A NEOLITHIC FLINT ASSEMBLAGE and ASSOCIATED PALYNOLOGICAL SEQUENCE at GATCOMBE, ISLE of WIGHT by DAVID TOMALIN and R

Proc. Hants. Field Club Archaeol. Soc. 36, 1980, 25-33. 25 A NEOLITHIC FLINT ASSEMBLAGE AND ASSOCIATED PALYNOLOGICAL SEQUENCE AT GATCOMBE, ISLE OF WIGHT By DAVID TOMALIN AND R. G. SCAIFE THE SITE The material may be summarised as follows: Gatcombe Withy Bed is situated in the Cores 28 River Medina Valley two miles south of Core rejuvenation flakes 7 Newport, adjacent to the area of Blackwater Hammerstones 5 Mill and Whitecroft Hospital (SZ 502858). Hammerstone spalls 3 The peats and sediments occurring here were End scrapers 56 chosen for detailed pollen and stratigraphical analyses in 1974 and subsequently found to Side scrapers 20 show the complete Flandrian vegetational Hollow scrapers 8 sequence. Notched flakes 16 In addition to pollen diagrams spanning the Denticulate flakes 3 whole period, a detailed close-sampled analysis Piercers 7 was undertaken to elucidate the events taking Awls 1 place in the Neolithic period. In order to do Burins 1 this the elm decline horizon was located in the Steeped end scrapers 7 peat stratigraphy and contiguous 2 mm Fabricators 2 samples were pollen analysed. A degree of Utilized flakes 20 resolution not usually found in pollen dia Axes and adzes 2 grams was thus obtained and has proved of 1 interest in relation to archaeological material Sickles obtained from within 100 metres of the mire. Waste 104 It is a selection of struck flints which is dis Push plane 1 cussed here; and a brief account is also given of 'the phases of human activity distinguished Total 292 in the pollen record. Pollen diagrams and a full palaeoecological discussion will be pub Twenty-eight cores were recovered, of which lished at a later date (R.G.S.). two were indeterminate. Seven types were dis tinguished, of which two proved to be domi THE FLINT ASSEMBLAGE FROM nant: single platform cores used all the way GATCOMBE WEST round and bi-polar cores with parallel plat This material was gathered by fieldwalking forms. Five of the latter cores are columnar in immediately west of the palaeoecological site shape and have been used for the production at Gatcombe peat bog. The material was ob of long blades of Mesolithic character. tained between 1975 and 1978 and comprises Core rejuvenation flakes (Fig. 2. 7) a total of 288 struck flints. The material was These were divided equally between those exposed by ploughing in a field centred at SZ showing slicing of the core from top to bottom 501860 which descends from a gravel terrace and those struck obliquely. Two examples to the edge of the bog. Most of the material may belong to microlithic cores. was obtained from above the Lower Green- sand at the edge of the gravel terrace. The site Hammerstones name, Gatcombe West, serves to distinguish These were largely non-cortical and the this material from a larger assemblage recover small ones may have been utilized cores. ed from the Lower Greensand ridge im Weights were: 0.030 kg, 0.055 kg, 0.100 kg, mediately east of the bog and which will be 0.105 kg, 0.145 kg. Three spalls from ovoid the subject of a later report. hammerstones were also observed. 2(i HAMPSHIRE FIELD CLUB AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY Fig. 1. The location of the Gatcombe Peat Bog and adjacent flint assemblages. 1. Gatcombe West (present paper), 2. Gatcombe East, 3. Lower St Georges Down, 4. Rookley, 5. Marvel Lane, 6. Whitecroft, 7. Hungry Hill. D. TOMALIN AND R. G. SCAIFE: NEOLITHIC FLINT ASSEMBLAGE AT GATCOMBE 27 End scrapers (Fig. 2. 8) Denticulate flakes or saws (Fig. 2. 25-6) Length/breadth measurements (Bohmers Two examples show denticulate notches and Wouters 1956; Smith 1965) carried out on prepared on blunted back flakes. The finer of the assemblage showed pronounced preferen the two examples shows alternately struck ces for scrapers with lengths between 30 and notches. A third example is a thin prismatic 40 mm. Preferred breadth lay between 20-30 blade combining the functions of denticulate mm. A single double-ended scraper comprised saw and hollow-ended scraper. a substantial keeled flake with retouch applied from opposed sides at each end. This is a Piercers (Fig. 2. 16-18) multi-purpose tool retouched also as a side Eight examples of piercers were recovered. scraper. Seven are unifacially worked and three have a hooked or beaked appearance produced by Side scrapers (Fig. 2.9) the convergence of concave and convex re These showed a preferred length ranging touched edges. One example is worked on the widely between 30 and 50 mm. The preferred opposite end of a steeped end scraper and may width ranged from 10-30 mm. The side have been intended as a tang for hafting. Two scrapers are largely cortical, and two examples piercers have dual purpose tools prepared on show short lengths of unifacial retouch short end scrapers. Each has a single denticu applied from opposite sides of the tool. late spur produced by the convergence of two closely punched notches. Hollow scrapers (Fig. 2.10, 11) Six of the eight examples are worked on Awls (Fig. 2. 19) substantial (lakes and two are utilized cores. A single specimen of poor-quality flint The hollow scrapers have been distinguished shows retouch applied from opposed faces to from notched flakes by the width of the produce a small awl. retouched hollows which range from 11 to 22 mm (notched flakes have nominally been Burin (Fig. 2.20) classified as those with hollows or notches less An end scraper from the site has a re than 10 mm wide). Two flakes have twin hol touched beak, apparently produced by two lows and one has a doubtful burin facet and uncertain burin facets. may have served as a graver. The hollows on the utilized cores show a steep retouch and it Steeped end scrapers (Fig. 2. 21) is possible that these two pieces were used for Seven examples were distinguished from the a purpose other than the spokeshave function end scrapers by their steep retouched edges. generally presumed for these scrapers. Multiple blind percussion fractures in the working edge of four of these tools suggest that they may have been used in the fabrica Notched flakes (Fig. 2. 12-15) tion process of applying retouch to other Ten flakes display single notches up to 10 implements. mm wide. In all examples the notch is accom panied by a retouching on an opposite or Fabricators (Fig. 2. 22-3) adjacent edge of the flake. Two examples were recovered showing mul Five flakes display two notches and in four tiple blind percussion fractures or bruising at others further retouch also occurs. One one or both ends of long heavy triangular- example is a bifacially worked multiple tool sectioned flakes. The single ended example is combining two notches, hollow scraper and also notched on one edge. side scraper. The side scraper edge shows a small area of gloss. Axes, adzes and axe fragments (Fig. 2. 4 and Two further flakes appear to be fine, end Fig. 3. 28) scrapers with opposed notches showing an There is an element of absurdity in attempt at strangulation. attempts to quantify flint axes (Tyler 1976, 2). 28 HAMPSHIRE FIELD CLUB AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY Fig. 2. The flint assemblages. (Cores 1-3 and burin 20 are Mesolithic.) D. TOMALIN AND R. G. SCAIFE: NEOLITHIC FLINT ASSEMBLAGE AT GATCOMBE 29 J 10 cms Fig. 3. The flint assemblage. Fragments of flaked axes can seldom be recog flush with its haft. A comparable and almost nised, and fragments of ground ones may pass complete example with semi-flattened side similarly unheeded unless portions of their comes from Ventnor (Poole 1930, 31, PI. 3). outer surface survive. At Gatcombe the scarce The excellent control sample of Neolithic axes ness of raw material appears to have led to an from Island held at Carisbrooke Castle almost miserly utilization of flint fragments, Museum suggests that there is a colour and and it is not surprising that axes are repre quality to certain flaked axes which is seldom sented by only two specimens. A complete if ever to be found among other implements example in poor-quality chalk patinated flint and waste. A single flake of this character from is 109 mm long and 39 mm at its maximum Gatcombe can perhaps be tentatively ascribed width (Fig. 3. 26). The form is adze-like, with to the utilization of another axe of this type. a flattened underside and equilateral triangu A small flake 20 mm long may also have been lar cross-section. Zig-zag edges have been detached from ground axe. produced by steep alternate flaking along its sides. The cutting edge shows light reworking Sickles (Fig. 2. 24) applied to a tranchet scar. A thin crescentric sickle 66 mm long bears A chopper core from the site bears the gloss along its flat retouched edge. It is closely traces of a well-ground axe with modestly comparable with a similarly glossed sickle flattened sides (Fig. 2. 4). A large hinge frac blade from Lea Farm, Sandown (Poole 1941, ture suggests that the axe had once sheared 276, PI. III). Gloss was also observed on alter- 30 HAMPSHIRE FIELD CLUB AND ARCHAEOLOGICAL SOCIETY nate faces of a broken double-edged tool of Phase 2 high-quality flint. Only the butt end of the The primary Elm decline is dated here at tool survived but its shape is compatible with 4850 ±50 bp where Ulmus pollen declines a broken sickle. from greater than 20% to less than 2%. Various suggestions as to the cause of this Push plane (Fig.

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