Monument record MWX1039 - Mesolithic flint working site, Sopley Common, Christchurch

A total of 70 flints were found at a Mesolithic site 30 paces south of the O.D. stone and Avon Common in 1904-5. The flints comprised cores, gravers, micro-burins and blades. All are retained by the finder, J Draper. <1>

This site was not identified on the ground but it is clear that a siting at SZ 12929744, on Sopley not Avon Common, is indicated, some 30.0m S of the old OS block in the top of a barrow. <2>

Sopley Common, approx. SZ 130977. Mesolithic material includes 3 micro burins, 2 convex scrapers, 3 retouched blades, 5 microcores, 43 waste flakes and 3 waste blades. A lot of the artefacts are burnt. This could indicate the presence of a habitation site. <3>

No Ordnance Datum stone is known in the area of Avon Common. If the O.D. stone referred to above (Authy.1) were that on Sopley Common in its original position, the site should be at SZ 12929745. The discovery of Mesolithic flakes within the barrow (SZ 19 NW 38) suggests that the site found earlier is indeed in this locality, extending under the barrow and perhaps into the firebreak. The alternative siting "on Sopley Common" given by Palmer is within the plantation, 150 yards north of the boundary of the common. <4>

<1> Phillips, A S, Various, Field Investigators Comments ASP, F1 ASP 17-OCT-68 (Unpublished document). SWX3817.

<1.1> Draper, J C, Oral: J C Draper 3 East St Fareham notebook and sketch-plan (Verbal communication). SWX3921.

<2> Wardale, C F, Various, Field Investigators Comments CFW, F2 CFW 02-APR-69 (Unpublished document). SWX2704.

<3> Palmer, S, 1970, The Mesolithic Industries of Mother Siller's Channel, Christchurch, and the Neighbouring Areas. Excavation Report., 25 (Article in serial). SWX3924.

<4> Aitken, P, 1976, A Survey of the Archaeological Sites On Sopley Common, Dorset, p3 (Unpublished document). SWX3841.

<5> National Record of the Historic Environment, 458497 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

May 10 2023 11:31AM