Monument record MDR1312 - Occupation site, Stoney Low, Ashford

A Mesolithic settlement site, discovered by T Godwin of Monyash and excavated by J Radley. The site lay in a V-shaped recess in a limestone outcrop. The recess had a level floor and the outcropping rock was three to four feet high, with some rough walling across the back of the recess. All the artifacts were confined to a zone 9 to -19 inches deep, at the bottom of which was a roughly cobbled area, undoubtedly the ground level at the time of occupation. After excavation the recess proved to be 15ft across and 10ft from back to front. No post-holes were observed, but presumably the area was covered with a roof, perhaps of timber and turf. In the centre of the area there was an isolated upright stone set in the floor that may either have been an anvil stone or a seat where stone tools were prepared. The majority of all the struck and worked pieces of flint and chert encircled this stone. The assemblage included microliths, scrapers, a burin, awls and knives. There were also two flint cores. Associated with the stone tools were numerous fragments of bones, including horse and red deer. There was also a flat river-worn pebble, a whetstone, two pieces of gritstone and a large quartzite pebble. The extent of Mesolithic occupation suggests that it was not occupied for any great length of time. Overlying the Mesolithic occupation site was evidence of Neolithic settlement in the vicinity. The occupation debris, including flint, a stone axe fragment and pig and ox bones, was washed into the Mesolithic site. Fieldwalking in the vicinity yielded fragments of four greenstone axes, flints, including 22 scrapers, three petit tranchet derivative arrowheads and one pottery fragment. (1). Photographic record. (3).