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Flint
- a pure form of silica found in clay, but most frequently in the
chalk deposits of south east England.
Very hard and easily split, it has long been used as a building material, only dying out as
brick became
more widely available. A product of glacial action, flints are usually small and rounded, and as a result,
when used in building, they have to be bedded in a great deal of mortar.
Knapped flint is a flint which is
split and sometimes squared, revealing a smooth dark surface which is then built into a wall face.
Sometimes
flint is used with dressed stone to form patterns or inscriptions, the result of which is known as flushwork.
Small flints are sometimes referred to as "popples".