Monument record MDO7552 - Mesolithic tranchet Axe and several flint flakes, Corfe Common, Corfe Castle

A Mesolithic tranchet axe, 3 1/2 ins long with butt end broken, and several small flint flakes were found in an old sand quarry at SY 95678099, just north of a barrow ('A' - See SY 98 SE 16) on Corfe Common <1>. In Brown Collection. <1, 3>

The find spot for the axe and the flints lies in a shallow, linear sand pit which is now overgrown. <5>

<1> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1957, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1956, 76, Brown P A (Serial). SDO56.

‘… a flint tranchet pick of Mesolithic type or ancestry. The pick lay on the grassy surface of the quarry and appeared to have been dislodged from the sandy soil by a horses hoof. It is 3.5 inch long with the butt end broken off and has the characteristic tranchet cutting edge sharp and little used. … it is pearly white in colour, white in the butt fracture and… suggest a Mesolithic date .

<2> Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society, 1962, Proceedings of the Dorset Natural History and Archaeological Society for 1961, 97 (Serial). SDO61.

<3> Wymer, J J, and Bonsall, C, 1977, Gazetteer of Mesolithic sites in England and Wales, with a gazetteer of Upper Palaeolithic sites in England and Wales, 68 (Monograph). SWX2026.

<4> Papworth, M D J, Trust for Wessex Archaeology, 1983, Isle of Purbeck Survey, IOP 393 (Index). SDO147.

<5> Fletcher, Martin, Field investigator's comments MJF, Field Investigation 20 Dec 2003 (Unpublished document). SDO17630.

<6> Historic England, Historic England Archive, AF00137 (Index). SDO14738.

Object Title: Corfe Common, Dorset. Scope & Content: A large scale archaeological survey and investigation of Corfe Common was commissioned by the National Trust to provide detailed information to aid future management and conservation decisions. The common is a unique landscape, an SSSI entirely enclosed by cultivated land, which incorporates an impressive variety of relatively undisturbed archaeological features. The analytical investigation was undertaken by staff from the English Heritage Exeter Office in the Spring of 2003.Background AutoCAD files stored on CD03001: 'Plan.dwg' and '1to10000plan.dwg'.

<7> Ordnance Survey, Ordnance Survey Records, SY 98 SE 62 (Index). SDO131.

<8> National Record of the Historic Environment, 456870 (Digital archive). SDO14739.

Record last edited

Mar 29 2023 12:07PM