2018•Durham Research Online (Durham University)Requires access
A Late Mesolithic or Early Neolithic findspot on Barningham Moor, County Durham, UK
Gary Robinson, Frederick Foulds
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Abstract
Archaeological monitoring, undertaken as part of the upgrading of access tracks on Barningham Moor, identified a concentration of lithics within a thin palaeosol close to the scheduled Badger Way Stoop cairnfield. Due to the extent of this soil remnant, and its association with the cairnfield, which lies immediately to the south, 11 1 m by 1 m test-pits were hand-excavated along the development route to obtain a sample of the artefacts. Twenty-three lithic artefacts were recovered, five of which could be assigned to the Late Mesolithic or Early Neolithic periods. As a result, the assemblage predates the presumed age of the cairnfield, which is suggested to date to the Bronze Age, suggesting that the area may have been a focus for an extended period of prehistoric activity. Full reference: Robinson, G. & Foulds F.W.F. 2017. A Late Mesolithic or Early Neolithic findspot on Barningham Moor, County Durham, UK. Lithics: the Journal of the Lithic Studies Society 38: 32–39. Keywords: cairnfield, Mesolithic, Neolithic, flint, chert, quartzite