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Wiltshire's landscape is inextricably bound up with the rocks beneath the surface. It is our aim to raise public awareness of Earth Sciences and draw peoples attention to the way the landscape, and the towns and villages within it, are influenced by the underlying geology.
Removal of vegetation at Swindon's Great Quarry Site of Special Scientific Interest
In early October, we have organised two geoconservation days to remove vegetation in Swindon’s Great Quarry SSSI. This shows the top of the Portland Group and most of Swindon’s Purbeck Group. The latter are very friable and the old quarry face is eroding back close to the site boundary. We have to be careful not to cause more erosion than we prevent!
Nevertheless, we managed to re-expose about 15m of the face, including some of the Swindon Roach. This is visible as a protruding ledge in the middle set of photos. It’s a derived sediment, possibly a storm deposit, and although firmly in the Purbeck section it includes Aptyxiella portlandica (the “Portland Screw”).
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