Great Quarry, Swindon
Encyclopedia
Great Quarry, Swindon is a 0.994 hectare
geological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Wiltshire
, notified in 1951.
"It has long been famous for the richness of its molluscan faunas from the marine Swindon Roach. These beds, of Portlandian age, comprise a suite of sediments
ranging in their depositional environment from freshwater and hypersaline lagoons to true marine shell beds and soil profiles. The site has been the subject of dozens of published accounts since the mid 19th century and is still the subject of active research. The channelled form and erosive pebbly bases which characterise the majority of the beds in this succession and the variety of environments exhibited make this by far the most complex Jurassic section in Britain."
Hectare
The hectare is a metric unit of area defined as 10,000 square metres , and primarily used in the measurement of land. In 1795, when the metric system was introduced, the are was defined as being 100 square metres and the hectare was thus 100 ares or 1/100 km2...
geological Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Wiltshire
Wiltshire
Wiltshire is a ceremonial county in South West England. It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset, Somerset, Hampshire, Gloucestershire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire. It contains the unitary authority of Swindon and covers...
, notified in 1951.
Location
The site is in Old Town, in the southern ridge of Swindon. It was formerly named Town Garden Quarries which, with the Old Town Station Cutting, comprised Town Garden Quarries and Station Cutting SSSI. The two are now separate with Station Cutting renamed Old Town Railway Cutting, Swindon, SSSI."It has long been famous for the richness of its molluscan faunas from the marine Swindon Roach. These beds, of Portlandian age, comprise a suite of sediments
ranging in their depositional environment from freshwater and hypersaline lagoons to true marine shell beds and soil profiles. The site has been the subject of dozens of published accounts since the mid 19th century and is still the subject of active research. The channelled form and erosive pebbly bases which characterise the majority of the beds in this succession and the variety of environments exhibited make this by far the most complex Jurassic section in Britain."
Source
- English Nature citation sheet for the site (accessed 22 July 2006)