Graeme Waterhouse Lithics Collection

This archive contains the data on the lithic collection amassed by Graeme Waterhouse. Over ten years Graeme Waterhouse spent many happy hours in all weathers tramping over the moors checking out these sites, researching other books and articles on local flint sites and finding his own sites. Most of his time was spent on the moors around Keighley and Ilkley, and then further afield around Grassington, but also Sheffield where he worked for several years. The flints were not found by systematic excavation by Waterhouse but from erosion patches, molehills, footpaths and stream banks, or through human activity such as incidental excavations, digging of ditches, burning of heather or vehicle tracks. Heavy rain or snow would often reveal more flints not previously visible. They were never found by deliberate digging and would therefore have been visible to anybody who happened to be passing. Thus is not to imply that the finds were haphazard. On the contrary, for the most part areas where flints were known or reputed to occur were targeted and revisited on numerous occasions. Finally, it should be noted that nearly all the flints were found on open moorland with public access.