In 1935 the Couplands published a summary of the six sites on which they had found flints along the coast near Whitburn, five being on top of the cliffs. In 1952 the Ordnance Survey, after consultation with Mrs Coupland, provided a basic list of the finds from each site, and in the case of Site B a location - close to Souter lighthouse. It produced 76 flints, "including sixty one indeterminate pieces and wasters". Wymer and Young group the finds from the six sites together and add no further details. The flints' whereabouts are unknown. However, an unknown number of lints from Lizard Point, Marsden, are in the Wilf Dodds Collection now in the Bowes Museum. Souter lighthouse is on Lizard Point, so these two groups appear near enough to be conflated. The attached date, 7.3.1955, is presumably one of discovery.
Site Type: Broad
Artefact Scatter
SITEDESC
In 1935 the Couplands published a summary of the six sites on which they had found flints along the coast near Whitburn, five being on top of the cliffs. In 1952 the OS, after consultation with Mrs Coupland, provided a basic list of the finds from each site, and in the case of Site B a location, - close to Souter lighthouse. It produced 76 flints, "including sixty one indeterminate pieces and wasters". Miket repeats this information though with the wrong grid reference; Wymer and Young group the finds from the six sites together and add no further details. No one offers a clue to the flints' whereabouts. An unknown number of flints from Lizard Point, Marsden, are in the Wilf Dodds Collection now in the Bowes Museum. Souter lighthouse is on Lizard Point, so these two groups, without a grid ref for the second, appear near enough to be conflated. The attached date, 7.3.1955, is presumably one of discovery.
Site Name
Whitburn coast, Site B, flints
Site Type: Specific
Flint Scatter
HER Number
842
Form of Evidence
Find
Sources
<< HER 842 >> F. & G. Coupland, 1935, Further Tardenoisian discoveries on the north-east coast, Proceedings Prehistoric Society, I, 154
Ordnance Survey archaeological record cards, JHO, 1952, Mesolithic flints
J. Wymer, ed. 1977, Gazetteer of Mesolithic Sites in England and Wales, Council British Archaeology, Research Report, No. 20, p. 78
R. Young, 1987, Lithics and Subsistence in North-Eastern England, British Archaeological Report, British Series, pp. 195-6, F 67
R. Miket, 1984, The Prehistory of Tyne and Wear, pp. 94-5, no. 6
Pers comm. J. Pickin, 1991, Mesolithic Flints from Monkwearmouth -Historic Environment Record
SURVIVAL
0
YEAR1
1992
YEAR2
1992
English, British
AREA_STAT
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Class
Monument <By Form>
COMP1
Barbara Harbottle
DAY1
30
District
S Tyneside
Easting
441000
EASTING2
412
Grid ref figure
6
Map Sheet
NZ46SW
MATERIAL
Flint
MONTH1
10
Grid Reference
NZ
NGR2
NZ
NMRNUMBER
NZ 46 SW 1
Northing
561400
NORTHING2
638
General Period
PREHISTORIC
Specific Period
Mesolithic -10,000 to -4,000
Place
Whitburn
Description
In 1935 the Couplands published a summary of the six sites on which they had found flints along the coast near Whitburn, five being on top of the cliffs. In 1952 the Ordnance Survey, after consultation with Mrs Coupland, provided a basic list of the finds from each site, and in some cases a site location. Site A produced 202 flints, including "microliths, points, blades, waste cores". They did not locate this site. Wymer and Young group the finds from the six sites together, and do not add any information. The flints' whereabouts are unknown.
Site Type: Broad
Artefact Scatter
SITEDESC
In 1935 the Couplands published a summary of the six sites on which they had found flints along the coast near Whitburn, five being on top of the cliffs. In 1952 the OS, after consultation with Mrs Coupland, provided a basic list of the finds from each site, and in some cases a site location. Site A produced 202 flints, including "microliths, points, blades, waste cores". They did not locate this site; Miket merely gives the grid refs at each end of the likely area, see above. He also adds scraper and borer to the list, but without supporting evidence. Wymer and Young group the finds from the six sites together, and do not add any information. No one offers a clue to the flints' whereabouts.
Site Name
Whitburn coast, Site A, flints
Site Type: Specific
Flint Scatter
HER Number
841
Form of Evidence
Find
Sources
<< HER 841 >> F. & G. Coupland, 1935, Further Tardenoisian discoveries on the north-east coast, Proceedings Prehistoric Society, I, 154
Ordnance Survey archaeological record cards, JHO, 1952, Mesolithic flints
J. Wymer, ed. 1977, Gazetteer of Mesolithic Sites in England and Wales, Council British Archaeology, Research Report No. 20, p. 78
R. Young, 1987, Lithics and Subsistence in North-Eastern England, British Archaeological Report, British Series, pp. 195-6, F 67
R. Miket, 1984, The Prehistory of Tyne and Wear, p. 94 no. 5
SURVIVAL
0
YEAR1
1992
English, British
Class
Monument <By Form>
COMP1
Barbara Harbottle
DAY1
28
District
S Tyneside
Easting
436000
Grid ref figure
4
Map Sheet
NZ36NE
MATERIAL
Bronze
MONTH1
10
Grid Reference
NZ
NMRNUMBER
NZ 36 NE 49
Northing
567000
General Period
PREHISTORIC
Specific Period
Bronze Age -2,600 to -700
Place
South Shields
Description
According to Miket, a bronze wing-flanged axe apparently exists in South Shields Central Museum. There is no further information.
Site Type: Broad
Findspot
SITEDESC
A bronze wing-flanged axe apparently exists in South Shields Central Museum though Miket does not give it a museum accession no. In 1976 the OS, on information from Miket, recorded it as from the locality of South Shields. In 1984 Miket more cautiously published it as "unprovenanced, but probably Tyne and Wear". There is no further information.
Site Name
South Shields, wing-flanged axe
Site Type: Specific
Wing Flanged Axehead
HER Number
840
Form of Evidence
Find
Sources
<< HER 840 >> Ordnance Survey archaeological record cards, RPM, 1977, Bronze Age axe
R. Miket, 1984, The Prehistory of Tyne and Wear, p. 98 no. 3 and p. 99 no. 4
YEAR1
1992
English, British
AREA_STAT
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Class
Monument <By Form>
COMP1
Barbara Harbottle
CONDITION
Fair
DAY1
27
District
S Tyneside
Easting
438400
Grid ref figure
6
Map Sheet
NZ36NE
MATERIAL
Bronze
MONTH1
10
Grid Reference
NZ
NMRNUMBER
NZ 36 NE 12
Northing
566700
General Period
PREHISTORIC
Specific Period
Bronze Age -2,600 to -700
Place
Trow Rocks
Description
Found on 19 September 1864 at Trow Rocks. "A characteristic member of the Yorkshire three-ribbed type", with side loop, practically unexpanded blade and prominent casting seams. Length 81 mm, width across the cutting edge 43 mm.
Site Type: Broad
Findspot
SITEDESC
Found on 19 September 1864 at Trow Rocks. "A characteristic member of the Yorkshire three-ribbed type", with side loop, practically unexpanded blade and prominent casting seams. Length 81 mm, width across the cutting edge 43 mm.
Site Name
Trow Rocks, socketed bronze axe
Site Type: Specific
Socketed Axehead
HER Number
839
Form of Evidence
Find
Sources
<< HER 839 >> South Shields Gazette, 1864, 23 September
G.B. Hodgson, 1903, The Borough of South Shields, 9
W. Page, ed. 1905, Early Man, Victoria County History, Durham, I, 207
C. Burgess & Miket, 1976, Three Socketed Axes from North-East England... Archaeologia Aeliana, 5, IV, pp. 1-9, fig. 1c
R. Miket, 1984, The Prehistory of Tyne and Wear, pp. 80, 83, fig. 26 no. 5
SURVIVAL
60-79%
YEAR1
1992
English, British
Class
Monument <By Form>
COMP1
Barbara Harbottle
COMP2
Clare Henderson
DAY1
27
DAY2
23
District
S Tyneside
Easting
436135
EASTING2
36
Grid ref figure
10
Map Sheet
NZ36NE
MATERIAL
Flint
MONTH1
10
MONTH2
03
Grid Reference
NZ
NGR2
NZ
NMRNUMBER
NZ 36 NE 26
Northing
567559
NORTHING2
67
General Period
PREHISTORIC
Specific Period
Neolithic -4,000 to -2,200
Place
South Shields
Description
On 26 Jan. 1887 R. Blair exhibited to the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle "a Neolithic Flint Axe", 6 1/8 inches long x 2 inches broad, "found in a ballast hill at South Shields now in course of removal". The findspot is vague. In 1923 W.P. Brewis announced the donation to the Society of the Blair collection, which included "a flint spearhead from a local ballast heap", but no other flint object of note. Brewis conflated the 2 published references, thus equating the 2 objects, and the Ordnance Survey record followed suit.
SITEASS
The findspot is vague. The OS suggests "the ballast hill situated at NZ 3614 6743, which is the only one in South Shields", though hardly likely to be on a modern map if being removed in 1887. Miket's 6 figure ref is a spot in the Tyne.
Site Type: Broad
Findspot
SITEDESC
On 26 Jan. 1887 R. Blair exhibited to the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle "a Neolithic Flint Axe", 6 1/8 in long x 2 in broad, "found in a ballast hill at South Shields now in course of removal". In 1923 W.P. Brewis announced the donation to the Society of the Blair collection, which included "a flint spearhead from a local ballast heap", but no other flint object of note. Brewis conflated the 2 published references, thus equating the 2 objects, and the OS followed suit. Miket kept them separate, and achieved different dimensions, presumably because he actually measured the spearhead, but merely converted the figures for the axe.
Site Name
South Shields, flint spearhead or axe
Site Type: Specific
Spearhead
HER Number
838
Form of Evidence
Find
Sources
<< HER 838 >> R. Blair, 1889, Exhibited, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle, 2, III (for 1887-8), p. 3
W.P. Brewis, 1925, Proceedings of the Society of Antiquaries of Newcastle, 4, I (for 1923-4), pp. 122, 186
Ordnance Survey archaeological record cards, JHO, 1952, Neolithic axe/spearhead
R. Miket, 1984, The Prehistory of Tyne and Wear, p. 80 no. 3, p. 81 no. 7
YEAR1
1992
YEAR2
2021
English, British
AREA_STAT
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Class
Monument <By Form>
COMP1
Barbara Harbottle
COMP2
Barbara Harbottle
DAY1
26
DAY2
15
District
S Tyneside
Easting
438400
Grid ref figure
6
Map Sheet
NZ36NE
MATERIAL
Flint
MONTH1
10
MONTH2
12
Grid Reference
NZ
Northing
566700
General Period
PREHISTORIC
Specific Period
Prehistoric -1,000 000 to 43
Place
Trow Rocks
Description
Gibbs recorded the discovery of "flakes and chips" from Trow Rocks, "in light boulder clay, with a patch of red sandy clay above it". These are assumed lost, but an unknown number of flints from Trow Rocks are in the Wilf Dodds Collection now in the Bowes Museum.
Site Type: Broad
Findspot
SITEDESC
Gibbs recorded the discovery of "flakes and chips" from Trow Rocks, "in light boulder clay, with a patch of red sandy clay above it". Miket dod not add to this, and Young assumed they were lost. An unknown number of flints from Trow Rocks are in the Wilf Dodds Collection now in the Bowes Museum.
Site Name
Trow Rocks, flint flakes
Site Type: Specific
Flake
HER Number
837
Form of Evidence
Find
Sources
<< HER 837 >> G.B. Gibbs, 1939, Neolithic Man in County Durham, Antiquities of Sunderland, XIX (for 1929-32), 23
R. Miket, 1984, The Prehistory of Tyne and Wear, p. 82 no. 14
R. Young, 1987, Lithics and Subsistence in North-Eastern England, British Archaeological Report, British Series, p. 188 F 61
Pers comm. J. Pickin, 1991, Mesolithic flints from Monkwearmouth -Historic Environment Record
YEAR1
1992
YEAR2
1992
English, British
AREA_STAT
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Class
Monument <By Form>
COMP1
Barbara Harbottle
DAY1
26
District
S Tyneside
Easting
438300
Grid ref figure
6
Map Sheet
NZ36NE
MATERIAL
Flint
MONTH1
10
Grid Reference
NZ
Northing
566700
General Period
PREHISTORIC
Specific Period
Prehistoric -1,000 000 to 43
Place
South Shields
Description
Gibbs recorded the discovery of a flint flake on a stack at Target Rock, "close to Trow Rocks, in a thin layer of clay on top". Its present location is obscure.
Site Type: Broad
Findspot
SITEDESC
Gibbs recorded the discovery of a flint flake on a stack at Target Rock, "close to Trow Rocks, in a thin layer of clay on top". Young could not trace this piece and assumed it was lost; Miket declared it to have been found in 1904, and to have a bulb, and gave it a museum accession number.
Site Name
Target Rock, flint flake
Site Type: Specific
Flake
HER Number
836
Form of Evidence
Find
Sources
<< HER 836 >> G.B. Gibbs, 1939, Neolithic Man in County Durham, Antiquities of Sunderland, XIX (for 1929-32), 23
R. Miket, 1984, The Prehistory of Tyne and Wear, p. 81 no. 9
R. Young, 1987, Lithics and Subsistence in North-Eastern England, British Archaeological Report, British Series, p. 295 F 180
YEAR1
1992
English, British
AREA_STAT
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Class
Religious Ritual and Funerary
COMP1
Barbara Harbottle
Crossref
832, 834, 835
DAY1
26
District
S Tyneside
Easting
438400
Grid ref figure
6
Map Sheet
NZ36NE
MONTH1
10
Grid Reference
NZ
NMRNUMBER
NZ 36 NE 10
Northing
566700
General Period
PREHISTORIC
Specific Period
Bronze Age -2,600 to -700
Place
Trow Rocks
Description
In 1873, after workmen had discovered a cist in the Trow Rocks barrow, the site was investigated by Greenwell. "At the centre was a cist, consisting of six stones set on edge, two on each side and one at each end, with two cover- stones; some thin pieces of stone were set on the side stones to make the top level and to support the covers. The cist lay north north-west and south south-east, and was 4 feet long, 2 feet wide, and 1 feet 10 inches deep, sunk into the clay which there overlies the limestone, the covers being on the level of the natural surface". The cist contained a crouched inhumation, "a skeleton, apparently of a man, very much decayed, laid on the right side, with the head to south-east...", some pieces of charcoal and a flint knife, made from an outside flake, and measuring 2 3/8 inches long and 1 1/4 inches wide. "The slabs of the cist, which were of marl, were removed to the residence of the late Mr. P.J. Messent, then engineer to the Tyne Commissioners, at Tynemouth".
Site Type: Broad
Cist
SITEDESC
In 1873, after workmen had discovered a cist in the Trow Rocks barrow, the site was investigated by Greenwell. "At the centre was a cist, consisting of six stones set on edge, two on each side and one at each end, with two cover- stones; some thin pieces of stone were set on the side stones to make the top level and to support the covers. The cist lay NNW and SSE, and was 4 ft long, 2 ft wide, and 1 ft 10 in deep, sunk into the clay which there overlies the limestone, the covers being on the level of the natural surface". The cist contained a crouched inhumation, some pieces of charcoal and a flint knife. "The slabs of the cist, which were of marl, were removed to the residence of the late Mr. P.J. Messent, then engineer to the Tyne Commissioners, at Tynemouth".
Site Name
Trow Rocks barrow, inhumation
Site Type: Specific
Cist
HER Number
833
Form of Evidence
Find
Sources
<< HER 833 >> South Shields Gazette, 1873, 14 March
W. Greenwell, 1877, British Barrows, 442
Transactions Architectectural & Archaeological Society of Durham and Northumberland, 1890, A Prae-Historic Cist Burial at Sacriston, III, 183
G.B. Hodgson, 1903, The Borough of South Shields, 9
W. Page, ed. 1905, Early Man, Victoria County History, Durham, I, 208
R. Miket, 1984, The Prehistory of Tyne and Wear, p. 80 no. 1
SURVIVAL
0
YEAR1
1992
English, British
AREA_STAT
Site of Special Scientific Interest
Class
Religious Ritual and Funerary
COMP1
Barbara Harbottle
COMP2
Barbara Harbottle
Crossref
833, 834, 835
DAY1
26
DAY2
02
District
S Tyneside
Easting
438400
Grid ref figure
6
Map Sheet
NZ36NE
MONTH1
10
MONTH2
02
Grid Reference
NZ
NMRNUMBER
NZ 36 NE 10
Northing
566700
General Period
PREHISTORIC
Specific Period
Bronze Age -2,600 to -700
Place
Trow Rocks
Description
There was once a barrow on the "level plain known as the Rock Tops, overlooking Trow Rocks, "almost on the edge of the magnesian limestone cliff above the sea and about 1 mile south of the River Tyne". It was 30 feet in diameter, 3 feet high and made of earth with some stones. In 1873 the cist it contained was discovered by some workmen and, as a consequence, the site was investigated by Greenwell. Both barrow and cist was then removed by the quarrying operations of the Tyne Commissioners.
SITEASS
Trow Point was assessed by Archaeological Research Services in 2010 for Phase 2 of North East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment. At Trow Point a coastal erosion rate of 0.2m per year has been recorded. NERCZA recommends that the cliff face is allowed to retreat. However any remaining evidence of the barrow will soon be lost at this rate of erosion. The walkover survey in 2010 aimed to ascertain if the barrow is suffering active erosion, to evaluate the present level of threat to the barrow and the nature of the threat, to determine whether there are other visible features associated with the barrow and the extent to which such features are subject to or at risk from erosion and to record the present extent and condition of the barrow. The initial walkover survey suggested that it was unlikely that any evidence of the barrow survived. There are numerous earthworks on the top of Trow Point but it is unlikely that any of these relate to the prehistoric period. The exact location of the barrow and cist burial has now been lost. The survey revealed no definitive evidence of prehistoric activity. One sub-circular earthwork was recorded on the southern edge of the Point, but this was highly truncated by military earthworks, and it could relate to quarrying or early military activity. This earthwork is therefore only a tentative proposal for the barrow. It is more likely that the barrow is now lost. There was an OS trigonometric point at Trow Point in the 19th century. This is now lost. It is possible that the trig point was located on the barrow (as at Hasting Hill).
Site Type: Broad
Barrow
SITEDESC
There was once a barrow on the "level plain known as the Rock Tops, overlooking Trow Rocks, "almost on the edge of the magnesian limestone cliff above the sea and about 1 mile south of the River Tyne". It was 30 ft in diameter, 3 ft high and made of earth with some stones. In 1873 the cist it contained was discovered by some workmen and, as a consequence, the site was investigated by Greenwell. Both barrow and cist was then removed by the quarrying operations of the Tyne Commissioners. Recorded by Phase 2 of the North East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment. Recorded as large sub circular earthwork, at risk of slumping. Exposed sediments. Risk = high. Threat level 8.
Site Name
Trow Rocks barrow
Site Type: Specific
Round Barrow
HER Number
832
Form of Evidence
Levelled Earthwork
Sources
<< HER 832 >> South Shields Gazette, 1873, 14 March
W. Greenwell, 1877, British Barrows, 442
G.B. Hodgson,1903, The Borough of South Shields, 9
W. Page, ed. 1905, Early Man, Victoria County History, Durham, I, 208
R. Miket, 1984, The Prehistory of Tyne and Wear, p. 80 no. 1; Archaeological Research Services, 2010, Phase 2 North East Rapid Coastal Zone Assessment, Project Record Number 132
SURVIVAL
None
YEAR1
1992
YEAR2
1995
English, British
Class
Monument <By Form>
COMP1
Barbara Harbottle
DAY1
26
District
S Tyneside
Easting
433000
Grid ref figure
4
Map Sheet
NZ36NW
MATERIAL
Flint
MONTH1
10
Grid Reference
NZ
Northing
565000
General Period
PREHISTORIC
Specific Period
Later Prehistoric -4,000 to 43
Place
Jarrow
Description
A fine flint axe, 155 mm long, 50 mm broad, was found in the town of Jarrow about the end of 1886. There are no further details. It is not clear from this minimal description as to whether the axe was polished, partly polished or a roughout.
Site Type: Broad
Findspot
SITEDESC
A fine flint axe, 155 mm long, 50 mm broad, was found in the town of Jarrow itself about the end of 1886. There are no further details. It is not clear from this minimal description as to whether the axe was polished/partly polished/a roughout.
Site Name
Jarrow, flint axe
Site Type: Specific
Axe
HER Number
831
Form of Evidence
Find
Sources
<< HER 831 >> G.B. Hodgson,1903, The Borough of South Shields
R. Miket, 1984, The Prehistory of Tyne and Wear, p. 78 no. 5