NHER 5807 (Find Spot record) - Unprovenanced prehistoric finds, Barrow Hill (Thetford, poorly located)

Various objects known to have been recovered in the vicinity of Barrow Hill (TL 849 828), but with no additional information regarding provenance. It is possible that some of these finds were recovered from Barrow Hill Pit, a quarry that produced a large number of finds when it was being excavated during the 1920s (NHER 2755).

REPORTED DISCOVERIES

Pre 1911.
A number of prehistoric worked flints were found in this area by J. Chapman in the early 20th century. A number of these were exhibited by Chapman at a meeting of the Prehistoric Society of East Anglia on 14 March 1910 (S1), including fabricators, a "crescent-shaped knife" (possibly a sickle?) and a leaf-shaped knife. The following year he exhibited a "finely-chipped axe" (S2).

It has been suggested that Barrow Hill was one of the sites at which flints were collected by W. G. Clarke. This appears to be based on an early record card (S3) which gives a list of sites for which Thetford Museum holds material, beneath a list of W. G. Clarke's sites in the parish. As these two lists are in different hands and Barrow Hill does not appear in the list of W. G. Clarke's sites this assertion should be treated with a degree of caution.
P. Watkins (HES), 24 July 2013.

FINDS IN THE THETFORD MUSEUM

The Thetford Museum holds a range of objects that are recorded as being from Barrow Hill. The early prehistoric find include:
1 Upper Palaeolithic flint blade (THEHM : 1975.311). Ex J. F. Spinks. Described in (S7).
1 Mesolithic flint microlith, 2 bladelets and 1 blade (THEHM : 1975.301). Ex Rev. H. T. Green. Described in (S7).
1 Mesolithic flake/blade (THEHM : 1975.300). Ex C. English. Information from museum records.
Only the microlith and one of the blades are listed in (S5) (where a typo has resulted in the site being calling "arrow Hill").

The later prehistoric worked flints include:
1 hammerstone (THEHM : 1975.469). Ex C. English.
1 end scraper (THEHM : 1978.543.1), 1 retouched flake (THEHM : 1978.543.2), 3 'horseshoe' scrapers (THEHM : 1978.543.3-5), 3 retouched flakes (THEHM : 1978.624), 1 possible hammerstone (THEHM : 1979.127), 2 scrapers, 2 borers, 1 serrated blade and 12 flakes (THEHM : 1979.85 17). All Ex Rev H. T. Green.
1 ?borer (THEHM : 1978.270), 2 'horseshoe scrapers' (THEHM : 1978.549), 3 scrapers (THEHM : 1978.551), 1 retouched flake (THEHM : 1978.558), 1 small flint core (THEHM : 1979.31) and 1 burnt sandstone pebble (THEHM : 1979.126)

The Thetford Museum also holds a number of later prehistoric pottery sherds, the majority recorded as Iron Age. Much of this pottery is likely to be from Green's excavation on Barrow Hill (NHER 2755).
P. Watkins (HES), 24 July 2013.

FINDS IN OTHER MUSEUMS

According to (S4) the Ashmolean Museum holds an end-polished flint axe from Barrow Hill (1927.4008). This object is in the Evans collection and is marked as having been found (or at least formerly in the possession of) Rev. C. R. Manning.
P. Watkins (HES), 24 July 2013.

Several finds from Barrow Hill are held by the Cawthorne Victoria Jubilee Museum Society, Barnsley, South Yorkshire (1981. 535-538). These finds were possibly previously held by [1] and include two scrapers (Neolithic?) and two barbed and tanged arrowheads.
Information via [2]. Correspondance in NCM.
E. B. Green (NCM) July 1983. Amended by P. Watkins (HES), 24 July 2013.

The Birmingham City Museum holds three prehistoric flint flake tools from Barrow Hill (Bir 1991A249). Information from (S6).
These finds were previously recorded as NHER 39503.
P. Watkins (HES), 24 July 2013.