin-
ity of Caisteal nan Gillean I and II has replaced a much
narrower peninsula that existed in Mesolithic times.
The earlier peninsula was subjected to fierce storm
action which has left its record in the form of a gravel
ridge that hugs the south-eastern margin and southern
tip of the former peninsula but is separated from the
north-western margin by a low area that probably was
occupied by a lagoon in Mesolithic times (fig. 4a). The
relationship between the occupation sites and the con-
temporaneous shoreline has been investigated in detail
(Jardine 1977; 1978). Briefly, the shoreline in Mesolithic
times was located a short distance seawards of a promi-
nent shoreline (at c. 9 m above OD) that has been
mapped as the approximate position of high water mark
at the maximum of the Holocene marine transgression
(fig. 4a). The prominent shoreline can be mapped as a
distinct break of slope that occurs in unconsolidated
sandy deposits, for example, a few tens of metres to the
north of Cnoc Coig (fig. 4b) and a few hundreds of
metres to the east-south-east of the Priory (cf. fig. 4a). In
the vicinity of Cnoc Sligeach, much of the former shore-
line is preserved in solid rock and, in addition, several
former off-shore rock skerries are present now as low
rocky knolls. At Cnoc Sligeach, itself, a former storm-
beach ridge has been shown to underlie midden shell-
debris, mainly Patella (limpet) valves, c. 30 m south ofthe
crest of the main midden heap (Jardine 1978, 193-195).
In the neighbourhood ofCaisteal nan Gillean I and II,
the shoreline at the maximum of the Holocene marine
transgression lay within about 40 m of the crestal posi-
tions of the two shell middens. In this area, part of the
evidence for the position of the shoreline consists of peb-
ble-sized fragments of rock debris and marine mollusc
shells that are considered to be former inter-tidal shore
sediments, and are located now c. 150 mm below the
floor of a blow-out hollow within an area of sand dunes
(fig. 4c).
Approximately contemporaneously with the maxi-
7
mum of the Holocene marine transgression on Oron-
say, the northern shoreline of the eastern part of the
Solway Firth differed markedly from its present configu-
ration. South-east of the present location of the town of
Dumfries, an embayment of the sea extended c.W km
north of the present shoreline to constitute what has
been termed the 'Lochar Gulf (fig. 5). Northwards from
the gulf, a narrow inlet extended a further 7 km to its
northernmost extremity near Locharbriggs. Around
6600 radiocarbon years before present (years bp), the
mouth of the Lochar Gulf was blocked by gravel bars
that extended in a north-easterly direction from the
vicinity of the position of Caerlaverock Castle, and possi-
bly also by sand bars that occupied the centre of the
mouth of the gulf. As a result, the sea was excluded from
the former gulf and, in the course of the next two or three
millennia, the area became a tract ofland on which vege-
tation grew and peat accumulated. In Neolithic times
there was selective clearance of Ulmus (elm) in the vicin-
ity of Racks (fig. 5), probably accompanied by grazing
on the herbaceous plants which colonised the clearings
(Nichols 1967, 178-181; Jardine and Morrison 1976,
190). In the course of time, the former narrow marine
inlet probably became a series of fresh-water lakes, sep-
arated from each other by marshes. Evidence for this
conclusion was provided in September 1973 by the find-
ing of part of a dug-out canoe (more accurately a punt) in
association with interdigitated peat and lake muds near
the banks of the Lochar Water at location NY 001 801
(fig. 5). A sample ofwood from the canoe was dated 3754
+ 125 years bp (SRR-326). It appears that, 'Early man,
occupying areas on either side of the long valley between
Locharbriggs and Sandyknowe Bridge, used dug-out
canoes to solve his problems of crossing the swamp-bor-
dered lakes which occupied the floor of the valley' (Jar-
dine and Masters 1977, 62). The sides of the valleys were
composed of gravel and sand deposits laid down by the
meltwaters of the glacier that had occupied the Lochar
valley around 25,000 to 13,500 years bp.
The seaboard of central Ayrshire provides an im-
portant example of the application of geological studies
to the interpretation of archaeological data. As noted
above, finds of Mesolithic flint artifacts in the vicinity of
Girvan are confined to areas that lie 'landwards' of the
contemporaneous shoreline. On the basis of compar-
able evidence from the northern seaboard of the Solway
Firth, Jardine and Morrison (1976, fig. 7) proposed a
'model' forthe location of Mesolithic occupation sites in
south-western Scotland. The model fits the evidence at
Girvan and, farther north in Ayrshire, near Prestwick
(Morrison 1981, fig. 4) but does not fit the evidence that
was available in the vicinity of Irvine prior to 1979. At
Irvine, numerous finds of Mesolithic flints are recorded

Fig. 5. Map of south-western Dumfriesshire, showing areas
penetrated by the sea at the maximum of the Holocene marine
transgression (note especially the Lochar Gulf and the narrow
inlet to the north of the gulf). The locations mentioned in the
text, including the site at which part of a dug-out canoe was
found in 1973, are also shown.
'seawards' of the position of the 'Mesolithic shoreline'
proposed by Jardine (1971) on the basis of preliminary
investigations. Detailed sedimentological investigations
by Boyd (1982) between 1979 and 1982 established that
the true position of the shoreline in Mesolithic times lay
c. 1 km 'seawards' (westwards) of the position proposed
by Jardine. Boyd (1982) demonstrated that, if the new
position of the shoreline is accepted, the finds of Meso-
lithic flints lie 'landwards' of the contemporaneous
shoreline and, accordingly, the model proposed by Jar-
dine and Morrison (1976) fits the evidence at Irvine
(Boyd 1982, fig. 1; see also Boyd 1984). In the present
context, the importance of Boyd's investigations is that
the position of the shoreline was established with cer-
tainty on the basis of detailed and careful sedimentologi-
cal observation and analysis.
The regional setting of an archaeological site
The regional setting of certain archaeological sites is
of as great significance as the local setting. Frequently, to
allow a site to be placed properly in its regional setting it
is necessary to determine the age of the site. A geological
method of age determination that is of great importance
in certain circumstances is the identification of a
'marker stratum' or 'datum stratum' that can be traced
over an extensive area and whose stratigraphical posi-
8
tion in relation to several archaeological sites can there-
fore be established. An excellent example of such a
marker stratum is a layer of 'ash' or tephra produced by
the explosive eruption of a volcano. Such layers may be
identified over exceptionally large areas by careful study
of the minute fragments of rocks and minerals that con-
stitute the tephra (cf. Kittleman 1979,75-78), and a parti-
cular advantage of such layers is that they are deposited
at virtually the same instant in time at sites that may dif-
fer in altitude by tens, hundreds or even thousands of
metres. Of particular importance in archaeological
studies in the north-western part of the U.S.A. was the
gigantic volcanic explosion that shattered Mount
Mazama, in Oregon State, around 6600 to 6500 years bp
and scattered tephra over parts of the states of Wash-
ington, Oregon, Nevada, Idaho and Montana and
southern parts of the Canadian provinces of British
Columbia and Alberta (Wilcox 1965, fig. 3). Marmes
Rock Shelter, in Washington State, contains a thick
layer of Mazama ash that is interstratified with deposi-
tional evidence of human occupation before and after
the volcanic explosion that rocked the north-
western U.S.A. (cf. Fryxell et al. 1965, 83).
The site at Marmes Rock Shelter has been used above
as an example because the situation there is simple and
also because the writer has first-hand experience of that
site. It may be useful, however, to consider briefly the
importance of marker horizons in the rock sequences
present at the more celebrated Olduvai Gorge sites, in
Tanzania. The sequences at Olduvai comprise sedi-
mentary rock units interstratified with which are thin
layers of tephra. Faunal evidence of the ages of the sedi-
mentary units has led to a number of problems of corre-
lation between one site and another (cf. Isaaac 1976,126-
130). The tephra layers, or certain of them, however, are
individually sufficiently distinctive to be used as marker
horizons that are correlatable from one sedimentary sec-
tion to another and the inter-relationships of the sites
can therefore be established on purely strati-
graphical evidence. The tephra layers have the bonus
property of possibly being datable by the radiometric
method known as potassium-argon dating and, in
addition, of being potential indicators of the (palaeo-)
magnetic orientation of the earth at the time of their for-
mation. The archaeological (and anthropological) pro-
blems of correlation and comparative dating that have
arisen and are likely to arise in the future at Olduvai and
comparable sites (e.g. Koobi Fora, Kenya) are capable
of being resolved by the geological method of using the
tephra layers as marker horizons, and by geochemical
techniques utilised in radiometric and geomagnetic
dating.
The regional setting of caves occupied by human
beings resident in Britain during the last major cold
episode (c. 70,000 to 10,000 years bp) is of great interest
to the archaeologist, and geomorphological and geolog-
ical information allows inferences to be made concern-
ing the relevant environment. Several caves, located in
North Wales, Somerset, South Devon, Derbyshire and
Kent, appear to have been occupied both in winter and
summer during a milder phase (the Upton Warren
Interstadial Complex) of the (Devensian) major cold
episode, around 35,000 to 40,000 years bp (cf. Sparks
and West 1972, 239). The Paviland Cave, located on the
south-western coast of the Gower Peninsula west of
Swansea, South Wales, probably also was occupied
both in winter and summer at that time. Of greater inter-
est is the probability that c. 18,000 years bp, i.e. around
the time of the maximum of the last major glaciation in
Britain, the Paviland Cave was occupied during the
summer months whilst, contemporaneously, the ice
front was located c. 6 km to the north-east of the cave
(Bowen 1970). Also of especial interest is the fact that the
entrance to the Paviland Cave lies very close to present
mean sea level. At the time of the maximum of the last

major (British) glaciation, global sea level probably

stood c. 100-130 m lower than present sea level, and in FlG. 6. Map of the North Sea area, showing the changing con-
the Bristol Channel Irish Sea area relative sea level at figuration of the land bridge that was present in the southern
that time may have been c. 95 m lower than present sea
—

part of the (present) North Sea in early Holocene times

level (cf. Bowen 1970, 135). As a result, approach to the
entrance to the Paviland Cave would have been compa-
ratively easy from the south (cf. Morrison 1980, 89) and,
it should be noted, the cave itself would have been an
inland site, located perhaps as much as 100 km from the
contemporaneous shoreline of the Irish Sea (cf. Bowen
1970, fig. 1).
The maximum of the last major glaciation in Britain
was approximately contemporaneous with similar max-
ima in Fennoscandia and the European Alps, and with
the presence of major ice sheets in North America,
Greenland and Antarctica. A general wastage of these
ice sheets after their maxima was followed, certainly in
the areas bordering the northern Atlantic Ocean, by a
more rapid amelioration of climate (and consequent
accelerated ice wastage) that led to a global rise of sea
level between c. 13,500 and 5000 years bp, in the course
of which sea level attained its present position. In the
North Sea area, the effects of the corresponding local rise
of relative sea level are to be seen, for example, in the
flooding of what were formerly a (coastal) rock-shelter
site and a chambered tomb on the (present) coast of
Britanny north of the city of Brest (cf. Guilcher and Giot
1969, 38).
The most significant effect of the rise of sea level that
took place in the North Sea area between the time of the
maximum of the last major glaciation and c. 5000 years
(c. 10,000 to 7500 years bp). The approximate positions of the
shoreline at 10,300, 8700 and 7800 years bp are also shown.
Based on maps by Jelgersma (1979).
bp was the elimination of the land bridge that had been
in existence around 18,000 years bp. Stages in the disap-
pearance of the land bridge included that around 10,300
years bp when the southern part of the present North
Sea was entirely dry land, that around 8700 years bp, by
which time the English Channel probably had been
initiated or re-created but a narrow land bridge still
existed between northern East Anglia and the Nether-
lands, and that around 7800 years bp, by which time the
former land bridge had been completely covered by
marine waters although the shoreline on both the west-
ern and eastern sides of the North Sea still lay a short
distance seawards of its present position (fig. 6; cf.
Jelgersma 1979).
Conclusion
Noteworthy aspects of the role of geomorphology and
geology in archaeological studies may be summarised
as follows:
1. Small-scale landforms, especially when they occur in
groups or 'clusters', may be distinguishable as natu-
ral or artificial in origin on the basis of their pattern or
arrangement in relation to each other.

9
 2. Natural stratified deposits may be distinguishable
from artificial stratified deposits on the basis of dis-
tinctive structures produced in the course of natural
sedimentation. Commonly, the layers of artificial
deposits are arranged horizontally whereas the layers
of natural deposits either may be arranged horizon-
tally or may be cross-stratified.
3. It may be possible to determine the provenance of an
artifact (e.g. implement, weapon or building stone)
on the basis of geological knowledge, but generally it
is easier to state with certainty that an artifact did not
come from a particular known source than to deter-
mine its source with certainty.
4. The local physical environment of a former site of
human occupation can be reconstructed on the basis
of geomorphological and geological evidence present
in the area around the site.
5. Tephra layers are of especial value as 'marker strata'
that may be used in establishing chronology and in
providing correlation between several archaeological
sites that are distant from each other. The regional
physical setting of a former site of human occupation,
e.g. in relation to former positions of ice margins and
former land bridges, can be established on the basis
of geomorphological and geological evidence.
Acknowledgements
Alex Morrison, Department of Archaeology, University of
Glasgow, read several versions of the text, suggested improve-
ments and provided advice on specifically archaeological top-
ics. The figures were drawn by Mrs Sheila Hall, Department of
Geology, University of Glasgow.
Bibliography
Anderson, J 1895 Notice of a cave recently discovered at Oban,
containing human remains, and a refuse-heap of shells
and bones of animals, and stone and bone implements,
Proc Soc Antiq Scot 29 (1894-95), 211-230.
Anderson, J 1898 Notes on the contents of a small cave or rock-
shelter at Druimvargie, Oban; and of three shell-mounds
in Oronsay, Proc Soc Antiq Scot 52 (1897-98), 298-313.
Barber, J 1982 The Deil's Dyke, Nithsdale, Trans Dumfriesshire
Galloway Nalur Hist Antiq Soc 57, 29-50.
BLUCK, B J 1967 Sedimentation of beach gravels: examples
from South Wales, Journal ofSedimentary Petrology 57, 128-
156.
Bowen, D Q1970 The palaeoenvironment of the 'Red Lady' of
Paviland, Antiquity 44, 134-136.
BOYD, W E 1982 Archaeological implications of a new palaeo-
environmental model for part of the Ayrshire coast, Glas-
gow Archaeol Journ 9, 15-17.
BOYD, WEI 984 Environmental archaeology and research into
the physical environment, Circaea 2, 83-86.
callander, J G 1929 Land movements in Scotland in prehis-
toric and recent times, Proc Soc Antiq Scol65 (1928-29), 314-
322.
10
Davidson, D A 1985 Geomorphology and Archaeology, in
Rapp Jr, G and Gifford, J A (eds) Archaeological Geology,
New Haven and London, 25-55.
DURY, G H 1983 Geography and geomorphology: the last fifty
years, Trans Institute of British Geographers 8(1), 90-99.
Evens, E D, Grinsell, L V, Piggott, Sand Wallis, F S 1962
Fourth report of the sub-committee of the south-western
group of Museums and Art Galleries on the petrological
identification of stone axes, Proc Prehist Soc 28, 209-266.
Fryxell, R, Neff, G E and Trimble, D E 1965 Ephrata to
Pullman: Scabland Tracts, Loess, Soils and Human Pre-
history, in Schultz, C B and Smith, HTU (eds) 7th INQUA
Congress, Guidebook for Field Conference E, Northern and
Middle Rocky Mountains, Lincoln, Nebraska, 79-89.
graham, A 1949 The Deil's Dyke in Galloway, Proc Soc Antiq
Scot85 (1948-49), 174-185.
Graham, A and Feachem, R W 1956 The Deil's Dyke in
Dumfriesshire and Ayrshire, Proc Soc Antiq Scot 88 (1954-
56), 137-154.
Guilcher, A and Giot, P R 1969 8th Congres INQJJA, Lwrel-
guide de Vexcursion C 16, Bretagne-Anjou, Bordeaux.
Isaac, G L 1976 East Africa as a source of fossil evidence for
human evolution, in Isaac, G L and McCown, E R (eds)
Human Origins: Louis Leakey and the East African Evidence,
Menlo Park, California, 121-137.
Jardine, W G 1971 Form and age of late-Quaternary shore-
lines and coastal deposits of south-west Scotland: critical
data, Quaternaria 14, 103-114.
jardine,WG 1975 The geological setting of Birrens, mRobert-
son, A S Birrens (Blatobulgium), Edinburgh, 251-257.
Jardine, W G 1977 Location and age of Mesolithic coastal
occupation sites on Oronsay, Inner Hebrides, Nature, Lon-
don 267', 138-140.
Jardine, W G 1978 Radiocarbon ages of raised-beach shells
from Oronsay, Inner Hebrides, Scotland: a lesson in inter-
pretation and deduction, Boreas 7, 183-196.
Jardine, W G and Masters, L J 1977 A dug-out canoe from
Catherinefield farm, Locharbriggs, Dumfriesshire, Trans
Dumfriesshire Galloway Natur Hist Antiq Soc 52, 56-65.
Jardine, W G and Morrison, A 1976 The archaeological sig-
nificance of Holocene coastal deposits in south-western
Scotland, in Davidson, D A and Shackley, M L (eds) Geo-
archaeology, London, 175-195.
Jelgersma, S 1979 Sea-level changes in the North Sea basin, in
Oele, E, Schiittenhelm, R T E and Wiggers, A J (eds) The
Quaternary History of the North Sea. Ada Univ UpsSymp Univ
Ups Annum Quingentesimum Celebrantis: 2, Uppsala, 233-
248.
Kellaway.GA 1971 Glaciation and the stones of Stonehenge,
Nature, London 255, 30-38.
Kittleman, L K 1979 Geologic methods in studies of Quater-
nary tephra, in Sheets, P D and Grayson, D K (eds) Volcanic
Activity and Human Ecology, New York, 49-82.
MacKie, E W1972 Radiocarbon dates for two Mesolithic shell
heaps and a Neolithic axe factory in Scotland, Proc Prehist
Soc3S, 412-416.
Morrison, A 1980 Early Man in Britain and Ireland: An Introduc-
tion to Palaeolithic and Mesolithic Cultures, London.
Morrison, A 1981 The coastal Mesolithic in south-west Scot-
land, in Gramsch, B (ed) Mesolithikum in Europa, Veroffent-
lichungen des Museums fur Ur- und Fruhgeschichte
Potsdam, Band 14-15 (1979-80), 441-450.
Nichols, H 1967 Vegetational change, shoreline displacement
and the human factor in the late Quaternary histoiy of
south-west Scotland, Trans Roy Soc Edinburgh 67,145-187.
RENFREW, C 1983 Geography, archaeology and environment:
I. Archaeology, Geogr Journ 149, 316-323.
ShOTTON, F W 1969 Petrological examination, in Brothwell, D
and Higgs, E (eds) Science in Archaeology 2nd edition, Lon-
don, 571-577.
Shotton, F W and Hendry, G L 1979 The developing field of
petrology in archaeology, Journ Archaeol Science 6, 75-84.
SLOAN, D 1982 Nether Kinneil, Current Archaeology 8(1), 13-15.
Sparks, B W and West, R G 1972 The Ice Age in Britain, Lon-
don.
Stevenson, R B K 1948 A shell-heap at Polmonthill, Falkirk,
Proc Soc Antiq Scot 80 (1945-46), 135-139.
Stone, J F S and Wallis, FS1951 Third report of the sub-com-
11
mittee of the south-western group of Museums and Art
Galleries on the petrological determination of stone axes,
Proc Prehist Soc 17, 99-158.
Tabraham, C J 1982 Observations on its date and function,
pp 47-50 in Barber, J The Deil's Dyke, Nithsdale, Trans
Dumfriesshire Galloway, JVatur Hist Antiq Soc 57, 29-50.
Wilcox, R E 1965 Volcanic-ash chronology, in Wright, H EJr
and Frey, D G (eds) The Quaternary of the United States,
Princeton, 807-816.
This paper is published with the aid ofa grantfrom the Carnegie
Trust for the Universities of Scotland.