Grime's Graves is a large Neolithic flint mining complex in Norfolk, England. It lies 8 km (5.0 mi) north east from Brandon, Suffolk in the East of England. It was worked between c. 2600 and c. 2300 BC, although production may have continued through the Bronze and Iron Ages and later, owing to the low cost of flint compared with metals. Flint was much in demand for making polished stone axes in the Neolithic period. Much later, when flint had been replaced by metal tools, flint nodules were in demand for other uses, such as for building and as strikers for muskets.
Interior view of the public pit at Grime's Graves
Plan of old shaft and galleries
Deer antler pick
The remains of mineshafts, pits, and spoil heaps pockmark the surface of Grime's Graves
Brandon is a town and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk. Brandon is located in the Breckland area of Suffolk in the extreme north-west of the county, close to the adjoining county of Norfolk. It lies between the towns of Bury St Edmunds, Thetford, Mildenhall, Downham Market and the city of Ely. The town is almost entirely surrounded by Thetford Forest.
Town square
Flint houses in Brandon
Aircrews of No. 199 Squadron RAF during a briefing at RAF Lakenheath during the Second World War
Town sign for Brandon