2008
TQ4178 : Gilbert's Pit
taken 16 years ago, near to Charlton, Greenwich, England
Gilbert's Pit
Gilbert's Pit
The pit is a disused sand quarry, worked from Roman times until the early 20th century for its high quality fine sand used in glassmaking. It is now a SSSI (Site of Special Scientific Interest) because the exposed quarry face in the distance (before it became overgrown with trees) yielded a 'textbook example' of a geological sequence of chalk, sands and gravels from 70-55 million years ago, with several fossil finds including sharks and crocodiles.