Find Spot record MWX1160 - Whetstone or figurine, Warren Hill, Hengistbury Head, Bournemouth

A stone artefact broken into two pieces was found on the surface of Warren Hill. It has been suggested as being an Upper Palaeolithic or Mesolithic figurine but has also been reinterpreted as a more recent whetstone.

Two fragments of a stone object were found on the surface near the cliff edge of Warren Hill by the the Marchese A Nobili-Vitelleschi in 1961. These were examined by Suzanne Palmer, who interpreted them as being part of a female figurine with a face and hair at one end and a vulva with pubic hair design scratched on the other end. She suggests it is strongly reminiscent of Upper Palaeolithic figurines of Europe, but could also be Mesolithic. <1>

The object was re-examined by Rupert Cook who suggests it is nothing more than a whetstone, with smoothed facets along its length for sharpening a metal blade and the striations and grooves at both ends were for sharpening pointed implements. It was also subject to petrographical analysis and determined to be a greywacke from an unknown source. Cook suggests it dates to no earlier than the Bronze Age, but is likely to be much more recent. <2>

This interpretation has been disputed by Palmer. <3>

<1> Palmer, S, 1978, Mesolithic cultures of Britain, 131-133 (Monograph). SWX1704.

<2> Rupert Cook, M H, 1982, Shorter Contributions on Archaeological Topics: The Hengistbury Head Figurine Reconsidered, p191-2 (Article in serial). SWX4224.

<3> Palmer, S, 1984, Shorter Contributions on Archaeological Topics: The Hengistbury Head Figurine, Further Considerations, p127-8 (Article in serial). SWX4225.

<4> National Record of the Historic Environment, 884862 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Dec 23 2024 3:41PM