POLLEN PROJECT
​​​As part of the Digging Deeper phase of our exploration of Under Whitle our attention turned to the environment and what it might have been like in the past. In part this was because we had found so little environmental evidence during ‘Peeling Back the Layers’. We had little to go on beyond a few oats that were recovered in soil samples taken on the house platform which suggested that the occupants probably included oats in their diet, and after all Staffordshire is famous for its oatcakes!
We knew from the initial walkover survey carried out by archaeologist Jim Rylatt some years before that there were areas of wetland and there are a number of springs running along the valley side at Under Whitle. To this end we enlisted the services of Dr Tudur Davies, an environmental archaeologist, to explore the possibility of using these to tell the story of the environment as such wetlands are often a rich source of environmental evidence such as pollen and other organic matter.
There were three sites in particular that looked really promising, one near the River Dove, one in the central area of Under Whitle and one on the valley side at the edge of an area of woodland. This last one was in fact a small peat bog some 20 metres in diameter, and it was selected for further work. In order to this a cored sample was taken from the middle of the bog. Think of this as taking a giant apple core! The bog proved to be quite shallow really, a little over 1.6 metres deep in the centre, but as you can see here in the image, it took three of our volunteers to take the core!​​​​​​​
Volunteers Sue, George and Emily taking a core sample from the bog.
​The sample was sent off to the laboratory for stabilisation and preliminary examination. This revealed that there was indeed a rich pollen record contained in the bog and this warranted further examination. The first step was to begin to date our evidence, and to do this small samples of organic material were sent off the Radiocarbon Dating Lab at Queen’s University in Belfast. These samples came from the top, middle and bottom of the core in order to firstly give us a date when the bog formed and then to help us understand the rate at which it formed over time. The results proved to be really exciting! The bog had an initial formation date of approximately 1100 BCE, putting it in the Late Bronze Age. Our two other dates gave us a date for the late 9th century CE and a third date in the middle of the 13th century CE and a final date from the 20th century CE. So we knew then that the bog was around 3,000 years old and the condition of the sediments suggested that it formed when a natural spring became blocked, probably due to the erosion of soils further up the valley side over. We also knew that there were slight changes at the rate at which the bog grew with the first change happening in the 9th century CE. What caused this change is still uncertain, but it has to be a factor in the further analysis of the results.
The initial analysis of the pollen samples secured from the bog was based on broadly 100 year sections using the radiocarbon dates as a guide. This showed a relatively open landscape from the 7th century CE onwards. As might be expected, there were fluctuating levels of tree cover, cereal-type pollen (this includes members of the grass family), and species associated with both agriculture and a cooler climate. There was a big surprise for everyone concerned A particularly encouraging finding evidence of Rye being grown at Under Whitle in the second half of the 9th century – so between 850 and 900 CE.​​​​​
Electron microscope image of Rye (Secale cereale) pollen grain (courtesy of PalDat - www.paldat.org)
​​​​​​​In addition to this, the percentages of cereal-type pollen grains in the sample, was amongst the highest found in Britain to date. Intense discussions ensued as to how to proceed as many sources of funding for community projects such as this do not fund research which does not involve the community as such. We were fortunate to learn that a government funded scheme managed locally by the Peak District National Park Authority (PDNPA) – Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) - was a possible solution to our problem. The group applied for funding for a specialist to undertake a more detailed analysis of the pollen record we had and we were successful!
In terms of the detailed findings of this analysis, they were beyond anybody’s expectations, even Dr Davies was blown away by the findings. Given the astonishing levels of preservation hinted at in the initial phase were present throughout all sections of the core giving us an unprecedented picture of the environment at Under Whitle between 600 CE and 1500 CE. In all some 13 pollen zones were identified by Dr Davies and some of the highlights include:
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Walnut pollen present in most of the core. Walnut was introduced to Britain by the Romans and is not normally found this far north. Nevertheless it is a persistent presence on the pollen record at Under Whitle. Strongly suggests people are responsible for this.
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Beech pollen is often present but is not native to this part of Britain. Beech in woodland at Under Whitle reaches a peak in the 13/14th century CE, at one point accounting for a large percentage of the total tree pollen in the samples examined.[TD1] Beech woodland was an important resource for feeding pigs.
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There are many episodes of decline in indicators of both arable farming and woodland cover at Under Whitle. Some seem to be in response to climate change and some may be due to social/cultural factors or even historical events. What’s just as important is that agriculture bounces back, pointing to the resilience of the farmers who lived there.
So, the emerging story at Under Whitle is one that begins with people settling and farming in the area possibly at least as early as the 7th century CE. We know that people were certainly in the Peak District before that time, and there’s evidence from the end of the last Ice Age in both the Dove and Manifold Valleys to show this. The pollen evidence is showing us a more detailed picture than ever before of the environment here, and of people’s role in changing that through agriculture and woodland management. By the beginning of the 10th century CE it seems that arable farming is firmly established alongside pastoral activities at Under Whitle and has been continually farmed ever since.
The team of volunteers who make up the Tudor Farming Interpretation Group have worked tirelessly over the years to uncover the story of Under Whitle and the families who have lived there, farming for the most part, but also building a community that continues to this day. The TFIG, all the volunteers, the professionals and anyone who has participated – including all those children who took part in the excavations – could not have produced any of this without the generous support of a number of organisations over the years, and the Pollen Project in particular could not have happened with the help of Rebekah Newman at the PDNPA and the Farming in Protected Landscapes (FiPL) committee for their generous support!​​