NHER 5657 (Find Spot record) - Unprovenanced Mesolithic, Neolithic and Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age finds, Santon Warren (Lynford, poorly located)

Various prehistoric worked flints known to have been recovered on Santon Warren (part of Lynford parish) during the late 19th century and early 20th century, but with little additional information regarding provenance.

REPORTED DISCOVERIES

Listed by R.R. Clarke (NCM).
Boulder clay type Neolithics in 1907. Site P - Warren.
Includes one large axe, one axe, arrowheads and spear, scraper and saw.
See (S1).

Flint implements of Grimes Graves type.
See (S2) and (S3).

'Santon and Santon Warren'. British Museum.
235 Neoliths, one disc, one Scandinavian fabricator, five round scrapers, thirty blades, six pointed, twenty four transverse arrowheads.

In fact checked by E. Rose (NAU), 1974 and found all to be marked 'Santon Warren'.

Later notes on NCM cards:
Three worked flints NCM 160.938 ex J. Capon
J. Capon exhibited flints from 'Santon Drove and Warren' to Prehistoric Society in 1935.
Triangular flint knife, NCM 39.22
Two plano-convex knives in Apling Collection, NCM.
Information from F. Healy (NAU).

See also NHER 5655 which suggests there is some confusion between these two numbers (see below).

Birmingham Museum has a heavy flake/borer/scraper (NH12'65-5) 'Presented to Mr P. R. Hough-Love by Dr W. Allen Sturge to illustrate the latter's theory re the striation of Neolithic flint implements,the remainder of the collection being in the British Museum'
See above.
Information from Birmingham Museum, June 1983.
E. Rose (NAU).

Forestry Commission at Santon Downham have 'from Santon Warren' half a discoidal knife, unpolished so possibly broken in manufacture; and also to be given to NCM, a discoidal core and three scrapers ex Tyrrel Green Collection TG11; and a discoidal core ex Mr Elmer, E2.
J. Wymer(NAU), March 1988.

FINDS RECOVERED BY H. DIXON HEWITT

Santon Warren was one of the locations in which H. Dixon Hewitt collected prehistoric material in the early 20th century, with at least two of his 'Sites' falling within this area. Many of his finds are now held by the NCM (mostly under NWHCM : 1922.39). Although his Santon Warren finds were previously discussed under NHER 5655 (which now only records the Blood Hill barrow) it is clear from Dixon Hewitt's brief descriptions that both of his Santon Warren sites covered large areas. It is therefore appropriate to consider these finds seperately from the early discoveries that we know were made in the vicinity of Blood Hill (now recorded under NHER 58803). Hewitt split the Warren in two, with Site XXIII covering the eastern half and Site XXIV the western half. According to (S4) Site XXIII was defined as covering the area "…From the [Santon/Thetford] boundary bank to a line running from Santon church to Santon Square". Hewitt Dixon's Santon Warren West site was defined as lying "…from a line drawn through Santon Square to the Broomhill-cum-Weeting boundary; includes the brecks adjoining Grimes Graves". All finds were previously recorded under NHER 5655.

In some cases information associated with finds from H. Dixon Hewitt's Sites XXIII and XXIV has allowed them to be more precisely located. A number from his Site XXIV (Santon Warren West) are from the area known as Santon Breck (NHER 5659). A small group of finds from subsite XIII** can also be located more precisely and are now recorded under NHER 58804.

Finds in the Norwich Castle Museum:

The finds in the NCM from Dixon Hewitt's Site XXIII (Santon Warren East) include the following listed in (S4) (all NWHCM : 1922.39 unless specified otherwise):
1 Early Neolithic leaf-shaped flint arrowhead (marked 'XXIII near Blood Hill' and therefore from the same area as NHER 58803).
5 Neolithic transverse petit tranchet derivative flint arrowheads, 5 oblique petit tranchet derivative arrowheads, 1 unfinished tanged arrowhead, 1 long-pointed piercer, 1 serrated flake and 1 fragmentary flaked flint adze.
2 Early Neolithic pottery sherds. Plain convex body sherds, 1 marked XX-XXIII, both possibly part of the same pot as an Ebbsfleet/Mortlake rim sherd with oblique incisions from Site XX (which covered the adjacent part of Thetford parish).
1 Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age Beaker (S2 (W)) (NWHCM : 1955. 178). This sherd is listed in (S5) but see notes in file and [1].
3 Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age Beaker pottery sherds (2 comb-impressed, 1 plain) (NWHCM : 1955.179.6).

The finds in the NCM from Dixon Hewitt's Site XXIV (Santon Warren West) include the following listed in (S4) (all NWHCM : 1922.39 unless specified otherwise):
1 Neolithic flaked flint adze made on flake.
4 Late Neolithic/Early Bronze Age small weathered Beaker sherds (1 comb impressed, 2 rusticated) (NWHCM : 1955.179.7 : A). Two of sherds sherds are listed in (S5).

It appears that many of H. D. Hewitt's finds from these sites are held by the Birmingham Museum (this museum holding many objects marked Santon Site XXIV and Site XXIII). See list in file and discussion in file notes for NHER 5655. According to (S6) there are 98 from Site XXIV (Santon Warren West) and 10 from Site XXIII (Santon Warren East).

The Cambridge Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology also holds a number of H. D. Hewitt's Santon Warren finds. These flints include a number of potentially Mesolithic worked flints, listed in (S7) as 1 knife, 9 blades and 1 core trimming flake. These finds are not listed in (S8). It is also noted in (S7) that this collection includes 1 Early Neolithic flint laurel leaf and 1 Neolithic triangular arrowhead.

FINDS IN OTHER MUSEUM COLLECTIONS

The Thetford Museum holds a number of flints that are recorded as having been found on Santon Warren. These include several that were recovered by W. G. Clarke during the early 20th century. According to (S9) the Clarke finds include a broken Mesolithic punch blade (A620; current accession number unknown).

OTHER FINDS IN OTHER COLLECTIONS

A Mesolithic tranchet axe found on Santon Warren found by B. O. Wymer is listed in (S8). The general grid reference listed (TL 820 880) suggests that this object was probably recovered from the firestrip bordering the railway line. At the time (S8) was compiled this object was in the J. J. Wymer Collection (the son of B. O. Wymer). It is probably the medium tranchet axe from "Santon Downham" listed in (S9) (W2641). The Wymer Collection is now held by Royal Holloway (University of London).
Previously recorded as NHER 13332.

P. Watkins (HES), 14 May 2013.