Pitt-Rivers in Acton

The time Pitt-Rivers spent in London is of particular interest to the project. Not only is the material he collected of great interest, ranging from Paleolithic flint implements to medieval ceramics, it also provides a wealth of information about his collecting methods.

The Excavating Pitt-Rivers team has just started working on the stone implements that were recovered during the General’s fieldwork at Acton in 1869, 1870, 1871 and 1874. He was specifically interested in this area due to the flint implements that were being recovered and he believed they were a link between Palaeolithic and Neolithic technologies. The flint implements that we hold at the PRM were collected both by Pitt-Rivers and also acquired from workmen, excavating brick-earth, who were shown examples of the types of stone implements that might be found.

One of the many stone implements collected from Acton, High Terrace Gravel (PRM 1884.122.333).

Whilst examining and cataloguing the stone tools a section of the Acton High Terrace Gravel, drawn by Pitt-Rivers, was discovered. In this section he illustrates the geological strata and marks where he found ‘the sharp flakes’.  Along with this a number of labels were discovered that were clearly used when displaying the specimens found in the Acton area.

A section drawn, by Pitt-Rivers in 1871, of the Acton, High Terrace Gravel where he collected a number of flit implements.

The material collected has very detailed labeling and we hope to pin-point when and where Pitt-Rivers was in Acton.