More information : Mesolithic finds, indicating no more than a background presence, have been recovered from Hengistbury Head and can be found within the collections of Nobili-Vitelleschi, R. Atkinson, Cotton and King. (1-2).
A site on Warren Hill (SZ 17219059) was discovered by Ronald Powell in 1977, when c.3000 artefacts were recovered eroding out from sand deposits. Excavations in 1980-84 located a dense scatter of flint artefacts, sub-circular or oval in plan and 12m in diameter. The excavations produced 35,444 flint artefacts, all of local origin, including 6312 flakes and 5699 blades or bladelets and 145 cores, other implements included 95 end scrapers, 65 microdenticulates and 390 microliths. The presence of the large numbers of proximal microburins indicate that this was a primary tool production site.
Five thermoluminescence determinations from burnt material within the main flint scatter gave an average age of 9750+/- 950 years BP (OXTL 707c) for the Mesolithic horizon, therefore the site was occupied during the Pre-Boreal or Boreal and is one of several Early Mesolithic sites within the Hampshire Basin. The flint assemblage exhibits a narrow range of tool characterised by microliths, end scrapers and small denticulates, similar to other upland sites within the region and is believed to reflect a highly specialised range of activities associated with game hunting. (3) |