THE STRATIGRAPHY, SEDIMENTOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY OF THE LOWER WEALD CLAY (HAUTERIVIAN) AT KEYMER TILEWORKS, WEST SUSSEX, SOUTHERN ENGLAND

The stratigraphy of the Weald Clay of Sussex in the region of Burgess Hill is summarized. The Hauterivian/Barremian boundary, using ostracod evidence in the Ripe borehole, appears to lie at the top of a red cla y bed just below BGS Bed 3c2. Detailed sections of the sediments expos ed in Keymer Tileworks clay pit are given. BGS Bed 3a is exposed at th e top of the pit, indicating that the sediments below belong to the Lo wer Weald Clay and are late Hauterivian in age. The pit has yielded a diverse non-marine fossil fauna and flora consisting of insects, dinos aurs, crocodiles, turtles, sharks, bony fish, crustaceans, molluscs, f erns, conifers and a new herbaceous, aquatic or marsh-dwelling plant. The insects include the first Wealden records of the family Sciaridae (fungus gnats) and of the superfamily Coccoidea (scale insects). The s ediments exposed and their fossil content indicate changes from terres trial conditions through fluvial, culminating in a lacustrine environm ent.