Le Canal du Squez, in the north east corner of Jersey, has produced the largest Mesolithic assemblage from the Channel Islands. It was discovered by Brian Phillipps of the Société Jersiaise in the early 1990s, and Mark Patton subsequently collected a lot of material as well.
The presence in the collection assemblage of backed blades and obliquely truncated points might be suggestive of a late Pre-boreal or Boreal date (10,300 – 7,500 years ago), but the assemblage itself is undated and its context poorly understood.
In 2010 847 lithic artefacts were recovered by the project; both from test pits and from gridded collection along the path. Microliths were the most common tool type especially simple obliquely blunted pieces.
Bevel-ended tool from Canal du Squez
Also amongst the assemblage were six fragments of bevel-ended tools. These artefacts are a common feature of the Middle Mesolithic of northern France and the Channel Islands.
In 2011 no further work will be undertaken at Canal du Squez.
