GOUGH'S CAVE: MICROSTRATIGRAPHY OF LATE PLEISTOCENE/EARLIEST HOLOCENE SEDIMENTS 



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Fig. 3 Gough's Sample D (Table 1 ), consisting of rounded bone (B) and clayey sediment aggregates ( Ag) in a calcareous silty clay. Note secondary 

 porosity (V) composed of channels and vughs that feature secondary calcite carbonate growth. XPL; width of photo is ca. 5.4 mm. 



DISCUSSION 



It has not been an easy task to reconstruct the sedimentary history of 

 Gough's Cave, because the micro-sedimentary evidence by neces- 

 sity, has been gathered from the small (max. 40 mm thick) pockets of 

 sediment that remain on the extreme edges of the main cave, and the 

 mainly early Holocene sequence in the Sand Hole. 



The sequence at Gough's is quite localized and built up from non- 

 continuous exposures within the cave, and so must be considered as 

 yielding only a partial history of the cave. The sedimentary sequence 

 commences with the deposition of the conglomerate, followed by 

 sands and gravels that fine upwards to the red silts, with muds being 



restricted only to the Sand Hole (Table 1 ). This Late Glacial accumu- 

 lation lasted from about 12,000 to 10,500 l4 C years bp, and seems to 

 be roughly correlated with the Windermere Interstadial (ca. 13,000 

 to 1 1 ,000 l4 C years bp) through to the Loch Lomond Stadial ( 1 1 ,000 

 to 10,000 14 C years bp). Human skeletal remains occurred within the 

 red silts and were variably coated with silty clay through to sand and 

 fine gravel (Currant and Stringer, NHM, pers. comm.). The bones 

 (Stringer, 2000) that date to ca. 13,000 to 1 1,500 radiocarbon years 

 ago would thus appear to be in situ and contemporary with the lower 

 energy deposition of the upward fining sequence. 



This phreatic period appears to be contemporary with both Upper 

 Palaeolithic activity and the Windermere Interstadial (Table 2). The 

 formation of the conglomerate can perhaps be best related to 



Fig. 4 Sample B from Gough's Cave (Table 1 ). Macroview of laminated silts and clays over conglomerate, the basal deposit. Width of photo ca. 1.1 cm. 



