The Northumberland Basin developed as a depression in the lithosphere during the Palaeozoic Caledonian and Variscan orogenies. It extends from near Eyemouth in the north to near Newcastle in the south and contains an extensive archive of Carboniferous strata, previously geologically famous for features such as the Whin Sill and Coal Measures. Recent work on the sedimentary strata in the basin has revealed several high resolution windows into the Carboniferous world, and a review of these will be the focus of this talk.

Features to be discussed include the discovery of the largest fossil arthropod in Earth history, Arthropleura, from a fallen block in the cliffs near Howick. This giant millipede-like organism sheds light on arthropod gigantism on Carboniferous Earth, and the surrounding sedimentary rocks enable a high-resolution picture of its habitat to be painted. The talk will also discuss the discovery of a flooded forest floor from Lindisfarne, newly located trackways of early amphibians from Northumberland National Park, and discuss the exceptional tidal sedimentary record of Cocklawburn, where strata record a day-by-day record of tropical shallow seas and the animals that lived there.