An Acheulian Site at Cuxton

AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON By P. J. TESTER, F.S.A. Synopsis EXCAVATIONS undertaken during 1962-3 in the grounds of Cuxton rectory (National Grid Reference TQ71076655) resulted in the discovery of over 600 Palaeolithic flint artifacts within a total area of not more than 86 sq. ft., almost a third of the finds being Acheulian hand-axes. The shallow fluviatile deposit in which they lay is regarded as part of the 2nd or '50-ft.' terrace of the Medway, influenced in its formation at this point by a tributary. The artifacts had apparently been washed together from a camp-site in the immediate vicinity, the majority being quite sharp and fresh while a few were more or less rolled. The predominant tool-form was a pointed hand-axe with a thick butt, though ovates also occurred, with some cleavers and flake tools. Cores show that both Clactonian and proto-Levalloisian techniques of flake production were practised, though these elements in the industry were relatively insignificant compared with the output of bifacial hand-axes. Typologioally the industry is clearly Middle Acheulian in the sense that this term has been applied to the hand-axes from the Boyn Hill terrace of the Thames at Swanscombe and other sites such as Furze Piatt, near Maidenhead. On these grounds the Cuxton industry may be referred provisionally to the Great Interglacial, although substantiating faunal evidence is unfortunately lacking. The elevation of the chalk bench on which the implement-bearing deposit lay at Cuxton is approximately 55 ft. above Ordnance Datum, which is much lower than at Swanscombe, and this may be accounted for by assuming that the deposit belongs to one of the lower sea-level phases of the Great Interglacial which are attested by evidence from the Thames Valley. DISCOVERY AND EXCAVATION 'When visiting Canon Colson on 24th August, 1889, on entering the gate of the rectory garden I picked up a fine Palaeolithic flint celt which lay upon the bank.' This statement in George Payne's Collectanea Cantiana (1893) appears to be the earhest reference to Palaeolithic implements occurring on the site under consideration. In Arch. Cant., XXV (1902) Payne figured four other hand-axes from this same locality, one of which had been found by workmen laying a water main in the carriage drive of the rectory a few feet from the entrance gate. He 30 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON noted that this was the fourth implement found within two or three yards of the same spot during the previous seven years. In the autumn of 1962 the present writer was asked by Mr. E. R. Swain, Honorary Secretary of the Lower Medway Archaeological Research Group, to supervise the excavation of a Roman building which Payne had also noted as occurring just inside the rectory gate close to where he found the first Palaeolithic implement.1 On October 27th with the kind permission of the rector, the Rev. R. A. Smith, M.A., a trial hole, about 4 ft. square, was opened in the west bank of the drive, 16 ft. inside the gateway. No Roman material was forthcoming and we quickly discovered that the 'chalk wall' of the supposed building referred to by Payne was nothing more than an exposure of natural chalk breccia which can be seen outcropping at the foot of the bank. To compensate for this disappointment, however, we were gratified to find in this small hole no less than 14 hand-axes with a quantity of flakes in situ in a thin bed of gravel immediately over the chalk breccia, and it at once became obvious that Payne's implements had been derived from this same gravel stratum which outcrops on the sloping side of the drive cutting. Subsequent digging during the following weeks was directed to uncovering more of this implement-bearing deposit, and the test-hole was extended to form two aligned trenches running from the edge of the drive towards the rectory. These are marked 1 and 2 on the accompanying plan (Fig. 1). In the following spring and summer an area # RECTORY \ v I ; QC a \ / a i \ \ / / \ / / \ *v / ^ OS \ OV o \ \^V V Feet <\y * OO I I—I I I—I—l__l > *v FIG. I. Site plan. (Based on O.S. Map. Crown Copyright Reserved.) 1 Arch. Cant., XXV, lxvii. 31 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON 8 ft. by 6 ft. was opened close to the earlier cuttings, and this is marked 4 on the plan. The typical section exposed in these cuttings is shown in Fig. 4. From the gravel came a remarkable quantity of artifacts, and a few also occurred in the covering loam. In order to test the extent of the implement-bearing deposits two other cuttings were made, one on the east side of the drive (3) and the other some distance westward (5). Both of these revealed loam and gravel but artifacts were much scarcer and consisted mainly of rough flakes like those associated with the hand-axes in 1, 2 and 4. Undoubtedly great quantities of artifacts still remain in the area adjoining our excavations, for, in view of the potential importance of the site, it was decided to discontinue our work as soon as an adequate sample of the industry had been collected. It is thus possible that at some future time a re-examination aided by the fast-developing techniques of modern archseological and geochronological research may add to present knowledge and remove any uncertainties of interpretation attached to the evidence so far obtained. All the material found during these excavations has been acquired by the British Museum. The site has been scheduled for protection by the Ministry of Public Building and-Works. THE GEOLOGY OF THE SITE Cuxton lies on the west side of the gap cut through the North Downs by the Medway on its north-eastward course. The river, flowing from the Weald, crosses successively the Greensand, Gault and Chalk before joining the Thames Estuary about 16 miles below Cuxton. Gravels flanking its lower reaches contain material washed downstream by the current in past ages, particularly from the Greensand and Chalk. Traces of ancient terraces are in evidence, especially on the west side of the valley, but no study of these appears to have succeeded in correlating them satisfactorily with the terraces of the Thames. In the Geological Survey Memoir2 the Medway terraces are simply described as 4th, 3rd, 2nd and Low, according to their elevation, and are so distinguished on the One-inch Map.3 Classification is made difficult where, as in many places, the stages are represented by very thin layers of material which have suffered varying degrees of denudation and downhill movement. Nowhere in the Lower Medway do the Pleistocene deposits approach the great thickness and uniformity of the Thames gravels.4 The deposit of gravel and loam in the area of the rectory garden at 2 Geology of the Country around Chatham (1964), 136 ff. 8 One-inch Geological Sheet 272, New Series. 4 G. E. Hutchings, 'The River Deposits of the Lower Medway Hasin' (1925). Proc. Geol. Assoc, XXXVI, 422. 32 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON Cuxton is mapped by the Geological Survey as part of the 2nd Terrace and is described in the Memoir as consisting of coarse gravelly sand and loam with chert and ironstone, over 6 ft. in thickness. On account of its elevation the 2nd Terrace has also been described as the '50-ft. Terrace', and G. E. Hutchings has called attention to its consistent height above the river and uniformity of character in the lower part of the valley.5 At Cuxton the 2nd Terrace deposits lie on a chalk spur at the junction of the Medway with a tributary valley once occupied by a stream flowing in from the north-west, a feature which for convenience will be referred to as the Cuxton Valley (Fig. 2). On the west side of the rectory garden the Chalk rises sharply towards the 100-ft. contour, while the garden itself levels off at about 60 ft. O.D. to form a well-marked terrace, the surface of which has probably been somewhat modified by landscaping in the nineteenth century. From the manner in which this terrace turns some distance northward it would appear to be related not only to the main river but also to the tributary formerly occupying the Cuxton Valley. The general inference is that the Medway and its tributary at one time cut down through the soft Upper Chalk and on encountering the harder Middle Chalk, which outcrops in the rectory garden, proceeded to erode a wide bench at about 55 O.D. Upon this the same rivers in due course deposited gravel and loam contemporaneously with the occupation of the area by Acheulian man who left abundant flint artifacts on the banks to become incorporated in the terrace deposits by water action. In detail the deposits revealed by our digging were as shown in Fig. 4. At the base of the exposure the top of the Middle Chalk was disintegrated for a depth of about 6 in. and the rubble recemented to form a hard breccia. Nothing can be stated with certainty as to the conditions under which it was formed, but the Geological Survey Memoir in noting the occurrence of Chalk Breccia at other points in this area suggests that its origin may be related to water percolating from drifts at a higher level. To this it may be added that if the shattering of the Chalk in situ was caused by frost there would be no need to suppose that it took place during a glacial episode as winter frosts during an interglacial would be sufficient to cause disintegration up to 6 in. deep. Coarse gravel covered the breccia to a depth of about 1| ft. In composition it was poorly sorted, with nodules of flint from the Chalk, Greensand material, ironstone, Tertiary pebbles, and numerous flint artifacts at all levels, the matrix being sharp, ochreous sand. At the base the sand and stones were stained almost black, while locally the 0 G. E. Hutchings, op. cit., 425. 33 3 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON IOO SO A/ Acheulian site 1962 S 7/ / 1 MILE | i i I ± i 1 1 ( FIG. 2. Contour map of the Cuxton district. (Based on O.S. Map. Crown Copyright Reserved.) gravel was divided horizontally by a lens of clean, yellow sand. Resting on the gravel was a brownish, sandy loam containing fragments of waterworn flint and a few unrolled artifacts of the same general fades as those in the underlying gravel. The top of the loam was overlain locally by a mixture of chalk rubble and soil containing fragments of roof slates and other evidence of modern origin. This must be due to nineteenthcentury landscaping when the rubbish was presumably dumped to fill hollows and level the garden. It would seem that part of the loam had at that time been removed and the irregularities subsequently made up in the manner described. At the top of the section was soil and humus of no archaeological or geological significance. The late Professor F. E. Zeuner visited the site on 1st November, 1963 and examined the section then exposed in Trench 4, which was almost identical with that figured here from Trench 2. Most unfortunately his sudden death only four days later prevented my obtaining the expert assistance in interpreting the geological evidence which this outstanding authority on Pleistocene geology so kindly offered. On the occasion of his visit, however, the Professor made certain comments which were carefully noted, one of them being that the thinness of the 34 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON <£ ALLUVIUM RIVER BRICKEARTH HEAD CLAY WITH FLINTS •;.•:.•.••.•, 2nd TERRACE GRAVEL I . I . I T^-U UPPER CHALK MIDDLE CHALK ACHEULIAN SITE I MILE FIG. 3. Geological sketch-map of the Cuxton district. (Based in part on Crown Copyright Geological Survey map by permission of the Controller of H.M. Stationery Office.) gravel indicated the action of a small stream rather than the main river. A sample of the sand dividing the gravel in Trench 2 was reported upon in April 1963 by Dr. A. L. Bryan0 who stated that laboratory examination suggested that the deposit had probably been laid down in slow water during overbank flooding, and in his opinion both the sand and the gravel could have formed part of a bar at the mouth of a stream. His tentative conclusion was that the artifact-bearing strata, including the very shallow bed-load of a proportionately shallow 8 Drs. A. L. and E. Bryan were at that time visiting this country from America for purposes of research in collaboration with the London University Institute of Archseology. Their assistance in tho early stages of the Cuxton excavation is gratefully acknowledged. 35 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON stream, were deposited by a small river with seasonal or at least occasional higher water. Although a few small fragments of very decomposed bone were met with in the gravel, no faunal evidence was forthcoming from the site EAST WEST HUMUS CHALK RUBBLE Ft. O.D. I-60 -59 4 A V -58 LOAM • ^ : < } ^ . ° - ^ : b G R A V E L > ' 9 . \ - v : ^ - ^ - . • •. S A N D •"' • • • . .. . . . . . . . . .........'..','.— . ' • • o > / • • ? : - O i ' . v ; . . a - . \ 1 ,. - I N / ,. ' ' - • i I I . MIDDLE CHALK. II U IL 57 56 -55 FIG. 4. Section in the south side of Trench 2. to indicate the climatic conditions obtaining when the deposits were formed. Considerable importance must be attached to the height above sea-level of the erosional bench cut in the Chalk prior to the deposition of the gravel, particularly in view of the attention which has been paid to this aspect of the Thames terraces and the relation of the benches to 36 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON periods of reduced sea-level during the Pleistocene period.7 By the kind assistance of Mr. M. A. Ocock it was possible to relate the brecciacapped Chalk in our trenches to the 58.03 bench-mark cut in the wall of the rectory garden. In Trench 1 it was at 56 O.D. at the east end and it sloped evenly downward to 54.5 in the north-west corner of Trench 4. Trench 3 showed Chalk at 55.5 and in Trench 5 it was a foot higher. Thus the level of the bench in the area investigated was fairly constant but it apparently slopes downward towards the river between the main road and the railway cutting which the Geological Map shows as forming the limit of the terrace in the southward direction. DESCRIPTION OE THE INDUSTRY For purposes of description and analysis, only artifacts from the gravel of Trenches 1, 2 and 4 are here considered. The few finds from 3 and 5 do not materially affect the conclusions drawn from a study of the main assemblage. Implements from the loam are described separately. The following table indicates the main groups into which the flints can be separated: Hand-axes Cleavers Chopper ('tea-cosy' type) Flake tools Cores Waste flakes Unclassified fragments Total 199 11 1 54 20 366 6 657 Most of the artifacts are of unpatinated grey to black flint. Parts of the worked surfaces are encrusted in many instances with a thin coating of hard, limy deposit. Very little rolling is evident on the bulk of the flints though a small group (about 4 per cent.) is stained ochreous brown with indications of some wear in the bed of the stream. Typologioally, however, there is little to justify separating these few rolled and stained specimens into an older industry (e.g. Fig. 13, Nos. 24-27.) Patches of cortex remaining on the artifacts indicate that in most cases the raw material was derived from the Chalk and utilized before 7 F. E. Zeuner, The Pleistocene Period (1959), 148-72, 283-94, 366-62. 37 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON it had been subjected to much rolling. Most probably it came from the steep river-bank immediately above the terrace, where the action, of the running stream would have eroded the soluble Chalk and left quantities of flint nodules at the water's edge. This may indeed have been one of the principal factors which determined the location of the Palaeolithic camp-site. Hand-axes. One of the most striking features of the assemblage is the high proportion of bifacial hand-axes relative to all other artifacts. Roughly made, pointed hand-axes with thick, crust-covered butts predominate, though there are some ovates. The vast majority have been made from nodules but in rare cases small hand-axes were fashioned from thick flakes. The general character is similar to the industry of the Middle Gravel in the Barnfield pit at Swanscombe where the fragments of the famous Swanscombe skull have been recovered. Mr. D. A. Roe, B.A., of Peterhouse, Cambridge, has examined the Cuxton material in connection with a comprehensive statistical and metrical analysis which he has undertaken of hand-axe groups in Britain. An interim report on his researches has appeared in The Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society XXX (1964) and there he clearly demonstrates that as a group the Cuxton hand-axes compare very closely with those from Furze Piatt, near Maidenhead, a typical Middle Acheulian site in the Lower Boyn Hill terrace of the Thames. Although it is difficult to separate the implements into well defined groups, owing to the occurrence of many intermediate types, it may be stated that the pointed form is almost three times as numerous as the ovate. Only seven and five specimens in each group respectively are worked to an edge completely round the butt. Most significantly there is not one example of the highly developed 'twisted' ovate typical of the Late Middle Acheulian culture as represented in the latest stages of the Boyn Hill deposits of the Thames. Cleavers. These are mostly roughly made core-tools, and in only one instance (Fig. 12, No. 21) does the workmanship approach the best flaking on the hand-axes. There is also a tool-form, represented by a small number of specimens, intermediate in shape between a hand-axe and a cleaver. Fig. 10, No. 10 is typical, but the type is not classed here as a cleaver in spite of the squarish end. Several of the true cleavers have a broad working-end formed by an obliquely struck tranchet blow. Rare cleavers are reported to accompany Middle Acheulian in the Thames Valley sequence.8 8 J. Wymer, 'The Lower Palseolithic Succession of the Thames Valley and the Date of the Ancient Channel between Caversham and Henley, Oxon.' (1961). Proc. Prehist. Soc, XXVII, 5. 38 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON Chopper. Only one specimen of the 'tea-cosy' chopper was found (Fig. 14, No. 28). They are said to occur in the Upper Loam at Swanscombe with hand-axes of shghtly more evolved form than those at Cuxton.9 Flake Tools. It is difficult to distinguish in all cases flakes which have been dehberately retouched at the edges from some which have received chipping by pressure against stones in their gravel matrix. A proportion can be identified with certainty as scrapers, while there are some rough flakes which bear fairly definite marks of utilization. The identifiable scrapers are not standardized in form and the retouch is often coarse and irregular. Rare scrapers with slightly curved, evenly retouched edges (e.g. Fig. 15, No. 36) would be suitable for dressing skins. Others resemble crude end-scrapers or planes and are made on thick flakes or fragments with steeply worked edges and uneven outline (e.g. Nos. 32, 34 and 37.) Some of these could have been used for shaping wooden spears like that found by S. H. Warren at Clacton.10 Points, worked unifacially at the edges, also occur. In some cases the general shape is that of the flake as it came off the core, modified by a small amount of marginal retouch (Fig. 14, No. 31.) Others resemble poorly made hand-axes on flakes with little or no working on the bulbar face. A small number of wide blades appear to be more than waste flakes and are classed as flake tools. Fig. 16, No. 44 is certainly to be regarded as an implement. An analysis of the flake tools may be given as follows: End-scrapers and planes Miscellaneous scrapers (retouched) Points Blades Large utilized flakes 12 17 6 8 11 Harper Kelley has noted that in France the principal Acheulian flake tools are points, side-scrapers and crude end-scrapers, with flakes and blades showing signs of use.11 It is interesting to observe how the evidence from Cuxton accords with this description. Cores. The majority are simply nodules from which a few flakes have been struck, presumably for use as tools, and in most cases there was httle attempt to shape the flake before removal or to prepare the 9 J. Wymer, op. cit. (1961), 6. 10 Quart. Jour. Geol. Soc Lond., 68 (1911), 11 Proc Prehist. Soc, III (1937), 17. 39 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON striking-platform by retouching. Some approach in form the Clactonian chopper-cores (e.g. Fig. 16, No. 39) but it seems unlikely that in this context they were intended as tools or that they were made by a group of people other than that which produced the hand-axes. Two cores, however, show some signs of the preparation of a principal flake before detachment, and in one instance careful dressing of the striking-platform to ensure a flaking-angle of approximately 90°. These proto-Levalloisian cores are illustrated in Fig. 16, Nos. 42 and 43. Among the associated flakes are several with closely faceted strikingplatforms but it is impossible to prove that they were struck from prepared cores or intended for tools (e.g. Fig. 17, Nos. 45-48.) In making hand-axes it was sometimes the practice to remove flakes by preparing a striking-platform at the edge of the rough-out so as to control the intended line of separation. The resulting waste flakes are indistinguishable from others deliberately struck for use as tools like those in the Levalloisian industries at Northfleet (Baker's Hole)12 and Crayford.13 The presence of discarded cores is, therefore, a vital diagnostic feature in determining the presence of Levalloisian technique in an industry. Waste Flakes. A large quantity of rough flakes occurring in association with the implements must be regarded as mainly debris from the making of hand-axes. Many are thin with poorly defined striking-platforms and bulbs of percussion. Others have flat platforms and an obtuse flaking-angle, but they seldom resemble the thick, high-angle flakes with wide platforms typical of the Clactonian culture. There are a few thin blades which may also be nothing more than waste from hand-axe making. Small chippings from the final dressing of the implements were not recovered in any quantity in spite of the precaution taken of carefully sifting the spoil in order to collect every fragment of worked flint. ARTIFACTS FROM THE LOAM A small group of flakes and implements from the loam clearly indicates the persistence of the same industry as that abundantly represented in the underlying gravel. A small cleaver and two scrapers are figured (Fig. 17, Nos. 49-51.) They are quite unrolled and demonstrate the continued occupation of the area during the period at which the slackened current laid down loam over the coarse gravel bed-load of the stream. 12 E. A. Smith, 'A Palaeolithic Industry at Northfleet, Kent.' (1911). Archceologia LXII, 615-32. 13 F. C. J . Spurrell, 'On the Discovery of the place where Palaeolithic implements were made at Crayford.' (1880). Quart. Journ. Geol. Soc XXXVI, 544-48. 40 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON DISCUSSION When such an extraordinary concentration of implements first came to light it was thought that an undisturbed Acheulian camp-site, with hand-axes lying as left by their Palaeolithic users, had been discovered. Subsequent consideration, however, suggested a modification of this view. Although some of the tools were quite fresh and could not have been moved more than a few yards by the stream, they were intermingled with others showing varying degrees of rolling. No definite floors or horizons were observable, either in the gravel or loam, to indicate temporary surfaces on which the implements were dropped. More probably the actual camp-site, at the edge of the water, was periodically invaded by the stream, and the worked flints moved to some extent and intermingled with sand and gravel. Nevertheless, the presence of a very high proportion of unrolled implements shows beyond doubt that the general area of the ancient terrace now partly covered by the rectory grounds can be confidently identified as a Paleolithic camp-site, possibly frequented over a relatively long period. During that time some of the older implements would have suffered repeated disturbance by occasional flooding while those made, later were probably incorporated in the gravel on a single occasion. This would account for the signs of rolling now observable in a proportion of the assemblage. Although implements were undoubtedly made here, the small proportion of waste flakes shows that this was not primarily a 'workshop' site. At least several dozen flakes would be struck off in making a single hand-axe, but the figures given above show that the flakes recovered are only about twice as numerous as the finished implements. A site resorted to principally for making implements would, in contrast, yield a vast predominance of debris compared with finished tools. Absence of bones, shells or pollen in the deposits leaves the typology of the implements as the main guide to dating. This, as previously stated, points to a stage in the Acheulian culture contemporary with that represented at Swanscombe and Furze Piatt, namely Middle Acheulian of the Great Interglacial. Most important in this connection is the state of development of the associated flake industry. This is subordinate to the biface industry of which it clearly forms a constituent. A few cores have Clactonian characteristics (though not necessarily derived from the Clactonian culture) and others approach, in rare instances, the more developed Levalloisian. These elements occur also with the Middle Acheulian in the Boyn Hill deposits of the Thames.14 Moreover, the acceptance by some Continental authorities16 14 A. D. Lacaille, 'The Palaeoliths from the Gravels of the Lower Boyn Hill Terrace around Maidenhead.' (1940). Ant. Journ. XX, 256 ff. 15 F. Bordes, Typologie du Paleolithique Ancien et Moyen. Bordeaux. (1961). 41 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON that the origins of the Levalloisian technique lie in the Acheulian culture supports evidence pointing to the same conclusion which has been put forward in this country,1 6 and the association of proto-Levalloisian cores with Middle Acheulian hand-axes therefore occasions no difficulty. On typological grounds there is ho justification for assigning the Cuxton assemblage to the Late Acheulian despite the fact that this would help to overcome some of the difficulties of geological correlation which must next be considered. Our knowledge of the Pleistocene geology of the Medway area is still much as it was forty years ago when it was observed that evidence from fossil fauna and stone implements in the Medway is very scanty, and most of it unreliable.17 Much valuable information has unfortunately been lost and collections of implements from critical localities are unaccompanied by accurate data. Against this unpromising background an attempt has to be made to correlate the Cuxton deposit with the Thames terraces which have been the subject of intensive study during the last half century. The Thames Valley sequence is, in fact, the most valuable and reliable standard by which the earlier stages of the Palaeolithic succession in the south-east of England can at present be measured. Swanscombe and Cuxton are no more than 8 miles apart, and the confluence of the Thames and Medway—on which they lie respectively —occurs about 20 miles downstream from Swanscombe and 16 miles from Cuxton. Both rivers are tidal well upstream of these places. Research has shown that fluctuations in the level of the Thames in the Swanscombe area during the Pleistocene period were related to rise and fall in sea-level.18 This being so, it might be expected that terraces in the lower reaches of the Thames and Medway would agree closely in elevation, both being controlled by a common sea-level, even when all allowance is made for some change in course since Pleistocene times. At Swanscombe the Boyn Hill, or '100-ft.', terrace deposits lie on a bench which has not been observed to descend below 75 O.D., and the base of the Middle Gravel, which contains the Acheulian industry, is shown at about 88 O.D. in a section illustrating the Swanscombe Report.19 This is over 30 ft. higher than the base of the Acheulianbearing gravel at Cuxton. Similarly, the top of the fluviatile aggradation at Swanscombe was about 110 O.D., coinciding, according to Zeuner, with the maximum Tyrrhenian sea-level. At Cuxton the top " A. D. Lacaille, op. cit. (1940), 259-63. P. J. Tester, 'Palaeolithic Flint Implements from the Bowman's Lodge Gravel Pit, Dartford Heath.' (1950). Arch. Cant. LXIII, 122-34. " G. E. Hutchings, op. cit. (1925), 430. is p. E. Zeuner, op. cit. (1959); is J.R.Anthr.Inst. LXVIII (1938), 17-98.. A channel filled with Upper Middle Gravel does, however, descend to the 75 ft. bench. 42 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON of the terrace deposit is not much above 60 O.D. These discrepancies in level at the two sites present a geological problem for which some solution must be sought. There seems to be no likelihood of correlating the '50-ft.' terrace of Cuxton with the Taplow deposits at a similar elevation in the Lower Thames area as the contained industries are strikingly dissimilar. Developed Levalloisian flake and blade industries characterize the true Taplow gravels and brickearths (as in Spurrell's famous workshop site at Crayford), and underived hand-axes are rare. A study of the terraces of the Great Stour in the Blean area, near Canterbury, has revealed that they bear witness to a sustained eastward migration of the river due to a general tilting of the land.20 Similar evidence is available for the Medway, where the occurrence of terrace remnants at various heights predominantly on the west side of the lower part of the valley points to the same conclusion. Thus it is evident that some of the early terraces of the Stour and Medway may not now be at their original elevation due to a slight secular warping of East Kent towards the North Sea geosyncline. This might seem, at first, to supply an answer to the Cuxton problem but closer examination shows an insurmountable obstacle, for '100-ft.' deposits occur at Sturry (on the Stour) and also at Reculver at their proper elevation and contain appropriate Acheulian industries, indicating plainly that the general tilting has not continued since their deposition. The period of the '100-ft' aggradation of the lower Thames can be shown to have been interrupted by phases of low sea-level causing the river to aggrade at elevations far below that of the Swanscombe 75-ft. bench. Under this heading may be placed, with more or less confidence, the Clacton channel, at —15 O.D.21; the gravel at Little Thurrock, with a bench at 49 O.D.22; and the Stoke Newington gravels at about 50 O.D.23 Zeuner has, in fact, distinguished five phases of low sea-level during the Great Interglacial to which, on palseontological and other grounds the '100-ft.' terrace is held to belong.24 There is no reason why the Cuxton deposit, at about 55-60 O.D., should not belong here also and at present this seems the most satisfactory theory.25 If this 20 A. Coleman, 'Some Aspects of the Development of the Lower Stour, Kent.' (1952). Proc Geol. Assoc, 63, pp. 63-86. 2X K. P. Oakley, and M. Leakey, 'Report on Excavations at Jaywick Sands.' (1937). Proc. Prehist. Soc, III, 217-60. 22 J. Wymer, 'A Clactonian Flint Industry at Little Thurrock, Grays, Essex.' (1957). Proc. Geol. Assoc, 68, pp. 159-77. 2S W. G. Smith, Man the Primeval Savage (1894), 205-6. 24 EVE. Zeuner, op. cit. (1959), 361. 25 Other deposits in the Lower Medway which are mapped as '2nd Terrace' by the Geological Survey may, however, he of a different age and origin. It is not unlikely that some parts of the '50-ft. Terrace' lower down the valley are true 'Taplow' beds. 43 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON is correct, one can assume that the Cuxton deposits were once almost certainly thicker and were reduced to their present shallow remnant partly by the retreating stream and also as a result of solifluxion during the succeeding glaciation, with other forms of subsequent sub-aerial erosion. Future research on the whole complex problem of the Thames and Medway terraces may cause a modification of some of the conclusions drawn here from admittedly limited geological evidence. The close similarity of the Cuxton industry with that of the '100-ft.' terrace of the Thames is, however, sufficiently well established on archseological grounds to enable it to be identified as Middle Acheulian, which can be shown elsewhere on geochronological evidence to belong to the Great (Mindel-Riss) Interglacial. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Permission for the excavation was kindly given by the Rector of Cuxton, the Reverend R. A. Smith, M.A. Sustained support was given with the digging and recording by Mr. A. C. Harrison, B.A., and Mr. E. R. Swain. Mr. C. R. Flight, B.A., and several other friends assisted as circumstances allowed. Through the kindness of Mr. J . W. Brailsford, M.A., F.S.A., the illustrations of the flints which accompany this paper were prepared at the British Museum by Miss Miller. A grant of £12 was made towards the cost of the excavation by the Kent Archaeological Society. Figures 1, 2 and 3 are based on the Ordnance Survey map by permission of the Controller of H.M. Stationery Office. NOTES ON THE ILLUSTRATIONS (FIGS. 5-17) With the exceptions of Nos. 49, 50 and 51 all the artifacts illustrated came from the gravel of Trenches 1, 2 and 4 and were thus closely associated. The three exceptions noted were found in the loam overlying the gravel in Trenches 2 and 4. 1. Hand-axe of ficron type, with long point and rounded butt. Grey flint with uneven patches of ochreous staining. 2. Hand-axe with long point and much cortex remaining on butt. Grey flint with incipient brown staining. 3. Hand-axe with deep ochreous staining but not rolled to any appreciable degree. Found in dark-stained layer at base of gravel. 4. Hand-axe of grey flint. 44 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON w FIG. 5. Hand-axe. (Scale lj2.\ 45 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON mmHmtMm im& FIG. 6. Hand-axe. (Scale 1/2.) 46 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON FIG. 7. Hand-axe. (Scale 1/2.) 47 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON FIG. 8. Hand-axe. (Scale 1/2.) 48 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON £f*s>S.>rf3 %$#C Ifiwfilir--^ FIG. 9. Hand-axes. (Scale 1)2.) 49 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON FIG. 10. Hand-axes. (Scale 1\2.) 50 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON 16 15 FIG. 11. Hand-axes. (Scale 1/2.) 51 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON I 23 -H«^ FIG. 12. Cleavers. (Scale 1/2.) 52 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON FIG. 13. Rolled and stained implements. (Scale 1/2.) 53 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON FIG. 14. 28, chopper; 29-31, points; 32 and 33, scrapers. (Scale 1J2.) 54 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON 37 wimmmmM? 38 FIG. 16. 34-37, planes and scrapers; 38, utilized flake. (Scale 1/2.) 55 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON FIG. 16. 39, 42 and 43, cores; 40 and 41, end-scrapers; 44, utilized blade. (Scale 1/2.) 56 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON m FIG. 17. 46-48, flakes with prepared striking-platforms; 49-61, implements from the loam. (Scale 1J2.) 57 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON 5. Hand-axe of grey flint with incipient patination giving a bluish tinge on one face. 6. Hand-axe, worked round butt. Unrolled, with yellow-buff staining. Found in seam of clean sand dividing the gravel, 7. Hand-axe of grey flint with patches of ochreous staining. 8. Hand-axe, skilfully worked on nodule with natural perforation. There can be no doubt that the tool was deliberately fashioned round the hole, though for what purpose is unknown. Black flint. 9. Hand-axe with rounded tip and very sharp edges. Grey flint. 10. Hand-axe, approaching the cleaver form but lacking the characteristic broad tranchet edge. Black flint. 11. Small hand-axe with plano-convex section, worked on both faces. Edge does not continue round butt. Black flint. 12. Ovate, rather coarsely worked. Grey flint with slight yellowish staining. 13. Small ovate made from a flake, the striking-platform and bulb of percussion remaining. Flaking-angle (bulb/platform) 110°. Grey to black flint with slight staining. 14. Crude hand-axe with unworked, crust-covered butt which would provide an excellent handle. Black flint. 15. Small hand-axe. Such diminutive tools commonly occur in Palaeolithic contexts and it has been suggested that they may have been used by children. Grey flint with incipient ochreous staining. 16. Narrow hand-axe with slightly waisted outline. Pale ochreous staining. 17. Small, roughly-made hand-axe, shaped with hammer-stone flaking. Rounded butt covered with cortex. Grey to black flint. 18. Roughly-made hand-axe of similar type to No. 14. The butt has been deliberately blunted. Grey flint. 19. Cleaver with wide cutting-edge formed by tranchet blow. Ochreous staining and signs of rolling. Could be classed on these grounds with Nos. 24-27. 20. Cleaver with tranchet edge. Dark grey to black flint. 21. Small, well-made cleaver in grey to black flint. 22. Cleaver of dark grey flint. 23. Cleaver, sharpened by tranchet technique on both faces. Grey flint with slight ochreous staining. 58 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON 24-27. Rolled implements. Nos. 24 and 26 are ochreous handaxes typologioally similar to unrolled and unstained specimens found in association. No. 25 is probably an unfinished rough-out for an ovate. No. 27 is a massive scraper made from a flake of Clactonian appearance with flat striking-platform, prominent semi-cone of percussion and flaking-angle of 117°. 28. Chopper of well-known 'tea-cosy' type. Could have been used for chopping wood or splitting bone. Grey flint. 29-31. Points, worked unifacially at the edges. No. 30 has a slight amount of shallow working on the reverse but only at one edge and not at the tip. Its butt is very thin and it is difficult to regard it as a hand-axe. All in grey to black flint. 32. Scraper or plane, made from wedge-shaped fragment and steeply retouched on one edge. Black flint. 33. Scraper, steeply retouched on one edge. Made from an unbulbed fragment of grey to black flint. 34. Plane, made from a thick flake. The bulbar side (shown right) has bold retouch, while the other side of the working-edge is a single broad facet. The general form of the tool suggests that it was used with a pushing movement, and would have been suitable for shaping wood. Grey to black flint. 35. Thick flake, extensively retouched at the edges. Professor Zeuner described it in conversation as a very typical Acheulian flake tool. Black flint with slight ochreous staining. 36. Convex scraper, made from a thin, bulbed waste flake. Shallow flaking along the curved edge is identical with that on the best of the hand-axes. Flaking-angle 100°. Grey flint. 37. Plane or scraper, made from thick, bulbed flake. Steep retouch along left margin. Flaking-angle 118°. Grey to black flint. 38. Thick flake of Clactonian appearance. Pronounced semi-cone of percussion and flaking-angle of 125°. Probable marks of utilization at edges. Much larger and thicker than most of the associated flakes resulting from hand-axe making. Grey to black flint, lightly stained to orange-yellow in places. Slightly rolled. 39. Core, worked on both faces and resembhng a typical Clactonian chopper-core. In this context, however, there is no evidence that it was intended as an implement, nor that it was the work of any other group than that responsible for making the Acheulian hand-axes. Black flint. 59 AN ACHEULIAN SITE AT CUXTON 40. End-scraper, made on a fragment (not a blade) of black flint. 41. Small end-scraper, made on a flake. Grey to black flint with faint ochreous tinge. 42. Proto-Levalloisian core. From the lower part of the face shown a large flake has been struck. The striking-platform was prepared by retouching. The opposite face is rounded and mostly covered with cortex but with some bold flaking at the edges. Flakingangle of the prepared flake would have been about 90°. Grey flint with yellowish staining. 43. Core with signs of the removal of a principal flake from the lower part of the side shown. Striking-platform unprepared and flaking-angle about 100°. Grey to black flint. 44. Well-struck blade, too regular to be a mere waste flake. Flat striking-platform at angle of 110° to bulbar face. Certainly an implement and the general shape and signs of utilization suggest strongly that it was used as a knife. 45-48. Flakes with prepared striking-platforms. Nos. 45, 46 and 48 are probably waste flakes from the manufacture of hand-axes, but No. 47 could be a broken flake tool. 49-51. Implements found in the loam above the gravel in Trenches 2 and 4. Typologioally they show no significant advance on the implements in the underlying gravel. No. 49 is a cleaver and the other two are scrapers made on flakes. All are of grey to black flint and show no signs of rolling. 60