Carmarthenshire Peat Bogs History

Aims Investigate and interpret how the Carmarthenshire Peat Bogs have developed over time.

Describe this image Where is this?

What is different? What is the same?

What are peat bogs? Peat bogs can form in rain fed hollows or dips in the ground which have poor drainage, and which hold water. Where the water is acid, and/or where conditions are anaerobic, this prevents the more usual decay of the vegetation resulting in the formation of peat. This can take place over thousands of years. 

Can we match the statements to the illustrations? There is a flat surface of ice on top of a shallow pool. It is a cold and uninviting landscape with little vegetation. People have cleared the woodland to farm the land. Several settlements can be seen in the distance. The partially decayed vegetation hidden under a carpet of moss slowly starts to turn into peat. There is lots of plant life growing. Pine trees grow in the distance, Hazel, sedge and ferns all flourish. As the pool silts up it gets slowly smaller, gradually filling up with vegetation. Can we match the statements to the illustrations? Sphagnum moss starts to cover the pool from the edge, eventually covering the entire surface. It seals in the decaying vegetation. Small settlements can be seen in the distance and burial barrows can be seen on the horizon.   The peat bog has now changed to become a mound or tump with a carpet of special plants which survive on the bog. Farm houses, sheep and field boundaries can be seen in the distance.

Now can we match up the time period? Mesolithic. 8000 years before present day. Ice Age. 12,500 years before present day. The Bronze Age. 4000 years before present day. Now can we match up the time period? The Iron Age. 2500 years before present day. The present day.

Take an A3 sheet of paper and draw and fold horizontally across the middle. Use this fold as a guide to draw a line across the centre fold. Start your timeline at 12500 years ago and end it at the present day. 12500 years ago Present day Cut out the flashcards and illustrations and stick to your timeline at the appropriate point in time.

Can you think of any other important dates in History you can add to your timeline?

Extension task Write a page in your work books describing how the peat bogs have formed over time using the illustrations and the information available to you today.