NHER 6897 (Find Spot record) - Palaeolithic flint handaxes and flakes

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Summary

A some time prior to January 1920 a Palaeolithic flint handaxe was found at the base of a cliff at Bacton. A number of potentially Palaeolithic flint flakes were also recovered from a gravel deposit exposed in the cliff section. A number of additional Palaeolithic object were recovered between 2019 and 2024, including a Lower Palaeolithic handaxe and a handaxe and a flake of likely Middle Palaeolithic date. The later material was probably derived from redeposited material dredged from the North Sea.

Protected Status/Designation

None recorded

Location

Map sheet	TG33SW
Civil Parish	BACTON, NORTH NORFOLK, NORFOLK

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Full Description

Unstratified finds recovered on the section of Bacton beach from Paston/Bacton Parish boundary to Cable Gap Ramp.

Pre 1920. Stray Find.
Found on the beach at Bacton by W. B. Nichols at some time prior to 1920:
1 Palaeolithic broken, pointed flint handaxe. Informaton from (S1).
This object is illustrated in (S2) and described by Reid Moir as having been found "…on the talus at the base…" of a cliff section located "…about half-a-mile to the north-west of Bacton". Reid Moir described the implement as "…the upper anterior portion of a platessiform Palaeolithic implement of Chellean type". It was thought to have come from a layer of "irregularly-bedded gravel" that overlay the Cromer Forest Bed deposits. A small "trimmed flake" illustrated in (S2) was also found, along with a number of other examples, in situ within this gravel.
These finds are also listed in (S3) and noted on (S4) and in (S5)-(S8), although in all cases little additional information is given. According to (S5) the handaxe is held by the Ipswich Museum (which may also hold the flake found). See [1].

Site extended to area between Paston/Bacton Parish boundary and Cable Gap Ramp. Previous extent recorded as Context 1. See [1].
E. McDonald (HES), 24 November 2020.

October-December 2019. Stray Find.
Objects found on foreshore by [2].
Details to Follow.
E. McDonald, 10 December 2020.

November 2019. Stray Find. [3]
Found on foreshore by [4] and probably derived from redeposited material dredged from the North Sea:
1 Early Middle Palaeolithic flint handaxe (c. 250,000-200,000 BC).
Information from PAS import.
E. McDonald (HES), 24 November 2020.

November 2023. Stray Find. [5].
Found on foreshore by [6] and probably derived from redeposited material dredged from the North Sea:
1 Early Middle Palaeolithic flint flake.
Information from PAS import.
P. Watkins (HES), 13 May 2024.

June 2024. Stray Find. [7].
Found by [4]:
1 Lower Palaeolithic flint handaxe.
Information from PAS import.
P. Watkins (HES), 26 January 2025.

Associated Sources (9)

--- SNF57722 Record Card: NAU Staff. 1974-1988. Norfolk Archaeological Index Primary Record Card.
<S1> SNF87255 Record Card: Clarke, R. R. and NCM Staff. 1933-1973. Norwich Castle Museum Record Card - Palaeolithic.
<S2> SNF7741 Article in Serial: Moir, J. Reid. 1920. A Series of Humanly-Fashioned Flints found in the Cliffs and on the Shore at Mundesley, Norfolk. Proceedings of the Prehistoric Society of East Anglia. Vol III Pt II (for 1919-20) pp 219-243. pp 225-226; Fig 52a.
<S3> SNF7911 Monograph: Roe, D. A. 1968. A Gazetteer of British Lower and Middle Palaeolithic Sites. CBA Research Report. No 8. p 228.
<S4> SNF92480 Record Card: Wymer, J. J. Wymer Index Card - Palaeolithic. Bacton.
<S5> SNF2850 Publication: Wymer, J. J. 1985. Palaeolithic Sites of East Anglia. p 32.
<S6> SNF3009 Unpublished Contractor Report: 1997. The English Rivers Palaeolithic Project. Regions 8 (East Anglian Rivers) and 11 (Trent Drainage). Wessex Archaeology. p 49.
<S7> SNF88238 Website: TERPS online database. Site 22541.
<S8> SNF81597 Article in Serial: Robins, P., Wymer, J. J. and Parfitt, S. 2008. Handaxe Finds on the Norfolk Beaches. Norfolk Archaeology. Vol XLV Pt III pp 412-415. p 414.

Site and Feature Types and Periods (3)

Object Types (9)

FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 1000000 BC to 40001 BC)
HANDAXE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 1000000 BC to 40001 BC)
RETOUCHED FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic to Middle Palaeolithic - 1000000 BC to 40001 BC)
HANDAXE (Lower Palaeolithic - 600000 BC to 250001 BC)
BLADE (Lower Palaeolithic - 250000 BC to 250001 BC)
BLADE (Lower Palaeolithic - 250000 BC to 250001 BC)
FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic - 250000 BC to 250000 BC)
FLAKE (Lower Palaeolithic - 250000 BC to 250001 BC)
HANDAXE (Lower Palaeolithic - 250000 BC to 200000 BC)