Roman BritainFlint mines and part of a Romano-British trackway on Windover Hill, 180m ESE of The Long Man
Roman Mine · Industrial

Flint mines and part of a Romano-British trackway on Windover Hill, 180m ESE of The Long Man

Roman Britain
Pleiades ID: nhle-12795
Site type
Mine
Category
Industrial
Latitude
50.8094
Longitude
0.1904
Overview

History & context

The site lies on the southern slope of Windover Hill on the South Downs, just east of the Long Man of Wilfington chalk figure, where a cluster of shaft-and-gallery flint mines was worked principally in the Neolithic (c. 4000–3000 BC). The associated trackway running across the hillside is dated to the Romano-British period (1st–4th centuries AD) and represents later reuse of the landscape rather than continued mining; there is no firm evidence that flint extraction here continued into Roman times.

Source: Pleiades — A Community-Built Gazetteer and Graph of Ancient Places. View the Pleiades record →

Significance

Historical significance

The trackway formed part of the network of downland routes linking Romano-British farmsteads, fields and pasture on the eastern South Downs, an area of intensive rural settlement and arable production supplying the wider provincial economy. The juxtaposition of prehistoric industrial remains and Roman infrastructure makes Windover Hill significant for understanding long-term landscape continuity rather than for Roman industry per se.

Archaeology

Archaeological record

The flint mines survive as a group of infilled shafts visible as hollows with surrounding spoil rings, recorded by earthwork survey (notably by the RCHME and English Heritage) but not extensively excavated; the trackway is identified by hollow-ways and lynchet relationships with adjacent "Celtic" field systems. No published Roman finds assemblage of note is recorded specifically from this spot, and

About this site

Questions & answers

What is Flint mines and part of a Romano-British trackway on Windover Hill, 180m ESE of The Long Man?

The site lies on the southern slope of Windover Hill on the South Downs, just east of the Long Man of Wilfington chalk figure, where a cluster of shaft-and-gallery flint mines was worked principally in the Neolithic (c. It is recorded in the Pleiades gazetteer of ancient places as a mine site from the Roman period in Britain.

What type of Roman site is Flint mines and part of a Romano-British trackway on Windover Hill, 180m ESE of The Long Man?

Flint mines and part of a Romano-British trackway on Windover Hill, 180m ESE of The Long Man is classified as a Roman mine — a industrial site in the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer. Roman Britain's archaeology encompasses thousands of sites ranging from legionary fortresses and marching camps to villas, temples and towns.

What other Roman sites are near Flint mines and part of a Romano-British trackway on Windover Hill, 180m ESE of The Long Man?

Several Roman sites lie within a short distance, including Eastbourne (8.1 km), Anderidos (10.1 km), Beddingham (10.8 km). Aubrey Research maps over 2,200 Roman sites across Britain, drawn from the Pleiades ancient world gazetteer.

How can I research the history of the area around Flint mines and part of a Romano-British trackway on Windover Hill, 180m ESE of The Long Man?

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Research the area around Flint mines and part of a Romano-British trackway on Windover Hill, 180m ESE of The Long Man