A Mesolithic Site on Iping Common, Sussex, England

The Iping Mesolithic site, found by Mr O. Knowles of Iping, lies on undulating Lower Greensand near the edge of a marsh which extends down to a pond and permanent spring (Sheet 181 O.S. 1″. 8485–2221). The site was totally excavated in 1960–61, by the West Sussex Excavation Group, following its accidental discovery. It consisted of a roughly circular area, about 25 feet across, of stained sand (Layer C) stratified between white sands (Layers B and D), all underlying the topmost deposit of heather on peat (Layer A). The white sand occurs as wind-blown material intermittently over the Lower Greensand of west Sussex, south Surrey and Hampshire. The darker stained layer was less than 6 inches thick and contained an abundant flint industry of cores, waste flakes and finished tools. The industry is of Maglemosian aspect and is important for its association with a well-preserved pollen which has yielded information about the contemporary environment.