Monument record BRD 058 - Brandon Fields; Brandon Down; Gravel Hill, Brandon, (Palaeolithic).

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Summary

Gravel pit producing Palaeoliths including hand axes, described by Flower in 1869 mentioned by Evans in 1897 and open until about 1970.

Location

Grid reference Centred TL 7648 8507 (50m by 50m) Centred on
Map sheet TL78NE
Civil Parish BRANDON, FOREST HEATH, SUFFOLK

Map

Type and Period (1)

Full Description

1897-1970: Gravel pit producing Palaeoliths including hand axes, described by Flower in 1869 (S3), mentioned by Evans in 1897 (S4) and open until about 1970.

Also referred to as Wangford though not in parish, so some confusion, especially as Evans states gravel was worked on both sides of the ridge (see also BRD 059, BRD 061 & 062)(S1,S2).

Nevertheless this pit appears to have been most profuse so Wymer attributes the material marked Wangford to this pit (S1).

Flower describes the gravel as being about 3m thick and resting in places on chalk. Artefacts were found by both Flower and Evans at all depths but usually near the base, although Wymer only located one rolled flake in several visits (S1).

Other finds listed by Wymer total 66 hand-axes; 1 core; 3 flakes; 4 scrapers and 120 'artefacts'. At least one hand-axe is made of Felstone and Belt also comments on the use made of the non-local rocks for flake tools and hand-axes (S1,S5, S6, S7).

Sources/Archives (10)

  • --- Digital archive: Historic England. National Record Of the Historic Environment.
  • <S1> Bibliographic reference: Wymer, J.J.. 1985. Palaeolithic Sites of East Anglia.
  • <S2> Index: OS. OS Card. OS, card TL78NE8.
  • <S3> Article in serial: Flower J W. 1869. On some recent Discoveries of Flint Implements of the Drift in Norfolk and Suffolk with observations on the Theories accounting for their Distribution. Flower J W, Quart J Geol Soc, 25, 1869, 449-460.
  • <S4> Bibliographic reference: Evans, J.. 1897. The Ancient Stone implements, weapons and ornaments of Great Britain. Evans J, The Ancient Stone implements, weapons and ornaments of Great Britain, London, 1897, 562-8, .
  • <S5> Article in serial: Belt, T.. 1877. Quartzite implements at Brandon (Gravel Hill),. Belt T, Quartzite impl at Brandon (Gravel Hill), Nature, 16, 1877, 101.
  • <S6> Digital archive: Wymer, J.J.. 1999. The Lower Palaeolithic Occupation of Britain (TERPs) The Lower Palaeolithic Occupation of Britain (TERPS). 23040.
  • <S7> Unpublished document: Cutler, Hannah. 2013. Understanding Late Middle Palaeolithic Neandertal Landscape-use during Short-Term Occupations in Britain.
  • <S8> Article in serial: Ashton, N. Davis, R. Kirsty E.H. Penkmane, G. Russell Coopef. 2021. Cultural Mosaics, Social Structure, and Identity: The Acheulean threshold in Europe.
  • <S9> Article in serial: Davis et al. 2021. Palaeolithic archaeology of the Bytham River: Human Occupation of Britain during the Early Middle Pleistocene and its European Context.

Finds (8)

Protected Status/Designation

  • None recorded

Related Monuments/Buildings (2)

Related Events/Activities (2)

Record last edited

Jun 22 2021 12:59PM

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