Dungeness and Romney Marsh: Barrier Dynamics and Marshland Evolution

by Anthony J. Long

The Romney Marsh / Dungeness Foreland depositional complex comprises an extensive tract of marshland and associated sand and gravel barrier deposits, located in the eastern English Channel. This monograph presents the results of a programme of palaeoenvironmental investigation aimed at improving our understanding of this internationally-significant coastal landform. The focus is on the evidence for landscape change during the late Holocene, from c. 3000 BC onwards, and on identifying the local, regional and global driving mechanisms responsible for the changes observed. The research details the results from two related projects, each funded as part of English Heritage's Aggregate Levy Sustainability Fund scheme. The first project concerns the late Holocene evolution of the port of Rye, located in the southeast part of the complex, and the second the depositional history of the gravel foreland. Topics explored include the vegetation and land-use history of the study area, methodological issues relating to the collection and interpretation of radiocarbon dates from coastal lowlands, the role of compaction in influencing landscape and sea-level change, and the effects of medieval storms on coastal flooding and landscape change. This monograph is intended for students and researchers interested in Holocene coastal evolution and sea-level change, coastal vegetation history and land-use history, and the development of new techniques for reconstructing past environmental change in coastal lowlands.

Table of Contents

Introduction ( Antony J Long, Martyn P Waller and Andrew J Plater )
The Rye pre-inundation landscape and vegetation history ( Martyn P Waller and J Edward Schofield )
The Rye the timing of inundation and post-breach coastal evolution ( Antony J Long, Martyn P Waller, Paul Stupples and J Edward Schofield )
The depositional history of Dungeness Foreland ( Andrew J Plater, Paul Stupples and Helen M Roberts )
The chrono- and biostratigraphy of the natural pits on Dungeness Foreland; implications for foreland evolution and vegetation history ( Martyn P Waller, J Edward Schofield and Antony J Long )
The late-Holocene evolution of the Romney Marsh / Dungeness Foreland depositional complex ( Antony J Long, Martyn P Waller and Andrew J Plater )
Conclusions ( Antony J Long, Martyn P Waller and Andrew J Plater )
Appendix 1: The Rye absolute dating radiocarbon results ( W Derek Hamilton, J Edward Schofield, Martyn P Waller, Chris Bronk Ramsey and Johannes van der Plicht )
Appendix 2: The Dungeness Foreland absolute dating radiocarbon results ( John Meadows, Alex Bayliss, Martyn P Waller, J Edward Schofield, Chris Bronk Ramsey and Johannes van der Plicht )
Reference list
Index

240 pages, Hardcover

First published December 1, 2007