Flint Scraper

[db4]

Who are the flint experts, found this today it looks like its been worked or is it just a bit of natural flint

[Chef Geoff]

It certainly looks reworked to me

[anthonyjay]

Nice find. It has the appearance of semi-abrupt flaking retouch along both edge but more so on the right-hand edge in the bottom image. It also looks like a Side Scraper of the late Neolithic period. It is always good to show an image of a side view with the measurement ie: Thickness, as it will give more information for assessing what type of tool it is. Good find and should be reported to your FLO as it is an important find. ATB AJ

[Chef Geoff]

While it's more experience of handling flint than reading up that will give you the best idea of flint use or not and even then I'm sure there are a few examples languishing in museum exhibits that are either natural or accidental rather than man made this PDF is worth downloading to give you an idea of what to look for

http://www.leics.gov.uk/flint_id_guide.pdf

[anthonyjay]

That is a worthwhile document Geoff but the first thing that should be looked for is a Bulb of Percussion, (BoP), this the recommendation of the PAS in their new guide to identifying man made lithic tool. Books are a good way of learning, ( Prehistoric Flintwork. by Chris Butler for example). Many people fail to see most flint tools other than Arrowheads and the larger Scrapers whilst detecting because their focus is intent on their primary aim. I do have experience at identifying flints as I have spent many days IDing for Kurt Adams at Bristol museum. ATB Tony

[db4]

Thank you for the info, It was found after ground clearance of about 18" of earth around an old manor house that has been refubished

[Chef Geoff]

Very well spotted
Your hands on experience does put you head and shoulders above most of us and I would love to have that knowledge Tony. One thing I would highlight though regarding the PAS guidelines is that "yes" if it has a bulb of percussion it is 99.9% man made but the lack of one doesn't mean it isn't, a good bit of advice is check your county's geology to see if there is any flint beds it's nice and easy in Somerset as we don't have any so all flint is suspicious

[anthonyjay]

Thanks Geoff, you are right about checking the geology files etc for the county, but, in this area it is known that a lot of flint has been 'imported' from counties such as Wiltshire and further south. I have a piece of Portland Chert that I recovered many years ago in Somerset. River beds are a good source of flint or stone artefacts that will have been washed down during the end of the last Ice age. It is an interesting subject but as you say should be thoroughly investigated before making a definite opinion. I have got it wrong many times but once it was pointed out, never forgotten. ATB Tony

[DEADLOCK]

I had one of those turned out to be a bronze age knife well found,  lovely bit of  flint.

[dingdong]

Congratulations DB4 on a great "eyes only" find.
I too have a piece of flint that looks like its been worked,but never sure ?
I would like to show you pictures of a large piece of flint which came to light  about a year ago,again an eyes only find.
It was found in West Wales,not far from Pembroke Castle,where Neolithic implements  were discovered on an archeological dig done many,many years ago,don't know if it was ever used as a base material,but certainly not generic to the area of West Wales.

[Radnor Bandit (Ian)]

I agree with Anthonyjay.   Side view makes a lot of difference especially the angles of the retouch. I looks to me that one side is steep and the other shallow this could then put it as a combination tool with both scraping and cutting edges.
With out "seeing it in the flesh" I'd hazard a date round middle to late neolithic .
Great find anyway . Still always get a buzz knowing your the first person to handle it in 4 or 5 millenia!

[anthonyjay]

Hi dingdong. I have looked at your flint artefact and it has the appearance of being used as a 'hammer'. In picture A the red arrows indicate where there may have been damage from use as a hammer. The blue arrow shows where a flake has been removed to possibly make a tool of some kind. It is still an important find as finding artefacts that may have been used as hammers are fairly rare. Sorry I cannot give any more info. ATB Tony AJ

[Radnor Bandit (Ian)]

Another type of tool that gets overlooked is a burin or piercing tool.  For making holes in hide etc
One I found earlier

[dingdong]

Hi  Anthony J
Thank you very much for your observations and comments regarding the picturs I submitted.
Wow,now that you have pointed out the areas of significance I shall treat the flint with a lot more respect,what intrigued me  most was the possible "percussion" area,it would have never occurred to me had you not pointed it out,a very big thanks for that.
Should I get it recorded? or is it a bit late,after all it was over twelve months ago!
Up until now it has been sitting on a rockery in the garden,but I think I will give it a clean and put it on the hearth.
By the way Tony,at a guess,what sort of age could be put on it,any ideas?
Once again,many ,many thanks for taking the time and effort for the information given.👍👏👏👏👏👏

[anthonyjay]

Thanks dingdong. I would say about 2700 BC -2350 BC, middle to late Neolithic really. Because of the flaking etc it may be recorded as a rejuvenation core. ATB Tony