Brimble Pit and Cross Swallet Basins

Brimble Pit and Cross Swallet Basins
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Location within Somerset
Area of Search	Somerset
Grid reference	ST512505
Coordinates	51°15′06″N 2°42′02″W / 51.25157°N 2.70061°W / 51.25157; -2.70061Coordinates: 51°15′06″N 2°42′02″W / 51.25157°N 2.70061°W / 51.25157; -2.70061
Interest	Geological
Area	154.3 hectares (1.543 km²; 0.596 sq mi)
Notification	1987 (1987)
Natural England website

Brimble Pit and Cross Swallet Basins (grid reference ST512505) is a 154.3 hectare (381.3 acre) geological Site of Special Scientific Interest between Wookey Hole and Priddy in the Mendip Hills, Somerset, notified in 1987.

The site covers the two adjacent karstic basins draining into Brimble Pit and Cross Swallet. These are the two best defined of the belt of large shallow closed depressions which account for the total topography along the southern edge of the Mendip Hills. The Brimble Pit depression has a large old lake sediment floor now pitted with sinkholes, while the Cross Swallet Basin feeds to a single active sinkhole around which are well preserved terraces of both rock and sediment. Both depressions have marginal cols feeding to overflow channels now permanently dry. The site also contains important Pleistocene/Quaternary mammal remains within sediments infilling former caverns exposed on the north east face of Westbury Quarry.^[1]

The swallet was excavated by William Stanton between 1991 & 1992 for spelaeological purposes. However, archaeological material was discovered, leading Stanton to separate the deposits he was removing and examine them for archaeological material,^[2] which included 42 sherds of Grooved Ware pottery and a polished greenstone axehead.^[3]

The area is included in the Cook's Fields Nature Reserve run by the Somerset Wildlife Trust.^[4]

References

↑ "Brimble Pit and Cross Swallet Basins" (PDF). English Nature. Retrieved 2006-07-17.
↑ "Upwards at 45 degrees: the use of vertical caves during the Neolithic and Early Bronze Age on Mendip, Somerset.". CAPRA. Retrieved 2007-01-27.
↑ "Brimble Pit and Cross Swallet". Karst Features of Great Britain. Retrieved 2008-10-18.
↑ "Cook's Fields". Somerset Wildlife Trust. Retrieved 2008-10-18.

Mendip Hills

Settlements	Ashwick Axbridge Banwell Bishop Sutton Blagdon Bleadon Burrington Charterhouse Cheddar Chewton Mendip Compton Bishop Compton Martin Cross Draycott East Harptree Easton Hinton Blewett Hutton Leigh-on-Mendip Litton Oakhill Priddy Rodney Stoke Rowberrow Sandford Shepton Mallet Shipham Ubley Webbington Wells West Harptree Westbury-sub-Mendip Winscombe Wookey Hole

Rivers and lakes	River Axe Cheddar Yeo River Chew River Yeo Lox Yeo River Blagdon Lake Cheddar Reservoir Chew Valley Lake Litton Reservoirs

Hills	Axbridge Hill Black Down Bleadon Hill Burledge Hill Crook Peak Fry's Hill Pen Hill Purn Hill Shute Shelve Hill Wavering Down

Caves and gorges	Attborough Swallet Aveline's Hole Axbridge Ochre Mine Banwell Caves Banwell Ochre Caves Burrington Combe Charterhouse Cave Cheddar Gorge Compton Martin Ochre Mine Cox's Cave Eastwater Cavern Ebbor Gorge Fairy Cave Quarry GB Cave Goatchurch Cavern Gough's Cave Hunter's Hole Lamb Leer Longwood Swallet Manor Farm Swallet Picken's Hole Pierre's Pot Priddy Caves Read's Cavern Reservoir Hole Rhino Rift Rod's Pot Shatter Cave Shute Shelve Cavern Sidcot Swallet St Cuthbert's Swallet St. Dunstan's Well Catchment Stoke Lane Slocker Swildon's Hole Thrupe Lane Swallet Tyning's Barrow Swallet Upper Flood Swallet W/L Cave Wookey Hole Caves

Quarries	Batts Combe Callow Rock Cloford Cloud Colemans Cook's Wood Doulting Stone Dulcote Emborough Fairy Cave Gurney Slade Halecombe Hobbs Holwell Moon's Hill Torr Works Viaduct Whatley Windsor Hill

SSSIs	Asham Wood Axbridge Hill and Fry's Hill Banwell Caves Banwell Ochre Caves Barns Batch Spinney Blagdon Lake Bleadon Hill Brimble Pit and Cross Swallet Basins Burledge Hill Burrington Combe Chancellor's Farm Cheddar Complex Cheddar Reservoir Cheddar Wood Chew Valley Lake Cloford Quarry Compton Martin Ochre Mine Cook's Wood Quarry Crook Peak to Shute Shelve Hill Dolebury Warren Draycott Sleights Ebbor Gorge Emborough Quarries Harptree Combe Hobbs Quarry Holwell Quarries Kingdown and Middledown Lamb Leer Priddy Caves Priddy Pools Perch Rodney Stoke St. Dunstan's Well Catchment Sandpit Hole and Bishop's Lot Shiplate Slait Viaduct Quarry Windsor Hill Quarry Wurt Pit and Devil's Punchbowl

History	Priddy Circles Cheddar Man Drove Cottage Henge Dolebury Warren Charterhouse Roman Town Fosse Way King John's Hunting Lodge, Axbridge Priddy Mineries Somerset Coalfield Somerset Coal Canal Cheddar Valley line East Somerset Railway

Transport	Mendip Rail Mendip Way Monarch's Way National Cycle Route 24 A37 road A39 road A368 road A371 road

Councils	Bath and North East Somerset Mendip North Somerset Sedgemoor

Surrounding areas	Chew Valley Somerset Levels North Somerset Levels

Geological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset

Summary	Summarised data for all sites (biological and geological)

SSSIs	Ben Knowle Blue Anchor to Lilstock Coast Brean Down Brimble Pit and Cross Swallet Basins Bruton Railway Cutting Cheddar Complex Cloford Quarry Cook's Wood Quarry Crook Peak to Shute Shelve Hill Doulting Railway Cutting Emborough Quarries Glenthorne Godminster Lane Quarry and Railway Cutting Greylake Ham Hill Hobbs Quarry Holwell Quarries Hurcott Farm Hurcott Lane Cutting Lamb Leer Langport Railway Cutting Laycock Railway Cutting Leighton Road Cutting Low Ham Maes Down Maesbury Railway Cutting Miller's Hill, Milborne Wick Moon's Hill Quarry Priddy Caves Priddy Pools Rodney Stoke SSSI Sandpit Hole and Bishop's Lot Seavington St Mary Shepton Montague Railway Cutting Snowdon Hill Quarry St. Dunstan's Well Catchment Thrupe Lane Swallet Vallis Vale Viaduct Quarry Windsor Hill Quarry Wookey Hole Wookey Station Wurt Pit and Devil's Punchbowl

Neighbouring areas	Avon Devon Dorset Wiltshire

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the 10/3/2011. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.