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Highcliffe Nab : In-depth Information Amateur archaeologists, Norman and Patricia Harbord, collected over two thousand worked flints from the eroding surface of the Nab in the early 1990s and many of these were characteristic of the Mesolithic period when hunting and gathering was the prime mode of subsistence. People would have lived a life similar to the Native Americans or Aboriginal Australians, moving around the landscape to exploit natural resources when they became available at different times of the year. This is the earliest evidence of human activity on Teesside and dates from around 6000 to 3200 BC. The flints collected from the excavation are in permanent storage at Tees Archaeology, Hartlepool, England and can be viewed by appointment. Further salvage recording in 1996 was undertaken on the most eroded part of the cliff top and a small hearth was exposed and material was sent for radiocarbon dating. The excavation confirmed that hunter-gatherers who took advantage of the fine vantage point as an observation post and beacon point occupied Highcliffe Nab in the Mesolithic period. Burnt flint from the excavations indicated that fires were lit at the summit of the Nab. These may have been campfires but could also have been used to signal to other people in the surrounding landscape. It is also likely that the Mesolithic people utilised the viewpoint to track herds of wild animals such as deer and wild cattle across the landscape. |
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