Beneath the Savelsbos forest, in the limestone layers, lie rich deposits of flint nodules.
After thousands of years in which hunter-gatherers and early farmers collected flint from the surface or just below, Neolithic communities began mining it underground around 4200 BC. They dug vertical shafts into the hills and plateau to reach the best layers. At depths of 4 to 14 metres, they carved out side passages – or galleries – where they extracted the flint.
Between roughly 4200 and 2650 BC, some 2000 to 4000 mines were created here. The Rijckholt flint mine complex is one of the most renowned in Europe.
NOTE: The site is located at the end of Romboutsweg in Rijckholt, in the Savelsbos forest.
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