NHER 5808 (Find Spot record) - Unprovenanced Upper Palaeolithic, Mesolithic and Neolithic worked flints, Snarehill/Rushford (Brettenham, poorly located)

Various prehistoric finds recorded as being found in the Snarehill/Rushford area during the early 20th century. Both of these parishes are now part of Brettenham. See NHER 5953 for details of unprovenanced Palaeolithic material from this area.

REPORTED DISCOVERIES

Before 1904.
Various Neolithic finds listed by (S1):
Leaf shaped lance, see (S2).
A large polished knife found by Mr F. Rix (a Nottingham collector), see (S3). Also noted in (S4).
A rubbed axe of white flint found by P. R. Clarke (Norwich), see (S3).
See also (S5).

Pre 1908.
H. H. Halls exhibited an oval knife of grey flint from Snarehill (Rushford) at a meeting of the Prehistoric Society of East Anglia on 22 March 1909. This object, which would appear to be a discoidal knife described and illustrated in (S6). It is possible that this is the same object as a discoidal knife from Snarehill that is held by the NCM (NWHCM : 1909.33.27 : A).

Pre 1925.
Other flints recovered from the Snarehill area include tools of possible Late Mesolithic/Early Neolithic date. These include finds exhibited at a meeting of the Prehistoric Society of East Anglia in 1925 and described as "pigmy implements of Tardenois type" (S7).

FINDS IN THE NORWICH CASTLE MUSEUM

The Norwich Castle Museum's H. H. Halls collection includes a Late Upper Palaeolithic flint blade marked as being from "Rushford" (NWHCM : 1924.83). This blade is listed in (S12) and described in more detail in (S13). It should be noted that Halls' collection also several other Late Upper Palaeolithic worked flints that were found at "County Hole, Rushford" (see NHER 5954).

The Halls collection also includes a number of other prehistoric worked flints that are marked as being from Rushford:
1 Mesolithic flaked flint axehead.
4 Neolithic or later scrapers, 1 ?unfinished bifacial leaf-shaped implement, 1 fabricator, 1 ?fabricator and 1 ?knife.
1 undatable prehistoric tip of small, narrow bifacally-worked implement.
These objects were noted during a rapid scan of this collection by P. Watkins (HES) in September 2014.

FINDS IN THE THETFORD MUSEUM

The Thetford Museum holds a Late Upper Palaeolithic flint blade from Snarehill/Rushford. This blade is described in (S13) and recorded as having been donated by L. Caton in 1920. Although the object number is recorded (A1273), the assession number is not known at present.

According to (S8) Thetford Museum hold several unprovenanced Mesolithic finds from the Brettenham area. These are listed as 2 Mesolithic flint microliths and a 1 pebble mace. Although no site name is given the estimated grid refence suggests these finds were probably found in the vicinity of Great Snare Hill.
Only one microlith is listed in the museums records (THEHM : 1975.339), this donated by C. English in 1924 and is recorded as being from Great Snarehill/Rushford. This is also the only microlith recorded in (S13), suggesting an error in (S8). The pebble mace was donated in 1920 by a Mrs Mason (THEHM : 1978.643. It is also described in (S13). It should be noted that these objects are not closely datable, having been found in both Mesolithic and later prehistoric contexts.
Previously recorded as NHER 13318.
P. Watkins (HES), 9 May 2013.

FINDS IN OTHER MUSEUMS

The British Museum Sturge Collection includes a Mesolithic flint microlith from "Snarehill" (unregistered). Information from museum records. Noted by (S9) and previously recorded as NHER 5802.

According to (S10) the Sturge Collection also includes 13 Neolithic flint flakes from "Snare Hill". These are noted by (S11).

P. Watkins (HES), 7 May 2013 and 7 August 2014.