diff --git a/cmd/geth/chaincmd.go b/cmd/geth/chaincmd.go
index 0b09344bf0..54271e11fd 100644
--- a/cmd/geth/chaincmd.go
+++ b/cmd/geth/chaincmd.go
@@ -192,7 +192,7 @@ func initGenesis(ctx *cli.Context) error {
 	stack, _ := makeConfigNode(ctx)
 	defer stack.Close()
 	for _, name := range []string{"chaindata", "lightchaindata"} {
-		chaindb, err := stack.OpenDatabaseWithFreezer(name, 0, 0, ctx.GlobalString(utils.AncientFlag.Name), "", false, ctx.GlobalUint64(utils.AncientRecentLimitFlag.Name))
+		chaindb, err := stack.OpenDatabaseWithFreezer(name, 0, 0, ctx.GlobalString(utils.AncientFlag.Name), "", false, ctx.GlobalBool(utils.AncientPruneFlag.Name))
 		if err != nil {
 			utils.Fatalf("Failed to open database: %v", err)
 		}
diff --git a/cmd/utils/flags.go b/cmd/utils/flags.go
index b9eb87a8fb..5a097ee13f 100644
--- a/cmd/utils/flags.go
+++ b/cmd/utils/flags.go
@@ -123,10 +123,9 @@ var (
 		Name:  "datadir.ancient",
 		Usage: "Data directory for ancient chain segments (default = inside chaindata)",
 	}
-	AncientRecentLimitFlag = cli.Uint64Flag{
-		Name:  "ancient.recentlimit",
-		Usage: "Keep only the specified amount of recent ancient blocks and won't do ancient related checks on startup (default = 0, means keep all)",
-		Value: 0,
+	AncientPruneFlag = cli.BoolFlag{
+		Name:  "ancient.prune",
+		Usage: "Totally discard the ancient blocks instead of writing them to the freezer db",
 	}
 	MinFreeDiskSpaceFlag = DirectoryFlag{
 		Name:  "datadir.minfreedisk",
@@ -865,7 +864,7 @@ var (
 	DatabasePathFlags = []cli.Flag{
 		DataDirFlag,
 		AncientFlag,
-		AncientRecentLimitFlag,
+		AncientPruneFlag,
 		RemoteDBFlag,
 	}
 )
@@ -1615,8 +1614,8 @@ func SetEthConfig(ctx *cli.Context, stack *node.Node, cfg *ethconfig.Config) {
 		ctx.GlobalSet(TxLookupLimitFlag.Name, "0")
 		log.Warn("Disable transaction unindexing for archive node")
 	}
-	if ctx.GlobalString(GCModeFlag.Name) == "archive" && ctx.GlobalUint64(AncientRecentLimitFlag.Name) != 0 {
-		ctx.GlobalSet(AncientRecentLimitFlag.Name, "0")
+	if ctx.GlobalString(GCModeFlag.Name) == "archive" && ctx.GlobalUint64(AncientPruneFlag.Name) != 0 {
+		ctx.GlobalSet(AncientPruneFlag.Name, "false")
 		log.Warn("Disable ancient prunning for archive node")
 	}
 	if ctx.GlobalIsSet(LightServeFlag.Name) && ctx.GlobalUint64(TxLookupLimitFlag.Name) != 0 {
@@ -1686,8 +1685,8 @@ func SetEthConfig(ctx *cli.Context, stack *node.Node, cfg *ethconfig.Config) {
 	if ctx.GlobalIsSet(TxLookupLimitFlag.Name) {
 		cfg.TxLookupLimit = ctx.GlobalUint64(TxLookupLimitFlag.Name)
 	}
-	if ctx.GlobalIsSet(AncientRecentLimitFlag.Name) {
-		cfg.AncientRecentLimit = ctx.GlobalUint64(AncientRecentLimitFlag.Name)
+	if ctx.GlobalIsSet(AncientPruneFlag.Name) {
+		cfg.AncientPrune = ctx.GlobalBool(AncientPruneFlag.Name)
 	}
 	if ctx.GlobalIsSet(CacheFlag.Name) || ctx.GlobalIsSet(CacheTrieFlag.Name) {
 		cfg.TrieCleanCache = ctx.GlobalInt(CacheFlag.Name) * ctx.GlobalInt(CacheTrieFlag.Name) / 100
@@ -2012,7 +2011,7 @@ func MakeChainDatabase(ctx *cli.Context, stack *node.Node, readonly bool) ethdb.
 	case ctx.GlobalString(SyncModeFlag.Name) == "light":
 		chainDb, err = stack.OpenDatabase("lightchaindata", cache, handles, "", readonly)
 	default:
-		chainDb, err = stack.OpenDatabaseWithFreezer("chaindata", cache, handles, ctx.GlobalString(AncientFlag.Name), "", readonly, ctx.GlobalUint64(AncientRecentLimitFlag.Name))
+		chainDb, err = stack.OpenDatabaseWithFreezer("chaindata", cache, handles, ctx.GlobalString(AncientFlag.Name), "", readonly, ctx.GlobalBool(AncientPruneFlag.Name))
 	}
 	if err != nil {
 		Fatalf("Could not open database: %v", err)
diff --git a/core/blockchain.go b/core/blockchain.go
index c615c88461..fc26ba6755 100644
--- a/core/blockchain.go
+++ b/core/blockchain.go
@@ -143,8 +143,7 @@ type CacheConfig struct {
 	SnapshotLimit       int           // Memory allowance (MB) to use for caching snapshot entries in memory
 	Preimages           bool          // Whether to store preimage of trie key to the disk
 
-	AncientRecentLimit uint64
-
+	AncientPrune bool
 	SnapshotWait bool // Wait for snapshot construction on startup. TODO(karalabe): This is a dirty hack for testing, nuke it
 }
 
@@ -425,6 +424,9 @@ func NewBlockChain(db ethdb.Database, cacheConfig *CacheConfig, chainConfig *par
 	// Start tx indexer/unindexer.
 	if txLookupLimit != nil {
 		bc.txLookupLimit = *txLookupLimit
+		if bc.cacheConfig.AncientPrune {
+			bc.txLookupLimit = params.FullImmutabilityThreshold
+		}
 
 		bc.wg.Add(1)
 		go bc.maintainTxIndex(txIndexBlock)
@@ -960,6 +962,10 @@ func (bc *BlockChain) InsertReceiptChain(blockChain types.Blocks, receiptChain [
 	bc.wg.Add(1)
 	defer bc.wg.Done()
 
+	if bc.cacheConfig.AncientPrune {
+		ancientLimit = 0
+	}
+
 	var (
 		ancientBlocks, liveBlocks     types.Blocks
 		ancientReceipts, liveReceipts []types.Receipts
@@ -2293,38 +2299,19 @@ func (bc *BlockChain) skipBlock(err error, it *insertIterator) bool {
 func (bc *BlockChain) maintainTxIndex(ancients uint64) {
 	defer bc.wg.Done()
 
-	ancientLimit := bc.cacheConfig.AncientRecentLimit
-	frozen, _ := bc.db.Ancients()
-	log.Info("maintainTxIndex", "ancientLimit", ancientLimit, "ancients", ancients, "frozen", frozen)
 	// Before starting the actual maintenance, we need to handle a special case,
 	// where user might init Geth with an external ancient database. If so, we
 	// need to reindex all necessary transactions before starting to process any
 	// pruning requests.
 	if ancients > 0 {
 		var from = uint64(0)
-		// let `from` be a "more" recent block
-		if ancientLimit > 0 {
-			if ancientLimit < ancients {
-				from = ancients - ancientLimit
-			}
-			if bc.txLookupLimit != 0 && bc.txLookupLimit < ancientLimit {
-				from = ancients - bc.txLookupLimit
-			}
-		} else {
-			if bc.txLookupLimit != 0 && ancients > bc.txLookupLimit {
-				from = ancients - bc.txLookupLimit
-			}
+		if bc.txLookupLimit != 0 && ancients > bc.txLookupLimit {
+			from = ancients - bc.txLookupLimit
 		}
 
-		log.Info("maintainTxIndex", "ancientLimit", ancientLimit, "ancients", ancients, "from", from)
 		rawdb.IndexTransactions(bc.db, from, ancients, bc.quit)
 	}
 
-	if ancientLimit > 0 && (bc.txLookupLimit == 0 || bc.txLookupLimit > ancientLimit) {
-		log.Warn("reduece txLookupLimit to meet ancient purging purpose, as it's insane to lookup txs in purged blocks")
-		bc.txLookupLimit = ancientLimit
-	}
-
 	// indexBlocks reindexes or unindexes transactions depending on user configuration
 	indexBlocks := func(tail *uint64, head uint64, done chan struct{}) {
 		defer func() { done <- struct{}{} }()
@@ -2337,8 +2324,8 @@ func (bc *BlockChain) maintainTxIndex(ancients uint64) {
 				rawdb.WriteTxIndexTail(bc.db, 0)
 			} else {
 				// Prune all stale tx indices and record the tx index tail
-				log.Info("Scheduled transactions unindexing", "from block", 0, "to", head-bc.txLookupLimit+1)
-				rawdb.UnindexTransactions(bc.db, 0, head-bc.txLookupLimit+1, bc.quit)
+				log.Info("Scheduled blocks & transactions unindexing", "from block", 0, "to", head-bc.txLookupLimit+1)
+				rawdb.UnindexTransactions(bc.db, 0, head-bc.txLookupLimit+1, bc.quit, bc.cacheConfig.AncientPrune)
 			}
 			return
 		}
@@ -2362,61 +2349,14 @@ func (bc *BlockChain) maintainTxIndex(ancients uint64) {
 			rawdb.IndexTransactions(bc.db, head-bc.txLookupLimit+1, *tail, bc.quit)
 		} else {
 			// Unindex a part of stale indices and forward index tail to HEAD-limit
-			log.Info("Scheduled transactions unindexing", "from block", *tail, "to", head-bc.txLookupLimit+1)
-			rawdb.UnindexTransactions(bc.db, *tail, head-bc.txLookupLimit+1, bc.quit)
+			log.Info("Scheduled blocks & transactions unindexing", "from block", *tail, "to", head-bc.txLookupLimit+1)
+			rawdb.UnindexTransactions(bc.db, *tail, head-bc.txLookupLimit+1, bc.quit, bc.cacheConfig.AncientPrune)
 		}
 	}
 
-	// pruneAncient is a background thread that periodically checks the blockchain for any
-	// import progress and cleans ancient data from the freezer.
-	//
-	// it calculates the highest block(named `cleanTo`) that can be cleaned, then starts
-	// cleaning from the genesis+1 block in batches, until reaches the `cleanTo` block.
-	pruneAncient := func(txIndexTail *uint64, head uint64, wait, done chan struct{}) {
-		defer func() { done <- struct{}{} }()
-		// Wait till the tx index routine finishes, in case that it cannot find the ancient
-		// blocks for iterating transactions for unindex because we have pruned the blocks
-		<-wait
-
-		start := time.Now()
-
-		first, _ := bc.db.Tail()
-		last, _ := bc.db.Ancients()
-		ancientLimit := bc.cacheConfig.AncientRecentLimit
-
-		if last < ancientLimit || last < first {
-			// It should not reach here
-			log.Error("prune ancient error", "last frozen", last, "first frozen", first, "ancientRecentLimit", ancientLimit)
-			return
-		}
-
-		pruneTo := last - ancientLimit
-		storedSections := rawdb.ReadStoredBloomSections(bc.db)
-		if storedSections*params.BloomBitsBlocks-1 < pruneTo {
-			log.Warn("Attempt to prune the ancient blocks that bloom filter haven't finished yet, postpone to next round", "storedSections", storedSections, "pruneTo", pruneTo)
-			return
-		}
-
-		// Double ensure we don't prune the blocks having dangling transaction indices
-		if txIndexTail != nil && pruneTo > *txIndexTail {
-			log.Warn("Attempt to prune the ancient blocks that still have tx indices, postpone to next round", "txIndexTail", *txIndexTail, "pruneTo", pruneTo)
-			return
-		}
-
-		// truncate
-		bc.db.TruncateTail(pruneTo)
-
-		// Log something friendly for the user
-		context := []interface{}{
-			"blocks", pruneTo - first, "from block", first, "to", pruneTo, "current last block in ancient", last, "elapsed", common.PrettyDuration(time.Since(start)),
-		}
-		log.Info("Cleaned ancient chain segment", context...)
-	}
-
 	// Any reindexing done, start listening to chain events and moving the index window
 	var (
-		doneTx chan struct{}                  // For tx indexing routine, non-nil if the routine is active.
-		donePr chan struct{}                  // For prune ancient routine, non-nil if the routine is active.
+		done   chan struct{}                  // For tx indexing routine, non-nil if the routine is active.
 		headCh = make(chan ChainHeadEvent, 1) // Buffered to avoid locking up the event feed
 	)
 	sub := bc.SubscribeChainHeadEvent(headCh)
@@ -2428,19 +2368,16 @@ func (bc *BlockChain) maintainTxIndex(ancients uint64) {
 	for {
 		select {
 		case head := <-headCh:
-			if doneTx == nil && donePr == nil {
-				doneTx = make(chan struct{})
-				donePr = make(chan struct{})
-				go indexBlocks(rawdb.ReadTxIndexTail(bc.db), head.Block.NumberU64(), doneTx)
-				go pruneAncient(rawdb.ReadTxIndexTail(bc.db), head.Block.NumberU64(), doneTx, donePr)
+			if done == nil {
+				done = make(chan struct{})
+				go indexBlocks(rawdb.ReadTxIndexTail(bc.db), head.Block.NumberU64(), done)
 			}
-		case <-donePr:
-			donePr = nil
-			doneTx = nil
+		case <-done:
+			done = nil
 		case <-bc.quit:
-			if donePr != nil {
+			if done != nil {
 				log.Info("Waiting background transaction indexer and ancient pruner to exit")
-				<-donePr
+				<-done
 			}
 			return
 		}
diff --git a/core/rawdb/chain_freezer.go b/core/rawdb/chain_freezer.go
index 6f602f7b51..4c49db2748 100644
--- a/core/rawdb/chain_freezer.go
+++ b/core/rawdb/chain_freezer.go
@@ -37,10 +37,6 @@ const (
 	// freezerBatchLimit is the maximum number of blocks to freeze in one batch
 	// before doing an fsync and deleting it from the key-value store.
 	freezerBatchLimit = 30000
-
-	// cleanerRecheckInterval is the frequency to check the freezer database to
-	// find the bloks that might be pruned
-	cleanerRecheckInterval = 1 * time.Minute
 )
 
 // chainFreezer is a wrapper of freezer with additional chain freezing feature.
@@ -52,10 +48,6 @@ type chainFreezer struct {
 	// so take advantage of that (https://golang.org/pkg/sync/atomic/#pkg-note-BUG).
 	threshold uint64 // Number of recent blocks not to freeze (params.FullImmutabilityThreshold apart from tests)
 
-	// ancientRecentLimit Number of recent blocks to keep in ancient db
-	// if not 0, blocks older than `HEAD - ancientRecentLimit` will be purged from ancient db
-	ancientRecentLimit uint64
-
 	*Freezer
 	quit    chan struct{}
 	wg      sync.WaitGroup
@@ -63,17 +55,16 @@ type chainFreezer struct {
 }
 
 // newChainFreezer initializes the freezer for ancient chain data.
-func newChainFreezer(datadir string, namespace string, readonly bool, maxTableSize uint32, tables map[string]bool, ancientRecentLimit uint64) (*chainFreezer, error) {
+func newChainFreezer(datadir string, namespace string, readonly bool, maxTableSize uint32, tables map[string]bool) (*chainFreezer, error) {
 	freezer, err := NewFreezer(datadir, namespace, readonly, maxTableSize, tables)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
 	return &chainFreezer{
-		Freezer:            freezer,
-		ancientRecentLimit: ancientRecentLimit,
-		threshold:          params.FullImmutabilityThreshold,
-		quit:               make(chan struct{}),
-		trigger:            make(chan chan struct{}),
+		Freezer:   freezer,
+		threshold: params.FullImmutabilityThreshold,
+		quit:      make(chan struct{}),
+		trigger:   make(chan chan struct{}),
 	}, nil
 }
 
diff --git a/core/rawdb/chain_iterator.go b/core/rawdb/chain_iterator.go
index 21e42f42d4..04f10036d7 100644
--- a/core/rawdb/chain_iterator.go
+++ b/core/rawdb/chain_iterator.go
@@ -84,8 +84,9 @@ func InitDatabaseFromFreezer(db ethdb.Database) {
 }
 
 type blockTxHashes struct {
-	number uint64
-	hashes []common.Hash
+	number    uint64
+	blockHash common.Hash
+	hashes    []common.Hash
 }
 
 // iterateTransactions iterates over all transactions in the (canon) block
@@ -96,6 +97,7 @@ func iterateTransactions(db ethdb.Database, from uint64, to uint64, reverse bool
 	// One thread sequentially reads data from db
 	type numberRlp struct {
 		number uint64
+		hash   common.Hash
 		rlp    rlp.RawValue
 	}
 	if to == from {
@@ -118,9 +120,10 @@ func iterateTransactions(db ethdb.Database, from uint64, to uint64, reverse bool
 		defer close(rlpCh)
 		for n != end {
 			data := ReadCanonicalBodyRLP(db, n)
+			hash := ReadCanonicalHash(db, n)
 			// Feed the block to the aggregator, or abort on interrupt
 			select {
-			case rlpCh <- &numberRlp{n, data}:
+			case rlpCh <- &numberRlp{n, hash, data}:
 			case <-interrupt:
 				return
 			}
@@ -151,8 +154,9 @@ func iterateTransactions(db ethdb.Database, from uint64, to uint64, reverse bool
 				hashes = append(hashes, tx.Hash())
 			}
 			result := &blockTxHashes{
-				hashes: hashes,
-				number: data.number,
+				hashes:    hashes,
+				blockHash: data.hash,
+				number:    data.number,
 			}
 			// Feed the block to the aggregator, or abort on interrupt
 			select {
@@ -269,7 +273,7 @@ func indexTransactionsForTesting(db ethdb.Database, from uint64, to uint64, inte
 //
 // There is a passed channel, the whole procedure will be interrupted if any
 // signal received.
-func unindexTransactions(db ethdb.Database, from uint64, to uint64, interrupt chan struct{}, hook func(uint64) bool) {
+func unindexTransactions(db ethdb.Database, from uint64, to uint64, interrupt chan struct{}, hook func(uint64) bool, unindexBlock bool) {
 	// short circuit for invalid range
 	if from >= to {
 		return
@@ -303,6 +307,10 @@ func unindexTransactions(db ethdb.Database, from uint64, to uint64, interrupt ch
 			nextNum = delivery.number + 1
 			DeleteTxLookupEntries(batch, delivery.hashes)
 			txs += len(delivery.hashes)
+			// Delete all about the block
+			if unindexBlock && delivery.number != 0 { // never delete the genesis block
+				DeleteBlock(batch, delivery.blockHash, delivery.number)
+			}
 			blocks++
 
 			// If enough data was accumulated in memory or we're at the last block, dump to disk
@@ -344,11 +352,11 @@ func unindexTransactions(db ethdb.Database, from uint64, to uint64, interrupt ch
 //
 // There is a passed channel, the whole procedure will be interrupted if any
 // signal received.
-func UnindexTransactions(db ethdb.Database, from uint64, to uint64, interrupt chan struct{}) {
-	unindexTransactions(db, from, to, interrupt, nil)
+func UnindexTransactions(db ethdb.Database, from uint64, to uint64, interrupt chan struct{}, unindexBlock bool) {
+	unindexTransactions(db, from, to, interrupt, nil, unindexBlock)
 }
 
 // unindexTransactionsForTesting is the internal debug version with an additional hook.
 func unindexTransactionsForTesting(db ethdb.Database, from uint64, to uint64, interrupt chan struct{}, hook func(uint64) bool) {
-	unindexTransactions(db, from, to, interrupt, hook)
+	unindexTransactions(db, from, to, interrupt, hook, false)
 }
diff --git a/core/rawdb/chain_iterator_test.go b/core/rawdb/chain_iterator_test.go
index e1f5159753..15d94598fa 100644
--- a/core/rawdb/chain_iterator_test.go
+++ b/core/rawdb/chain_iterator_test.go
@@ -169,11 +169,11 @@ func TestIndexTransactions(t *testing.T) {
 	IndexTransactions(chainDb, 0, 5, nil)
 	verify(0, 11, true, 0)
 
-	UnindexTransactions(chainDb, 0, 5, nil)
+	UnindexTransactions(chainDb, 0, 5, nil, false)
 	verify(5, 11, true, 5)
 	verify(0, 5, false, 5)
 
-	UnindexTransactions(chainDb, 5, 11, nil)
+	UnindexTransactions(chainDb, 5, 11, nil, false)
 	verify(0, 11, false, 11)
 
 	// Testing corner cases
diff --git a/core/rawdb/database.go b/core/rawdb/database.go
index 6cb5f69f99..bd7683babc 100644
--- a/core/rawdb/database.go
+++ b/core/rawdb/database.go
@@ -165,9 +165,9 @@ func NewDatabase(db ethdb.KeyValueStore) ethdb.Database {
 // NewDatabaseWithFreezer creates a high level database on top of a given key-
 // value data store with a freezer moving immutable chain segments into cold
 // storage.
-func NewDatabaseWithFreezer(db ethdb.KeyValueStore, freezer string, namespace string, readonly bool, ancientRecentLimit uint64) (ethdb.Database, error) {
+func NewDatabaseWithFreezer(db ethdb.KeyValueStore, freezer string, namespace string, readonly, ancientPrune bool) (ethdb.Database, error) {
 	// Create the idle freezer instance
-	frdb, err := newChainFreezer(freezer, namespace, readonly, freezerTableSize, FreezerNoSnappy, ancientRecentLimit)
+	frdb, err := newChainFreezer(freezer, namespace, readonly, freezerTableSize, FreezerNoSnappy)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -194,7 +194,7 @@ func NewDatabaseWithFreezer(db ethdb.KeyValueStore, freezer string, namespace st
 	// validate in this method. If, however, the genesis hash is not nil, compare
 	// it to the freezer content.
 	// TODO consider deprecate this check
-	if kvgenesis, _ := db.Get(headerHashKey(0)); len(kvgenesis) > 0 && frdb.ancientRecentLimit == 0 {
+	if kvgenesis, _ := db.Get(headerHashKey(0)); len(kvgenesis) > 0 && !ancientPrune {
 		if frozen, _ := frdb.Ancients(); frozen > 0 {
 			// If the freezer already contains something, ensure that the genesis blocks
 			// match, otherwise we might mix up freezers across chains and destroy both
@@ -237,7 +237,7 @@ func NewDatabaseWithFreezer(db ethdb.KeyValueStore, freezer string, namespace st
 		}
 	}
 	// Freezer is consistent with the key-value database, permit combining the two
-	if !frdb.readonly {
+	if !frdb.readonly && !ancientPrune {
 		frdb.wg.Add(1)
 		go func() {
 			frdb.freeze(db)
@@ -275,12 +275,13 @@ func NewLevelDBDatabase(file string, cache int, handles int, namespace string, r
 
 // NewLevelDBDatabaseWithFreezer creates a persistent key-value database with a
 // freezer moving immutable chain segments into cold storage.
-func NewLevelDBDatabaseWithFreezer(file string, cache int, handles int, freezer string, namespace string, readonly bool, ancientRecentLimit uint64) (ethdb.Database, error) {
+func NewLevelDBDatabaseWithFreezer(file string, cache int, handles int, freezer string, namespace string, readonly, ancientPrune bool) (ethdb.Database, error) {
 	kvdb, err := leveldb.New(file, cache, handles, namespace, readonly)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
-	frdb, err := NewDatabaseWithFreezer(kvdb, freezer, namespace, readonly, ancientRecentLimit)
+
+	frdb, err := NewDatabaseWithFreezer(kvdb, freezer, namespace, readonly, ancientPrune)
 	if err != nil {
 		kvdb.Close()
 		return nil, err
diff --git a/eth/backend.go b/eth/backend.go
index 87da61d2bf..e1b294a083 100644
--- a/eth/backend.go
+++ b/eth/backend.go
@@ -134,7 +134,7 @@ func New(stack *node.Node, config *ethconfig.Config) (*Ethereum, error) {
 	ethashConfig.NotifyFull = config.Miner.NotifyFull
 
 	// Assemble the Ethereum object
-	chainDb, err := stack.OpenDatabaseWithFreezer("chaindata", config.DatabaseCache, config.DatabaseHandles, config.DatabaseFreezer, "eth/db/chaindata/", false, config.AncientRecentLimit)
+	chainDb, err := stack.OpenDatabaseWithFreezer("chaindata", config.DatabaseCache, config.DatabaseHandles, config.DatabaseFreezer, "eth/db/chaindata/", false, config.AncientPrune)
 	if err != nil {
 		return nil, err
 	}
@@ -213,7 +213,7 @@ func New(stack *node.Node, config *ethconfig.Config) (*Ethereum, error) {
 			TrieTimeLimit:       config.TrieTimeout,
 			SnapshotLimit:       config.SnapshotCache,
 			Preimages:           config.Preimages,
-			AncientRecentLimit:  config.AncientRecentLimit,
+			AncientPrune:        config.AncientPrune,
 		}
 	)
 	eth.blockchain, err = core.NewBlockChainV2(chainDb, cacheConfig, chainConfig, &config.TxTrace, txStore, eth.engine, vmConfig, eth.shouldPreserve, &config.TxLookupLimit)
@@ -226,7 +226,9 @@ func New(stack *node.Node, config *ethconfig.Config) (*Ethereum, error) {
 		eth.blockchain.SetHead(compat.RewindTo)
 		rawdb.WriteChainConfig(chainDb, genesisHash, chainConfig)
 	}
-	eth.bloomIndexer.Start(eth.blockchain)
+	if !config.AncientPrune {
+		eth.bloomIndexer.Start(eth.blockchain)
+	}
 
 	if config.TxPool.Journal != "" {
 		config.TxPool.Journal = stack.ResolvePath(config.TxPool.Journal)
diff --git a/eth/ethconfig/config.go b/eth/ethconfig/config.go
index 50ce0618f4..714f71383d 100644
--- a/eth/ethconfig/config.go
+++ b/eth/ethconfig/config.go
@@ -164,7 +164,7 @@ type Config struct {
 	DatabaseHandles    int  `toml:"-"`
 	DatabaseCache      int
 	DatabaseFreezer    string
-	AncientRecentLimit uint64
+	AncientPrune       bool
 
 	TrieCleanCache          int
 	TrieCleanCacheJournal   string        `toml:",omitempty"` // Disk journal directory for trie cache to survive node restarts
diff --git a/node/node.go b/node/node.go
index de4610279c..acac6fadd6 100644
--- a/node/node.go
+++ b/node/node.go
@@ -739,7 +739,7 @@ func (n *Node) OpenDatabaseWithTrace(cache, handles int, tracer, namespace strin
 // also attaching a chain freezer to it that moves ancient chain data from the
 // database to immutable append-only files. If the node is an ephemeral one, a
 // memory database is returned.
-func (n *Node) OpenDatabaseWithFreezer(name string, cache, handles int, freezer, namespace string, readonly bool, ancientRecentLimit uint64) (ethdb.Database, error) {
+func (n *Node) OpenDatabaseWithFreezer(name string, cache, handles int, freezer, namespace string, readonly, ancientPrune bool) (ethdb.Database, error) {
 	n.lock.Lock()
 	defer n.lock.Unlock()
 	if n.state == closedState {
@@ -758,7 +758,7 @@ func (n *Node) OpenDatabaseWithFreezer(name string, cache, handles int, freezer,
 		case !filepath.IsAbs(freezer):
 			freezer = n.ResolvePath(freezer)
 		}
-		db, err = rawdb.NewLevelDBDatabaseWithFreezer(root, cache, handles, freezer, namespace, readonly, ancientRecentLimit)
+		db, err = rawdb.NewLevelDBDatabaseWithFreezer(root, cache, handles, freezer, namespace, readonly, ancientPrune)
 	}
 
 	if err == nil {