At very low densities, a cohesive soil slurry behaves as a dense fluid, wit
h the particles supported by the pore water, which has a pressure equal to
the total vertical stress. As the soil settles under gravity, the particles
begin to interact and the pore water pressure drops. At this stage, as non
-zero effective stresses now exist, the behaviour has changed from that of
a fluid to that of a consolidating soil, with an associated structure. This
paper explores this development of effective stress and structure, and pre
sents evidence of the occurrence of creep in addition to the process of den
sification by consolidation.