Monument record MWX1136 - Upper Palaeolithic site, Eastern Depression, Hengistbury Head, Bournemouth

An Upper Palaeolithic open-air site probably focused on a small stream valley has been identified on Hengistbury Head. It has been investigated on three separate occasions which have shown that it survives as a concentration of flint artefacts including backed blades, burins, microburins, cores, etc., together with a small number of sandstone blocks and ochre. The remains of a hearth and associated activity area and an area of knapping for blade production have been identified. The site was probably a seasonal hunting site probably occupied in spring and autumn and is dated to about 12,500 years BP.

Flint industry on Hengistbury Head, found 1914. The finds are in Red House Museum, Christchurch. <1>

"The Druitt Collection contains examples of an important Upper Palaeolithic blade with tanged flakes and burins from Hengistbury Head. Prof. J. Grahame Clark states that the flints closely resemble industries from Bromme and Lyngby in Denmark, where they date from the end of the Glacial and the very beginning of the Post-Glacial period." <2>

The area is now heather covered; no surface finds were made. <3>

The best examples of these flints are with Prof Clark, at Cambridge. Dateable to early Me or even earlier. The finds were made during the ploughing of a part of Hengistbury Head. Sited to SZ 17829052 from entries in Druitt's Diary. <4>

A series of soundings were dug in 1957, in the unploughed area of the S of where Druitt made his finds. In one was found a concentration of flints (SZ 17809042 on plan). Of 2,263 flints found, 251 (11%) were tools - whole and broken; 81.3% were unused, and 7.7% waste products. Most were found at a depth of 1-2ft. The tools comprised burins, micro-burins, scrapers, cores, blades, etc., an assemblage with affinities to those from the great complex of Upper Palaeolithic open sites in NW Europe. <5>

Near the 1957 excavations, a concentration of 1,747 flints (95 implements including backed blades, scrapers and burins) were found in 1968, along with faint traces of `stoke-holes' (?Stake-holes) in a `1.5m. ovoid alignment', near the surface and probably later than the flints. <7>

The site of the 1957 excavations is clearly visible as an area of disturbed ground at SU 17909047, and the 1968 excavations are visible on the cliff edge at SU 17839041. <8>

Analysis to finds and present location of material. <9-10>

Excavations, systematic collections and chance finds over a number of years have located Palaeolithic and Mesolithic industries, mainly in the vicinity of Warren Hill. Over 10,000 Mesolithic flints and 4,000 Palaeolithic flints have now been recovered. <11>

Many Palaeolithic surface finds have been recovered from the upper areas of the headland including a collection by Druitt, now housed in the Red House Museum, Christchurch. Excavations during the 1950s by Mace <5> and Calkin <6> located the site. Mace's excavations found the site to be undisturbed, containing concentrations of Upper Palaeolithic finds, confirming for the first time, the existance of a major open-air site of this period and type in Britain. Part of the site was re-excavated by Campbell in 1968 <9>. He claimed to have discovered two discrete occupation levels, one Mesolithic the other Upper Palaeolithic. This was subsequently proved to be ill-founded, but for a time the site was regarded as one of the few instances where Mesolithic and Palaeolithic were found in a secure stratigraphical relationship one above the other.

Excavations in 1981-4 took place within the Eastern Depression, and found, contrary to claims by Campbell, that the site consisted of one homogeneous assemblage. Thermoluminescence dating of burnt artefacts resulted in six determinations with an average age of 12500 +/- 1150 years BC (OXTL 707a)

The assemblage is composed mainly of flint artefacts, some sandstone blocks and red ochre fragments. One flint core has an engraving on its cortex. A total of 649 retouched tools including 147 end scrapers, 66 burins and 324 backed blades and bladelets. The flint is non-local, imported to the site from c.12km away. Refitting has shown that the nodules were bought in whole, not preformed elsewhere.

A spatial separation of activities is represented by tool activity around the remains of a hearth, and a peripheral zone where the primary production of tool blanks occurred.

The site appears to have been used as a residential hunting location, situated within a well-sheltered dry stream valley. Based on Continental parallels the site is fairly typical of the larger hunter-gatherer aggregation sites, occupied seasonally during the autumn and spring migrations of animals such as horse and reindeer. <12>

The site was first discovered by Herbert Druitt in 1914, following the ploughing of part of Hengistbury Head in preparation for an abortive golf course, where he found a concentration of Upper Palaeolithic blades and tanged flakes. <12> <6>

The first systematic investigation of this site was made in 1957 by Angela Mace, who excavated in the unploughed area immediately south of where Druitt made his finds. She recovered 2,263 flints, of which 251 (11%) were tools; 81.3% were unretouched, and 7.7% waste products. The flint assemblage included burins, micro-burins, scrapers, cores, blades, etc., which have affinities with the Upper Palaeolithic open sites in NW Europe, confirming for the first time, the existence of a major open-air site of this period and type in Britain. <5>

A further part of the site closer to the cliff edge was excavated by John Campbell in 1968 and 1,747 flints were recovered. These included 95 implements (backed blades, scrapers, burins, etc.). Campbell thought he had found evidence for two discrete occupation levels, one Mesolithic and the other Upper Palaeolithic. Upon later re-examination of the material, this was proved not to be the case and only a single Upper Palaeolithic site was present. <12>

Excavations in 1981-4 directed by Nick Barton took place within the Eastern Depression, focused mainly in the area adjacent to the earlier excavations, but with a wider investigation of the surrounding landscape, which has indicated that the site was focused on the side of a small stream, which has formed the Eastern Depression. The flint assemblage recovered from this excavation was analysed together with the flint from Campbell’s investigations, a total assemblage of 13,419 pieces. This assemblage is composed mainly of flint artefacts, some sandstone blocks and red ochre fragments. One flint core has an engraving on its cortex. A total of 649 retouched tools including 147 scrapers, 66 burins and 324 backed blades and bladelets have been identified. The flint is non-local, imported to the site from about 12km away. Refitting has shown that the flint raw material was brought in as whole nodules, not prepared cores.

Two different activity areas were identified, an area of unburnt debitage representing a knapping area involved in the production of blades and an area to the northwest which has a concentration of burnt flint, and backed blades together with sandstone pieces and ochre fragments, which is probably the remains of a hearth. Evidence from north European open-air sites suggests that backed blades tend to be associated with hearthside activities. Thermoluminescence dating of burnt flint artefacts resulted in six determinations with an average age of 12500 +/- 1150 years BC (OXTL 707a). The site appears to have been used as a residential hunting location, situated within a well-sheltered dry stream valley. Based on Continental parallels the site is fairly typical of the larger hunter-gatherer aggregation sites, occupied seasonally during the autumn and spring migrations of animals such as horse and reindeer. <12>

<1> Calkin, J B, Annotated Record Map Corr 6, 1952 (Map). SWX8214.

<2> Calkin, J B, 1951, The Bournemouth Area in Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Times, 40 (Article in serial). SWX3981.

<3> Quinnell, N V, Various, Field Investigators Comments NVQ, F1 NVQ 15-JUL-54 (Unpublished document). SDO11903.

<4> Calkin, J B, Oral: J B Calkin (Hon Corr), 14.7.59 (Verbal communication). SWX8260.

<5> Mace A, 1959, The Excavation of a Late Upper Palaeolithic open site on Hengistbury Head, Christchurch, Hampshire., p233-59 (Article in serial). SWX3701.

<6> Calkin, J B, 1966, Discovering Prehistoric Bournemouth and Christchurch (Monograph). SWX4171.

<7> Campbell, J B, 1968, CBA Summaries of Excavations (Article in serial). SWX4166.

<8> Aldsworth, F G, Various, Field Investigators Comments FGA, F2 FGA 19-MAR-69 (Unpublished document). SWX1161.

<9> Campbell, J, 1977, The Upper Palaeolithic of Britain: a study of man and nature in the Late Ice Age, 141-4 (Monograph). SWX3702.

<10> Wymer, J J, and Bonsall, C, 1977, Gazetteer of Mesolithic sites in England and Wales, with a gazetteer of Upper Palaeolithic sites in England and Wales, 160-7 (Monograph). SWX2026.

<11> Palmer, S, 1978, Mesolithic cultures of Britain, 128-9 (Monograph). SWX1704.

<12> Barton, R N E, 1992, Hengistbury Head, Dorset. 2: The Late Palaeolithic and Early Mesolithic Sites (Monograph). SWX3704.

<13> National Record of the Historic Environment, 458762 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Dec 23 2024 3:41PM