Grime's Graves

Grime’s Graves is a Neolithic flint mine in the Breckland of Norfolk. The chalk landscape is pocked with hundreds of circular hollows left by ancient miners. It lies eight kilometres north-east of Brandon, close to the Suffolk border. The site covers thirty-seven hectares and contains at least 433 shafts. Some shafts reach fourteen metres deep and twelve metres wide at the top. The miners followed seams of flint, removing tonnes of chalk to reach the best stone. The site shows how organised Neolithic communities mined flint on a large scale. Archaeologists have found thousands of antler picks left by the miners, most fashioned from left antlers of red deer. Excavations led by William Greenwell in the 19th century proved the holes were mines, not forts or Viking camps. The miners dug lateral tunnels from the bottom of the shafts to follow the flint. They produced thousands of stone axes that were traded across Europe. Visitors can walk among the hollows and descend a ladder into one shaft. An exhibition explains how the mines worked and what tools were used. The chalk landscape still bears the marks of the old workings. English Heritage manages the site as a protected scientific area. The Breckland’s sandy soils and special conservation status add to the site’s importance.