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Cambridge News Protection has been extended to land in Cambridge which is helping to unlock the secrets of the Ice Age. Geologists have spent 130 years investigating deposits in the 4- metre deep gravel pit, first recorded in 1881. The Traveller's Rest Pit Site, off Huntingdon Road, is part of University Farm, owned by Cambridge University, and designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). It was one of the earliest sites to become an SSSI in 1955 for its abundance of fossil-rich gravel, deposited when the Cambridgeshire landscape shivered in Arctic conditions at least 350,000 years ago. Natural England, which has extended the area covered by the SSSI, is the Government's independent adviser on the natural environment. A group of Natural England geologists, Cambridge University scientists and other geological experts recently surveyed the area and found new fossil-rich areas, which are protected by the new extended boundary of the SSSI. Dr Eleanor Brown, Natural England's senior specialist in quaternary geology, said: "We study Ice Age deposits and fossils to reconstruct past environments. "This site helps us understand the impact of past climate change on the landscape, which helped us to understand the potential effects of future climate change. "We are very excited about this SSSI as it will protect important deposits for future geologists to study and offers an excellent research facility on the doorstep of Cambridge University." Fossils found at the site show it was a cold, treeless landscape. Shells of snails which now live in much colder climates have been found, along with fossils of large mammals such as horses, red deer and possibly even a rhinoceros. There has also been the discovery of stone tools, confirming early humans roamed the landscape more than 350,000 years ago. The site has been declared the richest stone tool site in Cambridge. Evidence of a "tunnel valley" created underneath an ice sheet which covered the area was uncovered by Dr Steve Boreham, from the Department of Geography at Cambridge University. Tim Barfield, Natural England's lead adviser for conservation, said: "SSSIs are the country's best geology and wildlife sites and it is increasingly important they are protected and available for study."
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