Alwinton : Palaeolithic and Mesolithic (500,000 BC – 5000 BC)

There are no recorded sites on the National Sites and Monuments Record for either the Palaeolithic or Mesolithic periods within the Alwinton study area, though this probably reflects the lack of detailed research in the area, rather than genuine absence of occupation. Waddington's (1999) landscape study of the Millfield basin of north Northumberland during the Mesolithic and Neolithic periods indicates that Mesolithic populations inhabited a wide range of environments and ecological zones (Waddington, 1999, 104 - 6).

The sandstone hills of Upper Coquetdale, in common with many other upland areas of Northumberland, would have been wooded throughout the Mesolithic, and it is possible that hunting and foraging parties may have visited these areas on a seasonal basis.