Briercliffe:  County & Old 6’ No. Lancs 57SW:  SD 93 SW 6

The high-lands above Wycoller, and in the Briercliffe and Extwistle areas, have been a rich source of evidence showing that Mesolithic people hunted and lived in this landscape leaving their tools and weapons in the form of small flint blades known as pygmy flints. These artefacts were mainly used to make hunting spears and arrows and have been found on all the Pennine moorlands, fine examples coming from the Newchurch in Pendle area and Pendle Hill. Other evidence of these people has been destroyed in the highland areas by the highly acidic peat deposits which formed  from 200 to 300 metres above sea level. These deposits of slowly decomposing organic material deepened from late prehistoric times as the climate became colder and wetter.

The upper slopes of Boulsworth Hill are blanketed in a layer of peat up to three metres deep. Beneath this layer can be found the remnants of prehistoric forests. On these slopes, in 1899, a flint knapping ‘workshop’ was discovered by Peter Whalley, a local archaeologist. I have an archaeology report card describing  this site from the 1930s which reads:


Between 1935 – 1945 the writer investigated a number of flint sites belonging to the Mesolithic, Neolithic and Bronze age on Worsthorne Moor, near Burnley. The mesolithic material belonged in general to the Tandendisian culture.

“Site number 20 is situated at SD93 SW6 (348) at the head of Thursden Valley, and near a ruined building marked on the map as Robin Hood’s House. The overlying peat bed, eighteen inches in depth at this point, with a top two inches of overlying soil, has been washed away. This bared area is roughly 100 yards long and 7 yards wide. White and grey flints, chert flakes and small quantities of clear brown, dark-brown and reddish flints were freely scattered over the surface when first visited. There does not appear to be the mixture of cultures here, which is so evident on many of the other sites in the district. What was found can be assigned to the Mesolithic period and shows Tardenoisian influence.............."

"The finds include three dark-brown flint flakes, lightly trimmed at one edge of the point: Two grey chert flakes with blunted edges: A broken flint flake trimmed to an oblique point: Three micro-barbs of white and grey flint; A triangular microlith of clean brown flint: Eleven narrow-blade microliths, most of them broken, of grey and white flint: A white flint graver; Three light flint flakes: Two flake end-scrapers of mottled yellow flint: Two brown flint cores: Three chert scrapers: A mottled grey flint scraper: Numerous flint and chert flakes and chippings were also present.” --- see illustration.

Archaeologists use the varying design of flint artefacts to date sites, chert (a type of flint) and flint tools of the Mesolithic era were very small (microliths), the arrowheads were narrow. Gradually the arrowheads became wider and longer, by the late Neolithic age they had evolved into broad weapons with distinct barbs.

The finds include nos. 1-3, three dark-brown flint flakes, lightly trimmed at one edge at the point: Nos. 4 & 5 two grey chert flakes, edges blunted: No. 6 a broken flint flake trimmed to an oblique point: Nos 7 – 9 three mono-busins? Of white and grey flint: No 10 a triangular microlith of clear brown flint: Nos 11 – 21 eleven narrow blade microliths, most of them broken or grey and white flint excepting no 17 which is a grey chert: No 222 a white flint graver: Nos 23, 25, 33 three light grey flint flakes: Nos 24 & 26 two flake end-scrapers of mottled yellow flints: Nos 27 & 28 two brown flint cores: Nos 29-31 three chert scrapers: and no 32 a mottled grey flint scraper. Numerous flint and chert flakes and chippings were also present. (Plotted from description and plan – scale 1.5 inches to 1 mile).



John A Clayton
Barrowford © 2005