Geoarchaeological Assessment of Proposed Gravel Extraction at Joyce Green, Dartford, Kent

Geotechnical logs of 52 cores and test pits were used to examine the subsurface structure and stratigraphy of late Quaternary deposits. The proposed extraction sites lie due east of the confluence of the rivers Darent and Cray centred on NGR TQ 540764, with a group of seven smaller pits in gravels exposed over Chalk north-east of the main site. Two principal geologic units were recognised: the Pleistocene Darent Valley Member of the Darent Formation, and the Tilbury Member of the Lower Thames Formation. Both of these units may contain settlement remains, albeit of significantly different age and contextual integrity. Stratigraphic correlations made on the basis of lithology were used to identify palaeogeographic features (i.e. gravel islands, tidal channels, and peat) buried within the site, and identify areas where settlement remains and palaeoenvironmental evidence may best be obtained.