Prehistoric Flint Mines in Europe presents the results of the UISPP Commission, Flint Mining in Pre- and Protohistoric Europe. It offers a review of major flint mines dating from the Neolithic to the Bronze Age. The eighteen articles were contributed by archaeologists from ten countries – Belgium, France, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and Sweden – using the same framework in order to propose a uniform view of the mining phenomenon. At the same time the book reflects various research methods and traditions. Each article deals successively with the geographical and geological context, mining zone topography, research history, methods of exploitation of raw material, dating of archaeological features and structures, characteristics of lithic production, organization of labour, miners' settlements, distribution of products and symbolic aspects of mining activity. Part I includes the well-known flint mines at Spiennes in Belgium, Grime’s Graves in England and Rijckholt-Sint Geertruid in the Netherlands, as well as the equally fascinating Defensola mine from Italy. Part II contains presentations of other European flint mines. The book is abundantly illustrated with large, colour photographs and drawings, and is aimed not only at archaeologists, who will find valuable data and further literature, but also at any reader seeking up-to-date information on prehistoric flint mining communities in Europe.

Papers from the Flint Mining in Prehistoric Europe session held at European Association of Archaeologists 12th Annual Meeting Cracow, Poland, 19th-24th September 2006. Contents: 1) Flint extraction and processing from secondary flint deposits in the north-east of Scotland in the Neolithic period (Alan Saville); 2) Flint working at the early linearbandkeramik settlement of Geleen-Janskamperveld (Marjorie E. Th. de Grooth); 3) An economy of surplus production in the early Neolithic of Hesbaye (Belgium): Bandkeramik blade debitage at Verlaine 'Petit Paradis' (Pierre Allard, Laurence Burnez-Lanotte); 4) The prehistoric flint mining complex at Spiennes (Belgium) on the occasion of its discovery 140 years ago (Helene Collet, Anne Hauzeur, Jacek Lech); 5) A new flint mine at Flins-sur-Seine/ Aubergenville (Yvelines, France) (Francoise Bostyn, Francois Giligny, Adrienne Lo Carmine); 6) The Krzemionki flint mines latest underground research 2001-2004 (Jerzy Babel); 7) Open-cast flint mining, long blade production and long distance exchange: an example from Bulgaria (Laurence Manolakakis); 8) Flint mining in early Neolithic Iberia: a preliminary report on 'Casa Montero' (Madrid, Spain) (Marta Capote, Nuria Castaneda, Susana Consuegra,Cristina Criado, Pedro Diaz-del-Rio); 9) Intensive extraction of non-metallic minerals during the early protohistory in the northern half of Europe (Yoann Gauvry); 10) Ideology and influences behind the Neolithic flint mines of the Southern Britain (Paul Wheeler).