During the Neolithic and Copper Age of Europe, flint workers recognized that flint from beds below ground was of much superior quality to surface flint, especially for the manufacture of large tools such as axes. These beds were exploited by sinking shafts and then excavating galleries outwards. Flint mines are known from many areas of Europe and good examples occur in Poland (e.g. Krzemionki), Holland, Belgium (see Spiennes) and England (see Grimes Graves).
The Macmillan dictionary of archaeology, Ruth D. Whitehouse, 1983Copied