Blackpatch facts for kids
 Location in West Sussex
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| Location | near Findon, West Sussex |
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| Coordinates | 50°52′6″N 0°26′48″W / 50.86833°N 0.44667°W |
| History | |
| Periods | Neolithic Bronze Age |
| Designated | 23 February 1933 |
| Reference no. | 1015880 |
Blackpatch is an amazing ancient place in West Sussex, England. It's about 2 miles (3.2 km) west of Findon village. This site is very special because people long ago used it for important things.
It was a huge flint mine during the Stone Age. People also built burial mounds here in the Bronze Age. Today, Blackpatch is a protected area called a scheduled monument. This means it's a very important historical site.
What is Blackpatch?
Blackpatch is an archaeological site. This means it's a place where scientists study the past. They dig up old objects and structures to learn about ancient people.
The Ancient Flint Mine
Blackpatch was once a busy place for mining flint. Flint is a hard stone that breaks with sharp edges. Ancient people used it to make tools, weapons, and even to start fires.
The mine was on the side of Blackpatch Hill. It had over 64 deep holes, called shafts. Some of these shafts were up to 6 metres (20 feet) wide.
Exploring the Mine
From 1922 to 1932, a person named John Pull studied the mine. He dug into seven of these shafts. They were about 3 metres (10 feet) deep.
From the bottom of the shafts, tunnels called galleries spread out. These tunnels followed a layer of good quality flint. Inside the shafts, scientists found pieces of flint and old pottery.
Around the shafts, there were areas where people worked. They would shape the mined flint into useful tools. An antler pick found in a shaft is about 5,000 years old. This shows the mine was active around 3000 BC.
John Pull also explored other flint mines. He studied similar sites at Church Hill and Cissbury.
Bronze Age Burial Mounds
Blackpatch was also used during the Bronze Age. This was a time when people started using bronze for tools.
There were more than 12 round burial mounds here. These mounds were places where important people were buried. Some of these mounds were built right over the old flint mine shafts. Others were a bit further away.
Today, the land where these mounds once stood is flat. But archaeologists know they were there from their studies.
