Ardleigh Gravel Pit

Ardleigh Gravel Pit
Site of Special Scientific Interest

Area of Search	Essex
Grid reference	TM 055281 TM 052281
Interest	Geological
Area	1.2 hectares
Notification	1992
Location map	Magic Map

Ardleigh Gravel Pit is a 1.2 hectare geological Site of Special Scientific Interest south of Ardleigh in Essex.^[1]^[2] It is a Geological Conservation Review site.^[3]

The site exposes a succession of Pleistocene levels, with an interglacial between two glacial periods. The interglacial may date back 700,000 years. The site has plant microfossils rare or unique in Britain, and according to Natural England's description in 1992, it may become the type site for a previously unrecognised British early middle Pleistocene interglacial.^[1]^[4]

The site is divided into two areas. The main one is L-shaped, forming the sloping south-east and north-east borders of a water filled pit. A footpath between Slough Lane and Park Farm runs along its north-east boundary. East of the main site is a small linear feature which as been filled in. It is on private land with no public access.

References

1 2 "Ardleigh Gravel Pit citation" (PDF). Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
↑ "Map of Ardleigh Gravel Pit". Sites of Special Scientific Interest. Natural England. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
↑ "Ardleigh Gravel Pit (Martells Quarry) (Quaternary of the Thames)". Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 8 May 2016.
↑ "Ardleigh Gravel Pit SSSI (Martells Quarry)". The Essex Field Club. Retrieved 8 May 2016.

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Coordinates: 51°54′50″N 0°59′10″E / 51.914°N 0.986°E / 51.914; 0.986

Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Essex

Biological	Abberton Reservoir Ashdon Meadows Basildon Meadows Belcher's and Broadfield Woods Benfleet and Southend Marshes Blackwater Estuary Blake's Wood & Lingwood Common Bovingdon Hall Woods Bullock Wood Canvey Wick Cattawade Marshes Chalkney Wood Colne Estuary The Coppice, Kelvedon Hatch Cornmill Stream and Old River Lea Crouch and Roach Estuaries Curtismill Green Danbury Common Debden Water Dengie Elsenham Woods Epping Forest Foulness Garnetts Wood and Barnston Lays Garrold's Meadow Glemsford Pits Grays Thurrock Chalk Pit Great Wood and Dodd's Grove Hainault Forest Hales and Shadwell Woods Hamford Water Hangman's Wood and Deneholes Hanningfield Reservoir Harlow Woods Hatfield Forest High Wood, Dunmow Hockley Woods Holehaven Creek Holland Haven Marshes Hunsdon Mead Inner Thames Marshes Little Hallingbury Marsh Mill Meadows Mucking Flats and Marshes Norsey Wood Nunn Wood Pitsea Marsh Quendon Wood Riddles Wood Roding Valley Meadows Roman River Sandbeach Meadows Stour and Copperas Woods, Ramsey Stour Estuary Thorndon Park Thrift Wood, Woodham Ferrers Thundersley Great Common Tiptree Heath Turnford and Cheshunt Pits Upper Colne Marshes Vange and Fobbing Marshes Waltham Abbey Weeleyhall Wood West Thurrock Lagoon and Marshes West Wood, Little Sampford Woodham Walter Common

Geological	Ardleigh Gravel Pit Clacton Cliffs and Foreshore The Cliff, Burnham-on-Crouch Colne Estuary Dengie Globe Pit Goldsands Road Pit Hall's Quarry Harwich Foreshore Holland-on-Sea Cliff Lion Pit Little Oakley Channel Deposit Lofts Farm Pit Maldon Cutting Marks Tey Brickpit The Naze Newney Green Pit Purfleet Chalk Pits Purfleet Road, Aveley River Ter St Osyth Pit Stour Estuary Wivenhoe Gravel Pit

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