THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — these Findon Chronicles are created by Valerie Martin and contain scenes from her home village of Findon,
West Sussex, U.K.    Everyday stories about real people.

THE HUT ON CHURCH HILL

A little to the south-east of Mine Shaft 4, John Pull and his associates discovered a circular area about 12 yds. across.   It was faintly bounded by a shallow ditch and contained on its western side a circular depression 10 ft. in diameter.

They had stepped into a time warp and excavation proved the latter to be a the sunken floor of a hut, surrounded by its own compound (presumably it was a flint miner's home and the compound was for animals).   The post-holes of the outer palisade together with the holes made by the timbers supporting the hut were all there.  Plus flint implements (worn and much blunted with use by their original owners) were embedded in the silt.

In the outer ditch (opposite the supposed entrance to the hut) the excavators found a small hearth of burnt flints once used by the occupiers all those centuries ago.  Near were more flint tools, together with the bones and teeth of oxen and pigs.

Fragments of domestic pottery vessels of Middle Bronze Age dated the occupation of this hut at about 1400 B.C.

October tints on Church Hill in 2004....

and a bit closer.....

Continue if you would like to read about John's discovery in 1949 on Church Hill of The Great Hearth.

THIS IS FINDON VILLAGE — www.findonvillage.com is a continually growing record created by Valerie Martin exclusively for documenting life in Findon.