Guildford F ire Station : Excavation of a Late Upper Palaeolithic campsite in the valley of the River Wey, Surrey

Excavations carried out prior to the construction of a new fire station in Guildford, Surrey, revealed a well preserved, in situ Late Upper Palaeolithic flint scatter.

Excavations carried out prior to the construction of a new fire station inGuildford, Surrey, revealed a well preserved, in situ Late Upper Palaeolithic flintscatter. The site lay on cold climate fluvial sandy gravels deposited in braidedstream systems prior to the onset of the Late Glacial (Windermere) interstadial.Typological analysis of the flint and OSL dates suggest that the scatter itself datesfrom the first half of the Late Glacial (Windermere) interstadial (c 1415KBP).The lithic assemblage is homogeneous and, apart from initial extraction andnodule testing, all stages of flint manufacture are represented. Two mainconcentrations of knapping are represented, the main focus of which were theproduction of blade blanks some of which were removed from the site. Functionalanalysis of the tools suggests relatively short occupation during which hunting,smallscale craft activities linked with the retooling of hunting weapons and themanufacture of hide items, and limited processing of animal and plant materialstook place.The assemblage is comparable to that from Wey Manor Farm, Surrey, 17kmfurther downstream, and raises the question of the relationship between thetwo sites. Both share technological and typological features in common withthe Creswellian, though Wey Manor Farm has a greater diversity in lithic pointtypes. Comparison with Continental assemblages suggests that the Surrey sitesshare affinities with the Older Azilian or equivalents in northwest France andGermany and implies strong postMagdalenian influences in the Late UpperPalaeolithic of Britain.