Record Details

NHER Number:7844
Type of record:Find Spot
Name:Unprovenanced Mesolithic, Neolithic and undatable prehistoric finds (Drayton, poorly located)

Summary

Various objects known to have been found in Lynford parish during the late 19th century and early 20th century, but with little or no additional information regarding provenance. These finds include potentially Mesolithic flint "pygmies", a Mesolithic flint blade core, at least one Neolithic flint axehead and various other Neolithic and undatable prehistoric worked flints.

Images - none

Location

Parish:DRAYTON, BROADLAND, NORFOLK

Full description

Various objects known to have been found in Lynford parish during the late 19th century and early 20th century, but with little or no additional information regarding provenance:

FINDS RECOVERED BY H. H. HALLS AND W. G. CLARKE

The Norwich Castle Museum holds a collection of "undated prehistoric flint implements" that were found by H. H. Halls at an unknown location in Drayton (his Site 25) at some time prior to 1924 (NWHCM : 1924.83.25). These flints are recorded by (S1) as Neolithic. A flint core from this site was donated to the Birmingham City Museum by Halls around the same time (Bir 1928A16.25). This core is listed as Mesolithic in (S2) and (S3) and a detailed description can be found in (S4).
Hall's Site 25 previously recorded as NHER 7847. Core previously recorded as NHER 7848.

The Norwich Castle Museum also hold a collection of "Neolithic flint implements" that were found by W. G. Clarke at an unknown location in Drayton (probably his Site 36). No other details are available.

It is notable that neither of the above NCM collections are listed in (S5), suggesting that no diagnostic Neolithic tool types are present.

OTHER FINDS IN THE NORWICH CASTLE MUSEUM

The Norwich Castle Museum holds a fairly large flint adze/axehead (unregistered) that is marked "Drayton" but is otherwise unprovenanced. This implement was identified as potentially Mesolithic by R. Jacobi.

FINDS IN MUSEUM COLLECTIONS

According to (S6) and (S1) the British Museum holds Mesolithic and Neolithic "surface flints" from Drayton. These were identified in their collections by E. Rose (NAU). No other details were noted.
Previously recorded as NHER 11476 and NHER 11475.

OTHER RECORDED FINDS

1882. Stray Find.
Drayton is listed in (S7) as one of the sites that had produced Neolithic flints of "Sandy Site Type" prior to 1907. The reference listed suggests that this note refers to a "Neolithic flint celt" from Drayton that was exhibited at a meeting of the Norfolk and Norwich Archaeological Society by R. Fitch in 1882 (S8). It had apparently been found the same year. It has been suggested that this 'celt' is a waisted flint axehead with polished cutting edge that is now part of the Norwich Castle Museum Fitch Collection (NWHCM : 1894.76.809). However, a note is apparently attached to this axehead that suggests that whilst it was "said to have been found at Drayton" the information "…as to its locality [was] not reliable". According to (S9) this object is almost certainly from The Delph, Beck Row, Mildenhal (Suffolk).
Originally the only find recorded under NHER 7844.

Pre 1907. Stray Find.
Drayton is listed in (S7) as one of the parishes that had produced Neolithic flints of "Boulder Clay Type" prior to 1907. Such objects had been recovered by both W. G. Clarke and G. Rye. Clarke's finds are likely to be those in the NCM from his Site 36 (see above).
Previously recorded as NHER 7845.

Pre 1909. Stray Find.
In January 1909 a "...white patinated, symmetrical axe (9in in length), found by C. Walter at Drayton…" was exhibited (by F. Leney) at a meeting of the Prehistoric Society of East Anglia (S10). This object was described as a "Cissbury Type" implement in (S11) and is also noted in (S5).
Previously recorded as NHER 14582

1916. Stray Find.
Drayton is listed in (S12) as one of several parishes that had produced "pygmies" (Mesolithic flint, or at least what were seen as such at the time). These had been found by F. H. English in 1916. The extact provenance of these finds is not known, although it is possible that they came from one or more of the three sites at which English is known to have recovered finds in Drayton around this time (NHER 7890, NHER 7893 and NHER 7894).

Pre 1919. Stray FInd
Drayton is also listed in (S12), (S13) and (S14) as a location that had produced Neolithic "Cissbury Type" artefacts. Information from (S1). This may be a reference to the axehead found by C. H. Walter (see above), although, as noted by (S5), it may also be a reference to the material recovered by F. H. English at NHER 7893/NHER 7890, which resembles the assemblages recorded at Neolithic industrial sites and includes debitage of the large size found on flint mine sites (S5).
Previously recorded as NHER 7846.

It is also noted in (S12) and (S15) that one or more polished Neolithic implement had been recovered in Drayton by F. H. English. This again is likely to be a reference to finds from NHER 7893/NHER 7890.
Previously recorded under NHER 7849.

Pre April 1920. Stray Find.
A "…re-chipped, re-polished axe found at Drayton..." was exhibited by F. H. English at a meeting of the Prehistoric Society of East Anglia in April 1920 (S16). This is almost certainly one of the objects recovered as NHER 7893/NHER 7890).
Previously recorded as NHER 17113.

Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 22 May 2014.

Monument Types

  • FINDSPOT (Mesolithic - 10000 BC? to 4001 BC?)
  • FINDSPOT (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)

Associated Finds

  • LITHIC IMPLEMENT (Lower Palaeolithic to Late Iron Age - 500000 BC to 42 AD)
  • BLADE CORE (Mesolithic - 10000 BC to 4001 BC)
  • FLAKED AXEHEAD (Early Mesolithic to Late Neolithic - 10000 BC to 2351 BC?)
  • LITHIC IMPLEMENT (Mesolithic - 10000 BC to 4001 BC)
  • FLAKED AXEHEAD (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • FLAKED AXEHEAD (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • LITHIC IMPLEMENT (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • LITHIC IMPLEMENT (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)
  • LITHIC IMPLEMENT (Neolithic - 4000 BC to 2351 BC)

Protected Status - none

Sources and further reading

---Record Card: Ordnance Survey Staff. 1933-1979?. Ordnance Survey Record Cards. TG 11 SE 28.
---Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card. NHERs 7844; NHER 11476.
<S1>Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Neolithic. Drayton.
<S2>Monograph: Wymer, J. J. and Bonsall, C. J. (eds). 1977. Gazetteer of Mesolithic Sites in England and Wales with a Gazetteer of Upper Palaeolithic Sites in England and Wales. Council for British Archaeology Research Report. No. 20. p 205.
<S3>Article in Serial: Watson, P. J. et al. 1999. Antiquities from Norfolk in West Midlands Museums. Norfolk Archaeology. vol XLIII Pt II pp 332-338. p 333.
<S4>Archive: R. Jacobi. -. Jacobi Archive. 10213.
<S5>Thesis: Healy, F. 1978. The Neolithic in Norfolk. pp 451-452.
<S6>Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Mesolithic.
<S7>Article in Serial: Clarke, W. G. 1907. The Distribution of Flint and Bronze Implements in Norfolk. Transactions of the Norfolk and Norwich Naturalists' Society. Vol VIII Pt III (for 1906-1907) pp 393-409. pp 398, 400.
<S8>Article in Serial: 1884. Appendix. Extracts from the Proceedings at General and Committee Meetings. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol IX pp 359-369. p 368.
<S9>Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Bronze Age.
<S10>Article in Serial: 1911. Summary of Proceedings. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society of East Anglia. Vol I Pt I (for 1909-1910) pp 109-121. p 111.
<S11>Article in Serial: Clarke, W. G. 1913. Norfolk Implements of Palaeolithic "Cave" Types. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society of East Anglia. Vol I Pt III (for 1912-13) pp 338-345. p 339.
<S12>Article in Serial: Clarke, W. G. 1919. The Distribution of Flint and Bronze Implements in Norfolk. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society of East Anglia. Vol III Pt I (for 1918-19) pp 147-149. pp 148, 149.
<S13>Publication: Clarke, W.G.. Unknown. Manuscript note.
<S14>Article in Monograph: Sainty, J. E. 1935. Norfolk Prehistory. Report of the Annual Meeting, 1935. Norwich, September 4-11. British Association for the Advancement of Science. Appendix pp 60-71. p 67.
<S15>Publication: Clarke, W.G.. 1922. Ms note.
<S16>Article in Serial: 1920. Summary of Proceedings. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society of East Anglia. Vol III Pt II (for 1919-20) pp 315-322. p 321.

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