1. An exposure of peat beds and preserved tree stumps and boles has been reported from the foreshore at Clarach Bay, including new exposures noted in February 2025.
The tree stumps and peat sediments were subject to a thorough study by Heyworth et al, (1985), who noted (ibid., 459) that; 'An uninterrupted sedimentary record is present, extending from the start of the Late-glacial period until the present day. The sediments may be divided into two groups: an earlier, entirely freshwater sequence; and a later series, in which the effects of marine influence may be detected. The first appearance of such effects, at c. 6000 B.P., marks the increasing proximity of the coastline, resulting from the Holocene sea-level rise.'
Excavation of the submerged forest by Heyworth et al. (1985, 470-1) yielded Neolithic radiocarbon dates;'...the submerged forest trees were found to be rooted in a grey silty clay with a superficial cover of beach cobbles...A hole dug on the beach showed that the submerged forest trees were underlain by c. 1 m of grey clay, resting on gravel. The clay contained scattered peaty fragments and pieces of wood...Woody fragments were collected from the clay at c. -1 7 m O.D., and these gave a date of 5770 + 100 B.P. (HAR 1128)... A section of an oak trunk from the submerged forest was used for dendrochronological calibration of radiocarbon dates (Drndarski 1977) and an average of thirty dates from single annual rings gave a mean value for the date of the death of tree of 5404 B.P. Taylor (1973) obtained a date of 5970 + 90 B.P. (NPL 113) from a nearby pine stump..'
Maritime Officer, RCAHMW, February 2013. Updated by Dr Toby Driver, RCAHMW, February 2025, with information from Professor Sarah Davies, Aberystwyth University
2. Exposures and Survey February 2025
On 9 February 2025, Rob Thomas, a local Clarach resident notified the Department of Geography and Earth Sciences, Aberystwyth University of the presence of an exposed tree stump on the foreshore at Clarach Bay.
Subsequent visits were made by Stephen Tooth of Aberystwyth University and Rob Thomas during low tides between the 13-16 February 2025. Here remains including a single fossilised tree stump and several sections of timber were noted and photographed. The timbers were of unknown date and origin but one appeared to have been sawn at one end and another had metal staples embedded in it.
At low tide (1.14 metres) on the 18 February 2025, RCAHMW visited to take photographs and survey with GNSS any exposed remains. The fossilised tree stump was still visible as were some shorter sections of the timbers, though they had started to be reburied by sand.
The following was recorded with survey-grade GNSS:
Fossilised Tree stump:
Centre Point - Easting: 258653.5503, Northing: 283782.4394, Height: -0.9735
The tree stump and root system measured 1.26 metres in width, with the diameter of stump measuring 0.28 metres. The top of the stump was 0.45 metres above the sand and shingle surface. A spot height adjacent to the tree recorded the heigh of the beach at -1.1922
Timber 1:
A 3.2 metre long and 0.4 metre wide section of timber to the north of the tree stump.
East end - Easting: 258652.915, Northing: 283792.5467, Height: -1.0138
West end - Easting: 258650.1618, Northing: 283792.8603, Height: -1.0945
Timber 2:
A 9.29 metre long section of timber, partially besanded to the west of the tree stump. This was the long timber observed on the 13 February with the sawn end.
Northeast end - Easting: 258643.3173, Northing: 283783.1583, Height: -1.3012
Southwest (sawn) end - Easting: 258636.1376, Northing: 283777.2658, Height: -1.4586
Louise Barker, RCAHMW, 18 February 2025.
Sources:
Bell, M, 2007, Prehistoric Coastal Communities: The Mesolithic in Western Britain, CBA Research Report 149, pg2
Heyworth, A, Kidson, C and Wilks, P, 1985, late Glacial and Holocene sediments at Clarach Bay, near Aberystwyth, Journal of Ecology, 73, 459-80