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Perry St © Craig Williams 2015 Evidence of Early Neanderthals in the area Flint tools – often points – have been found throughout the Evidence of Former Environments Crayford- area, from near the top of the Crayford Gravel, reflecting In the 19th Century geologists divided the activity on the banks of the ancient Thames. Sometimes these finds are Upper brickearth Erith Park Cliff Face simply individual pieces lost during hunting and gathering - but other Crayford Brickearth into three different parts discoveries of groups of artefacts allow archaeologists to reconstruct underlain by the Crayford Erith Park is built in a former brick pit, once known as the Great Pit. The Washed in from ancient human lives in more detail. The people who left these tools were Gravel. The fossils they bank behind has been designated a Regionally Important Geological Site locally slumped older probably early Neanderthals, our closest human relatives. sediments collected give us clues to the as it is the only visible cliff of Crayford Brickearth remaining from the many environment. quarries once working in the area. By conserving the site for future YOU ARE Rd One of the most remarkable finds was a Candidula crayfordensis generations it allows local people to learn something of the history of the Very few fossils. place where flints lay exactly where they These small extinct land snails area and researchers to study the brickearth. (right) were first identified from the Crayford had fallen. The archaeologist who made 7 this discovery – Flaxman Spurrell – was HERE (( Corbicula Bed Brickearth and were named after the area. NORRIS’ PIT Shells and small ( able to see the spaces left between the Reconstruction of Early Neanderthals preparing flint tools at Crayford. The Thames Erith mammal bones Shells of the freshwater bivalve, fallen flint flakes outlining the position with woolly rhino, and giant deer in the background (image: Craig Williams 2015). 9 RUTTER’S PIT Colyers Ln Corbicula fluminalis have been able to Station where a flintworker sat around 200,000 Lower Brickearth CRAYFORD Upper Brickearth Geological section showing the Deposited by a give us clues about climate around Thanet Sand years ago. Corbicula Bed Crayford Brickearth against the cliffs of Metres FURNER’S PIT sluggish river 200,000 years ago. The Lower older rock Brickearth shells indicate temperatures N’ G E below surface Metres Gravel Archaeologists have fitted the pieces HOWBURY at least as warm as today. Chalk together again, to see what tools B B P Neanderthals wanted. The pieces West 0 500 East discarded on the spot were waste, but R’ P (W ’ P) Bones of mammals, including Queen’s Rd Stone tools and woolly rhinoceros (jaw), lion particular flakes – mostly points– were mammal ©The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London N P carried away to be used elsewhere. These bones at base (skull), mammoth (tooth) and Photograph: Ogün Çağlayan Türkay The Crayford Brickearth Reconstructed flint from working floor ground squirrels (died in burrows) were at Crayford may have been used as spear tips. Brickearth has just the right mix of clay, fine-grained sand and chalk Northend Rd found alongside stone tools at the base of 15 particles to make it very suitable for brickmaking. In North End pit these the Lower Brickearth. It is likely that the top ERITH ingredients were probably washed in from slumped older rocks nearby R’ O Crayford Gravel of the Crayford Gravel provided a habitable Deposited by area about 200,000 years ago. during a period when temperatures were at least as warm as now. P NORTH fast- owing river The animals are typical of dry open grassland.

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F’ O P S  ’ P Whitehall Lane ©The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London © Trustees of the British Museum ©The Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London Jaw of a woolly rhinoceros with flint flakes attached Skull of a lion Section of the Crayford Brickearth, Norris's Pit Cliff of Brickearth in Stoneham’s Pit. This is where 6, 5. Upper Brickearth, 4. The Corbicula Bed, the floor with flakes of worked flint was found. N’ 3. Lower Brickearth F’ B N The solid rocks beneath T ’ Age (years P P before present) The Beds which provided the clay Key to geological map Crayford Brickearth 200,000 55 million were laid down in an estuary, the sand coming year gap 55 million from the marine Thanet Sand beneath. Woolwich Beds & Thanet Sand The Chalk dates from 85 million years ago at a Brickmaking in the area 65 million 25 million year gap time when sea covered two-thirds of the land of 4. Brickmaking in the area were famous for their ornamental 85 million At Erith Park the brickearth was The northern part of Erith Park Chalk today. It is a very pure white material formed was worked by J.B White from panels work which can be seen dug from the pit entirely by hand, N mainly of tiny skeletons of marine organisms mixed to a slurry and pumped 1840s as part of the Great all over London. too small to see. across the railway to settle out. Erith Brickearth Pit. As the pits became worked out, SCALE 1 The clay was then moulded into 0 /4 mile bricks which were laid out to dry The southern part was not the brickpits were put to good use in extensive drying grounds worked until laterSlade after the Green Station for local housing. The bricks before being wheeled off to form Great Pit ceased operations in were exported for use elsewhere large clamp kilns in which they about 1880. in London and further afield as were fired. well as being used locally. By 1895 permanent kilns were Coccoliths (about x1000) Picture Credits Over-cooked distorted bricks used with fancy brickwork Operations at North End Pit With thanks to the following for use of their images: Geologists’ Association – Proceedings of the Geologists’ Association, Chandler 2012, (photographs of Norris’s Pit pp. 186,188); Kennard, were used in garden walls. becoming a speciality. ceased by 1907. The last pit 1944, (Basemap Fig. 12 (redrawn), Section Fig. 13 (redrawn), line drawings of molluscs pp. 156, 154) Trustees of the Natural History Museum – Photographs of rhinoceros jaw, lion skull and refitted flint (the latter photo courtesy of New Scotland Yard built in operating in the area, Adam Brumm); thanks also to the Natural History Museum for providing scientific advice and the Calleva Foundation who are Cliff section in Norris’s Pit supporting the Human Origins Group at the NHM (via PAB). 1. Brickearth, 2. Thanet Sand, 3. Chalk 1888-90 The 6 inch square Norris’ who worked the pit on appropriately known as New Pit, Trustees of the British Museum – old photograph of flint-working floor (Ref: BN(FH) PDA Crayford/London); thanks also to the British Museum Brickmaking in the area seems to for providing scientific advice. Thames “diaper” bricks are of a closed in 1933. Bexley Central Library (Local History & Archive section) – image of C.H. Norris catalogue Ref: P 666.737 NOR have begun just before 1800. pattern advertised by the south side of Colyers Lane C.H. Norris Ogün Çağlayan Türkay – photograph of Anatolian ground squirrels Craig Williams – reconstruction of the Erith area, painted created especially for this board