I have research interests in the prehistory of the Middle East and southern England (especially Neolithic and Bronze Age), Quaternary Science, Geoarchaeology/Geomorphology, Environmental Archaeology/palaeoecology. Application of multi proxy techniques e.g. Phytoliths, pollen, geochemistry. Former interests include the restoration of vintage lawnmowers (e.g. Ransomes, Webb, Dennis, Atco) and British Motor Cycles (BSA, Royal Enfield).
Quaternary environments on the Arabian Peninsula shifted between pronounced arid conditions and p... more Quaternary environments on the Arabian Peninsula shifted between pronounced arid conditions and phases of increased rainfall, which had a profound impact on Earth surface processes. However, while aeolian sediment dynamics are reasonably well understood, there is a lack of knowledge with regard to variability in the fluvial systems. Presented here are the findings from several locations within wadi drainage systems to the west of the Hajar Mountains (United Arab Emirates). The performance of optically stimulated luminescence dating using a customized standardized growth curve approach is investigated, showing that this approach allows reliable determination of ages by reducing the machine time required. Three main periods of fluvial activity occurred at 160–135, 43–34, and ca. 20 ka. Additional ages fall into the latest Pleistocene and Late Holocene. None of the ages coincides with major wet periods in SE Arabia that have been identified in stalagmites and by the deposition of lake ...
Quaternary palaeoenvironmental (QP) sites in Southeast Arabia are important not only to understan... more Quaternary palaeoenvironmental (QP) sites in Southeast Arabia are important not only to understand the history of global climate change but also to study how ancient humans adapted to a changing natural environment. These sites, however, are currently missing from conservation frameworks despite reports of destroyed sites and sites under imminent threat. This study presents the Geocultural Database of Southeast Arabia, the first open-access database on QP sites in this region, created as a comprehensive inventory of regional QP sites and a tool to analyse QP records and archaeological records. The endangerment assessment of QP sites in this database reveals that 13% of QP sites have already been destroyed and 15% of them are under imminent threat of destruction, primarily due to urban development and infrastructure development. Chronological and spatial analyses of QP and archaeological sites and records highlight the intricate relationship between palaeoenvironment and archaeology ...
Changing climatic conditions are thought to be a major control of human presence in Arabia during... more Changing climatic conditions are thought to be a major control of human presence in Arabia during the Paleolithic. Whilst the Pleistocene archaeological record shows that periods of increased monsoon rainfall attracted human occupation and led to increased population densities, the impact of arid conditions on human populations in Arabia remains largely speculative. Here, we present data from Jebel Faya in Southeast (SE) Arabia, which document four periods of human occupation between c. 210,000 and 120,000 years ago. The Jebel Faya record indicates that human occupation of SE Arabia was more regular and not exclusively linked to major humid periods. Our data show that brief phases of increased rainfall additionally enabled human settlement in the Faya region. These results imply that the mosaic environments in SE Arabia have likely formed a population refugia at the end of the Middle and the beginning of the Late Pleistocene.
<p>Potential Holocene drainage is displayed in blue, with currently severed drainage connec... more <p>Potential Holocene drainage is displayed in blue, with currently severed drainage connections that may have been active during Holocene humid periods interpreted and displayed in grey. Numbered Wadis: (1) Wadi as Sirhan, (2) Wadi al Hamd, (3) Euphrates, (4) Wadi al Batin, (5) Wadi Sabha. Potential palaeolake or swamp deposits detected through remote sensing which may relate to Holocene humidity are displayed for the region surrounding Jubbah. All data is overlain upon SRTMv4 elevation data <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0068061#pone.0068061-Jarvis1" target="_blank">[124]</a> and Natural Earth 2 offshore data. Archaeological site locations calculated from survey data of the ‘Comprehensive Archaeological Survey Programme’, more information is provided in Groucutt and Petraglia <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0068061#pone.0068061-Groucutt1" target="_blank">[111]</a>.</p
<p>The enlarged views represent the basal ventrally retouched parts (x3). Top one (broken) ... more <p>The enlarged views represent the basal ventrally retouched parts (x3). Top one (broken) is in crystal quartz.</p
ABSTRACTThis study investigates hydrological responses to climatic shifts using sediment flux dat... more ABSTRACTThis study investigates hydrological responses to climatic shifts using sediment flux data derived from two dated palaeolake records in south‐east Arabia. Flux values are generally low during the early Holocene humid period (EHHP) (∼9.0–6.4k cal a BP) although several short‐lived pulses of increased detrital input are recorded, the most prominent of which is dated between ∼8.3 and 7.9k cal a BP. The EHHP is separated from the mid‐Holocene humid period (MHHP) (∼5.0–4.3k cal a BP) by a phase of increased sediment flux and aridity, which began between ∼6.4 and 5.9k cal a BP and peaked between ∼5.2 and 5.0k cal a BP. The termination of the MHHP is marked by a phase of high detrital sediment flux between ∼4.3 and 3.9k cal a BP. While long‐term shifts in climate are most likely linked to changes in the summer position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and associated Indian and African monsoon systems, it is noted that the abrupt, short‐term phases of aridity observed in both r...
The January 2009 fieldwork season conducted geomorphological and palaeoenviromental surveys in as... more The January 2009 fieldwork season conducted geomorphological and palaeoenviromental surveys in as yet unexplored parts of the Lake Megafazzan Basin, as well as continuing research in the Wadi al-Hayat and Ubari Sand Sea. Lake Megafazzan sediments were investigated at two sites on the eastern margin of the basin. At the first site, east of Tamessah, 24 m of stratigraphy was investigated and found to consist of a lacustrine carbonate unit at the base progressing into a fluvial unit and then an upper carbonate unit. The sediments were sampled for magnetostratigraphy and cosmogenic nucleide dating in order to determine their age. Similar studies were undertaken in the vicinity of the Arial Agricultural Project, where 31 m of section were logged and sampled. Here the sediments were quite different, being composed of a deltaic sequence consisting of stacked channels and palaeosols, thought to represent the outflow delta of the palaeolake. Many new Holocene lake sediment deposits were disc...
Quaternary environments on the Arabian Peninsula shifted between pronounced arid conditions and p... more Quaternary environments on the Arabian Peninsula shifted between pronounced arid conditions and phases of increased rainfall, which had a profound impact on Earth surface processes. However, while aeolian sediment dynamics are reasonably well understood, there is a lack of knowledge with regard to variability in the fluvial systems. Presented here are the findings from several locations within wadi drainage systems to the west of the Hajar Mountains (United Arab Emirates). The performance of optically stimulated luminescence dating using a customized standardized growth curve approach is investigated, showing that this approach allows reliable determination of ages by reducing the machine time required. Three main periods of fluvial activity occurred at 160–135, 43–34, and ca. 20 ka. Additional ages fall into the latest Pleistocene and Late Holocene. None of the ages coincides with major wet periods in SE Arabia that have been identified in stalagmites and by the deposition of lake ...
Quaternary palaeoenvironmental (QP) sites in Southeast Arabia are important not only to understan... more Quaternary palaeoenvironmental (QP) sites in Southeast Arabia are important not only to understand the history of global climate change but also to study how ancient humans adapted to a changing natural environment. These sites, however, are currently missing from conservation frameworks despite reports of destroyed sites and sites under imminent threat. This study presents the Geocultural Database of Southeast Arabia, the first open-access database on QP sites in this region, created as a comprehensive inventory of regional QP sites and a tool to analyse QP records and archaeological records. The endangerment assessment of QP sites in this database reveals that 13% of QP sites have already been destroyed and 15% of them are under imminent threat of destruction, primarily due to urban development and infrastructure development. Chronological and spatial analyses of QP and archaeological sites and records highlight the intricate relationship between palaeoenvironment and archaeology ...
Changing climatic conditions are thought to be a major control of human presence in Arabia during... more Changing climatic conditions are thought to be a major control of human presence in Arabia during the Paleolithic. Whilst the Pleistocene archaeological record shows that periods of increased monsoon rainfall attracted human occupation and led to increased population densities, the impact of arid conditions on human populations in Arabia remains largely speculative. Here, we present data from Jebel Faya in Southeast (SE) Arabia, which document four periods of human occupation between c. 210,000 and 120,000 years ago. The Jebel Faya record indicates that human occupation of SE Arabia was more regular and not exclusively linked to major humid periods. Our data show that brief phases of increased rainfall additionally enabled human settlement in the Faya region. These results imply that the mosaic environments in SE Arabia have likely formed a population refugia at the end of the Middle and the beginning of the Late Pleistocene.
<p>Potential Holocene drainage is displayed in blue, with currently severed drainage connec... more <p>Potential Holocene drainage is displayed in blue, with currently severed drainage connections that may have been active during Holocene humid periods interpreted and displayed in grey. Numbered Wadis: (1) Wadi as Sirhan, (2) Wadi al Hamd, (3) Euphrates, (4) Wadi al Batin, (5) Wadi Sabha. Potential palaeolake or swamp deposits detected through remote sensing which may relate to Holocene humidity are displayed for the region surrounding Jubbah. All data is overlain upon SRTMv4 elevation data <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0068061#pone.0068061-Jarvis1" target="_blank">[124]</a> and Natural Earth 2 offshore data. Archaeological site locations calculated from survey data of the ‘Comprehensive Archaeological Survey Programme’, more information is provided in Groucutt and Petraglia <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0068061#pone.0068061-Groucutt1" target="_blank">[111]</a>.</p
<p>The enlarged views represent the basal ventrally retouched parts (x3). Top one (broken) ... more <p>The enlarged views represent the basal ventrally retouched parts (x3). Top one (broken) is in crystal quartz.</p
ABSTRACTThis study investigates hydrological responses to climatic shifts using sediment flux dat... more ABSTRACTThis study investigates hydrological responses to climatic shifts using sediment flux data derived from two dated palaeolake records in south‐east Arabia. Flux values are generally low during the early Holocene humid period (EHHP) (∼9.0–6.4k cal a BP) although several short‐lived pulses of increased detrital input are recorded, the most prominent of which is dated between ∼8.3 and 7.9k cal a BP. The EHHP is separated from the mid‐Holocene humid period (MHHP) (∼5.0–4.3k cal a BP) by a phase of increased sediment flux and aridity, which began between ∼6.4 and 5.9k cal a BP and peaked between ∼5.2 and 5.0k cal a BP. The termination of the MHHP is marked by a phase of high detrital sediment flux between ∼4.3 and 3.9k cal a BP. While long‐term shifts in climate are most likely linked to changes in the summer position of the Intertropical Convergence Zone and associated Indian and African monsoon systems, it is noted that the abrupt, short‐term phases of aridity observed in both r...
The January 2009 fieldwork season conducted geomorphological and palaeoenviromental surveys in as... more The January 2009 fieldwork season conducted geomorphological and palaeoenviromental surveys in as yet unexplored parts of the Lake Megafazzan Basin, as well as continuing research in the Wadi al-Hayat and Ubari Sand Sea. Lake Megafazzan sediments were investigated at two sites on the eastern margin of the basin. At the first site, east of Tamessah, 24 m of stratigraphy was investigated and found to consist of a lacustrine carbonate unit at the base progressing into a fluvial unit and then an upper carbonate unit. The sediments were sampled for magnetostratigraphy and cosmogenic nucleide dating in order to determine their age. Similar studies were undertaken in the vicinity of the Arial Agricultural Project, where 31 m of section were logged and sampled. Here the sediments were quite different, being composed of a deltaic sequence consisting of stacked channels and palaeosols, thought to represent the outflow delta of the palaeolake. Many new Holocene lake sediment deposits were disc...
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