Archaeologists are investigating a possible Mesolithic site in the North York Moors National Park (England). Field work has been carried out at a number of sites across the north east fringes of the moors and attention is now focused on a site at Goldsborough, near Whitby.
     More than 450 flint fragments were found at the site in the autumn, some of which are tools dating back 7,000 years. It is rare to find evidence of Mesolithic people and the discovery is the culmination of a major project that has been searching for traces of them in north east Yorkshire.
     Archaeologist Rachel Grahame, of Tees Archaeology, said: "Mesolithic people have always been thought of as nomadic and in many places the only sign of their presence is tiny fragments of flint. But discoveries such as the Mesolithic houses at Howick in Northumberland, Star Carr, near Scarborough, and on the banks of the River Forth in Scotland, show that in some places at least they did settle down. It's very exciting to think that we may find similar archaeological remains here."

Edited from Gazette & Herald (14 December 2012)