With contributions by J. G. Evans, H. Jones, C. Keepax, R. P. Kenward, A. J. Legge and I. H. Longworth.
Ebook (PDF) published 2013.
This report describes the results of excavations carried out in 1971 and 1972 by Mr. R. J. Mercer for the Department of the Environment, or a previously undisturbed flint mine shaft at Grimes Graves in the Parish of Weeting, Norfolk. One Neolithic flint mine shaft, dating to around 1800BC, was totally excavated and a substantial surface area around the shaft examined. Much valuable information was subsequently recovered concerning the method of flint extraction and the social organisation of the mining community. A detailed account of the worked flint is published in volume II. The excavations at Grimes Graves also revealed evidence of a secondary phase of occupation of the site. During the Middle Bronze Age, a midden had accumulated in the surface of a second flint mine shaft - analysis of the considerable amount of midden debris produced a comprehensive picture of the economy and nature of this later occupation of around 1100BC. The volume contains important contributions by specialists on various topics including the pottery and the environmental evidence.
Author(s): Roger J. Mercer
Series: Department of the Environment. Archaeological Reports, 11
Publisher: Her Majesty's Stationery Office
Year: 1981
Language: English
Pages: VIII+122
City: London
List of figures 4
List of plates v
Summary vi
Introduction and acknowledgments vii
Chapter I. The Excavation 1
Chapter II. Neolithic and Bronze Age Pottery 39
Chapter III. Other Finds 60
Chapter IV. Human Skeletal Material 76
Chapter V. The Agricultural Economy 79
Chapter VI. Subfossil Land-Snail Faunas from Grimes Graves and Other Neolithic Flint Mines 104
Chapter VII. Summary and Conclusions 112
Bibliography 115
Index 119
