A database of Mesolithic Sites based on Wymer JJ and CJ Bonsall, 1977
Charles Whyte, 2008. https://doi.org/10.5284/1000041. How to cite using this DOI
Data copyright © Council for British Archaeology, Dr John Wymer, Clive Bonsall, Dr Charles Whyte unless otherwise stated
This work is licensed under the ADS Terms of Use and Access.
Primary contact
Dr
Charles
Whyte
Stars' End
4'B' West Drive Gardens
Soham, Ely
Cambridgeshire
CB7 5EF
UK
Resource identifiers
- ADS Collection: 796
- DOI:https://doi.org/10.5284/1000041
- How to cite using this DOI
Overview
All the information has been derived from Wymer and Bonsall (1977) and data relevant to each site has been organised into fields. If there are multiple finds and/or excavations at a particular site this information has been combined into a single record.
The data was derived from the PDF version of the gazetteer available through the Archaeology Data Service website (June 2007). This PDF can be searched for information not included in the database, such as detailed explanations of the Object Type, the explanation of abbreviations used, etc.
The database notes include a list of mistakes noted while checking the PDF version of the Wymer and Bonsall data. Some of these existed in the original paper document, whilst others appeared only in the digitised PDF version of the report. Corrections were applied if it was clear that a mistake had been made and if it was relatively obvious what the correction needed to be. These corrections are listed in a table at the end of the database notes.
| Table Name | Description |
|---|---|
| Collection | Collection information (normally private collectors). |
| Compiler | Compiler of the record (initials only are stored). |
| Excavator | Excavator of site. |
| Museum | Museums holding collections. |
| Object | Object information. |
| Reference | Published references. For full references this table must be used in conjunction with the bibliography from the CBA report. |
| Site | Site information. |
A plan of the database structure can be found on the downloads page.
Field definitions for individual tables
A list of field types for the the site and object tables can be seen below:
Site table
| Field | Type (Size) | From Original | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| SiteID | Long integer | N | (KEY) generated. SiteID mostly reflects order in Gazatteer but cannot be relied on. SiteID 235 is not assigned. |
| County | Text (50) | Y | County (NOTE: Not current counties). |
| Parish | Text (50) | Y | Parish. |
| Place | Text (100) | Y | Place. |
| Notes | Memo | Y | Consolidated notes. |
| Grid | Text (16) | Y | OS Grid. |
| Gridrange | Text (50) | Y | Used when site is range of grid locations - First grid in Grid and final grid here. |
| Accuracy | Text (20) | Y | Typically G, E or A. |
| Log | Text (250) | N | Log entry to record changes/issues with entries and applied to all data associated with this site (not just data in site table). |
Object table
| Field | Type (Size) | From Original | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|
| SiteID | Long integer | N | |
| Object Type | Text (50) | Y | Basic object type - a number of standard types are defined but there are multiple one off objects. |
| Qualifier | Text (50) | Y | Qualifier to object type. |
| Circa | Text (24) | Y | Qualifier to NumberOfObjects field. Typically blank, Circa to mean that following number is approximate, * as used in Gazatteer. |
| NumberofObjects | Long integer | Y | Number of objects but check whether qualified in Circa field. |
The others are simple two field tables linked by the unique SiteID number.
Reference:
Wymer JJ and CJ Bonsall, 1977 Gazetteer of Mesolithic sites in England and Wales with a gazetteer of Upper Palaeolithic sites in England and Wales. CBA Research Report No 20: London.
