Dinton Railway Cutting
Condition (Natural England)
| Unit | Feature | Condition | Area (ha) | Assessed |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| SU007309 | — | Unfavourable Declining | 0.25 | 2024-03-06 |
Description
Area, 0.26 ha. 0.65 ac. Description This locality shows the only Upper Purbeck sequence available in the Vale of Wardour. Its section starts at about the level of the Archaeoniscus Bed and associated limestones, while overlying sands, clays and limestones have been variously assigned to the Wealden or Upper Purbeck. These beds yield cypridian ostracods, bivalves, including Unio and gastropods. Purbeck of uncertain age is here overlain by Wealden facies sand. This is a key site, on the western margin of the Wessex basin, which is important for the study of the non marine late Portlandian early Berriasian Purbeck Wealden facies and the sedimentary history of the Wessex basin, particularly the problem of dating the arrival of the first Cornubian detritus so far undetected here. This is a locality of considerable potential, which is currently being re examined for the first time in a century.