Monument record BNH 152 - East Farm Brick Pit (Early Upper Palaeolithic Or Neolithic).

1912: Leaf-shaped blade, claimed as `unquestionably solutrean...' - a shouldered point, or pointe-a-cran of the late Solutre stage. It is 2.75" in length to the fractured base, which is 1" in width. The vertical depth to the shoulder is 2.25" and it is chipped inwards for about half an inch. The implement is 0.25" thick in the centre and slopes to fine and most delicately chipped edges. Mr Reginald Smith says it is practically identical to one in the BM from Laugerie Haute (S1, S2). `... was found in the wash-mill at the brick yard, but the clay is only procured from the one pit' (BNH 013).

It would appear that this came from East Farm Pit (BNH 013). The identification is uncertain. It could posibbly be a broken LRJ Bifacially worked leaf point, or more likely a broken Neolithic Leaf or Oblique point. (S3).

Formerly recorded as BNH MISC

Excavations of the Lower Palaeolithic site at East Farm, Barnham, which have been ongoing since 2013 (see also ‘Archaeology in Suffolk’ 2015 and 2017), are providing new information that is changing our understanding of human occupation of Britain 400,000 years ago (400 ka) and offering insights into the structure of European Lower Palaeolithic societies more broadly (Ashton et al., 2016; Davis and Ashton, 2019). The site is a former clay pit, which exploited silts and clays that infill a basin and date to the Hoxnian Interglacial (Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 11c; c. 400 ka). These preserve a rich environmental record, while the archaeological remains are predominantly found in association with a lag gravel along the southern margin of the basin. Initially the excavations focused on two areas of the site, Area III and Area VI. The latter investigated the archaeological sequence in the southern part of the site and led to the identification of two phases of human occupation, which we interpret as representing two separate human groups (Ashton et al., 2016). The site was initially occupied early in the interglacial by a group of humans with technology consisting of cores, flakes and flake tools but no handaxes. Then, as interglacial conditions peaked, the site was occupied by a second group with handaxes. The sequence at Barnham can be correlated with other British Hoxnian sites, including Beeches Pit near West Stow, Suffolk, through palynology and molluscan biostratigraphy. This reveals that the archaeological sequence at Barnham is representative of the broader pattern of human occupation of southern Britain during the Hoxnian Interglacial. Work in Area III is ongoing, focused on the excavation of the silts and clays that infill the basin. These sediments are calcareous and preserve faunal and floral remains, which provide a detailed account of the environment of central East Anglia during the Hoxnian Interglacial. The faunal assemblage is diverse and includes invertebrates (particularly molluscs and ostracods), fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, small mammals and large mammals, including carnivores such as lion and bear. While natural processes have led to the accumulation of faunal remains in these sediments, there is evidence of human activity in this part of the site through the presence of cut marks on a small number of medium/large mammal bones and a low density scatter of cores and flakes. Returning to Area VI, the excavations there identified evidence of fire in the form of large quantities of burnt flint, including a small number of burnt artefacts. In 2018, the final year of excavation in this area, a small fragment of pyrite was recovered. The majority of the burnt material is associated with a palaeosol which lies above the lag gravel and is associated with the handaxe assemblage. In 2019, our investigation of the site’s fire history shifted to Area I, which had previously been excavated during the British Museum-led excavations from 1989 to 1994 (Ashton et al., 1998). Further evidence of burning in the form of burnt flint and charcoal was identified in the palaeosol in this part of the site. The challenge now is to establish if the burnt materials relate to wild fire or controlled use of fire by humans. This requires a multianalytical approach, including spatial analysis of the heated materials, chemical analysis of sediment and flint samples, micromorphology and experimental fires (S4).