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Moderated by : Andy B , TimPrevett , coldrum , Klingon , MickM , TheCaptain , bat400 , davidmorgan , Runemage , SolarMegalith , sem
The Megalithic Portal and Megalith Map : Index >>
Stones Forum >> Hunting for flints, axe heads etc
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Hunting for flints, axe heads etc |
Laughing_Ball
Joined:
13-08-2006
Messages: 888
from North West
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|  Posted 06-04-2007 at 18:14
I often go wandering the moors (Pennines) looking for flints, axe heads etc but with little success.
There areas I walk in, apparently have had a high concentration of flint finds.
Can anyone give me any pointers on how to improve my chances of finding any?
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James
Joined:
13-11-2002
Messages: 80
from High Desert
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| Posted 07-04-2007 at 07:49
Take a Camera, Map, pencil and pad-
Take a picture when you find something, make a mark on the map, make some notes on the location, leave the evidence where it is, and you`ll find lots and lots.
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mishkin
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Messages: 213
from Chelmsford
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| Posted 07-04-2007 at 09:02
And if you really do find an axe head, which I doubt, then it should be in the public domain, i.e.a local museum. Just because we find something it does'nt mean that we have the right to own it.. but photos are the best way to capture the moment...
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Laughing_Ball
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from North West
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| Posted 07-04-2007 at 16:02
Is it considered wrong/immoral for non-archeologists such as myself to go pottering about for flints? What is the opinion on this?
I'm not talking about defined sites here, just general areas where things have been found.
I would of course turn things into the museum.
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coldrum
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| Posted 07-04-2007 at 20:20
I have what looks like a small flint hand axe which I found on Whitstable beach some years ago.
It has a part broken off.
It's not exactly display quality and was lying on a pebbly beach so it could have come from anywhere.
I'm presuming either it was washed up on the beach or dumped there with other stones perhaps to prevent the beach eroding.
I also know of people who have dug up flint implements in their gardens.
In these cases where the implements are out of context and theres probably no way of knowing where they came from they are probably of limited use to archaeologists.
In my case the only thing that could be said of the implement I found was it came from Kent.
Finding flint artifacts in fields might be a different thing.
very often flint scatters can be usefull in finding the site of settlements.
In that case it's probably best to leave them and get hold of the local archaeologist to have a look.
Unfortunatly some people are just into the collecting for the money.
All you have to do is look at ebay to see the items for sale there.
Some of which have been delibratly looked for in areas that are known find spots and therefore areas of archaeological importance.
If someone has an interest in looking for flint implements it might be worth getting in contact with a local archaeology group and see if they have any field walking going on and would they like a volunteer.
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Laughing_Ball
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from North West
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| Posted 07-04-2007 at 20:28
Quote:
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On 2007-04-07 20:20, coldrum wrote:
If someone has an interest in looking for flint implements it might be worth getting in contact with a local archaeology group and see if they have any field walking going on and would they like a volunteer.
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Thanks, I think I will do that.
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James
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Messages: 80
from High Desert
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| Posted 07-04-2007 at 22:20
Greetings!
Part of the puzzle, is knowing when to pick something up, and when to "do not disturb".
If you think something is in danger of being removed by a pot-hunter, grab it, and try to mark the spot, take a pic, make a drawing-do your best, and the "morality" of the act is preserved.
Many"experts" have destroyed sites through the ages, many "amatures" have advanced our knowledge.
Look for "middens" which can be small piles, and layers in banks that have been eroded.
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brigantia
Joined:
13-01-2002
Messages: 804
from Yorkshire & Argyll
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| Posted 08-04-2007 at 18:17
Ey up!
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On 2007-04-07 09:02, mishkin wrote:
And if you really do find an axe head, which I doubt, then it should be in the public domain, i.e.a local museum. Just because we find something it does'nt mean that we have the right to own it.. but photos are the best way to capture the moment...
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Hmmmm.....mebbe you won't find such things Down South but, believe me, flints are such like are pretty common up in the Pennines if you look for them. When I was a kid, me 'n' me close mates spent huge amounts of time wandering the moors north and south of Ilkley, generally playing, seeking out lizards and cup-and-ring stones, and we found plenty of flints. At that time, they held no interest to us at all, so we just threw them back in the heather where we'd found 'em. To be honest, they still don't tickle mi neurons and I think I'd still do the same today.
On your latter point, i.e., that we should hand owt we find over to the authorities: I think if its flints, axe-heads, etc., I've got no problem people keeping them for themselves. One thing I learned long ago is how archaeologists DON'T get off their backsides and wander about looking for stuff just for the fun of it - but they love having their names stuck in their journals, telling the readers how they'd found more flints, or whatever, when in fact someone like LaughingBall or misself found it and handed it in.
If y' find owt LaughingBall, keep it! (unless it's a hoard of gold of course - in which case give it to me!)
Cheers - Paul
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brigantia
Joined:
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Messages: 804
from Yorkshire & Argyll
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| Posted 08-04-2007 at 18:23
Hi LB!
Quote:
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On 2007-04-06 18:14, Laughing_Ball wrote:
I often go wandering the moors (Pennines) looking for flints, axe heads etc but with little success.
There areas I walk in, apparently have had a high concentration of flint finds.
Can anyone give me any pointers on how to improve my chances of finding any?
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Flints ey? Bloody boring to me - but if you wanna good chance of finding some, get your way over to the moors between Littleborough and Ripponden. One of the main hills up there called Manshead, miles from anywhere, without any footpaths, was a flint-making site all those years back. No-one ever really goes there, and it's repute is little-known. PM me and I'll send y' directions and references.
Cheers - Paul
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rbatham
Joined:
04-04-2006
Messages: 679
from Western Australia
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| Posted 09-04-2007 at 05:27
Quote:
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On 2007-04-07 16:02, Laughing_Ball wrote:
Is it considered wrong/immoral for non-archeologists such as myself to go pottering about for flints? What is the opinion on this?
I'm not talking about defined sites here, just general areas where things have been found.
I would of course turn things into the museum.
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I watched a documentary last night on 'Boudicca' or Boadicea. (don't know how old it is). Dr Faulkner was excavating secret sites in Norfolk. He had a problem with 'nighthawks' people that came in and removed artefacts during the night. Police were asked to patrol the area. The only charges that could be laid was tresspass and if artefacts were taken, stealing. so if you are on private property ,watch out,
Roy
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coldrum
Joined:
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| Posted 09-04-2007 at 19:26
For any-one who is interested in flint implements the National Ice Age Network is asking people to keep an eye out for artifacts relating to the plaeolithic in Britain.
They have a number of downloadable factsheets about what to look out for.
Plaeolithic sites are often destroyed because people don't know what to look for.
Link here:
http://www.iceage.org.uk/Downloads.htm
[ This message was edited by: coldrum on 2007-04-09 19:35 ]
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diggergirl
Joined:
25-03-2007
Messages: 1
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| Posted 12-04-2007 at 21:43
[Quote:]
On your latter point, i.e., that we should hand owt One thing I learned long ago is how archaeologists DON'T get off their backsides and wander about looking for stuff just for the fun of it - but they love having their names stuck in their journals, telling the readers how they'd found more flints, or whatever, when in fact someone like LaughingBall or misself found it and handed it in.
I think that is a bit harsh !! As an archaeologist myself, I spend every spare minute out looking for 'stuff'..not to write about in a journal,but to try and enrich our future by gaining better understanding of our past ! history should not be a commodity for people to 'own' it is for everyone to share.
[ This message was edited by: diggergirl on 2007-04-12 21:48 ]
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Andy B
Joined:
13-02-2001
Messages: 6992
from Surrey, UK
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| Posted 12-04-2007 at 22:05
Good web link, thanks Coldrum. "an Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund initiative" eh... [Andy goes off to plot/dream how to claim a tiny amount of that huge slush fund to pay for the Portal's operating costs with me as 'Project Manager'.... Dream on eh...]
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PeterSmith
Joined:
11-04-2007
Messages: 49
from Shipley, West Yorkshire
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|  Posted 17-04-2007 at 20:23
Hello, I found this somewhat improbable method quite by accident when playing with Google to find Megalith sites locally. See if it works for you.
Ok please just go with me on this even if it seems to go off the wall a bit.
Open Google Earth and enter the location to search as say 53.827692,-2.028450 (its just a random example on the moors near to me).
Zoom back out until your eye altitude to say 8 or 9 km and let the image load.
As it loads scan the landscape looking for signs, hints, nothing specific just a hunch of an image of the following creatures & where they converge.
Try rotating the screen too, some of these non specific images are titanic in size & some are as small as a family car. But they are everywhere once you see them.
1. A Serpent'like creature (nessy or a snake maybe)
2. A big fish (a whale, dolphin or similar)
3. A Squid or squid'ish like creature.
Stop laughing at the back.
Now begin reducing your altitude to 3 or 4 km and let the images load up until you find something. Really scan the screen keeping the creatures in your mind and keep looking all the way in. Let the images load as much as possible.
Where the images of the creatures come together in the landscape is where you will find your site! (I can year everyone shouting "he's nuts"). Works even better at ground level too. Once you find something zoom right in and look for big stones near the squid. They are sometimes visible in the open, very cool indeed.
Even funnier is that in one place near my home I have found, on the ground; evidence of coal mining, fresh water (a spring or stream) & megalith type stones (& stone tools) Some big, some small but all seem to show the fossilized remnants of squid or similar somewhere on the surface of the object as if exposed to give a ghostly image of a squid.
In summary (remember this is just for fun kids):
See a serpent and there should be fire (coal).
See a squid there should be stone / stone tools.
See a whale and there should be water.
Try it anywhere on that landscape, I have found it over Baildon Moor & surrounding areas too, but it was the slopes of Vesuvius (Naples, Italy) made me laugh the most.
Taxi for Smith...They would logically be the signs of prehistoric man, that would be of course if they were real which of course I imagine they are not.
Good luck hunting.
Peter
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