ENGLAND: THE OTHER WITHIN
Analysing the English Collections at the Pitt Rivers Museum
Pitt Rivers and the Isle of Thanet
Alison Petch,
Researcher 'The Other Within' project
Flints from Oxfordshire and the Isle of Thanet, Journal of the Ethnological Society 1869
The tract of country which I examined in September, 1868, extends from about a mile north of Margate to Broadstairs and Ramsgate, and to a distance of a mile or two inland from these places ... The formation is chalk, and the soil is therefore covered with flint stones. Flinting [word stressed in original], consequently, has to be carried on under conditions entirely the opposite of those met with in Oxfordshire. ... there is no real difficulty in detecting the ancient from the modern flakes; dark flakes with a dull surface must be rejected as modern, those of ancient date are of light blue colour on their fractured surfaces. I found three plots of ground within the area above mentioned, upon which the fabrication of flints had been carried on. One near the edge of the cliff between Broadstairs and the North Foreland lighthouse, another about two hundred yards to the west of the lighthouse inland, and a third in a field to the west of the church-yard at St Peter's. [1869: 6-7]
He goes on to discuss the flint finds in detail:
The flints found upon the surface in these places may be classified as follows: 1. Flakes ... few were long or well formed ... 2. Cores from which flakes had been struck off: these were in great abundance ... 3. Flint balls ... some of these ... appear evidently to have been designed. 4. Three or four flints ... intended as hammers ... 5. Flint discs ... I picked up two of these 6. Scrapers: two good specimens and several imperfectly formed ... 7. Flint knives: one good specimen ... 8. Spear head: of this class I obtained on very good specimen ... 9. Drills ... 10. ... chipped to an edge, apparently to be used as chisels or axes. Besides the above, there were a great many flints of a nondescript character, showing marks of secondary chipping ... [Pitt Rivers, 1869: 7]
While he was in Kent he took advantage of an excavation for other purposes:
During the time that I was staying in this neighbourhood some labourers, digging for brick earth between St Peter's and Reading Street, came upon the top of a large pit cut in the chalk. As several fragments of ancient pottery had been turned up above this pit, I determined to have it dug out. It appears to have been of oval form, the diameters being thirty and forty feet respectively at the top, the sides sloping at an angle of 40 degrees, and converging towards the bottom, the greatest depth of which beneath the surface was eleven feet. An opening, and a kind of path down into it, was traced in the north side. There was a small bank of chalk round the margin of the pit. To the west, a mound of chalk appeared to have been formed by the material excavated from the pit during its first formation. The pit has since been filled up with brick earth, without any mixture of any earth or mould ... There was no indication of the pit upon the surface, except that the grass always grew thicker over it; and but for the circumstance of the place having been used for obtaining brick earth, the existence of the pit would never have been noticed. ... I was unable to excavate more than the northern half of the pit, the remainder being required for the erection of a shed. [Pitt Rivers, 1869: 8-9]
He describes the finds from the excavation in detail. The flints found here were of better quality and 'he' found:
two lumps of baked clay ... iron nail ... flint spear-head ... a few fragments of charcoal ... Flint flakes ... and cores ... all the flints shewed the bulb of percussion, or facets ... except at the bottom .. The flint was of a very fine transparent quality, and of the kind best adapted for flint implements. All the flakes were sharp at the edge ... Animal remains were found at various levels ... shells ... Lastly the whole of the pottery found in the pit was of Roman manufacture ... The pottery was all of the kind that was manufactured by the Romans in this country, and chiefly in the Upchurch Marshes ... [Pitt Rivers, 1869: 9-10]
Artefacts from the Isle of Thanet in the founding collection of the Pitt Rivers Museum:
It seems probable that these are related specifically to the 1869 paper, although only some entries make this clear. Note that the figures in round brackets are measurements:
1. 1884.123.39 Accession Book VI entry - 1884.123.1-911 Neolithic and Mesolithic Madelainean etc - Small blue grey patinated core of almost black flint (Surface) (c 3 1/2) I of Thanet [Drawing]
Blue book entry - 1365 Flint implement Granite ball Disc shaped hammer worked bone and numerous flakes found in a pit near St Peters Broadstairs (2209) or 1366 Flint spearhead Borer flint ball knife and numerous flakes and cores found on the surface near Broadstairs (2207)
2. 1884.123.40 Similar small core [to 1884.123.39] patinated all over (Surface) (max 4 x min 3) Broadstairs [Drawing]
2. 1884.123.284 Large globular blue flint flaked nodule [Drawing]
3. 1884.123.285 Smaller [than 1884.123.284] globular blue flint flaked nodule [Drawing]
4. 1884.123.286 Subglobular flaked pebble with patches of cortex [Drawing]
5-9. 1884.123.287-294 Subglobular flaked pebbles with patches of cortex [Drawing][these appear to be the aforementioned flint balls]
10. 1884.123.295 Subglobular flaked pebble with patches of cortex [Drawing]
11. 1884.123.296 ?Scraper of tarté shape, plano-convex, flaked all over (5.4 cm) [Drawing]
12. 1884.123.297 Suboval flaked plano-convex flake scraper with strip of cortex (4.6) [Drawing]
13. 1884.123.298 Plano-convex alveolar flaked ?implement of tarté form, with strip of cortex on convex side (4.3) [Drawing]
14. 1884.123.299 Sub-plano-convex pebble ?implement, flaked on flatter side, convex side coated with cortex (5) [Drawing]
15. 1884.123.300 Half a pebble, plano-convex, shaped to a (?used) edge by 2 flakes removed at less steep margin (5.8) [Drawing]
16. 1884.123.301 Cortex-covered small pebble with patinated area where flaked at side and where piece ?has been removed (5 1/4) [Drawing]
17. 1884.123.302 Pebble with flat brown cortexed top and base flaked all round with signs of battering (6 1/4) [Drawing]
18. 1884.123.303 Similar [to 1884.123.302] subcircular flaked ?scraper with flat cortex-covered parallel top and base (6 1/2) [Drawing]
19. 1884.123.304 Small broad flaked out ?celt with cortex on one side (4 3/4) [Drawing]
20. 1884.123.305 Subquadrangular plano-convex ?hollow scraper flaked with parallel scars on the top (7 1/4) [Drawing]
21. 884.123.306 Narrow plano-convex white patinated end scraper, parallel flake scars on top (5 1/2) [Drawing]
22. 1884.123.408 Expanded round-ended club-shaped flake worked round the top and on one bevelled side, ?scraper (6.4) I of Thanet Sept 1868 [Drawing]
23. 1884.123.413 Flat finger-shaped round-ended straight-butted flake implement, one edge flat (cortex covered), no evident signs of working (6 1/2) I of Thanet ALF Sept '68 [Drawing]
24. 1884.123.414 Suboval plano-convex thick flaked parallel flake scars ?side scraper (5 1/4) I of Thanet ALF Sept '68 [Drawing]
25. 1884.123.454 Small blue grey oval scraper with white cortex along one margin (4) I of Thanet Sept 1868 ALF [Drawing]
26. 1884.123.476 Roughly wedge-shaped small globular flaked nodule, bluish pink (patches of cortex), hammerstone (used) I of Thanet ALF Surface [Drawing]
27. 1884.123.477 Small hammerstone with roughly shaped edge, signs of battering I of Thanet ALF Surface [Drawing]
28. 1884.125.8 Accession Book VI entry - 1884.125.1-415 Neolithic implements Small round-topped subrectangular blue-grey flint scraper of discoidal type (4 1/2 wide) I of Thanet Sept 1868 ALF [Drawing]
29. 1884.125.9 Pebble surface flake with cortex of similar flint [to 1884.125.8] (5) I of Thanet Sept 1868 ALF [Drawing]
30. 1884.127.120 Accession Book VI entry - 1884.127.1-143 'Modern' stone etc implements Hammers Axe heads - 1884.127.107-143 Globular hammerstones and ?fabricators - Nodule of of pale inky blue flint with a good deal of yellowish cortex over surface and marks of battering I of Thanet (16.3) [Drawing]
31. 1884.131.32 Accession Book VI entry - 1884.131.1-60 Stone 'Implements' Cores - Blue grey patinated black flint (?) core, subcubical (c 3 1/2) Isle of Thanet [Drawing]
32. 1884.133.153 Accession Book VI entry - 1884.133.1-235 Stone Implements Worked Flakes Scrapers - Sub-semi-circular thick plano-convex blue grey scraper worked along straighter edge and at ?end sides (8.5) I of Thanet [Drawing]
These appear not to be related to the 1869 paper but are from the same area, they may not have been collected by Pitt Rivers:
1. 1884.119.165 Accession Book V entry - 1884.119.1 - 631 Implements Copper Bronze (copper specified when known) Celts - Socketed celt with expanded blade, rounded rectangular mouth decorated with raised arched lines on both sides, ?representing obsolete flanges, single loop nr Minster I of Thanet [Drawing]
2. 1884.119.170 Similar greenish celt [to 1884.119.169, Socketed celt of almost rectangular outline with round socket loop and analogous raised line ornament] with slightly expanded edge W Minster I of Thanet Sept 1868 [Drawing]
Artefacts that might be in the founding collection but have not yet been located and accessioned (records suggest these are in the Museum):
Blue book entry - 49 Tray contg fragments of pottery from a pit near St Peter's Broadstairs. Found with flint flakes and animal remains in 1868. (See Journal of the Archaeological Society 1869)
Blue book entry - 1365 Flint implement Granite ball Disc shaped hammer worked bone and numerous flakes found in a pit near St Peters Broadstairs (2209) or 1366 Flint spearhead Borer flint ball knife and numerous flakes and cores found on the surface near Broadstairs (2207) [not all of these are currently identified]
Delivery Catalogue II entry - Stone implements various - 2 large trays contg 2 specimens of bricks used in the manufacture of pottery [sic] 1365a 2211 Several small pellets from a pit near St Peters in tray 2212 2213 Case 116 356 357
Delivery Catalogue II entry - Flakes Stones and Fragments of Pottery Glazed tray containing several fragments of pellets (Peter's Pit) [Case or screen] 27 374 375
Delivery Catalogue II entry - Stone flakes scrapers arrow heads casts etc France Jersey and other localities Tray contg 15 flint balls etc Isle of Thanet [Case or screen] 53 377
Delivery Catalogue II entry - Stone flakes scrapers arrow heads casts etc France Jersey and other localities Glazed case contg 15 flint flakes Isle of Thanet 2249 1381 [Case or screen] 53 377
Delivery Catalogue II entry - Stone implements various - 2 large trays contg 2 specimens of earth Peters pit in tray 136a [sic] 2205 Case 116 356 357
Further Reading
[Pitt Rivers] Lane Fox, A. 'On some flint implements found associated with Roman remains in Oxfordshire and the Isle of Thanet' Journal of the Ethnological Society vol. 1 no. 1 (1869) pp.1-12