A palaeomagnetic and mineral magnetic study of the Speeton Shell Bed, North Yorkshire

SUMMARY A palaeomagnetic and mineral study of the estuarine sands of the upper exposure of the Speeton Shell Bed (late Pleistocene, pre-Devensian) provides independent evidence that the bed is not in situ and has undergone a rotation consistent with the effects of ice push. Variation in magnetic susceptibility also supports suggestions that the upper parts of the Speeton Shell Bed have been weathered. A previously unrecorded shrinkage crack horizon indicates that the depositional history of the Speeton Shell Bed may have been more complex than previously thought.