'Lindow Moss - the making of a landscape' A guided walk around historic peatland with Professor John Handley - July 2017
Professor John Handley revealed to a rapt CGT group the traces of history still
visible in the fragile and fascinating landscape of Lindow Moss, a raised mire peat bog, its origins dating back to the last Ice Age.
Traces of ancient Britons have been located in the area whilst the Celts would possibly have settled here - perhaps taking refuge from invading Romans. 'Lindow Man', whose body was found in 1984 is believed to have lived in this era. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the landless and poor would have been forced to live as 'Bog Warriors' on this unpromising land. More recently, peat has been excavated commercially which has had a further impact on the landscape.
Professor Handley has an extraordinary fund of knowledge which he presented with clarity and consumate ease.
For instance, did you know that:
*It takes approximately 100 years to create one metre of peat.
*Lindow Peat Bog goes to a depth of about 30 metres and is a perfect carbon record of that environment over the last 4-5,000 years.
*Lindow Man (a.k.a. Pete Marsh) was found on April 19, 1984 and was dated to 200AD. Since then excavations have gone deeper and have currently exposed a Bronze Age forest where tree roots face upwards.
*The bog started life as a Scot's pine forest and was 'drowned' by a rising water table which eventually receded leaving an acidic environment which turned to moss then to peat.
*Peat bogs store Carbon Dioxide and are a very useful tool against the Greenhouse Effect.
The future treatment of this historic landscape, including the modern peat workings, is uncertain. A planning application was first lodged with Cheshire East in 2014 but a decision has not been given to date (03.09.17)
For more information via the 'Transition Wilmslow' website click here.
Traces of ancient Britons have been located in the area whilst the Celts would possibly have settled here - perhaps taking refuge from invading Romans. 'Lindow Man', whose body was found in 1984 is believed to have lived in this era. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the landless and poor would have been forced to live as 'Bog Warriors' on this unpromising land. More recently, peat has been excavated commercially which has had a further impact on the landscape.
Professor Handley has an extraordinary fund of knowledge which he presented with clarity and consumate ease.
For instance, did you know that:
*It takes approximately 100 years to create one metre of peat.
*Lindow Peat Bog goes to a depth of about 30 metres and is a perfect carbon record of that environment over the last 4-5,000 years.
*Lindow Man (a.k.a. Pete Marsh) was found on April 19, 1984 and was dated to 200AD. Since then excavations have gone deeper and have currently exposed a Bronze Age forest where tree roots face upwards.
*The bog started life as a Scot's pine forest and was 'drowned' by a rising water table which eventually receded leaving an acidic environment which turned to moss then to peat.
*Peat bogs store Carbon Dioxide and are a very useful tool against the Greenhouse Effect.
The future treatment of this historic landscape, including the modern peat workings, is uncertain. A planning application was first lodged with Cheshire East in 2014 but a decision has not been given to date (03.09.17)
For more information via the 'Transition Wilmslow' website click here.
