NEOLITHIC SITES IN UPPER VALLEY OF ESSEX CAM. 65
Chalk or Boulder Clay; worked pebbles from the gravel are
uncommon. Two implements that show polish have been ob-
tained, these are apparently made from polished axes that have
been reworked to form scrapers; no polished axes have been
recorded from this site. A barbed and tanged arrow-head
in the Saffron Walden Museum is labelled as being found at New-
port, possibly from this site. The patination of the flint on this
site is varied. The bulk of the specimens are either blue mottled,
or unpatinated with a greyish appearance, in about equal pro-
portions; the remainder are black, cherty, or with an ochreous
patina. Very occasionally the basket-work patina is observed.
Bones and calcined flint are not uncommon on the site. So far
no pottery has been found.
The position of this site in relation to that of the ancient
Newport pond which marked the position of the spring heads
of the Cam is particularly interesting as indicating the extreme
antiquity of the settlements and the importance of the spring-
heads in determining their position in this locality. Saffron
Walden, Wenden and Newport are settlements of this type.
The surroundings of the springs at Walden are unfavourable
for flint hunting, as grass land or buildings surround the area,
but there is no doubt that the antiquity of the town is great,
and the discovery of pits under the Saxon cemetery at Hill House
points to a primitive Neolithic settlement. No definite site has
so far been recorded at Wenden, but there are indications that
further search in this locality may be fruitful; two possible
sites near the springs have been noted, but further survey is
needed before a definite record can be established. Bronze Age,
Keltic, Roman and Saxon remains have been recorded from the
immediate vicinity of this village.
XI. Chrishall. Chiswick Hall Farm, A. Essex. Sheet
VIII. N.W.
Longitude 0° 6' 14" E., latitude 52° 0' 35" N. Elevation
466 feet O.D., and about 266 feet above the level of the spring-
heads at Wenden.
The site is about 11/4 mile S.S.W. of the church, and is situated
on a field west of the bridle road that runs S.W. from Chiswick
Hall and west of High Wood. It is on the crest of the water-
parting between the drainage of the Stort and Elmdon Water
E