Add to albumThese 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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