Blick Mead

About

Blick Mead is a chalkland spring in Wiltshire, England, separated by the River Avon from the northwest edge of the town of Amesbury. It is close to an Iron Age hillfort known as Vespasian's Camp and about a mile east of the Stonehenge ancient monument. Evidence from archaeological excavations at the site since 2005 indicates that there was continuous human habitation from 10,000 BP (8,000 BCE) to 6,000 BP (4,000 BCE).

70,000 worked flints and 2400 animal bones, some cooked, mostly from aurochs, have been found at the site. There is also the remains of a pit dwelling formed from a tree throw. A few finds have been used to radiocarbon date the time of settlement.

It is thought that the site would have been an attractive place to camp or dwell, with a spring that never freezes over; the issuing water has a constant temperature of around 11 °C (52 °F). Oxygen isotope analysis of a single canine premolar found at Blick Mead has been interpreted as evidence that people had travelled a long way to get there and that this was associated with its proximity to Stonehenge. However, this is inconclusive as, while the isotope values are not consistent with the dog originating at the site, it represents...