Construction of a new road crossing Erith Marsh revealed an exposure of concentrated lithic debris. Analysis of over 3,000 flint flakes identified tranchet axe-sharpening flakes and microliths, indicating a Late Mesolithic date. Provisional integration of lithic and environmental assessment data suggests relatively large scale tool manufacturing activity, possibly at the edge of a settlement located on the floodplain within a deciduous woodland habitat. Sherds of Early Neolithic pottery (carinated bowl) were found stratified above the flint scatter in a context providing a provisional terminus ante quem of before 4,000 BC (calibrated).
