Knives and blade

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These two knives and blade of flint were found in a chambered cairn at Tormore on the island of Arran, together with a stone macehead, fragments of pottery vessels, flakes, blades and scrapers. The items had been deposited in the tomb as grave goods.

The knives and blade had been made from high quality flint, and either they or the parent flint nodes had almost certainly been imported from northeast Ireland. They had been made with great skill, and appear to have been unused when placed in the tomb.

Many of Scotland's early farming communities buried their dead in communal tombs. Various offerings for the afterlife were included, such as food, in pots or as joints of meat, and everyday possessions such as flint arrowheads and tools.

Record details

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• Online ID: 000-190-004-057-C
• Image Rights Holder: National Museums Scotland
• Project: National Museums Scotland
  Project description   View all records in project
• Ref: National Museums Scotland  X.EO 244
• Date: Between 3800 and 3000 BC
  
• Material: Flint
  Flint
  Flint
  Knife
  Knife
  Knife
  
• Dimensions:
• What: Knife
  Knife
  Knife
  
• Subject:
• Who:
• Where: Scotland, Bute, Arran, Kilmory, Tormore
  Scotland, Bute, Arran, Kilmory, Tormore
  Scotland, Bute, Arran, Kilmory, Tormore
  
• Event:
• Description: Edge-polished flint knife from Tormore, Arran
  Flint knife from Tormore, Arran
  Edge-polished flint knife from Tormore, Arran
  
• References:
  • Clarke, D.V., Cowie, T.G., & Foxon, Andrew (eds). Symbols of power at the time of Stonehenge. Edinburgh: National Museums of Antiquities of Scotland, 1985, pp 170, 174, 237. 
  • Henshall, A.S. 1972. The Chambered Tombs of Scotland. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press, 1972, vol. 2, pp 305, 371-3. 
• Translations:
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