Mesolithic Discoveries at Perry Woods, Selling, near Canterbury, Kent
MESOLITHIC DISCOVERIES AT PERRY WOODS, SELLING, NEAR CANTERBURY,KENT By A. G. Wooncoox., B.Sc., M.A., A.M.A. THE villages of Selling and Shottenden lie approximately seven miles to the west of Canterbury. Mesolithic material is found fairly generally in this area and the collections of the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford contain two tranchet axes; one said to have been found at Selling Station (A.M. 1927-4013), and the other two miles east of Selling (A.M. 1927-4014). There are, however, two sites in particular which are worthy of more detailed attention Site l (N.G.R. TR 045555; Site 2, N.G.R. TR 056557). Both lie within the area of woodland known as Perry Woods and were located where footpaths had exposed Mesolithic material on the surface. In the autumn of 1964 a limited excavation was undertaken to obtain the maximum amount of information about the industry itself whilst leaving the majority of the site untouched for future investigation. The excavations were conducted with the kind permission of Lord Sondes, by members of the Kent Mesolithic Research Group and with the aid of a grant from the Kent Archa.eologioal Society. Thanks are due to Mr. Whitehead for his kind co-operation, to Mr. Bruce and Mr. Mann for their help with the excavations, to Mrs. Upton for drawing the flints, and to the many others who made this research project possible. The finds are at present in Canterbury Museum together with a detailed record of the excavations. Geologically, the area consists of Thanet Beds overlying the Upper Chalk, in places crowned with outliers of Oldhaven and Woolwich Beds and infilled with Brickearth. Complicating the picture are intermittent wind-blown sand deposits. Both sites lie within a quarter of a mile of present-day springs and within ha.If a mile of readily accessible flint-bearing chalk deposits. Site 1 (N.G.R. TR 045555) Site l, the more important of the two sites, is situated on the summit of high ground to the north-east of the 'Rose and Crown' Inn and east of Shottenden Camp. It commands a good view of the coast towards the north and the Stour Va.Hey towards the east. In spite of the faot that the hilltop has been severely disturbed in recent times, at least half of the site remains intact. The soil profile is that of a typical 169 A. G. WOODCOCK Pod.sol with a leached A horizon, and Mesolithic artifa.cts were found distributed fairly evenly throughout that layer. Although excavation progressed in 6-in. spits and the finds from each layer kept separately, it was not possible to detect any changes within the assemblage. The finds from the site are therefore conaidered below as a homogeneous industry. Site 2 (N.G.R. TR 056557) The majority of mesolithic material from this site had weathered out of the sand and occurred as 'surface' finds. Although lacking any stratigraphical relationship, the a.rtifa.cts did appear to belong to the same industry and are considered as such below. The Flint Industry Almost without exception the flints from both sites were found in a perfectly fresh and sharp condition. Patination was minimal and the majority of the flints were a. pale grey colour. Where the cortex was present it had a white chalky appearance. Little use was made of the plentiful gravel and pebbly flint existing in the vicinity of both sites. (i) Primary flakes, black like flakes, etc. Site 1 3,310 Site 2 583 Out of a random sample of 250 flakes from Site 1: l-2 2-3 3-4 4-5 5-6 6-7 7-8 S-9 om. Length 55 88 51 21 12 12 5 1 Width 109 63 28 12 2 2 2 Whilst Site 1 seems to represent a reasonable cross-section of the industry Site 2 does not. By the very fact that much of the material was surface collected, it is the larger more easily spotted artifaots that predominate. (ii) Oores Site I Site 2 Single-platformed undeveloped 5 3 Single-platformed conical Two platformed prismatic 5 Four-platformed 2 J Multi-platformed 2 I Chopper type 3 Shattered pieces 28 6 --- - 45 11 - - 170 II 16 22 MESOLITHIC DISCOVERIES AT SELLING 7 12 17 t 3 I 5 i ,, fa m 14 13 19 18 20 23 Fxo. 1. Site 1 (Scale:½) 171 6 lS 21 A. G. WOODCOCK Site l Site 2 (iii) Gore rejuventating flakes Struck across platform 16 1 Struck across edge 11 2 Struck down edge to remove the base 2 -- 29 3 (iv) Microliths Obliquely blunted points 2 {Nos. 1 and 2) Points totally blunted down one edge only 6 (Nos. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 11) Rods totally blunted down one edge only (Nos. 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14 and 15) 7 Crescents 1 (No. 16) Shouldered or tanged forms 2 (Nos. 17 and 18) Broken or unidentifiable 3 (Nos. 19, 20 and 21) -- 21 -- Although it is possible that some of the so-called 'rod' forms ma,y represent points blunted totally down one edge which have lost their tips, they do appear as a distinct type. (v) Micro-burins Mioro-burins (No. 22) Unseparated forms (No. 23) (vi) Gore axe8 and adzes (Nos. 29, 32 and 33) (vii) Axe and adze sharpening flakes (Nos. 34 and 42) 172 12 2 14 Parts of 3 Part of 1 13 l MESOLITHIC DISCOVERIES AT SELLING 27 26 2S 29 0 31 33 Flo. 2. Site 1. (Soo.le: ¼) 173 A. G. WOODCOCK (viii) Blade segments Incorporating striking platform Without striking platform or base Incorporating base Parts of 3 Part of 1 9 17 14 4 II 6 40 21 Although all appear to be deliberately snapped, none show signs of wear definitely attributable to their having been used as tools. (ix) Burina Simple (Nos. 27 and 28) Double-ended (No. 45) (x) Burin spalls (xi) Scrapers Convex (Nos. 24, 25, 26, 37, 38, 39, 40 and 41) Concave Miscellaneous (No. 44) (xii) Awla (No. 30) (xiii) Saws (xiv) Fabricatora (No. 36) 174: 3 -- 3 2 10 1 II 2 I (broken fragment of) l 1 1 12 2 14 MESOLITHIC DISCOVERms AT SELLING (' 36 37 38 -41 -43 FIG. 3. Site I, nos. 35 and 36; Site 2, nos, 37-46, (Scale: i) 175 (xv) Punches (No. 35) (xvi) Backed blade., Retouch on one edge (No. 43) A. G. WOODCOCK Retouch on both edges (No. 31) Parts of 3 Part of 1 1 (broken) 1 1 2 1 (xvii) B(,arw, and flakes with miscelraneous wear and retouch Blades and flakes with polish on edge 10 1 Blades and flakes with wear and possible retouch on edge 25 12 Blades with flakes with miscellaneous retouch on edge 7 5 Total number of artifaots 42 18 3,540 654 One further artifact not mentioned above was the discovery on Site 2 of a fine Neolithic leaf-shaped arrowhead. As a surface find, it probably represents a loss during hunting rather than indicating possible Neolithic settlement in the area.. CoNOLUSIONS Because comparisons between industries and a discussion of their dating are based to a considerable degree on the study of microlithic types, and as Site 2 has produced no microliths so far, my remarks on these matters will be confined to material from Site I. The premise that both sites are likely to represent basically the same groups of people still stands, however, despite the fact that such a, connection can only be implied. Any variations that occur a.re more likely to be attributable to differences in either industrial activity or domestic use. At the present stage of research into the Mesolithic in this country, it is perhaps unwise to attempt to define industries in 'cultural' terms. Rather it is better to seek similarities with other industries in the 176 MESOLITIDC DISCOVERIES AT SELLING immediate area. This is difficult a.s few such Mesolithic sites are known, a situatin more likely to reflect the state of current research rather than an actual absence of sites. Connections with the so-called 'Wealden Industries' could be made, though this term is generally of such a nebulous character as to have little meaning. Certainly the presence of 'rods' and tanged forms (Clark's form G), would tend to forge links in that direction. Dating evidence is likewise difficult to obtain. No help can be gained from a study of the geology of the site. Preliminary results from pollen samples taken during the excavations would seem to indicate a date approximating to the Boreal/Atlantio transition. Typologically, the presence. of 'rods', tanged microliths, and definite inverse retouch on at least one of the microliths (no. 16), all point to a date somewhere in the Atlantic period. 177