A Supposed Implement of Quartzite from beneath the Boulder Clay of the Durham Coast

Having always been much interested in any evidence that might throw light on the relationship of early man to the glacial drifts, I have for twenty-five years or more watched the various beds of gravel that occur above, among, and below the Boulder Clays in the north-eastern counties for anything resembling a Palaeolithic implement. I had no approach to success, however, till about a year ago, when in a bed of water-deposited gravel at a place called Limekiln Gill on the Durham coast, between the entrance of Hesleden Dene and Blackhall Rocks, some 4 miles northwest of Hartlepool, I found in the gravel cliff about 4 feet above the level of the beach a piece of yellow quartzite, which seemed to be artificially chipped. A short while ago I sent the specimen to Mr. Reginald A. Smith, B.A., F.S.A., of the British Museum, for his opinion, and somewhat to my surprise received the following reply: “I have little doubt about your implement, and Mr. Reid Moir, who saw it yesterday, agrees that it is definitely human. It is, indeed, interesting to find such a thing in situ, and one might expect to find it in some margin between the two principal boulder clays (Interglacial of East Anglia).” Such being the opinion of these experts, the specimen becomes one of very considerable significance, since the bed in which it was found underlies the main Cheviot and Northern drift or Purple clay, which at this spot is at least 70 feet thick and consists very largely of typical boulder clay.