Neolithic
In 1890 Mr Dewes found a Neolithic hand axe in the field called Hall Garth, near Legram Lane. The event was recorded in the Yorkshire Herald as follows:
"A discovery of great interest was made in February at Marton-cum-Grafton in the shape of a pre-historic agricultural implement, something after the fashion of a hoe.
The discovery was made by Mr. G H Dewes, whose family have resided in the district since 1661.The implement was found during the process of ploughing in a field of his adjoining the lane known as Priestcar, not far fromm the site of Marton Old Hall and the original village church. On being turned up the find was declared to be a hoe of the Neolithic period. By the kindness of Mr Dewes it was sent to the Yorkshire Philsosophical Society, in whose museum, in Lendel, in York it now reposes.
Dr. Walter Collinge, the curator of the museum, emphasised the great value and interest of the find, and thanks are due to the Vicar, the Rev A B Browne, for his prompt action in the service of archaeology. The Hoe is the only specimen of its kind possessed by the museum, and will enable students to begin their researches at a very early period.
The stone, as far as can be judged from its present shape, must originally have been about 5 inches by 3 inches by 1 and a half inches, and is roughly triangular in form, one of its sides being tapered so as to form a sharp edge. The material is hard sandstone. Its maker, a farmer of ther district some 6,000 years ago, probably used it not only as a hoe, but as a hammer as well. There is a large hole through the centre, into which he thrust the handle of wood. This hole he made by pressing a pointed stick on to the hole with sand and water, and twirling it with his hands. As the intelligence and knowledge of the prehistoric peasant more advanced he learned to use a bow for this purpose, similar to what watchmakers use now, but the great antiquity of the present specimen is shown by the fact that it was evidently bored in the earlier way. The boring was done from side to side, thus causing a slight splay or rounding off of the edges of the hole, which can be clearly seen. Their very earliest method of fixing the handle to the wood was merely by thrusting the latter through a cleft stick. Some genius however came along and invented the boring method, and incidentally the modern drill, which plays so important a part in all engineering works.
The neolithic period in which this genius lived extended roughly from 5,000 BC to 3,000 BC, so the hoe can be said to be somewhere about 6,000 years old and consequently probably contemporary with Stonehenge and the building of the Great Pyramid. It is intersting too to reflect that our Marton peasant must have been busy making his implements just about the time that those strange and fantastic monoliths known as the Devils Arrows, near Boroughbridge, weere erected by unknown hands for future generations to marvel at. At this time the district was merely a great stretch of marshy ground, broken here and there by a lake of water or an island of comparitively dry land. This belt of morass stretched right down the Vale of York and the Ouse was then a tidal river as far as York."
After some searching in the archives of the Yorkshire Museum in York (and thanks to the staff for their help!) I found the axe and photograhed it. Pictures Below.
"A discovery of great interest was made in February at Marton-cum-Grafton in the shape of a pre-historic agricultural implement, something after the fashion of a hoe.
The discovery was made by Mr. G H Dewes, whose family have resided in the district since 1661.The implement was found during the process of ploughing in a field of his adjoining the lane known as Priestcar, not far fromm the site of Marton Old Hall and the original village church. On being turned up the find was declared to be a hoe of the Neolithic period. By the kindness of Mr Dewes it was sent to the Yorkshire Philsosophical Society, in whose museum, in Lendel, in York it now reposes.
Dr. Walter Collinge, the curator of the museum, emphasised the great value and interest of the find, and thanks are due to the Vicar, the Rev A B Browne, for his prompt action in the service of archaeology. The Hoe is the only specimen of its kind possessed by the museum, and will enable students to begin their researches at a very early period.
The stone, as far as can be judged from its present shape, must originally have been about 5 inches by 3 inches by 1 and a half inches, and is roughly triangular in form, one of its sides being tapered so as to form a sharp edge. The material is hard sandstone. Its maker, a farmer of ther district some 6,000 years ago, probably used it not only as a hoe, but as a hammer as well. There is a large hole through the centre, into which he thrust the handle of wood. This hole he made by pressing a pointed stick on to the hole with sand and water, and twirling it with his hands. As the intelligence and knowledge of the prehistoric peasant more advanced he learned to use a bow for this purpose, similar to what watchmakers use now, but the great antiquity of the present specimen is shown by the fact that it was evidently bored in the earlier way. The boring was done from side to side, thus causing a slight splay or rounding off of the edges of the hole, which can be clearly seen. Their very earliest method of fixing the handle to the wood was merely by thrusting the latter through a cleft stick. Some genius however came along and invented the boring method, and incidentally the modern drill, which plays so important a part in all engineering works.
The neolithic period in which this genius lived extended roughly from 5,000 BC to 3,000 BC, so the hoe can be said to be somewhere about 6,000 years old and consequently probably contemporary with Stonehenge and the building of the Great Pyramid. It is intersting too to reflect that our Marton peasant must have been busy making his implements just about the time that those strange and fantastic monoliths known as the Devils Arrows, near Boroughbridge, weere erected by unknown hands for future generations to marvel at. At this time the district was merely a great stretch of marshy ground, broken here and there by a lake of water or an island of comparitively dry land. This belt of morass stretched right down the Vale of York and the Ouse was then a tidal river as far as York."
After some searching in the archives of the Yorkshire Museum in York (and thanks to the staff for their help!) I found the axe and photograhed it. Pictures Below.
