Biddenham Pit

Site of Special Scientific Interest · 52.1421, -0.5060

Also within

Bedfordshire County

Condition (Natural England)

Favourable (1) Unfavourable Declining (1)
UnitFeatureConditionArea (ha)Assessed
TL022503 Favourable 0.13 2021-11-21
TL023503 Unfavourable Declining 0.3 2022-03-30

Description

Area, 0.41 hectares 1.01 ac Description This old gravel pit provides exposures in terrace gravel laid down by the Bedfordshire Ouse. The deposits here include clayey and silty layers, which have yielded interglacial mollusca and mammalian remains. A prolific Palaeolithic industry has also been identified in the lowest part of the gravels. Research into the possibility that microfossil material may be present, as well as attempts to identify the interglacial represented at Biddenham is currently being undertaken see old sheet. The combination of Palaeolithic and palaeotological material at this site ensures that the Biddenham pit is of considerable scientific significance.