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GRIME'S GRAVES PREHISTORIC MINESHAFT TO OPEN FOR THE FIRST TIME

The new mineshaft can be accessed next month at Norfolk's Grime's Graves - the only flint mine open to the public in the British Isles.

A man exploring the new prehistoric mineshaft at Grime's Graves








 

English Heritage members will have access to a new prehistoric flint mine at Norfolk's Grime's Graves for the first time from next month. Grime's Graves is the only flint mine open to visitors in the British Isles and is connected to thousands of years of human ingenuity.

The new Greenwell's Pit is one of more than 400 shafts dug at the site where flint was first extracted to make tools including axes during the Neolithic period.

English Heritage will provide access to members from April and the public from June, both via special tours. Visitors will use a ladder and a newly installed winch to descend 12 metres below the ground.

Jan Summerfield, Curator of Grime's Graves for English Heritage, said:

"The new winch system means that we are able to open this fascinating space to visitors for the first time, and it's great that English Heritage members will get the first glimpse of these unseen galleries, followed by the public in coming months.

"The pits themselves are a remarkable feat of human engineering and their survival over the past 4,500 years greatly benefits our understanding of Neolithic life."

Click here for full press release

 

Channel website: http://www.english-heritage.org.uk/

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