The Prehistoric heat treatment of flint in Cornwall.

Graham Hill. Introduction: Whilst collecting Prehistoric worked flint artefacts from West Penwith, Cornwall during the period April 2004 onwards the author wondered whether some bright red patterned flint had been derived from brown patterned flint by a process of heating.(Hirst, 2012).Internet research showed that ; 1.Heat treatment is widely practised by modern knappers to improve the length and consistency of flake removals as well as changing the colour.(Smolinski) 2. Heat treatment was widely practised in ancient stone working cultures i.e. South Africa, 71 000 years ago.(Brown, 2009) Solutrean, France, 20000 years ago.(Aubry, 2003) Predynastic Egypt, 5000 years ago.(Byrnes, 2011) The West Penwith flint was assessed by specialists and volunteers in The Clodgy Moor Project(2011-12). This proved a fertile ground for the development of ideas. Kim Williams suggested that we compile a photographic record of the types of flint used to make the tools. The author emailed Clive Jonathon Bond; compiler of a reference for flint artefacts(2004). He replied that we should look at local flint resources and see what happened to them in a heat-treatment experiment.(Bond, 2011) Anna Lawson-Jones; flint specialist for the project found an article about making a heat-treatment pit by Karl Lee.(2001). Kim Williams volunteered her allotment for the firing pit and allocated wood resources for the fire.

Photo above: A brown ribboned flint scraper and red flint pieces. Were they heated? Refs:scraper; 53.3, top red piece; 18.8, lower red piece; 35.29(Hill). 1

Methods
The author followed Karl Lees practice. The pit was 2 layers deep with the top of the layer of flints 7cm below ground level. lower layer was below 15cm. The pit design was circular in plan and comtained the 2 arrays of 21 flints within 45cm diameter and 20cm deep. The 42 flints were sourced and split on a granite anvil on site at Marazion beach near Penzance and close to prehistoric pebble flint scatters.The fill was pre-dried beach gravel from Penzance. It was found that the quantity was only adequate to just cover the top layer of flints so red burnt granite from the hearth edge was crushed to fill the last 5cm to the surface.The weather remained mild and averaged about 10 degrees celsius with a slight to moderate breeze blowing up the slope from approximately flint position S to C when looking at the layout grid(see first photo on next page). Due to the damp conditions just above a stream and on a slope it was decided to protect the pit futher against water by prelining the pit with aluminium foil. Not authentic but an insurance against potential waterlogging in November in Cornwall. The fire was set and within a quarter of an hour it had orange and yellow heat. It softened a glass bottle and the experiment began. Glass bottles softened every hour and the pit was quickly covered with a growing pile of hot charcoal and ash embers. After 5 hours the fire was allowed to die down.21 hours later the embers and top layer of the pit were still too hot to touch. The pile was covered with aluminium foil to protect it from the forecast rain. After a further 20 hours the pit was barely warm and excavated clean and dry just before the rain arrived!

Instrumentation
The fire temperature was indirectly measured by putting clear glass bottles in the embers. They softened, rather than melted and were recovered flattened. The position of the flints in the fire pit was according to a grid with each flint having a unique alpha-numeric. The lower layer was labelled I and the flints labelled IA to IU with HB pencil.The upper layer was labelled IIA to IIU. The pit was surrounded by a cardboard sleeve with the flint levels marked for accurate depth position. The flint layers were orientated together and it would have been possible to ascertain the unique flint name by excavation ; the relative position being enough ; even if the labelling failed. The flint(and chert) pebbles were approximately bisected by the hammerstone and anvil method. This left an identically pencil labelled control and the test piece for the pit.The conjoining would also identify the test piece if the labelling was lost. The fit was highlighted by drawing pencil lines across the break to guide the orientation. The test pieces had temperature sensors. Perforated squares of different melting temperature were laced on to a copper wire and this tied on to the specimen. The test materials were with melting points in celsius: HDPE plastic; 120-130, soft solder;180-190?, cardboard(decomposition);233+, lead; 327, zinc;420, Aluminium; 660.Steel;1370.Bisphenol A epoxy on one side of the steel squares (decomposition);158+ and lacquer on copper wire;1083, used to tie the tags to the flints were also indicators. The steel food can square had 2 functions. It had the unique alpha-numeric embossed on it as a dog-tag and also it was hoped to register a colour change and be measured against a steel oxide temperature colour chart, supplementing the materials melts squares.Finally the outer pit temperatures would be indicated by the cardboard sleeve 2

and outer aluminium foil layer. The depth of their alteration would put outer limits to the temperatures in the test zone.

Photos: top left clockwise; Layer II, 7cm below surface.Grid layout:3-5-5-5-3, beginning top left ;A to bottom right;U. November 26th 2011;the fire covering the pit in ash/ember cone. Glass bottles softened by the embers.Cooled hearth after 41 hours.

Instrument observations in the fire pit

Removing the already reddened crushed hearth granite down to 5cm uncovered the beach grit. It had also darkened and reddened. The outer aluminium foil water protection had remained intact to the surface, indicating that the bulk embers and ground surface did not exceed 670 degrees celsius. On reflection this is an expected result as soil under a bonfire is not commonly fired to a ceramic! The contacting inner liner was destroyed to a fragile or missing black char down to the 7cm layer II. This and the brown and slightly altered hues down to about 15cm were slightly deeper in the down-wind direction but the impression of an even heating was the dominant one. This very slight upwind heating tendency was seen in the melts attached to the flint/chert samples in layer II. All had the lacquer on the copper wire fused black. This also occurred with the HDPE which may have acted as an endothermic substance; cooling the solder and cardboard next to it. The solder showed partial melting in most cases and the cardboard was altered to dark brown and friable. The lead was unaltered in all cases. The steel squares(from food cans) all showed destruction of the epoxy inner coat to a dark brown. Again an endothermic process may have reduced the temperature and hence the oxide colour on the other side. Oxide colours were in the yellow range from faint straw to nearly brown,indicating 200-250 degrees (refs: steelworker and threeplanes) but minimum shades had to be taken as there was some obscuration by previous heating colours from soldering the can. Below layer II the filling grit was clearly unaffected and only a few of the HDPE squares in the upwind direction were partly melted with no other effects i.e. no solder, cardboard or lacquer on copper wire changes.

Improvements to design and instrumentation.

The HDPE squares showed that layer I reached no useful temperature and hence for a practical small fire a layer below 7cm is unproductive. In layer II there was suspicion that the HDPE was cooling the other test cards and should be deleted. The steel will be scraped clean of inner epoxy coat for the same reason. There will also be attention to grinding off previous oxide colurs so that there can be no confusion after test.Layer I will be refired with these improvements.

Photos above: the heated pieces(wired) show opacity and colour changes.

Photos below: the visible results; controls and heated conjoining pieces in layer II.

Results: Table of visible changes.(Layer 1 did not change).

Layer Letter Unheated flint colours 11 A Brown stained and cream and mid grey mottled 11 B Light grey and mid grey mottled 11 C Mid grey with lighter grey patches 11 D Grey brown mottled with lighter grey and brown ring 11 E Mid grey brown with cream flecks. 11 F Grey brown and lighter Brown patches and rings 11 G Grey brown 11 H 11 I 11 J 11 K 11 L 11 M 11 N 11 O 11 P 11 Q 11 R 11 S 11 T 11 U 1A 1B 1C 1D 1E 1F 1G 1H 1I 1J 1K 1L 1M 1N 1O 1P 1Q 1R 1S 1T 1U Grey brown with light grey inclusions Grey brown with dark grey patches Tan brown and grey mottled. Light grey spots. Chert;banded orange/brown. Black outer layer. Dark grey brown with light grey patches Grey brown and lighter patches and brown rings Mid and light grey Mid grey with light grey bands Chert;mid grey with lighter grey flecks Grey brown and mottled lighter brown and brown ring Grey brown and lighter brown lighter brown and brown ring Mid grey with lighter grey patches and flecks Grey brown Mid grey and brown mottled. Light grey patches Dark grey with light grey patches Grey brown/grey with cream flecks and brown ring Mixed mid grey with dark and Light grey patches Grey brown with brown ring and cream flecks Grey brown with paler patches Brown with mottled light brown and cream flecks Dark grey with cream flecks Dark grey with mid grey coarser inclusion Chert;mottled grey brown and grey and lighter grey Grey brown with cream flecks and brown ring Chert;mottled grey brown and patchy light grey Grey brown with mid grey inclusions;small brown rings Grey brown with lighter and brown patches and rings Dark grey with cream flecks Mottled dark grey and grey brown Light and mid grey brown mottled. Grey brown and mottled lighter brown and brown ring Grey brown and mottled lighter brown and brown ring Dark grey brown Dark grey; faint brown ribbons and mid grey patches Dark grey and grey brown band Cream specks and brown ring Heated flint colours Red brown stain and cream cream cream light grey and cream brown ring c ream and mid grey(less brown) opaque cream with dark red rings light semi-opaque grey brown orangey cortex goes reddish. Inside;light grey and cream Same but more creamy and less dark grey Lightened; dull yellowey grey cream cortex goes orangey inside;slightly more orangey Slightly duller grey brown Cream with dark red ring light grey and cream Orangey cortex goes redder. Inside; light grey and cream Light grey and cream Orangey cortex goes red brown. Cream/light grey,red brown ring. Orangey cortex goes red brown. Opaque cream,dark brown ring. light grey with cream flecks light grey cream cream Tell-tale melts Card pt char,solder melt Card pt char,solder melt Card pt char,solder melt Card pt char,solder melt Card pt char,solder pt melt Card pt char, solder pt melt Card pt char,solder pt melt Card pt char,solder pt melt Card pt char,solder pt melt Card pt char,solder pt melt Card char,solder melt Card pt char,solder melt Card pt char,solder pt melt Card slight char, Card pt char,solder pt melt Card pt char,solder pt melt Card pt char,solder pt melt Card pt char,solder pt melt Card pt char,solder pt melt Card part charred Card part charred Steel oxide colour yellow pale yellow bright yellow yellow feint yellow yellow yellow yellow pale yellow pale yellow yellow brown yellow yellow pale yellow yellow yellow feint yellow yellow brown yellow brown pale yellow yellow Heated blank flaked Shows same inside. Same pebble core conjoins 1Q,1R,11R Same pebble core conjoins 1Q,1R,11Q control looks lighter brown; nearer cortex Same pebble core conjoins 11F, 1M. Same pebble core; conjoins 1M, 11M Comments heated blank flaked to show same inside

Same pebble core conjoins 11F,11M

Same pebble core conjoins 11Q,1R,11Q Same pebble core cojoins 11R,1Q,11Q

Conclusions.
The fire pit caused no crazing, cracking or spalling of the flint; demonstrating a very gradual heating and cooling and temperatures lower than those encountered in the hearth. A prominently coarse chert sample;11K was scarcely altered in appearance and another fire pit might test samples slightly closer to the surface; say 5cm to deal with coarser material and show the limits where the material starts to crack.Malcolm Barnes(2007) reports excellent results at 5cm depth and spalling at 2.5cm after heating for 2 hours under a bonfire. What is clear is that from the Marazion pebble source, the ring and stain patterns were brown without exception;based upon a small sample and a red colour change resulted from heat-treatment. Furthermore the often seen combination of red in an opaque cream matrix is no accident and is the likely accompaniment when cloudy but translucent flint is heated. The common occurrence of cream flint in West Cornwall may be not just because of unusually deep patination but given the paucity of cream flint in beach samples, may be due to an unrecognised and rather high proportion of heat treatment of pebble resources. A further clue to this is the pinkish hue often seen in opaque flint; most obviously in the cortex. This combined with lustrous flaked surfaces, reproduced on test pieces; 11A and 11U when flaked after heating(see below) are indicators of heat-treatment in prehistoric samples. The exploration of the internal structure of 11A and 11U by flaking(between the arrows) also demonstrate the colour change to opaque cream and the brown to red ring colour transformations are not merely surface effects and are different in kind to patination. This experiment hopes to make a useful bridge to the work of Diana Coles(2009) who interprets arrow-heads found at Luce Sands, Scotland to be made of heat-treated pebble flint.

Photo above:Heated pieces; 11A and 11U are flaked (between arrows) to expose altered colours and lustrous flake scars.

Some likely heat treated Prehistoric flintwork from Clodgy Moor Project Photos:Prehistoric finds from West Cornwall.
Top; Microburin of likely Mesolithic date. Opaque cream flint with pinkish hue and red spots appear to be the result of heattreatment. Other details are a burin spall from the left distal edge and use gloss from use as a graver. CORN-F892A7

Middle; Flake with truncated blade scars on dorsal surface. Mesolithic or possibly Neolithic date. Quite coarse flint of striking dark red and orangey yellow colour. CORN-020603

Bottom; Blade of Mesolithic or possibly Neolithic date. Opaque cream and pink tinge; stronger near the cortex at the distal end. CORN-CA0372

Photos:Arrow-head

find from West Cornwall

Top and bottom; 2 sides of the same barbed and tanged arrow-head. Likely Beaker; Later Neolithic to Early Bronze Age date. One of the barbs has broken off with an oblique snap. The tip may also be missing. The flint is opaque cream with a pinkish hue and red ribbon patterns and spots. This item would benefit from heat-treatment of the raw material as it enables longer flakes to be removed. (Barnes,2007). The visual impression of bloodied human flesh may have been an intended result as well! CORN-I033E4

Photos above: Exotically coloured flint end scraper from West Cornwall.Likely a Later Neolithic or Early Bronze Age tool.CORN-CA0372

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References:
AUBRY,T. et al.2003. Solutrean Laurel Leaf Point Production and Raw Material Procurement.Philadelphia.Page 174. BARNES,M.2007. Re-enacting list prehistoric skills at Boston Spa.Britsh Archaeoogy, issue 93. BOND,C.J.2004.PAS Guide to the Identification, Assessment and Recording of Lithics. BOND,C.J.2011.Re Graham Hills fieldwalking methods.email to amanda.blunsdon@btinternet.com 22 August 2011 23:23. BROWN,K.S.et al.2009. Fire as an engineering tool of Early Modern Humans. Science 14, August 2009, pages 859-862. BYRNES, A.2011. Predynastic.co.uk CLODGY MOOR PROJECT.2011. English Heritage, Portable Antiquities Scheme and Royal Cornwall Museum. COLES, D.2009.The fire in the flint: Arrowhead Production and heat treatment.http intarch.ac.uk/journal/issue 26/coles index Finds.org.uk The Portable Antiquities Scheme, database.CORNF892A7,79C944,I033E4,020603 HILL,G.Finds catalogue(unpublished) HIRST, K.K.2012.Heat treatment. About.com.Archaeology converts siderite to magnetite or hematite. LEE,K.2001.Experimental Heat-Treatment of flint. Lithics 22, pages 39-44. ROYAL CORNWALL MUSEUM.TRURI:2011.23 Accession number for Clodgy Moor artifacts including heat treated flint. SMOLINSKI, T. Heat Treatment. Sparrowcreek.com WEBB,J. and DOMANSKI, M. Fire and Stone. WHITTAKER, J. 1994. Flintknapping. University of Texas. www.threeplanes.net/toolsteel html Steel oxide temperature chart www.tpub.com/steelworker1/11/html Steel oxide temperature chart The heat treated flints and controls are to be found at The Royal Cornwall Museum. Thanks to Anna Tyacke and Jane Marley. January 2012.

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