NEOLITHIC CHIPPING-SITES 77 



of Castle Eden Dene mouth, and immediately to the south 

 of a beck called Blackhills Gill. 



The site is a well chosen one, and consists of a large tract of 

 clay and drift at an elevation of about ioo feet above the sea 

 level. The coast outline has not apparently receded here since 

 Neolithic times, and is protected by sand banks and a " storm 

 beach " of large shingle. The ground slopes gently to the 

 west, and has until quite recent times been covered with a 

 layer of blown sand ; much of this sand remained in 1904 as a 

 protecting wall on the edge of the bank, but has since then 

 been nearly all carted away in connection with the Horden 

 Colliery workings, and given me an opportunity of examining 

 more of the bare ground. As the surface is washed by the 

 rain no doubt more implements will come to light. 



The fact of the ground never having been ploughed up, 

 together with the covering of sand alluded to, accounts for the 

 preservation of the several delicate arrowheads found on 

 this very restricted site. It thus represents an undisturbed 

 Neolithic working site, the flakes and implements being all 

 sharp and undamaged. 



This site is the only locality on the Durham coast where I 

 have succeeded in tracing arrowheads, the series including 

 six perfect and two defective specimens. 



The largest arrowhead (Plate V., fig. 1), measuring if -in. 

 in length, resembles almost exactly in form that figured in 

 Evans' " Ancient Stone Implements," fig. 304. It is stemmed 

 and double-barbed, chipped out of opaque grey flint, and is 

 unweathered. 



Plate V., fig. 2, is a very symmetrical specimen neatly 

 chipped out of pink flint now bleached to a white porcellanous 



surface. 



Plate V., fig. 3, is a less symmetrical specimen, now 

 bleached to a white glossy surface. 



Fig. 4 shows an arrowhead of unusual fineness chipped to 

 an acute and almost needle-like point. The minute working 



