223 Proc. Devon Archaeol. Soc. 75 (2017), 00–00 PETROLOGICAL AND GEOARCHAEOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF VOLCANIC HORIZONS AND QUARRYING DISCOVERED AT DAINTON ELMS CROSS, IPPLEPEN, DEVON By B.R. PEARS 1 , S. CALVERT 2 and T.D. LUKIE 3 BACKGROUND Archaeological excavations on land adjacent to Dainton Elms Cross, Ipplepen, Devon in 2012 and 2013 revealed previously unseen geological strata. Detailed field and laboratory analysis illustrated a range of igneous deposits including tuff, basalt and thin pyroclastic horizons associated with explosive volcanic episodes during the Devonian period (375- 398 Ma). These horizons appear to have been the focus of deliberate quarrying during the Romano-British and later periods within a wider industrial landscape. INTRODUCTION Between 2011 and 2013 archaeological investigations were conducted by Exeter Archaeology, Oakford Archaeology, the University of Exeter, in association with Devon County Council and the British Museum on the land adjacent to Dainton Elms Cross, Ipplepen, Devon (SX 284730, 066500) (Fig. 1). The excavation was conducted in an attempt to determine the context of 115 Roman coins found across the site by metal detectorists. A subsequent geophysical survey (Dean 2011) and archaeological trench evaluation (Steinmetzer 2011; 2012) provided clear evidence of an extensively occupied late Iron Age and Romano-British landscape. In 2012 and 2013 a more detailed 20 m by 25 m excavation was carried out on the southern edge of the site to investigate a large 16 m circular enclosure and possible settlement features associated with it (Oltean et al. 2014) (Fig. 2). The excavation area was located close to the brow of a hill at around 90 m above Ordnance Datum and consequently the archaeology and solid geology were in very close proximity. Across the major part of the excavation area horizons of uplifted mudstones and sandstones of the Norden Formation (Fig. 3) (British Geological Survey 2014) were found and covered by a thin spread of topsoil and subsoil between 0.20 m–0.25 m thick. These soils consisted of well-drained gritty loams and brown earths of the Crediton Association (Soil Survey of England and Wales 1983). AIMS AND METHODS The principal aim of this investigation was to record, using fieldwork and laboratory analysis, the localised geological information located within the archaeological excavation area, in order to further the understanding of the local and regional geological conditions 1 Department of Geography and the Environment, University of Southampton (corresponding author: b.r.pears@soton.ac.uk) 2 Senior Sedimentologist, Sarawak Shell, Berha 3 Talisman Malasia Ltd. Pears - 9.indd 223 15/03/2018 11:05:45