Knapped Flint
The top of Bell Hill, in the South of the parish, has been occupied and used by man for thousands of years. Some of the earliest signs of man to be found are flint tools and knappings (pre-historic industrial waste!) that can be found on the hilltop plateau.
The majority of the flints we have found are neolithic in origin, with a few probably from the early bronze age. Most come from a small area of approx. 4 acres, within which hundreds of sherds of knapped black flint can be found on the surface of the ploughed soil, and the finds area has a very definite edge, beyond which all trace of worked flint disappears. Oddly, very few identifiable tools have come from here though, leading us to believe that this was perhaps a site where flint tools were produced rather than used. The few tools found here have been of very poor quality, often unfinished, and frequently the flint has been flawed. Elsewhere, on the Belchalwell side of the ridgeway, at opposite ends of the hill, two further sites, smaller than the previous, have revealed much more in the way of tools. Both sites have yielded tools of white flint (uncommon in the area, with no known local outcrops, though it could have been mined from the hill, as white flint of this type does occur in the dorset chalk, and there are a number of ancient 'pits' on the hill), with a smaller number of black flint artifacts. Flint Cores
The pictures to right and left are flint cores. Cores are the remaining lumps of flint left after all the useful flakes have been knapped from a raw chunk of flint. On the left is a bronze age core, somewhat rough and knapped from several directions, characteristic of this age (approx. 100mm). On the right is part of a neolithic core. These, along with their tools, are worked in a much finer manner, with very clean and straight knapping, and better overall 'craftsmanship' (approx. 50mm)
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Flint Tools
This is a partially made flint arrowhead. At the base of the triangle there is a protruding spike - this would have been the part of the arrowhead that would have fitted into the arrow, but appears to have been broken while the fine detail was being nibbled away from around it. (approx. 35mm)
One of the white flint tools we have found is this flint sickle blade. It is comprised of one cleanly knapped sherd 7 inches (180 mm) long, with little extra working being required excepting some secondary working of the cutting edge, possibly from 'resharpening'. It is most probably neolithic in date, being similar to known examples from c. 3-4,000 BC (to be verified), and was found in association with an ancient field system, now almost entirely invisible due to modern ploughing. This tool was lucky to have survived the plough intact - all faces and edges of the tool bear rusty marks from close encounters. Several small pointed tools, scrapers and microliths, all in white flint, came from the same area of about 3 acres. |
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From a third area, at the other end of the hill, we have found a number of partial tools and tool fragments in a small 2 acre area of the fields. Most are again white flint, with some black/grey flint. All are extensively worn and damaged from ploughing, and much less well preserved than at the other sites. On the picture to the right, from left to right, there is what was either a white flint axe or a core, approx 6 inches (150mm) long - unfortunately the working end is broken off, and it is much worn. Next to that is a flint arrowhead, or similar sized pointed tool, again somewhat beaten by the plough. Examples of grey and white flint scrapers of similar working are next, and there are a number of these, showing much secondary working, which can be distinguished from plough 'chipping' by the nibbling away of the edge all being carried out from one side of the edge. Finally, on the far right, is a piece of naturally fractured white flint - distinctly man-made in look, but lacking the diagnostic features detailed below.
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How to Identify Knapped Flint Tools.
Whilst the use of some flint tools is obvious from their shape and size, many are not, and it requires an expert to ascertain their exact use and age. But perhaps more importantly, how do you tell if a piece of flint is a tool, or just a piece of flint? Knapped flint has several characteristics, and while none are fully diagnostic of a knapped flint, virtually all knapped flints will display one or more of the following, as displayed in the picture.
- Ripples (ripple marks on the flat surfaces radiating away from th point of percussion)
- Bulb of Percussion (a small lump left in the flint immediately below the point it was struck)
- Secondary working or 'nibbling' (fine working on the edge of a tool to sharpen or resharpen it)
- Point of Percussion (sometimes shows as a small area of damaged or crumbled flint where it was struck, above the bulb of percussion)
- Percussion Platform (the flat 'edge' remaining where the flint was struck from the edge of a flat face of a core)
- Fissures (fractures produced by the shock of the knapping)
- Percussion Scar (a scar of less cleanly cleaved flint below the point of percussion)
- Polishing (occasionally scrapers and similar tools will show signs of a high polish from much use, though the fully polished tools, ie. stone axes, sometimes seen in museums, are very rare finds, and would have had more to do with wealth and ceremony than 'working' tools)
Below, this sliver shows the percussion bulb at the top, with a general pattern of 'shock waves' radiating from this point across the knapped surface - nothing in nature is likely to reproduce these marks, or the percussion bulb.
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