Whitburn, Wheatall Farm, cist

In 1929, during road widening near Wheatall Farm, a cist burial was found 60-90 cms deep in glacial gravel. The cist contained "a contracted inhumation aged c. 35 years, a barbed and tanged arrowhead, 5 other worked flints described as "knives and flakes", and limpets. The cist was subsequently reconstructed in South Shields Museum, and consists of 2 side stones and 2 end stones on a base stone. In spite of the arrowhead, presumably Bronze Age, both Gibbs and the Ordnance Survey suggest this was a late Neolithic burial. The present location of the lithic material is obscure.