Rough Quarries, Rocks and Hills: John Pull and the Neolithic Flint Mines of Sussex

The Neolithic was a period of prolific activity for the South Downs in Sussex, when enclosures and monuments were being built, ditches cut, large areas cleared and flint was extracted from the ground. This study features one of the last, great unpublished excavation archives relating to fieldwork conducted on the Neolithic monuments of the South Downs, carried out by John Henry Pull in the 1920s-50s. It includes reports from four major areas of flint mining (Blackpatch, Church Hill, Cissbury and Tolmere), largely based on contemporary records and accounts, with comments and observations from Miles Russell. The specialist reports and studies of artefact assemblages are to be published in a separate report.

Table of Contents

1: Introduction
2: John Henry Pull: A Biography (Sally White)
3: An Excavation Methodology for Flint Mines
4: Excavations at Blackpatch, 1922-32
5: Excavations at Church Hill, 1933-9, 1946-52
6: Excavations at Tolmere, 1949
7: Excavations at Cissbury, 1952-6
8: Additional Fieldwork (High Salvington, Mount Carvey, Myrtlegrove, Strawberry Patch)
9: Catalogue of Surviving Flintwork from the Worthing Group of Mines (Julie Gardiner)
10: Conclusion: Sussex Mines in Context
Appendix 1: Discovery and Description of the Flint Mine Area at Blackpatch (J. H. Pull)
Appendix 2: Report upon the Second Excavation Made at the Prehistoric Flint Mining Station at Church Hill, Findon, Sussex: 1946-1947-1948 (J. H. Pull and A. R. Voice)
Appendix 3: Skeleton of Britain's Most Ancient Miner Found Beneath a Fall of Rock (J. H. Pull)
Appendix 4: Cissbury Excavations 1956 (J. H. Pull)
Appendix 5: Selected Correspondence from the John Pull Collection held by Worthing Museum

The documentation includes plans, sections, site notebooks, photographs, specialist reports (some on environmental data), hand written texts, typescripts and drawings all inked for publication. The finds, moreover, were all there, in storerooms and museum cases. To say that we were amazed would be an understatement says Miles Russell. It makes one wonder how many similar treasure troves lurk in our museums, and whether, if listed and made known, more people would be encouraged to write up old unpublished excavations, dispiriting though that can often be. ... The book presents much of the information without significant editing or alteration, so that it is essentially the original work of John Pull and his collaborators C.E. Sainsbury and Arthur Voice.'
'We are richly rewarded by Miles Russells efforts, and John Pull at last takes his place in the story of British archaeology.' (Jeffrey May Current Archaeology, 178, 2002)

A major oeuvre has been revealed and there is much delight in discovering how Pull thought about his sites and their context. Dr Russell has added a valuable general appraisal of the mines in Sussex.' (N James Antiquity, Vol. 76, 2002)

...a useful reference for all archaeologists. Miles Russells compilation of the work of John Pull is an excellent tribute to a remarkable amateur archaeologist.' (Matthew J Root Lithic Technology, vol. 31-2)

this book will be a useful reference for all archaeologists.' (Matthew J Root Lithic Technology)