Exploring Kent's Past

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Monument details

Summary

Fifty-seven flint artifacts and forty waste flakes were found as a result of ploughing, in a field bounded by the A20 to the south, the footpath of the Lower Pilgrim's Way to the north and Sugarloaf Hill and Castle Hill to the east and west. The largest group, of a white patination, had retouching absent from some and irregular in others.

Monument Types

• FINDSPOT (Early Mesolithic to Late Neolithic - 10000 BC to 2351 BC)
• LITHIC SCATTER (Early Mesolithic to Late Neolithic - 10000 BC to 2351 BC)

Associated Finds

• ADZE (Mesolithic - 10000 BC to 4001 BC)
• BLADE (Mesolithic - 10000 BC to 4001 BC)
• CORE (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)

Full description

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Area TR 219380. Flint implements have been found in the summer of 1972, by the Rev A H Gibson, when the arable field in the wide coombe between Castle Hill and Sugarloaf Hill was being ploughed. There wereabout 70 flakes, cores and some potboilers, a selection of which were sent to the British Museum but have not yet been reported upon. They appeared to be of two industries, the larger proportion (patinated white) being in a Mesolithic or Secondary Neolithic tradition, and a smaller proportion - of cleaner black-worked surface,without opaque white patination, in a Neolithic tradition comparable to Windmill Hill industry. They were similar to scrapers of black flint found at Dreal's Farm, North Elham, and classified as Neolithic at Canterbury Museum. A dozen similarly-patinated flake implements from Castle Hill were in the Pitt-Rivers collection at Oxford. (1) Fifty-seven flint artifacts and forty waste flakes were found as a result of ploughing, in a field bounded by the A20 to the south, the footpath of the Lower Pilgrim's Way to the north and Sugarloaf Hill and Castle Hill to the east and west. The largest group, of a white patination, had retouching absent from some and irregular in others. They included thirty scrapers, eight broken blades, three borems, three cores and one flint adze. These flints appear to be more primitive than the other group found, and are consequently thought to be Mesolithic. The smaller group were of black or light-brown flint. They were steeply retouched and included a broken adze, an ovate scraper, two keeled-and-pointed scrapers and five small cores, all retouched for use as thick scrapers. The industry of this group is comparable with the style of Neolithic specimens from Dreals Farm, Elham, now in Canterbury Museum. (2-3)

RPS Clouston, 1994, Folkestone & Dover Water services: Bluehouse to Cherry Garden Trunk Main (Unpublished document). SKe6910.

<1> Letter (Rev AH Gibson Hon Sec SE Kent Branch The Hist Assoc The Vicarage Vicarage Rd Sandgate Folkes (OS Card Reference). SKE46076.

<2> Arch Cant 87 1972 210 (AH Gibson) (OS Card Reference). SKE35887.

<3> RPS Clouston, 1994, Folkestone & Dover Water services: Bluehouse to Cherry Garden Trunk Main (Unpublished document). SKE6910.

Sources and further reading