Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

During excavation work on the line of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, a coherent assemblage of 755 Mesolithic flints was recovered from the lower portion of the colluvial sequence at Springhead. (location accurate to the nearest 100m based on available information)

Monument Types

• FINDSPOT (Mesolithic - 10000 BC? to 4001 BC?)

Associated Finds

• LITHIC IMPLEMENT (Mesolithic - 10000 BC? to 4001 BC?)

Full description

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During excavation work on the line of the Channel Tunnel Rail Link, close to Springhead,a coherent assemblage of 755 Mesolithic flints was recovered from the lower portion of the colluvial sequence at Springhead. The assemblage from springhead includes evidence for the primary production of blade cores which were taken away from the site and used for tool production elsewhere. In a large part the flints appear to have been related to the exploitation of local cobbles. This site then, appears to have been the location of a specific part- the initial stages – of the process of producing flint tools, and could be seen as having been occupied as a part of a logistic pattern of movement the pattern of movement which was intended to exploit specific known resources. It is plausible to see the site as perhaps having been visited relatively briefly, on a number of occasions, to acquire and prepare cores. Although refits were found, suggesting that the assemblage had retained some integrity, it was not in situ and it is impossible now to clearly evaluate the extent to which it may have been produced by repeated visits. (1-2)

<1> Wessex Archaeology, 2003, Channel Tunel Rail Link Archaeological works at Springhead Roman Town (ARC SPH00): interim fieldwork report (Unpublished document). SKE31600.

<2> Oxford Wessex Archaeology Joint Venture, 2020, Prehistoric Ebbslfeet (Monograph). SKE54979.

Sources and further reading