• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content

Keys To The Past

MENUMENU
  • Search the Records
  • Sites to Visit
    • Anglo-Saxon Sites
    • Medieval Sites
    • Post Medieval Sites
    • Prehistoric Sites
    • Roman Sites
    • Favourite Sites
  • Local Histories
  • Get Involved
  • Overviews
  • Glossary
  • Help
You are here: Home / Glossary

Glossary

Peat

Partially decomposed vegetable matter - in the absence of bacteria and oxygen, such organic material survives. It will preserve some materials that are in it, as it is usually acidic. Skin can be preserved in peat bogs - acting like a natural tannery, but bone will be dissolved. Pollen can be preserved in stratified layers with a peat bog, making them sites for taking cores for pollen analysis. Peat can be used on gardens or as a fuel on a fire. A peat cutting is where such peat is taken from. The peat is then moved, sometimes by a sledge in the uplands, to a peat stand where (like a stack stand) it is allowed to dry before use.

To explore more glossary entries click on a letter.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Z 1-9

Top of Page

Contact us | Useful links | Legal Information | Accessibility Statement | Acknowledgements

© 2021 Durham County Council and Northumberland County Council