First published: 05/09/17.

Alexander Barabanov 3.0

Neolithic Flint Mines At Spiennes

Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes (Inscribed)

Neolithic Flint Mines at Spiennes by Alexander Barabanov

Finally ticked off the last Belgian site!

Was lucky to book mine visit on 26 August 2017. The price was 14 Euro. There was French speaking group and the guide first provided information for them and then English summary for me.

Only 6 people decided to descend and we all went through hook hanging procedure. The mine is quite atmospheric, with several layers of flint stone. The guide showed "scratch" gallery, the only place, where there are visible traces of mining instruments. The other were destroyed by excessive visitors during previous less controlled period. The miners used debris and waste to use it as elevated floor level for mining upper flint layers. Polished flint instruments were probably used as trade objects as they were found in the radious of 150 km (but there is hypothesis that polishing of flint stones took place not in Spiennes but in other area).

In overall interesting site and quite unique aspect of human activity is highlighted here. The difficulty of getting here also adds some charm. I liked the visit and some local dogs on the way from parking to the site.

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