Find Spot record MDO5667 - Mesolithic site, St Giles' Field, Down Farm, Gussage St Michael

A surface concentration of mesolithic flints, sampled by excavation in 1976. The flints were largely earlier mesolithic in character and included tranchet and other axeheads, and microliths, predominantly obliquely blunted points.

A mesolithic site has been discovered at SU 0053 1469 near Down Farm. An area of approximately 10 m2 was excavated, the artefact assemblage being dominated by obliquely blunted points and containing many axes and over 250 cores. <1>

A Mesolithic site at St Giles Field, Down Farm. A surface concentration of Mesolithic flints among a broader scatter was sampled by excavation in 1976. The concentration covered circa 100 square metres. An area of circa 10 square metres of the ploughsoil was trowelled, followed by the digging of a small trial trench near the centre of the concentration. In total, 1274 flints, including waste flakes, were recovered from the ploughsoil and a further 593 in the trial trench. The flints were generally of earlier Mesolithic character, and included tranchet and non-tranchet axeheads and micrliths, the assemblage being dominated by obliquely blunted points. Also present were scrapers, knives, saws and a pick. It is possible that the trial trench cut a feature dug and backfilled in the Mesolithic, although a larger area would need to be excavated to confirm this and to identify the true nature of the feature. <4>

<1> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1982, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1980, 69-75 (Serial). SDO80.

<2> Arnold, J, Green, M, Lewis, B and Bradley, R, 1989, The Mesolithic of Cranborne Chase (Article in serial). SDO12557.

<3> Barrett, J, Bradley, R and Green, M, 1991, Landscape, Monuments and Society: the prehistory of Cranborne Chase (Monograph). SDO16633.

<4> National Record of the Historic Environment, 888929 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Apr 11 2023 8:04AM