Neithrop Fields Cutting facts for kids
| Site of Special Scientific Interest | |
.jpg) |
|
| Area of Search | Oxfordshire |
|---|---|
| Interest | Geological |
| Area | 1.4 hectares (3.5 acres) |
| Notification | 1986 |
| Location map | Magic Map |
Neithrop Fields Cutting is a really special place in Banbury, Oxfordshire. It's a small area, about 1.4 hectares (that's like two football fields!), that helps scientists understand Earth's history. It's called a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) because of its amazing rocks and fossils.
Contents
What Makes Neithrop Fields Cutting Special?
This site is like a giant history book made of rock! It shows us layers of Earth from the Early Jurassic period. This was a very long time ago, about 190 to 180 million years ago. Imagine dinosaurs roaming the Earth – that's how old these rocks are!
Ancient Seas and Islands
The rocks here tell us about what the area looked like millions of years ago.
- Middle Lias Sediments: These are layers of rock that show the land here was next to something called the "London landmass." Back then, this landmass was actually an island! So, Banbury was once near an ancient island in a shallow sea.
- Upper Lias Fossils: Higher up in the rock layers, you can find a lot of ammonite fossils. Ammonites were ancient sea creatures with spiral shells, a bit like snails, but they lived in the ocean. Finding so many here helps scientists learn about the sea life from that time.
Why is This Site Important for Science?
Experts from Natural England say that Neithrop Fields Cutting is a "key palaeogeographic and stratigraphic locality." This means it's super important for understanding:
- Palaeogeography: This is the study of what the Earth's geography looked like in the past. The rocks here help us map out ancient continents, seas, and islands.
- Stratigraphy: This is the study of rock layers and how they formed over time. By looking at the different layers, scientists can figure out the order of events in Earth's history.
So, this small cutting gives us big clues about how our planet has changed over millions of years!
Exploring the Area
If you visit Neithrop Fields Cutting, you can actually walk through part of it! The Banbury Fringe Walk goes right through the site. It's a great way to see these ancient rocks up close and imagine what the world was like when these layers were forming.
