56 



R.I. MACPHAIL AND P. GOLDBERG 



Table 1 Selected soil micromorphological observations. 



Area/Context/ 

 Unit 



Sample 



Relative 

 Depth (m) 



Field 



Micromorphology 



Sand Hole' 











'Frog earth' 



A upper 





0-0.19 m: 

 Yellowish red 

 (5YR4/6) sandy 

 loam. 



Structure: Massive, intermixed coarse silts and fine sand with thin 

 beds and very coarse infills of silty clay; coarse vughy porosity. Very 

 abundant sand-size bone, coprolite and possible fish bones; occasional 

 long (3 cm) amphibian? bones; vertebra? also present; inclusions of 

 stalagmite. Microfabric: C:F, 80:20, speckled brown (PPL), medium 

 to high interference colours (close porphyric, crystallitic b-fabric; 

 XPL), orange brown (OIL); rare charcoal. 



'Laminated 

 stalagmite' 



A lower 



0.11-0.27 



0.19-0.41 m:pink 

 (5YR7/4) laminated 

 stalagmite. 



Structure: Very finely (200 um) bedded stalagmite with coarse 

 limestone inclusions and silty clay bands. Likely lichen/algal 

 stalagmite growth. Lower part contains few very leached bone 

 fragments, otherwise sterile. Microfabric: whitish to cloudy grey 

 (PPL), high to very high interference colours (crystallitic b-fabric); 

 white to greyish brown (OIL); very abundant pseudomorphs of plant 

 material in places. Porous basal stony layer features abundant micritic 

 (with clay staining) coatings. 



'Brown Clay' 



B 



0.42-0.47 



0.41-0.49 m: 

 reddish brown 

 (5YR5/4) clay, with 

 whitish patches 

 (bone ghosts?); clay 

 mixed with 

 stalagmite and 

 blackened, possible 

 reindeer bones. 



Lower part of this massive and heterogeneous clay is sterile except for 

 rare plant fragments, while the upper part is rich in very fine to coarse 

 sand-size, very pale bone, with 'vole' teeth. Under UVL, the bone has 

 a whitish grey autofluorescence; pores within the bone are also infilled 

 with dirty clay. The sediment is also characterised by a patchy 

 autofluorescence under UVL, and a partially closed vughy porosity. 

 Microfabric: C:F, 80:20; dominant (clast supported) angular small 

 stone size limestone and calcite, common angular to subrounded fine 

 to medium sand and silt-size quartz: speckled brown and greyish 

 brown (PPL), moderate to high interference colours (close porphyric, 

 crystallitic b-fabric; XPL), bright orange brown (OIL); frequent (15%) 

 coarse packing voids, with many clayey/calcitic coatings in the lower 

 part and many dark red clay coatings in upper part. 



'Red Clay' 



C; 2 thin 

 sections 



0.50-0.66 



0.49-0.90+ m: 

 yellowish red 

 (5YR4/6) 'sterile'? 

 clay over limestone 

 blocks. 



Structure: Dense massive, with rare interconnecting channels, fine 

 bone and occasional plant fragments and possible in situ roots. At the 

 base, cracks are present alongside rare plant fragments and many 

 sand-size red clay papules (Fig. 2); C:F. 20:80; silt-size quartz, and 

 rare very fine sand; speckled dark yellow/reddish brown (PPL), low 

 interference colours (open porphyric, reticulate b-fabric; XPL), orange 

 brown (OIL). 



South Wall 











'Reindeer 

 stalagmite' 



F; 2 thin 

 sections 





Post stalagmite 

 brown silt and 

 charcoal, over 

 stalagmite 

 containing a 

 reindeer tooth and 

 charcoal. 



Structure: Massive with disrupted beds and many closed vughs. 

 Poorly sorted with stone size, angular limestone and sand-size quartz; 

 charcoal, many bones and occasional teeth; C:F, 60:40; common to 

 dominant stone inclusions (some limestone showing etching), with 

 frequent to common medium sand of quartz and flint, with very few 

 fine sand size to gravel size bone - some brown stained some leached 

 and rounded (ex-regurgitation pellets?), possible teeth fragments; 

 occasional sand size rounded charcoal; patchy grey and brown (PPL), 

 medium and high interference colours (gefuric and open porphyric, 

 crystallitic b-fabric, XPL), grey and pale brown (OIL); many 1-8 mm 

 thick silty clay pans (width of slide): abundant brown clayey micritic 

 hypocoatings on voids and embedding large clasts. 



North Wall 











Area 1 (1987) 











Red Silt 



44 



0-0.15 



Red Silt. 



Structure: Massive to weakly coarse platy; Porosity: lower 20 mm 

 -5% voids, with fine channels and vughs; uppermost 25 mm 15-20% 

 voids of coarse, smooth-walled vughs and channels. Mineral: C:F, 

 85:15 in lower 20 mm with horizontal fine (200 um) bands of 100:00 

 (elutriated) very dominant silt to fine sand size angular quartz (and 

 mica); with frequent fine, medium and coarse sand size quartz, 

 limestone (also calcite); poorly rounded fragments of clay pans, 

 clay/soil granules, sediment papules. Top 25 mm: dominant very 

 coarse sand size quartz, quartzite, ferruginous nodules, etched calcite 



continued . 



