Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of coastal aeolian sand accumulation in Sanday, Orkney Islands, Scotland
Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of sand has been used to identify periods of enhanced aeolian activity at two coastal archaeological sites in Orkney that coincide with periods of Holocene climatic deterioration recorded elsewhere in both Scotland and W Europe. Areas of Tofts Ness, San...
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crsagepubl:10.1177/0959683607078987 2024-10-13T14:07:47+00:00 Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of coastal aeolian sand accumulation in Sanday, Orkney Islands, Scotland Sommerville, A.A. Hansom, J.D. Housley, R.A. Sanderson, D.C.W. 2007 http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0959683607078987 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0959683607078987 en eng SAGE Publications https://journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license The Holocene volume 17, issue 5, page 627-637 ISSN 0959-6836 1477-0911 journal-article 2007 crsagepubl https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683607078987 2024-09-24T04:11:57Z Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of sand has been used to identify periods of enhanced aeolian activity at two coastal archaeological sites in Orkney that coincide with periods of Holocene climatic deterioration recorded elsewhere in both Scotland and W Europe. Areas of Tofts Ness, Sanday were settled from the Neolithic, abandoned in the late Neolithic/early Bronze Age, reoccupied and permanently abandoned in the Iron Age. Sand layers above the Neolithic soils have been OSL dated to about 4000 BP, correlating well with a period of increased aeolian activity elsewhere in W Europe. OSL dating of aeolian sands above midden deposits and a Bronze Age burial at Lopness on Sanday suggest dune development by 3000 BP, although both sites also contain sand that was deposited during the `Little Ice Age'. Several possible mechanisms may have contributed to an increase in aeolian activity during the Holocene that led to the abandonment of these sites. Although volcanic eruptions in Iceland cannot be discounted as a contributory factor, a more likely driver of change in sand dune systems is the enhanced N Atlantic storminess suggested by ice core records from Greenland. During periods of climatic deterioration the declining productivity of other agricultural land places enhanced demands on agriculturally marginal sand dunes, leading to further destabilization and the potential for enhanced sand transport events. Article in Journal/Newspaper Greenland ice core Iceland SAGE Publications Greenland The Holocene 17 5 627 637 |
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English |
description |
Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of sand has been used to identify periods of enhanced aeolian activity at two coastal archaeological sites in Orkney that coincide with periods of Holocene climatic deterioration recorded elsewhere in both Scotland and W Europe. Areas of Tofts Ness, Sanday were settled from the Neolithic, abandoned in the late Neolithic/early Bronze Age, reoccupied and permanently abandoned in the Iron Age. Sand layers above the Neolithic soils have been OSL dated to about 4000 BP, correlating well with a period of increased aeolian activity elsewhere in W Europe. OSL dating of aeolian sands above midden deposits and a Bronze Age burial at Lopness on Sanday suggest dune development by 3000 BP, although both sites also contain sand that was deposited during the `Little Ice Age'. Several possible mechanisms may have contributed to an increase in aeolian activity during the Holocene that led to the abandonment of these sites. Although volcanic eruptions in Iceland cannot be discounted as a contributory factor, a more likely driver of change in sand dune systems is the enhanced N Atlantic storminess suggested by ice core records from Greenland. During periods of climatic deterioration the declining productivity of other agricultural land places enhanced demands on agriculturally marginal sand dunes, leading to further destabilization and the potential for enhanced sand transport events. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Sommerville, A.A. Hansom, J.D. Housley, R.A. Sanderson, D.C.W. |
spellingShingle |
Sommerville, A.A. Hansom, J.D. Housley, R.A. Sanderson, D.C.W. Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of coastal aeolian sand accumulation in Sanday, Orkney Islands, Scotland |
author_facet |
Sommerville, A.A. Hansom, J.D. Housley, R.A. Sanderson, D.C.W. |
author_sort |
Sommerville, A.A. |
title |
Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of coastal aeolian sand accumulation in Sanday, Orkney Islands, Scotland |
title_short |
Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of coastal aeolian sand accumulation in Sanday, Orkney Islands, Scotland |
title_full |
Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of coastal aeolian sand accumulation in Sanday, Orkney Islands, Scotland |
title_fullStr |
Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of coastal aeolian sand accumulation in Sanday, Orkney Islands, Scotland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) dating of coastal aeolian sand accumulation in Sanday, Orkney Islands, Scotland |
title_sort |
optically stimulated luminescence (osl) dating of coastal aeolian sand accumulation in sanday, orkney islands, scotland |
publisher |
SAGE Publications |
publishDate |
2007 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0959683607078987 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/0959683607078987 |
geographic |
Greenland |
geographic_facet |
Greenland |
genre |
Greenland ice core Iceland |
genre_facet |
Greenland ice core Iceland |
op_source |
The Holocene volume 17, issue 5, page 627-637 ISSN 0959-6836 1477-0911 |
op_rights |
https://journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1177/0959683607078987 |
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The Holocene |
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17 |
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5 |
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627 |
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637 |
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1812814301365272576 |