Flints discovered by a young archaeologist
Submitted by coldrum on Thursday, 18 October 2007 Page Views: 2863
Other ArchaeologyCountry: England County: HerefordshireInternal Links:
Emily White, a young archaeologist from Hereford, recently found three flints whilst out fieldwalking. She reported these to the Finds Liaison Officer (FLO), Peter Reavill, who works for the Portable Antiquities Scheme (PAS). These flints are some of the earliest evidence for people living in Herefordshire in prehistoric times.
Emily discovered the flints while her parents were metal detecting with the Hereford Metal Detecting Club on a site outside Hereford. The flints are all very small and Emily discovered them by looking carefully in the ploughed field. These are the oldest finds from this area but members of the metal detecting club have found Roman and Medieval coins as well as a number of other artefacts such as brooches. The three flints date from some of the oldest periods in British History; the Mesolithic (Middle Stone Age), and the Neolithic (New Stone Age).
The two Mesolithic flints that Emily found are both tools, the first is probably part of a borer, a tool for piercing holes through leather bone, or wood. The second is the lower part of a long thin flint blade. The blade could have been used for a number of different jobs, from scrapping fat from hides to cutting and shredding. The edges of both flints have been retouched to create sharp serrated edges. The two flints can’t really tell us much about the site itself, but as they are both tools and there has been no evidence of flint knapping (such as the flint waste), it is likely they were casual losses (or accidentally dropped) by people passing through.
Emily’s Neolithic flint is likely to date from the later Neolithic period. It is a waste product (debitage) from making, or more likely repairing / re-sharpening, a larger tool. Flint in the Marches and parts of Wales is relatively scarce because it does not occur in large quantities; this means that many of the waste flakes were reused to make other tools. It is likely that Emily’s flint was reused as a scraper.
Emily’s flints, like all finds recorded with the Portable Antiquities Scheme, were returned to her so that she can look after them. The members at Hereford Metal Detecting Club thought that Emily’s flints were so interesting they awarded her a special shield. This was for the best artefact discovered in 2006 by using your eyes only – rather than with a metal detector.
finds.org.uk.
We would like to know more about this location. Please feel free to add a brief description and any relevant information in your own language.
Wir möchten mehr über diese Stätte erfahren. Bitte zögern Sie nicht, eine kurze Beschreibung und relevante Informationen in Deutsch hinzuzufügen.
Nous aimerions en savoir encore un peu sur les lieux. S'il vous plaît n'hesitez pas à ajouter une courte description et tous les renseignements pertinents dans votre propre langue.
Quisieramos informarnos un poco más de las lugares. No dude en añadir una breve descripción y otros datos relevantes en su propio idioma.