Wansunt Pit
| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
 | |
| Location | Greater London Kent |
|---|---|
| Grid reference | TQ514736 TQ515738 |
| Interest | Geological |
| Area | 1.9 hectares |
| Notification | 1990 |
| Location map | Magic Map |
Wansunt Pitis a 1.9-hectare (4.7-acre) geologicalSite of Special Scientific InterestinDartford HeathbetweenCrayfordin theLondon Borough of BexleyandDartfordinKent.It is also aGeological Conservation Reviewsite. It is important geologically because it exposes the Dartford Heath Gravel, and the relationship of this exposure to the Swanscombe sequence and the Thames Terraces is a controversial issue in ThamesPleistocenestudies.[1][2]The site is part ofBraeburn Park,[3]a nature reserve managed by theLondon Wildlife Trust.[4]
Archaeology
[edit]The site is also important archaeologically. Excavations going back over a hundred years have revealed stone tools ofHomo Heidelbergensis,dating fromMarine Isotopic Stage 11,equivalent to the geologicalHoxnian Stage,aninterglacialperiod between 424,000 and 374,000 years ago.[5]Other finds include sixteenBronze Ageaxes and seventeenIron Agegold armlets.[6]
The site
[edit]The site is divided into two units. The first is crossed by Galloway Drive and the second, which is inaccessible, is north west of Denton Road. Both are in an unfavourable condition.[7][8][9]
See also
[edit]- List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Greater London
- List of Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Kent
References
[edit]- ^"Natural England, Wansunt Pit SSSI citation"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 24 October 2012.Retrieved11 July2012.
- ^"Wansunt Pit, Dartford Heath (Quaternary of the Thames)".Joint Nature Conservation Committee.Retrieved16 January2016.
- ^London Wildlife Trust."SINC Review".London Borough of Bexley. p. 116. Archived fromthe originalon 25 January 2016.Retrieved18 January2016.
- ^"Braeburn Park".London Wildlife Trust.Retrieved16 January2016.
- ^Juby, Caroline (2011)London before London: Reconstructing a Palaeolithic Landscape,Royal Holloway, University of London, Department of Geography, p. 94
- ^Dartford Town Archive, Prehistoric Industry
- ^"Map of Wansunt Pit SSSI".Natural England.
- ^Natural England, Wansunt Pit Unit 1
- ^Natural England, Wansunt Pit Unit 2