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Record details
| BCC record ID: | 0295500000 |
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| Type of record: | Monument |
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| Summary: | Possible Neolithic flint mine recorded in field survey |
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| Grid Reference: | SP 94970 14050 |
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| Parish: | PITSTONE, Aylesbury Vale, Buckinghamshire |
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Monument type(s)
- FLINT MINE? (Neolithic - 4000 BC? to 2351 BC?)
- QUARRY? (Neolithic - 4000 BC? to 2351 BC?)
- (Alternate) CHALK PIT (Medieval to Post-Medieval - 1066 AD to 1798 AD)
Associated finds: none recorded
Public access information
| Is the site accessible to the public? | No |
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| Is the site visible from a public viewpoint? | Unclassified |
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Full description
ON W SIDE OF DYER'S 'DYKE' (D1) ON SLOPE SLIGHTLY BELOW 'MINES' AN AREA OF LOOSE TIP, FORMERLY COVERED BY SCRUB & PROBABLY FROM MINE PRODUCED 9 FLINT FLAKES, OF WHICH 4 ARE CORTICAL (B2).
TOPOGRAPHIC SITUATION SUITABLE FOR FLINT-MINING, BUT EXISTING FEATURES BEAR NONE OF CHARACTERISTICS OF KNOWN FLINT MINES. WORKINGS COMPRISE 3 SURFACE QUARRIES C 0.84M DEEP WITH ADJACENT SPOIL HEAPS, SLOPES OF WHICH ARE STEEP INDICATING A PROBABLE MEDIEVAL DATING (B3).
SIMILAR FEATURE AT FOOT OF HILL SHOWN TO BE C12-13 (PHOTOS) (B6).
DIGGING INTO SPOIL HEAPS FOUND WORKED FLINTS SO MINES SEEM MORE LIKELY (B7).
Group of quarry pits of varying sizes and with associated spoil dumps on western slopes of Pitstone Hill. Comprises two main pits, circular, 17m-21m in diameter and 3.5m deep. Steep-sided, flat-bottomed. Spoil heaps around S and W sides with possible entrance passage through spoil on S side (either original or later). Shallower pits to N and W from 8-12m diamater and surviving 1.0-1.7m deep. Three low oval mounds lie to S of pits. The date of quarry pits is uncertain and some limited excavation may help resolve whether it is a Neolithic flint mine or a medieval chalk pit (B8).
Sources and further reading
| --- | Aerial Photograph: 01/01/90. BCM 00.001. SP\949141. Yes. |
| <1> | Article in serial: James Dyer & Anthony Hales. 1961. 'PITSTONE HILL - A STUDY IN FIELD ARCHAEOLOGY', IN RECS OF BUCKS 17 PP50-55. Vol 17, Part 1. |
| <2> | Verbal communication: Mike Farley & Andrew Pike (BCM). 1977. MEF & ARP 1977 (14 APRIL), FOLLOWING FIELD VISIT. |
| <3> | Unpublished document: Ordnance Survey Field Investigator. OS RECORD CARD SP 91 SW 21. |
| <4> | Verbal communication: MEF & MRS M DAHL (CMAG), 1979 (MARCH), PERS COMM. |
| <5> | Aerial Photograph: AIR PHOTO; RAF, JAN 1946 187.4086 (COPY AT BCM). |
| <6> | Unpublished document: David Dungworth. 1991. PITSTONE: AN ARCHAEOLOGICAL PARISH SURVEY P41, PL 3:9-10. |
| <7> | Unpublished document: James Dyer. 1992. DYER J, TO FARLEY M E, OCTOBER 1992 (SEE CORRESPONDENCE FILED). |
| <8> | Unpublished document: Northamptonshire Archaeology. 2003. Archaeological Survey of Aldbury Nowers, Pitstone Hill and Down Farm, on the Ashridge Estate: January - March 2003. Vol 2, p 37 |
Associated excavations and fieldwork
- EBC1399:
- EBC14242:
- EBC16941: Survey of Pitstone Hill and Down Farm
Related monuments
Images
Reports
 No image caption available © Buckinghamshire County Council | |
