Grime’s Graves

I had recently found an old guide book on Grime’s Graves, from the 60’s, by the exotically titled R. Rainbird Clarke, which had prompted me to revisit the site.
I haven’t been here for around nearly a decade, and had forgotten the size of the surrounding area of the flint mines. It truly is quite a striking landscape, hidden deep within the forest.
Firstly I wanted to explore the mound, known as Grimshoe at the eastern edge. This mound found apparently much use later during Saxon times, as a meeting place. In fact understanding how the site had been used through the different periods, reinforced how uniquely important the site is.
I hadn’t realised that the ‘Goddess’ figure found in Pit 15, is now widely thought to be a ‘plant’ to support the debated belief that the mines dated back to the Palaeolithic, which is kind of a shame. It’s an intriguing tale, but would be more so if it were authentic.
With the visit being made on a weekday, late in the lovely sunny afternoon, with virtually no one else there, made it well worth the trip.