| 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]
A Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in Great Britain or an Area of Special Scientific Interest (ASSI) in the Isle of Man and Northern Ireland is a conservation designation denoting a protected area in the United Kingdom and Isle of Man. SSSI/ASSIs are the basic building block of site-based nature conservation legislation and most other legal nature/geological conservation designations in the United Kingdom are based upon them, including national nature reserves, Ramsar sites, Special Protection Areas, and Special Areas of Conservation. The acronym "SSSI" is often pronounced "triple-S I".
Ardleigh is a village and civil parish in Essex, England. It is situated approximately 4 miles (6 km) northeast from the centre of Colchester and 26 miles (42 km) northeast from the county town of Chelmsford.
The Geological Conservation Review (GCR) is produced by the UK's Joint Nature Conservation Committee and is designed to identify those sites of national and international importance needed to show all the key scientific elements of the geological and geomorphological features of Britain. These sites display sediments, rocks, minerals, fossils, and features of the landscape that make a special contribution to an understanding and appreciation of Earth science and the geological history of Britain, which stretches back more than three billion years. The intention of the project, which was devised in 1974 by George Black and William Wimbledon working for the Governmental advisory agency, the Nature Conservancy Council (NCC), was activated in 1977. It aimed to provide the scientific rationale and information base for the conservation of geological SSSIs (Sites of Special Scientific Interest, protected under British law. The NCC and country conservation agencies were established in 1990 when JNCC became established and took over responsibility for managing the GCR site assessment process, and publishing accounts of accepted sites.
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 Pleistocene is the geological epoch which lasted from about 2,588,000 to 11,700 years ago, spanning the world's most recent period of repeated glaciations. The end of the Pleistocene corresponds with the end of the last glacial period and also with the end of the Paleolithic age used in archaeology.
An interglacial period is a geological interval of warmer global average temperature lasting thousands of years that separates consecutive glacial periods within an ice age. The current Holocene interglacial began at the end of the Pleistocene, about 11,700 years ago.
Natural England is a non-departmental public body in the United Kingdom sponsored by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. It is responsible for ensuring that England's natural environment, including its land, flora and fauna, freshwater and marine environments, geology and soils, are protected and improved. It also has a responsibility to help people enjoy, understand and access the natural environment.
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.
