Fieldwalking at Clarabad Farm, Paxton

We began our fieldwalking campaign in earnest today, joined by ten volunteers. The field that we commenced this work on is rather large and less than a quarter was investigated, but already we have some interesting finds. Below is a large flint flake recovered by Giulia Dawson of Edinburgh:

Flint flake found by Giulia Dawson at Clarabad Farm, Paxton

This flake is produced on good quality flint, which does not occur naturally in the Lower Merse and therefore must have been collected elsewhere or acquired through exchange. The circulation of flint in this region is principally associated with the Neolithic and the Bronze Age, so we have tentatively assigned this find to this broad episode (ca. 2000 BC – 1300 BC) as there are no distinguishing characteristics that permit a more precise determination of its temporal situation. Below is a more detailed photograph of the find:

Large flake found at Clarabad Farm, Paxton

Other lithic specimens were recovered. A particularly fetching find was of a flake produced in a deep red-brown flint, made by Charlotte Douglas.

Flake produced in a red-brown flint, Clarabad Farm, Paxton

This material is possibly broadly contemporary with the features that are emerging in increasing quantities at Chesterfield Farm, Paxton. All these finds, however modest they may be, are significant in pushing the evidence of human occupation in Hutton Parish further and further back in time. At the outset of the project, there was merely a single scraper known to have occurred in the region; the work of the community in the Paxton Before the House Project has increased the number of stone implements exponentially. At least fifty finds are now on record from Chesterfield Farm and Clarabad Farm. The material seems to derive from the Late Neolithic and Early Bronze Age, but at Chesterfield Farm there are two cores produced in chert that may well represent Mesolithic activity–that is to say, the activities of hunter-gatherers more than six thousand years ago. We shall keep you informed of the lithic analyses on the blog and at meetings, but it is well worthwhile to bear in mind that you are doing a splendid job in expanding our understanding of the prehistoric heritage of the region.

 

Kristian