“We found a lot of worked flint from the Mesolithic period,” Richard Cooke explained. “There were three post holes, material from which was carbon dated at between 9220 and 9280 years old.”
In total, the archaeologists recovered 314 stone objects buried at the site. In addition to flints they also found many chipped pieces of chert, a hard sedimentary rock made from quartz crystals that is suitable for making tools. A few intact, rudimentary stone tools made from these materials were found at the new site, including scrapers that were likely hand-manufactured to cut meat and/or scrape hides, and small sharp blades called microliths that could function as versatile knives. They also discovered a tool they referred to as a “ notch,” which they believe was used to shape pieces of wood into useful objects.