Howick house

Mesolithic stone age hut of Howick on the North Sea in Northumberland in England was discovered when amateur archaeologists tons of flint artifacts were reported at a cliff of Howick burn.

Archaeologists from the University of Newcastle- upon- Tyne between 2000 and 2002 found the remains of a hut with references to three different phases. 21 radiocarbon dates from the hearths show that the cottage was built around 7800 BC and used at least 100 years. It remains open whether the use was made permanent, semi-permanent or seasonal. The continuous stratigraphy suggests that there was no significant gaps between uses. The structural evidence have shown that the hut was renewed twice on the same site. It is the oldest evidence of human settlement in Northumberland and a few occupied by Stone Age lodging of the British Isles. About 18,000 flints and charred hazelnut shells and animal bones and red ocher were recovered during the excavations. The location of all the finds were recorded and all deposits were riddled. The result of Howick represents one of the most detailed Mesolithikumausgrabungen in Europe

Reconstruction

In 2005, the archaeologist in charge of excavations in Howick have created on the site of the original reconstruction of the Stone Age hut. The construction proved from experimental point of view to be very useful.