Knife blade and gouge (front)

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This bronze knife blade and gouge were found in 1990 in a hoard of late Bronze Age material at St Andrews in Fife. The hoard contained over 200 tools, weapons and ornaments as well as seven amber beads and three cannel coal bangles. It was buried between 950 and 750 BC.

The knife has a flat blade and socket. Its tip is broken off and it has been broken in two. The socketed gouge is also broken across the middle. Socketed gouges are a specialised woodworking tool, used for fine woodworking, and were part of the Late Bronze Age specialist carpenter's kit.

The St Andrews hoard is the largest surviving Late Bronze Age hoard found in Scotland. The contents were probably packed tightly into a pit wrapped in a woollen cloth or inside a bag. The hoard contained a number of tools, including different types of knives.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-180-000-824-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland Part 2
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• Ref: National Museums Scotland  
• Date: Between 950 and 750 BC
  
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  • Cowie, Trevor, O'Connor, Brendan and Proudfoot, Edwina. A Late Bronze Age hoard from St Andrews, Fife, Scotland: a preliminary report. In: Chevillot, C. and Coffin, A (eds). Le Bronze Atlantique, Actes du premier colloque, Beynac 1990, Beynac, 1991, pp 49 
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