3 Review(s)

This report describes the results of excavations carried out in 1971 and 1972 by Mr R J Mercer for the Department of the Environment, or a previously undisturbed flint mine shaft at Grimes Graves in the Parish of Weeting, Norfolk.One Neolithic flint mine shaft, dating to around 1800bc, was totally excavated and a substantial surface area around the shaft examined. Much valuable information was subsequently recovered concerning the method of flint extraction and the social organisation of the mining community. A detailed account of the worked flint is published in volume II.The excavations at Grimes Graves also revealed evidence of a secondary phase of occupation of the site. During the Middle Bronze Age, a midden had accumulated in the surface of a second flint mine shaft - analysis of the considerable amount of midden debris produced a comprehensive picture of the economy and nature of this later occupation of around 1100bc.The volume contains important contributions by specialists on various topics including the pottery and the environmental evidence.