Aldi Store, Brigg

Geoarchaeological investigation of deposits at Bridge Street, Brigg, indicates Made Ground, fine-grained postglacial alluvium, basal sands and possible reworked glaciolacustrine deposits of late Pleistocene or very early Holocene date. The alluvium includes units of peat/peaty silt around 2m below ground level, which are indicative of freshwater environments where waterlogged organic sediments have accumulated. Environmental assessment of four discrete biological proxies (pollen, diatoms, insects and waterlogged plant remains) was undertaken on selected peaty samples and suggested variable preservation of biological proxies. Pollen was found to be relatively well-preserved in the two uppermost samples. Diatoms were absent from all samples. Insect remains, mostly Coleoptera (beetles), were recovered in small quantities in the upper two samples, but were very poorly preserved in the lowermost sample. Waterlogged plant remains were generally well-preserved, but the range and quantity of remains was relatively limited. No proxies indicated evidence for potential human activity within the area. Radiocarbon dating of two discrete samples from WS03 suggests that the organic materials were deposited in the Middle Bronze Age.