As someone who has always been interested in history and how the landscapes and habitats we see today have been formed the Brecks is a fascinating place to work. There is always something to learn about and see and serve as constant reminders of how we have shaped the landscape and how resilient those first humans were.The first humans to be recorded in the Brecks were people of the Palaeolithic Age; they were hunters and foragers, using natural resources to eek out a living in the Brecks. Presumably hunting red deer and using native plants as food sources. They had little impact on the Brecks landscape; it was the Neolithic people who were to be the first people to radically alter the wooded landscape that the Palaeolithic people first utilised.
The Neolithic people are often coined as the first farmers in the Brecks; they arrived with seed for crops, livestock and knowledge of how to create tools. They found the lightly wooded, sandy Brecks soils easy to clear and began to plant crops in the newly felled areas. They would have soon found out that the soil of the Brecks holds naturally few nutrients, and in order to farm they grew crops on a rotational basis, leaving the soil fallow after two-three years of growing crops. By removing the woodland and leaving the soil fallow the first areas of Heathland began to form in the Brecks, bringing with it the specialist plants and insects that could withstand the unique climate and geological conditions of the Brecks. Though some of it you might need a magnifying glass to truly appreciate!
The unique breckland thyme, a stunning Brecks specialist that grows on Brecks Heaths. Photograph by Charlotte Lowry, RSPB.
Perhaps the most obvious remains of the Neolithic people are their flint mines, for those of you who have been to Grimes Graves you will have seen the remains of over 500mines, and to think that they dug these mines using nothing but red deer antlers and bones is a mind boggling feat. But it isn’t just Grimes Graves where you can see the remains of the flint mining industry in the Brecks. The Brecks was once the flint capital of Britain, from as early as the Neolithic period until as recently as the 1950s with towns like Brandon being the central for this mining industry. Flint was originally mined for flint weapons, later for flintlock muskets and pistols and a building material. Over 1,000,000 musket flints per month were supplied through the Napoleonic wars.
So if you are ever strolling through towns such as Brandon and Thetford and spot a building and wall covered in flint why not stop to appreciate the unique human history we are lucky enough to still see today.
Flint wall in the Brecks, photograph by Robert Chapman.
If you want to find out even more about the wildlife and heritage of the Brecks then why not come along to our free talk in Thetford on Tuesday 11th March at the Thetford United Reform Church at 6:00pm. To book your place contact thebrecks@rspb.org.uk. Our Facebook pages are also a great way to keep up to date with what’s happening in the region, why not check them out on- www.facebook.com/RSPBNorfolk or www.facebook.com/RSPBSuffolk .