Editing Sutton Coldfield (section)

=== Prehistory ===
The earliest known signs of human presence in Sutton Coldfield were discovered in 2002–2003 on the boundaries of the town.<ref name=Archeology>{{cite web|title=The Archaeology of the M6 Toll 2000–2003 |url=http://www.wessexarch.co.uk/publications/archaeology-m6-toll-2000-2003 |work=Wessex Archeology Online |access-date=23 July 2015}}</ref> Archaeological surveys undertaken in preparation for the construction of the [[M6 Toll]] road revealed evidence of [[Bronze Age Britain|Bronze Age]] [[burnt mound]]s near Langley Mill Farm, at Langley Brook. Additionally, evidence for a Bronze Age burial mound was discovered, one of only two in Birmingham with the other being located in [[Kingstanding]]. Excavations also uncovered the presence of an [[British Iron Age|Iron Age]] settlement, dating to around 400 and 100&nbsp;BC,<ref name="M6TA" /> consisting of circular houses built over at least three phases surrounded by ditches.<ref>{{cite web|last=Hodder |first=Mike |title=Burnt mounds and beyond: the later prehistory of Birmingham and the Black Country |url=http://www.iaa.bham.ac.uk/research/projects/wmrrfa/seminar2/Mike_Hodder.doc |work=West Midlands Regional Research Framework for Archaeology, Seminar 2 |publisher=University of Birmingham |access-date=13 September 2010|format=doc}}{{dead link|date=July 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Dargue |first=William |title=Langley, Langley Gorse, Langley Heath, Sutton Coldfield |url=http://billdargue.jimdo.com/placenames-gazetteer-a-to-y/places-l/langley-sutton-coldfield/ |work=A History of Birmingham Places & Placenames . . . from A to Y |access-date=13 September 2010}}</ref> Closer to Langley Brook (a tributary of the [[River Tame, West Midlands|River Tame]]), excavations uncovered the remains of a single circular house surrounded by ditches, dating from the same period.<ref name="M6TA">{{cite web |title=M6 Toll Motorway |url=http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/cs/Satellite?c=Page&childpagename=Planning-Management/PageLayout&cid=1223092741607&pagename=BCC/Common/Wrapper/Wrapper&rendermode=Live |publisher=Birmingham City Council |access-date=13 September 2010 |archive-date=29 June 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110629044311/http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/cs/Satellite?c=Page&childpagename=Planning-Management%2FPageLayout&cid=1223092741607&pagename=BCC%2FCommon%2FWrapper%2FWrapper&rendermode=Live |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Near to Langley Mill Farm is Fox Hollies, where archaeological surveys have uncovered flints dating from the [[Neolithic|New Stone Age]]. Amongst the finds in the area were [[flint]] cores and a flint scraper, which had been retouched with a knife. The presence of flint cores suggest that the site was used for tool manufacture and that a settlement was nearby. Additionally, a Bronze Age burnt mound was also discovered in the area.<ref>{{cite web|last=Dargue |first=William |title=Fox Hollies, Sutton Coldfield |url=http://billdargue.jimdo.com/placenames-gazetteer-a-to-y/places-f/fox-hollies-sutton-coldfield/ |work=A History of Birmingham Places & Placenames . . . from A to Y |access-date=13 September 2010}}</ref>

In his ''History of Birmingham'', published in 1782, [[William Hutton (historian)|William Hutton]] describes the presence of three mounds adjacent to Chester Road on the extremities of Sutton Coldfield (although now outside the modern boundaries of the town).<ref name="whutton">{{cite book|last=Hutton |first=William |title=The History of Birmingham |year=1782 |pages=476–7 |author-link=William Hutton (historian)}}</ref> The site, southwest of Bourne Pool (named "Bowen Pool" by Hutton<ref name="whutton" />), is called Loaches Banks and was mapped as early as 1752 by Dr. Wilks of [[Willenhall]]. Hutton interpreted the earthworks as a Saxon fortification but further archaeological work led Dr. Mike Hodder, now the Planning Archaeologist for Birmingham City Council, to believe that the site was an Iron Age hill-slope enclosure. Centuries of agriculture on the land has severely affected the visibility of the features, with the earthworks now only apparent in aerial photography.<ref>{{cite web |last=Balsom |first=Bryan |title=The Heritage Trail at Bourne Brook and Pool |url=http://www.wmwheat.co.uk/docs/bourne/bourne_pool.pdf |publisher=Wm Wheat & Son |access-date=13 September 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120312213229/http://www.wmwheat.co.uk/docs/bourne/bourne_pool.pdf |archive-date=12 March 2012 |url-status=dead |df=dmy-all }}</ref>

Further evidence of pre-Roman human habitation are preserved in [[Sutton Park, West Midlands|Sutton Park]]. A major fire in the park in 1926 revealed six more mounds near Streetly Lane, excavations of which uncovered charred and cracked stones within them and pits below the two largest mounds.<ref name="SPA1" /> Although their date of origin is unknown, claims they were of Bronze Age origin were disproved.<ref>{{cite book|last=Chinn|first=Carl|title=Birmingham: Bibliography of a City|year=2003|publisher=University of Birmingham Press |isbn=1-902459-24-5|page=15}}</ref> The mounds are now covered in rough heathland.<ref name="lhi">{{cite web|title=Walking in their Footsteps |url=http://www.lhi.org.uk/docs/Walking_in_their_Footsteps.pdf |publisher=Local History Initiative |access-date=4 November 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613220853/http://www.lhi.org.uk/docs/Walking_in_their_Footsteps.pdf |archive-date=13 June 2011 |df=dmy }}</ref> The area around Rowton's Well has been the source of many archaeological discoveries such as flint tools, and in the 18th century, worked timbers were discovered near the well, suggesting a possible Iron Age timber [[trackway]] built across wet land, similar to others discovered elsewhere in the country.<ref name="SPA1">{{cite web|title=Sutton Park: Archaeology 1 |url=http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/cs/Satellite?c=Page&childpagename=Parks-Ranger-Service/PageLayout&cid=1223092737663&pagename=BCC/Common/Wrapper/Wrapper |publisher=Birmingham City Council |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110830035728/http://www.birmingham.gov.uk/cs/Satellite?c=Page&childpagename=Parks-Ranger-Service%2FPageLayout&cid=1223092737663&pagename=BCC%2FCommon%2FWrapper%2FWrapper |archive-date=30 August 2011 }}</ref> A burnt mound was also discovered in [[New Hall Valley]].<ref>{{cite web|title=The Historical Valley |url=http://www.newhallvalleycountrypark.org/the_valley.html |publisher=New Hall Valley Country Park |access-date=13 September 2010 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110716071847/http://www.newhallvalleycountrypark.org/the_valley.html |archive-date=16 July 2011 }}</ref>