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| Protected Sites |
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| Jurassic SSSIs in Swindon, Wiltshire |
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| Three complementary geological SSSIs in
Swindon have received the Face Lift treatment in a partnership between
English Nature, Swindon Borough Council and Great Quarry Wildlife
Group. The Old Town Railway Cutting, Okus Quarry and Great Quarry
SSSIs all had sections cleared of vegetation and scree, and a sign-board
about the geology and management of the site has been erected at Old
Town Railway Cutting. |
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| These quarries and railway cuttings expose
limestones and sandstones of late Jurassic age. The lower part of
the succession contains a variety of fossils, including bivalves and
ammonites, providing evidence of a shallow and warm tropical sea in
the area. Later, the sea retreated, leaving a complex of freshwater
and saline lagoons and channels. These conditions are reflected in
the different fossil fauna. The reappearance of marine fossils at
intervals within the succession indicates occasional re-invasions
by the sea. This group of sites provides important evidence of the
changing environmental conditions in this part of Britain at the close
of the Jurassic Period. |
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| The Jurassic Portlandian sections at these
sites are now re-exposed, not only enhancing their scientific value
but also their educational value, as Okus Quarry lies within school
grounds. The challenge is now to promote these sites to the local
community to raise awareness of the important local geology. |
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Cleared section and signboard
at Old Town Railway Cutting, Swindon. |
| Photo: Dave Evans, Natural England. |
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