Saturday 20 April 2013

Mesolithic tools and carved bones from the Stainton gravel beds.

 
 1 - I found this worked stone about 3 years ago in Stainton beck, I am certain it was washed from the gravel beds, I believe it was some sort of shaft smoother. 
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 8 - If ime honest I can not remember the beck location I found this piece, at first I paid it little attention, thinking it just to be a worn Equus Metatarsal but I now know it to either have been a tool of some sort or a religious or symbolic artifact. The lighter coloured material is actually preserved wood, that has been inserted into the bone.
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 11- 14 This piece I found very close to the stone tool in the first images, I found these pieces a long time ago before I had started any excavating, but have never been in any doubt that they were tools of some sort.
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 15 - 19 Digging tools

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 20 - 22 Carved bone .

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 23 - Carved Artefact

  
 23 - Digging tools found at the Orme bronze age copper mines in Wales.
 
 
 24 a - Fire starter ?
 
 
 b

 c
 
 
 
 
 25 a - Worked flint

 b

 c

 d

 e
 
 
 
 26 a -  More worked bone

 b
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

HISTORY OF A BECK: The Stainton gravel beds

    HISTORY OF A BECK: Storregga slides Stunami theory


 
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Wednesday 17 April 2013

Mesolithic worked flint excavated from the Stainton gravel beds.

This piece of Mesolithic black worked flint was excavated recently from the tightly packed Stainton gravel beds at Stainton Beck, along with minerals and preserved mammal rib bone fragments, and much older Jurassic Fossils.

 1 The Stainton gravel beds are outlined in red.

 2 The Alluvium is outlined in orange.

3 The flint piece was excavated to the bottom right hand side of the spade, along with mammal rib bone fragments.

 4 The gravel beds again average 300 mm thick.
 
 5 - The advice Ive been given so far points to there being little doubt, that this piece is a finely worked flint tool.

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 8 - This image shows what must surly be a worked edge.

 9 I have recently been informed by Peter Row of Tees Archaeology that this piece was probably a scraper, the link below was supplied by Peter.
 
 
 

Tuesday 16 April 2013

Vein Quartz excavated from the Stainton gravel beds

  1- I have now been reliably informed by members of the Mindat forum that this piece is Vein Quartz with Quartz crystals.
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Monday 15 April 2013

Septarian concretions excavated from the Stainton gravel beds

 1 - I have now been advised by members of the Mindat forum that this and other pieces that I excavated from the Stainton gravel beds recently are Septarian concretions. 
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Thursday 11 April 2013

Prehistoric bone and artifacts to date. ( Stainsby Beck south west Cleveland )

 This is the full assemblage to date of excavated bone and artefacts, including a preserved leather shoe sole, pottery, and utilised bone and wood, from the grey lake bed deposits at Stainsby beck Thornaby on Tees Cleveland. Tees Archaeology have been informed of all finds. The Human tibia shaft excavated from this deposit is not shown but can be viewed by clicking the link below.

http://historyofabeck.blogspot.co.uk/2013/02/ancient-human-tibia-shaft-excavated.html

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Stainsby beck Prehistoric Mineralised wood excavated from Iron Age deposits.

  1 - This piece of mineralised wood was excavated from the ancient lake bed deposits at Stainsby beck.
 2 - It was excavated very close to the latest bone and pottery finds.
 3 - The mineralised wood like most stone and bone found in the south west area of Cleveland is magnetic, this phenomena has been reported many times to Geologists by myself. 
 4 - The thicker veins seem to be totally mineralised, calcite maybe. I believe this wood was utilised, before it ended up with the bones and artefact's also found.
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Wednesday 10 April 2013

( Stainsby beck) Prehistoric excavation

1 - All excavated bone including one piece of pottery.
                                                                       
                                                               
 2 - Equus scapula piece before being fully excavated.


 2a - Excavation

3 - Another utilised bone

 4 - 8  Pottery rim piece hopefully I will get the dating from Tees Archaeology using this piece.

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 8 - All of the pottery pieces found strongly attract a rare earth magnet, as with most minerals and bone found in this area, it must contain some kind of magnetite. 

 9 - 10  Capra Ovis horn.

 10 - This horn seems large for iron age early or late.

Please use the link below to view more on this excavation.


Tuesday 9 April 2013

Viking Cleveland

                                                                
                                         Ancient  Cleveland   
                                                       
The area of north east England, named Cleveland was originally named by Viking raiders, the exact date of naming is not  known.  But most likely it was named during the earliest Viking visits to the north east shores of England. 

The first  raids by the Vikings on the north east coast are recorded in the  Anglo-Saxon Chronicle  as being 793 AD at Lindisfarne, the circumstances surrounding this early raid have in all probability been stretched far beyond the truth.
 In my mind  similar to the way the Wolf earned its bad reputation i.e.  it was only ever guilty of being what it was a wolf ! .  

My reason for mentioning the earliest recorded raid at Lindisfarne, is to show that the raid was long before the Vikings inhabited what we now know as York.  The Vikings occupied York   Jorvik  in 865 AD, after a large Danish Viking army had landed in East Anglia.

 Vikings were acquainted with the North East coast of England, and the land beyond ( Cleveland ) long before York was named after 865 AD , and almost certainly gave Cleveland its name during there earliest raids . 

   Cleveland as far as I can make out either translates land of rolling hills or Cliff land, I personally opt for the latter, but this is another jigsaw that needs solving.  Regardless of which translation is correct, it seems the Viking named area of ancient Cleveland,  must be far older than the English named area called Yorkshire .  Therefore making Cleveland possibly the oldest surviving Viking named area in England.

This map shows no reference to the North Riding of Yorkshire, but does title the ancient Cleveland area . 
No photo description available..         

https://historyofabeck.blogspot.com/2018/03/cleveland-ohios-links-to-ancient.html





                   

Monday 8 April 2013

Rhizocretion and Aragonite crystals

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These images show another Rhizocretion excavated from the blue grey deposits at Stainsby beck .

 2 The long crystal is about 5mm long 0.5mm mm wide .

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