Palaeobotany

Abstract

The extreme south-east of England has always been seen as a key area for the history of vegetation since the end of the last glacial period, since it is that part of the country nearest to the continent. Sea-levels were low enough until about 8000 years ago for there to have been continuous dry land connecting Britain with France and Belgium. Although this was probably not the last surviving connection with the continent (see Fig. 2.4), it is likely that most of the British and Irish native flora spread into these islands across this land connection in the early Post-glacial and hence arrived first in south-east England (cf. Rose, 1972). However, so far the paucity of sites with relevant palaeobotanical information has precluded confirmation that this was the case. The excavations at Holywell Coombe have provided a unique opportunity to investigate in detail the Late-glacial and Post-glacial vegetational history of south-eastern England and to obtain a dated record.