Archaeologists of earlier generations were often interested exclusively in the artifacts of early man. We have now learned that the geological context in which they are found and the natural objects associated with them are often as important as the artifacts themselves for the reconstruction of the way of life of ancient peoples. The soil itself, in which archaeological objects occur, can, in certain cases, tell us something about the way in which it has been formed and therefore about the environment and habits of the people concerned.

This paper is a small selection from our ‘case-book’ in the Department of Environmental Archaeology of the London University Institute of Archaeology, designed to illustrate some of our methods and giving results from a number of Bronze Age monuments which have been studied during the last few years.

This particular material was chosen because the problems presented by the individual sites are linked, in many cases, by a constantly recurring question as to how the climate of the British Bronze Age differed from that of the present day. The amount of soil evidence now accumulating does point, on the whole, to a Bronze-Age climate characteristically different.

The excavations carried out between 1949–51 at the Proto-Maglemosian site of Star Carr, near Seamer, Yorkshire, yielded abundant remains of the wild animals hunted during the Pre-boreal stage phase of the Post-glacial period in north-eastern England (J. G. D. Clark, 1949, 1950, 1954). Examination of this material has thrown much light on the methods used to make implements and weapons from the antlers and bones of animals killed primarily for food. The particular object of this paper is to draw attention to the technique used by the Star Carr people to obtain material for barbed points by cutting strips or splinters from stag antlers and to consider its significance in relation to some of the main developments of European prehistory during late Pleistocene and early Post-glacial times.

The ornamental piece of sheet-gold found near Mold, in the county of Flint, North Wales (fig. 1), is one of the largest and heaviest pieces of prehistoric gold-work so far discovered in Europe, and it has been one of the principal treasures in the collection of prehistoric antiquities in the British Museum for more than a century.

Although the object has been frequently illustrated, no detailed study has been made of it since the original publication of its finding which appeared in Archaeologia in 1836.

In the present study an endeavour is made to restate the circumstances of the discovery, to offer a detailed description of the object itself, and to put forward certain views as to its age and use.

The gold ornament was discovered in 1833 during the destruction of a mound of stones and earth situated in a field named Bryn yr Ellyllon which lay about half a mile E.S.E. of the parish church of Mold, Flintshire. There are three early accounts of the discovery, but none of them are at first hand. They have been brought together by Canon Ellis Davies, and the fullest and most objective of these accounts is the second reproduced by him. In this, which was by the then Vicar of Mold, Rev. C. B. Clough, a fairly clear idea is obtained of the circumstances of the discovery, but it must be emphasized that the actual opening of the grave was not witnessed by him or by any of the other writers. The following reconstruction of, and commentary on, the discovery is, however, mainly based on the Vicar's account.

Through the kindness of Dr J. Waechter I have been able to study the deposits of Gorham's Cave on the spot, to investigate the evidence for fluctuations of the sea-level afforded by the Rock of Gibraltar and to identify the fauna. The material thus obtained suggests a chronology for the prehistoric industries of Gorham's Cave which is of more than local interest. I wish to express my gratitude to Dr Waechter for allowing me to do this work on his excavation and for his constant and efficient co-operation. This became particularly important during the last season (Spring 1954) when I was unable to re-visit the site, so that he had to make certain observations for me. I also wish to acknowledge the help I received from Dr I. W. Cornwall in the analyses of samples from the strata, and from Mr Antony Sutcliffe with the identification of the osteological material. The latter will be published in full in Dr Waechter's final report but a preliminary list is here included since some of the palaeontological evidence supports the results obtained in the laboratory. A contribution towards the expenses incurred in carrying out the field work was received from the Central Research Fund of London University and is herewith gratefully acknowledged.

The material here described was found in the Hadhramaut by Elinor Gardner and myself between November 1937 and March 1938. My personal investigation of the Palaeolithic Age was limited by pre-Islamic excavations, and I am therefore indebted to her for the gathering of most of the specimens in situ in terrace gravels, and to her detailed study of their positions.

The collection consists mainly of groups from four fairly widely separated localities; the physiography of these has already been outlined in a comprehensive paper published in the Geographical Journal. Whenever appropriate to the purpose of this account, which is to place for the first time on illustrated record all we observed about the palaeoliths, I have reused in this different context illustrations of Quaternary environment which appeared in that Journal. With thanks I acknowledge the permission of the Royal Geographical Society to do so.