A?FOSSILISED shell and a block of sandstone found in a barrow on Petersfield Heath are being analysed by experts as archaeologists prepare for the next dig there.

These fascinating finds in one of the beauty spot’s barrows, or burial mounds, near to the pond, add to the picture building up of human activity by our ancient ancestors there.

In a report of June’s three-week excavations of two barrows, archaeologists conclude there is a “strong suggestion” of these being brought in by Mesolithic people of 5,000 to 10,000 BC.

The piece of ferruginous cemented sandstone, or ironstone, which is 25cm across, was the most interesting artefact found in the People of the Heath project.

“We can be sure that this is an intentional, placed deposit, not only from its position but also from the fact that ironstone does not appear to be present on Petersfield?Heath, so this must have been brought in from another sandstone area, though not necessarily from far away,” said project co-directors Dr Stuart Needham and George Anelay.

A scatter of flintwork found in this barrow too, of Mesolithic character, which had remained undisturbed almost since they were dropped, included a stand-out object – a fossil bivalve, or fossilised shell.

“This needs to be examined,” stated the report. “But geologist David Bone provisionally suspects it is of Upper Cretaceous age.

“It is not hard to imagine fossils being viewed as curiosities, perhaps with strange properties and powers, by humans of almost any period. Indeed, paradoxically, fossils have been found associated with Early Bronze Age burials on a number of occasions.”

Preparations are already well under way for the next excavations, between September 8 and 26 when two barrows on ‘Music Hill’ will be tackled, and another to the north.

The Secrets of the Heath event is on September 5 and 6. Petersfield Museum has organised walking tours of the prehistoric areas, and there will also be a roadshow-style desk to identify visitors’ finds.