<< Text Pages >> Beedings Early Upper Palaeolithic Site - Ancient Village or Settlement in England in West Sussex

Submitted by coldrum on Wednesday, 02 July 2008  Page Views: 6374

Mesolithic, Palaeolithic and EarlierSite Name: Beedings Early Upper Palaeolithic Site
Country: England
NOTE: This site is 5.803 km away from the location you searched for.
County: West Sussex Type: Ancient Village or Settlement
Nearest Town: Pulborough  Nearest Village: Nutbourne
Map Ref: TQ075202
Latitude: 50.971194N  Longitude: 0.470326W
Condition:
5Perfect
4Almost Perfect
3Reasonable but with some damage
2Ruined but still recognisable as an ancient site
1Pretty much destroyed, possibly visible as crop marks
0No data.
-1Completely destroyed
 Destroyed Ambience:
5Superb
4Good
3Ordinary
2Not Good
1Awful
0No data.
 no data Access:
5Can be driven to, probably with disabled access
4Short walk on a footpath
3Requiring a bit more of a walk
2A long walk
1In the middle of nowhere, a nightmare to find
0No data.
 no data Accuracy:
5co-ordinates taken by GPS or official recorded co-ordinates
4co-ordinates scaled from a detailed map
3co-ordinates scaled from a bad map
2co-ordinates of the nearest village
1co-ordinates of the nearest town
0no data
 3

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The Early Upper Palaeolithic site of Beedings is situated in West Sussex on the edge of the Lower Greensand scarp 4km north east of Pulborough. It is currently the site of Beedings Castle, a monumental late 19th century house built for the physician John Harley.

During the construction of the house a series of fissures were revealed within the underlying Rock. These contained a unique stone tool assemblage consisting of some 2,300 pieces. Through the work of Roger Jacobi (The British Museum) it is now thought that these tools are part of a distinctive group of old stone-age (Palaeolithic) tools. It is probable that these tools date to in excess of 35,000 years ago; an age which suggests either an early colonisation date for Britain by anatomically modern humans or occupation by technologically advanced and late surviving Neanderthals. Either scenario is exciting and of enormous significance for our understanding of the transition from Neanderthal to Modern Human populations in Northern Europe.

More details at the Project Home page and at English Heritage.

Note: Britain's last Neanderthals were more sophisticated than we thought, see latest comment
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Nearby Images from Geograph Britain and Ireland:
TQ0720 : Footpath to Gay Street by Martyn Davies
by Martyn Davies
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TQ0720 : Gated entrance to Redfold Vineyard by Dave Spicer
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TQ0719 : Worms eye view of Redfold Farm by Dave Spicer
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TQ0720 : Entrance to Redfold Vineyards by Shazz
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TQ0719 : Gate and signpost on footpath near Redfold Farm by Shazz
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"Beedings Early Upper Palaeolithic Site" | Login/Create an Account | 1 comment
  
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Britain's Last Neanderthals Were More Sophisticated Than We Thought by Andy B on Wednesday, 02 July 2008
(User Info | Send a Message)
An archaeological excavation at a site near Pulborough, West Sussex, has thrown remarkable new light on the life of northern Europe’s last Neanderthals. It provides a snapshot of a thriving, developing population – rather than communities on the verge of extinction.

“The tools we’ve found at the site are technologically advanced and potentially older than tools in Britain belonging to our own species, Homo sapiens,” says Dr Matthew Pope of Archaeology South East based at the UCL Institute of Archaeology. “It’s exciting to think that there’s a real possibility these were left by some of the last Neanderthal hunting groups to occupy northern Europe. The impression they give is of a population in complete command of both landscape and natural raw materials with a flourishing technology - not a people on the edge of extinction.”

The team, led by Dr Pope and funded by English Heritage, is undertaking the first modern, scientific investigation of the site since its original discovery in 1900. During the construction of a monumental house known as ‘Beedings’ some 2,300 perfectly preserved stone tools were removed from fissures encountered in the foundation trenches.

Only recently were the tools recognised for their importance. Research by Roger Jacobi of the Leverhulme-funded Ancient Human Occupation of Britain (AHOB) Project showed conclusively that the Beedings material has strong affinities with other tools from northern Europe dating back to between 35,000 and 42,000 years ago. The collection of tools from Beedings is more diverse and extensive than any other found in the region and therefore offers the best insight into the technologically advanced cultures which occupied Northern Europe before the accepted appearance of our own species.

“Dr Jacobi’s work showed the clear importance of the site,” says Dr Pope. “The exceptional collection of tools appears to represent the sophisticated hunting kit of Neanderthal populations which were only a few millennia from complete disappearance in the region. Unlike earlier, more typical Neanderthal tools these were made with long, straight blades - blades which were then turned into a variety of bone and hide processing implements, as well as lethal spear points.

Source: University College London
More, with photo at Science Daily:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080623102544.htm
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