Find Spot record MDO5639 - Mesolithic axe from Down Farm, Woodcutts, Gussage St Michael

A long blade core retouched for use as a tranchet axe. Discovered during surface collection of flints by Martin Green and Barry Lewis in the vicinity of Down Farm in an area immediately northwest of the Dorset Cursus. Also see MDO5659 for other lithic finds found in the general vicinity.

(Centred SU 000149) Numerous implements of flint and chert, ranging from Mesolithic to Bronze Age, have been found by Martin Green and Barry Lewis in the vicinity of Down Farm. They include picks, scrapers and blades, from Endless Pit Field, ST 999151; and blades, scrapers and a fragment of barbed and tanged arrowhead from St. Giles Field, SU 004147.

National Record of the Historic Environment, 213830 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

<1> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1970, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1969, 174 (Serial). SDO69.

‘Woodcutts, Down Farm, ST 999151. An unusual find is a long blade-core, retouched for use as an axe. Other finds are: 1 pick; 1 chopper made on a large flint nodule; 9 convex scrapers; 1 borer; 4 micro-cores; 1 utilised blade from a micro-core in Portland chert; 1 utilised flake in an unusual purple-coloured banded flint; 11 blades.

The large number of picks and axes from all these sites is noteworthy, as also is the presence at several of them of artifacts of Portland chert. Comparisons can be made with Iwerne Minster, a prolific Mesolithic site which produced 28 picks and 10 Portland chert flakes (Proceedings, Vol. 90, p.206). These finds could indicate folk movement from southern Dorset.’

<2> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1972, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1971, 176-82 (Serial). SDO71.

<3> Council for British Archaeology, 1972, Council for British Archaeology : Group 12 (Wessex) & Group 13 (South West) : Archaeological review, 12-13 (Serial). SDO18026.

Record last edited

Aug 5 2024 1:27PM