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Surrey History : Exploring Surrey's Past - Woodbridge Road, Guildford Banner Image
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Woodbridge Road, Guildford

The vast amount of material recovered in the excavation of this site suggests it may have been one of the largest Mesolithic occupation sites in South East England.

hunter_gatherer_camp_near_Bletchingley__around_5000BC__WSmap_panel_
An artist's impression of a hunter gatherer camp near Bletchingley, around 5000BC (courtesy of V Ambrus)

Mesolithic In the Mesolithic, microliths were
attached to wooden shafts to make
arrows and spears.
Image: SCAU

An archaeological excavation of an industrial area of Woodbridge Road uncovered an astounding 50,000 pieces of struck flint, which have been dated to the Mesolithic period (around 8,000-4,000 BC) when people in Britain used arrows and spears to hunt large animals. These weapons were made of pieces of knapped flint, known as microliths, fixed to shafts of wood or bone. Worked flints were also vital tools for fishing, gathering food and scraping skins to make clothes.

Click here to find out more about Surrey in the Mesolithic.





By Laura Joyner
©2009 Surrey County Council. All Rights Reserved. Exploring Surrey's Past