Re-investigation of the Hippo Site, East Mersea, Essex

Abstract

This paper describes the lithology and stratigraphy of Pleistocene deposits exposed on the foreshore near the Hippo Site, East Mersea, Essex. With a partly Ipswichian (MIS 5e - 130-115ka BP) origin these palaeochannel deposits provide valuable evidence for palaeoenvironmental reconstruction. Despite the various Pleistocene mega-fauna fossils discovered at the site, detailed investigation had not previously been undertaken.

This paper shows that the stratigraphy of the Hippo Site palaeochannel is more complex than previously thought, with interbedded organic muds, silty clays, sands and gravel. The Hippo Site itself sits within well-preserved organic muds, which are rich in pollen and on that basis, have been correlated with the climatic optimum of the Ipswichian (substage IIb). At the time these deposits were laid down, the river channel was surrounded by open grassland with nearby mixed oak woodland, and existed close to the margins of an estuary with adjacent saltmarsh.