Norfolk Heritage Explorer

Location

Full description

A significant number of Palaeolithic artefacts are known to have been recovered from one or more of the gravel pits located near this crossroads, in the area known as Bartholomew's Hills. The majority of these objects were found by J. E. Sainty and others during the 1930s and 1940s, although a number of additional Palaeolithic finds were recovered in subsequent years. The Palaeolithic material from this site is of particular significance due to the presence of crude cores and thick flakes alongside cores and flakes that display evidence for Levallois techniques. A number of handaxes and flakes with secondary working have also been recovered.

SITE LOCATION

Although the general location of these discoveries is known, the exact provenance of some finds is unclear as several pits were open at the time they were found. Several sources attribute the majority of the finds to a deep pit that was open to the south of the crossroads in the early 20th century (TF 817 130). An article that details Sainty's finds (S1) does however state that "…the only area productive of the implements described lies to the west of the Castleacre road". It has therefore been suggested that Sainty's finds may have come from a long narrow quarry that lay to the north of the crossroads (the extent of which was much the same as the plantation that now covers this area). According to (S2) H. Apling (who helped Sainty collect material at the site) has stated that Sainty's finds were indeed from this pit, rather than that to the south. The northern pit was previously recorded separately as NHER 4150.

RECORDED DISCOVERIES AND EVENTS

1934. Stray Find.
The first reported Palaeolithic find from this site is a handaxe that was found by J. E. Sainty in 1934. This handaxe is figured in (S3), where it is described as a "…boldly flaked implement" of "Combe Capelle type". It provenance is given as the "'Little Easton' gravels". It is recorded that several flakes were also recovered "from the same section"; these described as being of "Clactonian type" (suggesting that they were relatively large hard-hammer struck pieces). The handaxe is now amongst material held by the Norwich Castle Museum (see below).

1934-1939. Stray Finds/Field Observation.
Between 1934 and 1939 a number of further visits were made to this site by J. E. Sainty and A. Q. Watson, who also instructed the workmen in how to recognise Palaeolithic flints. Material was also collected by H. Apling. These discoveries are briefly summarised in (S1) and were also reported in the Eastern Daily Press (S4). The flints are described in (S1) as coming from a deposit where the “…absence of stratification by flowing water and the presence of sporadic masses of chalk suggest that the deposit is rather part of a boulder clay than a true gravel, and was apparently laid down by ice". According to (S5), at least some of the implements were found on the quarry reject heaps. The artefacts recovered included over 20 handaxes, crude and "tortoise" (?Levallois) cores and an unspecified number of flakes. Several of the flakes bore signs of secondary working, including pieces that were categorised as scrapers and coarse points. See (S1) for further details. See file for photographs of some of the artefacts recovered (S6), including two not reproduced in (S1).
At least a proportion of the objects collected by Sainty and Watson are now held by the Norwich Castle Museum (see below).

1935. Stray Find.
"Clactonian" flakes found in these pits by P. L. K. Schwabe. Information from (S7). The grid reference listed (TF 8176 1309) suggests that these objects were recovered in the southern pit.
The Norwich Castle Museum holds material that was found by Schwabe (see below).

September 1935. Field Observation.
The Bartholomew's Hills pits were visited by J. Reid Moir and J. B. Calkin in 1935. It is recorded in (S5) that they recovered more than 40 "Clacton" flakes and several roughouts (presumably for handaxes) at "…a depth of about 15 feet". These are described as being patinated white and showing little or no sign of abrasion.
It appears that at least some of the objects found are now held by the British Museum (see below).

c. 1938-1953. Stray Find.
In around 1938 a number of Palaeolithic flints were recovered from this site by J. O. H. Nicholls. Many of these objects were identified by J. J. Wymer between 1979 and 1986. Significantly at least some of these finds were apparently recovered from the southern pit (TF 8177 1310), within the same gravel as that exposed in the northern pit. The material recovered includes 2 Levallois flakes, one a well struck example found in a deep excavation in the north-east corner of the pit. Both were apparently found in clay at the base of the gravel with several other flakes. Wymer regarded the first of these flakes as one of the best examples of this type to come from the site and important dating evidence. See drawings (S8)-(S9) and descriptions in file (including some material from British Museum Wymer Archive). Information from (S2).

At least two other groups of objects recovered by Nicholls at this site were subsequently identified by Wymer. These include a batch of objects that was seen at King's Lynn Museum in 1979. These objects had been mostly found in situ, in marly clay beneath gravel at a depth of c. 8' [2.4m]-10' [3m]. They included:
2 handaxes, both slightly rolled and patinated. One small and irregular. See drawings (S11)-(S12).
1 borer. See drawing (S13).
1 flake. See drawing (S14).
1 handaxe found on spoil heap. See drawing (S15).
Information from (S23) and notes on drawings, which were found in the Wymer Archive (British Museum), along with a note describing the possible borer.

Further objects were recorded by Wymer in 1986, including:
At least 3 primary flakes.
2 handaxes (one marked “1953”).
1 possible handaxe roughout.
1 scraper.
Information from (S2).

31 October 1983. Field Visit.
Pits visited by J. J. Wymer (NAU) and A. Lawson. No artefacts found.
Information from (S16).

12 September 1985. Stray Find.
Pits visited by R. J. MacRae.
1 flake found in scree of pit. No cortex. ?worked as borer.
Identified by J. J. Wymer. Information from (S23).

3-4 April 1986. Trial Excavation
Witness section cut by J. J. Wymer (NAU) and volunteers in north-east corner of southern pit where J. O. H. Nichols’ Levallois flake was found. Section was 2m wide and dug from surface to a depth of 5.2m. Although the bottom was slightly below the original base of the pit no clay seams were identified. The chalk was not reached. No artefacts recovered. See plan and section and copies of relevant correspondence from Wymer Archive (British Museum) in file. Photograph of section in (S16).
J. J. Wymer (NAU), 31 July 1986. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 11 June 2013.

27 October 1995. Field Visit.
Site visited by J. J. Wymer.
Pits partly filled with road widening spoil. Otherwise open but overgrown.
Information from (S23).

SURVIVING ARTEFACTS:

It appears that many of the finds recovered from this site survive, although they are now dispersed amongst a number of different museums. Quantifying this assemblage is therefore far from straightforward, particularly as there is potential confusion with finds that were actually recovered from the Thorpe Gravel pits that lay to the north (NHER 4097). A number of the artefacts held by the King's Lynn Museum are recorded simply as coming from Southacre and could be from either site. This and other poorly provenanced material from Southacre is discussed separately under NHER 58863.

In 1968 Roe (S18) listed the assemblage that could be attributed to the Bartholomew’s Hills pits as comprising a total of 228 artefacts, including:
31 handaxes
7 handaxe roughouts/unfinished handaxes
3 cores
37 retouched flakes/flake implements
138 flakes without retouch
1 miscellaneous fragment
3 Levallois cores
8 Levallois flakes
These objects were recorded as being held by the British Museum, the Cambridge University Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology (CUMAA), the King's Lynn Museum and the Norwich Castle Museum (NCM). Material is also recorded as being present in the collections of J. E. Sainty and D. F. W. Baden-Powell. A single flake in the NCM recorded separately as coming from the "pit at the crossroads" is almost certainly also from this site. Wymer (S10) also gives quantities for a range of artefact types recovered from Southacre, although these include material that was recovered from the Thorpe Gravel Pits to the north (NHER 4097).

Norwich Castle Museum (NCM):
The NCM now holds many of the objects found by J. E. Sainty and those who were searching these pits around the same time. The main collection consists of material that had previously been in the possession of Sainty himself (NWHCM : 1959.38), including a number of handaxes, several primary flakes, a core, a pebble chopper-core and several flakes with secondary working, including scrapers. Various objects in this collection are described on (S23) and in (S10). Several are also illustrated in (S10); see copies of drawings held by HES (S19)-(S21). From the information recorded by Wymer it is clear that this collection includes a number of the implements figured in (S1).

Other finds acquired from Sainty include:
1 flake, recorded as being from “the crossroads” (NWHCM : 1959.42). This is the flake listed separately by Roe (S18).
A number of Palaeolithic implements that were previously held by the Ipswich Museum (NWHCM : 1963.183).

The NCM also holds a number of flints from this site that were formerly in the possession of A. Q. Watson (NWHCM : 1953.177.1). According to (S22) this collection includes 10 flakes, 2 cores and 6 handaxes. Several objects in this collection are amongst those described on (S23), including at least 2 handaxes and 1 core (which is also sketched and may be a Levallois core). It is clear from Wymer's notes that this collection also includes some of the pieces figured in (S1). This is probably also the collection in which Wymer identified a retouched flake that is described on (S23) - the accession number for this collection being the closest to the apparently erroneous old-style one listed (1.117.963).

The museum also now appears to hold many of J. O. H. Nicholl's finds, including at least one of the Levallois flakes (NWHCM: 1999.87) and 8 other objects that presumably include most, if not all, of the finds previously shown to J. J. Wymer (NWHCM: 2001.151.2).

The NCM also holds a handaxe that was in the H. Apling collection (NWHCM : 1977.124.6). This is recorded as being found in 1957 but this is probably an error as the museum's records also suggest this is actually the handaxe found by J. E. Sainty in 1934. Somewhat confusingly HES also holds photocopies of a Southacre handaxe from the Apling collection that are marked as being a 1957 find - yet this is clearly one of the objects figured in (S1).

The NCM holds a number of Palaeolithic finds that were recovered in Southacre by P. L. K. Schwabe (NWHCM : 1946.164.32). According to (S22) this collection includes 2 handaxes and 8 flakes. One of the handaxes is illustrated in (S10). See copy of original held by HES (S19). There is however a degree of confusion as (S17) also associates this accession number with a "surface industry including Palaeo flake" that was recovered by Schwabe in a field to the south-west (NHER 4106, formerly NHER 4110). It is possible that at least some of these finds were from this location - the handaxe illustrated in (S10) may actually be an object from this site that was originally recorded as a Neolithic axehead (particularly as the museum's records list this object as being from NHER 4110). See NHER 4106 for further details.

British Museum:
The British Museum holds a small number of the flints found by J. Reid Moir in 1937, these listed as 1 core and 5 flakes (1937,1009.1-6). According to (S2) these are recorded as "called Clactonian, 15ft [4.6m] deep in Cannon-shot gravel, the outwash equivalent of upper chalky boulder clay". Noted by Wymer on (S23) and in (S10).

Wymer also identified a flake from this site in the British Museum's Natural History Collections (E6049). This is described on (S23) and had also been found by Reid Moir.

King's Lynn Museum:
This museum hold a small collection of potentially Palaeolithic flints found by J. O. H. Nichols in 1953. These objects are listed as 1 ?Levallois flake and 3 flakes (KILLM : 1959.34.1-4). The grid reference listed (TF 819 133) suggests that they were found in the vicinity of the Bartholomew Hills Pits (although it is possible that they were surface finds from nearby).

It appears that the other Palaeolithic objects from Southacre in this museum are either poorly provenanced or likely to be from the Thorpe Pits (NHER 4097). See NHER 58863 for additional information on the poorly provenanced material.

Pitt Rivers Museum:
The finds that were in the Baden-Powell collection are almost certainly amongst the material that was bequeathed to the Pitt Rivers Museum and now housed at the Donald Baden-Powell Quaternary Research Centre (now part of the Oxford University Institute of Archaeology).

According to (S23) the Pitt Rivers Museum holds 5 primary flakes from this site. These are possibly material that had previously been in Baden-Powell's collection. It should be noted that these objects could not be identified in the museum's current records.

Other museums and collections:
Although Roe’s gazetteer suggests that the CUMAA holds material from the Bartholomew's Hills pits this would appear to be an error. The only South Acre finds that could be identified in the museum’s records are 2 handaxe that were donated by H. Le Strange in 1962, both of which are recorded as having being found in a "gravel pit 0.5 miles north-west of the church"; almost certainly a reference to the Middleton Aggregates Pit (NHER 4097).

At the time Roe produced his gazetteer a number of objects remained in J. E. Sainty’s collection. According to (S22) these included 8 handaxes, 1 flake, 2 Levallois flakes and 2 scrapers. This collection was not listed in (S10) and the present location of this material is unknown.

The Palaeolithic finds from this site are also summarised in (S24) and (S25).

THE NATURE OF THE PALAEOLITHIC ASSEMBLAGE

Sainty and Watson interpretation of their Bartholomew’s Hill assemblage drew on a brief report that had been produced by T. T. Paterson of Cambridge (S26), which described the handaxes as “definitely Upper Acheulian but made by ‘Clacton-Levallois’ people". The importance of the material was seen as the evidence for Levallois techniques in an assemblage that also included handaxes and much more basic, hard-hammer struck flakes. Echoing the description given by Sainty and Watson, Wymer (S10) notes that the assemblage is characterised by crude, alternately-flaked cores and thick stone-struck flakes, with ‘tortoise cores’, Levallois flakes, handaxes and flakes with secondary working also present. Wymer regarded the material he had examined from Southacre (most of which came from this site) as “…the best example in East Anglia of ‘Proto-Levalloisian’”. He felt that, on the basis of their condition etc., it was reasonable to conclude that these finds represented a single industry. Wymer does however note that the handaxes (which include an unusually high proportion of cleaver-like implements) may not have been made here, as suggested by the scarcity of finishing flakes.

LATER FINDS

It is possible that Neolithic worked flints were also recovered from this site by at least one individual, although the evidence is somewhat ambiguous. An NCM record card (S17) lists a "…flint industry of flakes…" found "...3' [0.9m] from surface..." at the "…stone pit at Bartholomew's Hills w[est] of Castle Acre Road". The museum accession number is however the same as for the Palaeolithic finds donated by Mrs Watson that are described above (NWHCM : 1953.177.1). The record card also once noted that these finds are "possibly Upper Palaeolithic". This collection does however contain at least one Neolithic object - a long-pointed piercer noted by F. Healy (S27). See NHER 4101 for further information on this piercer (previously recorded as NHER 14884). It appears that some of the finds collected by Thatcher and Schwabe (NWHCM : 1946.164.32 : A) were also Neolithic, the museum's records for this collection stating that it contains material from a “Neolithic flint industry” that was found at the same time as the Palaeolithic material.

A Late Bronze Age copper alloy spearhead previously detailed in this record is now recorded under NHER 4112. There is no clear evidence to suggest that it came from this site.

P. Watkins (HES), 11 June 2013 and 18 November 2014.

Monument Types

• FINDSPOT (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 1000000 BC to 40001 BC)
• FINDSPOT (Middle Palaeolithic - 150000 BC? to 40001 BC)
• FINDSPOT? (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)

Associated Finds

• AXE TRIMMING FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• BORER? (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• CHOPPER (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• CORE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• CORE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• CORE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• DEBITAGE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• END SCRAPER (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• FLAKE? (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• HANDAXE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• HANDAXE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• HANDAXE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• HANDAXE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• HANDAXE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• HANDAXE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• HANDAXE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• HANDAXE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• HANDAXE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• HANDAXE? (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• LITHIC IMPLEMENT (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• RETOUCHED FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• RETOUCHED FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• RETOUCHED FLAKE? (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC? to 40001 BC?)
• ROUGHOUT (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• ROUGHOUT (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• ROUGHOUT (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• SCRAPER (TOOL) (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• SCRAPER (TOOL) (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• SIDE SCRAPER (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 500000 BC to 40001 BC)
• LEVALLOIS CORE (Middle Palaeolithic - 150000 BC? to 40001 BC)
• LEVALLOIS FLAKE (Middle Palaeolithic - 150000 BC? to 40001 BC)
• LEVALLOIS FLAKE (Middle Palaeolithic - 150000 BC? to 40001 BC)
• LEVALLOIS FLAKE (Middle Palaeolithic - 150000 BC? to 40001 BC)
• LEVALLOIS FLAKE (Middle Palaeolithic - 150000 BC? to 40001 BC)
• LEVALLOIS FLAKE? (Middle Palaeolithic - 150000 BC? to 40001 BC?)

Protected Status - none

Sources and further reading

Related records - none

Find out more...

• Lower and Middle Palaeolithic Norfolk (Period Overview)
• Parish Summary: Southacre (Parish Summary)
• Parish Summary: Southacre (Parish Summary)