How to Identify Knapped Flints and Stone Tools
How to Identify Knapped Flints and Stone Tools
If you’ve found a piece of flint that has a sharp edge and appears to be shaped how can you tell whether it’s a prehistoric tool or just a piece of stone ?
Whenever I’m out and about in areas of historic interest I’ve always got an eye open for finds. I’ve had a little Bit of Luck and learnt a lot. One area I do feel lost in though is that of flint tools. I’ve seen them in museums of course and on websites but some look so close to . . . well . . . ordinary pieces of flint.
Whilst out walking the other evening I found just such a questionable piece, I don’t think it is a knapped flint scraper or tool but it displays strong characteristics
A Old Stone Tool or a Stone ?
The above picture shows the sharp edge. It was sharp enough to strip bark from a piece of wood I picked up as efficiently as any knife.
Note how the colour changes around the edge of the ‘blade’ also the odd edge chips suggestive perhaps of damage in use ?
Is it or Isn’t it ?
The above is the thick ‘heel’ end which fits beautifully in the palm of the hand.
It feels like an absolutely perfect Neolithic tool - but is it simply nothing more than a piece of flint - I’m in need of help and advice !
I had the idea when I found it of looking around at other stones in the field to see if it was obviously just indigenous and one of many flint pieces chopped and changed over the years by ploughing.
It didn’t appear to be a hotspot for flint which was encouraging.
Later research seemed to be less than conclusive. Information such as look for striations where the stone has been worked followed by though these may have been smoothed out 
Has it got a sharp edge which shows signs of use, blunting certain areas and chips - yes it has.
It’s confusing and very clearly an area for a real expert but are there any rules of thumb for the non-professional - a simple guide that whilst not foolproof does at least narrow the field down whilst not guaranteeing a diagnosis does possibly discard definite non-starters.
I should like to put together as many tips, ideas and things to look for and consider when trying to decide whether a piece of flint is an ancient Prehistoric Tool or just a stone
If you can help, have any ideas, suggestions or indeed questions then please do leave a comment - many thanks
Knappingly yours
Rod
Please scroll down to see a series of superb articles covering all aspects of this subject in the fully illustrated comments by ‘Amiguru’
Amiguru said,
August 24, 2010 @ 5:29 pm
Rod!
We must continue to have these telepathic moments
I have just got back from a walk during which I was musing, not for the first time, how, when, if, etc. to introduce a serious flint thread! This is one of my greatest areas of expertise so watch out for a series of contributions from my direction. When I’ve finished my regulation cup of tea and biscuit I shall be off on yet another rummage, this time for flint tools; genuine Lincolnshire flint tools! found by yours truly on a fabulous field. I hope to send images before the day is out.
Let’s get the sad news out of the way first: I’m sorry to say, regarding your specimen, that it is a totally natural flake, ‘popped’ off a nodule by frost and subsequently knocked about a bit, probably by cultivation.
Must go, you’ve got me all excited now!
Chip off the old block,
Neolithic Neville
Little Brother said,
August 24, 2010 @ 5:36 pm
Rod,
Unlucky!!!!!!!!!!
LB
History Hunter said,
August 24, 2010 @ 5:39 pm
Oh gawd Rod, you’ve only gone and gotten him cotton-picking excited.
What unforetold inane blather will he come up with next. I hope he doesnt start frothing at the mouth and talking to himself again. We all know what the Nurse said last time he was excited.
chris keyworth said,
August 24, 2010 @ 6:55 pm
yer i concur Nev ive got one i picked up yesterday sadly not in lincs tho, it seemed to be the only piece of flint in the field so was easy to spot..
regards
chris
Rod said,
August 24, 2010 @ 7:40 pm
Thanks guys,
I have to say I didn’t think it was, as mentioned, but it works as an example of how tricky the area is.
There is one other point as well, just because it’s natural doesn’t mean it wasn’t used as a tool
If I’d seen this in the Neolithic period I would have used it rather than make one from scratch.
It works a treat
It will be great to get some pictures from Neville and perhaps some information on the tell tale signs
I’ll bet this area of ‘finds’ is the most often misdiagnosed.
Going to be a good thread this I think !
Regards
Rod
Amiguru said,
August 24, 2010 @ 7:50 pm
Picture 1
I found both of these ’somewhere in Lincolnshire’ many years ago on a field walking trip. Despite being made of flint they are of ‘Bronze Age’ date. In other words,although bronze had been invented, everyday tools were still being made of stone as it was a readily available material and should a tool be lost or broken another could be fashioned in a fairly short while. The ‘throw-away’ society is nothing new!
The left hand specimen is what is known as a ’slug knife’, due to the resemblance to one of those big fat ones that contract if they are touched. It has been ‘retouched’ around the whole periphery by pressure-flakeing probably with an antler or bone tool such as the one on the Immingham Thread.
The right hand specimen is a willow-leaf arrow head, so named for obvious reasons. This too has had a lot of skilful pressure-flakeing applied, principally, I think to enable the arrow to fly straighter. This would have been bound into the arrow shaft end with sinews and possibly natural pine resins applied for security. A lot of work to make one arrow which could possibly be lost in long grass at its first flight but - what price food? The arrow point is 46 mm. long.
Picture 2
The left hand flint was found at the same place and time as the above items. It is a totally different kind of arrowhead known as a ‘barb-and-tang’. The barbs are the outer projections which prevented the arrow from working its way out of the prey due to movement; the tang is the central projection at the bottom which was bound into the arrow shaft as described above. Again, pressure flakeing has been applied, probably for similar reasons.
The level of sophistication of manufacture was on another plane from that of even the mesolithic era.
On the right of this picture I have included another ‘barb-and-tang’ for comparison. The major difference is that this was made by the Yakima Indians of the north-western U.S. state of Washington! Humans the world over follow similar logics. The length of the left specimen is 20 mm.
Regards,
Neville
Rod said,
August 24, 2010 @ 7:59 pm
Neville,
that’s the DeLuxe service is ever I saw it - quite fabulous.
I wonder what the ‘reject rate’ was when making arrowheads, must have been easy to shatter when nearing completion
Great photographs showing exactly the sort of detail I’d hoped to see, hugely instructive.
The worked markings are so clear, obviously not natural in these cases.
This is fabulous stuff - I love it !
A Grinning Rod
Amiguru said,
August 24, 2010 @ 8:35 pm
Rod,
Beautiful aren’t they?
If a picture paints a thousand words then a short film paints ten thousand so I am going to avoid typing acres of text that would bore everyone and suggest along the way various Youtube clips that demonstrate the issue ‘in hand’. Really we are working backwards as pressure-flaking is the sort of final touch. I know you like us to avoid links in our comments but in this instance I think it is warranted.
Here is an excellent demonstration of how it is done. If you find even a natural flake you could have a practice using a discarded antler from Houlton’s Covert perhaps. Do notice though that this guy is protecting himself with a piece of leather as a freshly made edge is far sharper than a manmade razor!
###.youtube.com/watch?v=bnaAcP53iyk
As usual, just replace the ### with www folks.
I shall sort out more images tomorrow and discuss the telltale signs which will enable you to sort the wood from the trees.
I agree that a natural flake would act as a quick tool but wouldn’t have the durability or efficiency of a worked one.
Regards,
Neville
chris keyworth said,
August 24, 2010 @ 9:30 pm
often fixed to a pole with sinu off a deers hind leg and bonded with tar from birch trees with a little bit of ash from the fire to act as a hardening agent works a little like P38 and is very strong.
regards
chris
flakes were used to form barbs on spears to inflict maximum damage to the animal…
microliths tended to be used in hunting fish..
there was a large Adze foung at HABROUGH during the construction of a pipline also..
Rod said,
August 25, 2010 @ 7:56 am
Neville & Chris,
this is all great stuff many - thanks, it will be helping and educating a lot more people than myself for years to come.
Thanks and regards
Rod
Mick deakin said,
August 25, 2010 @ 12:52 pm
Wish I could find something like those Nev - it would make my day. Items like these are real treasures !
I once found a small fragment of a scraper in a field near my mum&dads house. The field at Unstone near Chesterfield, had been the site of an archeological dig back in the late 70s.
I was so profoundly affected that I was moved to write poetry over the event.
When I get home tonight I will post it to the site.
Mick
Amiguru said,
August 25, 2010 @ 1:21 pm
Mick,
Thanks for that encouragement
You can find such things. Five things are needed: Location - easier than you may think; Permission - always respect landowners as you may be trampling their livelihood; Patience - always increases with age; Knowledge - always expanding, courtesy of sites like this; Passion - according to your comment you have aplenty!
Look forward to seeing your poem. Nothing at all wrong with writing poetry as it shows that you care enough about something to make the effort.
I shall be suggesting areas to look for flints in a later comment.
Regards,
Neville
History Hunter said,
August 25, 2010 @ 2:02 pm
There are huge amounts of flint around Yarborough Camp, and also at Kirmington. I have yet to concentrate on the flints, as my eyes are still trying to tune into metal!!!
chris keyworth said,
August 25, 2010 @ 2:30 pm
HH, you dont really want to be in a place that has loads of flint as different flints come from different areas of the country and where often traded, idealy you need a sandy field that gets stripped regular by the wind and go after a light shower and the flint will jump out at you, there is a really good spot at holton le moor near nettleton, look for things that stand out a slight raise in the field and you could find a concentration, it will pay to have a good magnifiying glass with you too so you can examin what you find, often the smaller finds are better preserved as they can move with the soil when ploughing.
regards
Amiguru said,
August 25, 2010 @ 3:59 pm
Thankfully these days, if we want to know anything about anything we can all search books and more conveniently search the web. My posts are therefore aimed at demonstrating, using mainly flints of Lincolnshire, the finer details of what to look for in the field and ‘how it was done’. We’ve seen the end product now let’s get back to basics.
Picture 3
This shows a typical hammer stone in hand. The flint napper would have prepared a lump of suitable flint from which to strike off flakes using such a tool.
Picture 3
The contusions seen at ‘A’ are caused by the impact with the core flint. If used correctly, the hammerstone suffers little damage due to the angle of strike. Not all of the resultant flakes would be of use due to imperfections in the material or the shock wave of the impact changing direction or running out of energy, (more of this later). These unused flakes are referred to now as ‘wasters’.
Picture 4
Here we have a typical waster which I have labelled to indicate the various features of a man-made fracture.
Picture 4
‘A’ is the platform from which the flake was struck and is approximately 90 degrees to the face of the flint and direction of the blow. ‘B’ is the ‘point of percussion’ where the hammerstone struck. The initial shockwave caused the ‘bulbar scar at ‘C’. It then dissipated towards the bottom causing ‘cords’, ‘D’, at right angles, as well as extremely fine fissures ‘E’ known as striae, which radiate from the point of percussion.
We can only surmise today the thoughts of ’stoneage man’, but if we apply common sense and logic we can probably get close to understanding the how’s and why’s of his use of stone tools. This is I think demonstrated admirably by the parallel techniques shown above in picture 2.
Some flakes may well have been used unmodified for a job in hand such as cutting a piece of hide or meat; then discarded as a fresh sharp blade could easily have been created next time it was needed. ‘Retouching’, that is secondary dressing of edges, was seemingly reserved for specially shaped tools or for flints from particularly fine material.
Next time: Some specialist flint tools.
Regards,
Neville
Rod said,
August 25, 2010 @ 4:07 pm
Neville,
this is staggering - an awful lot of work for you but hugely appreciated.
What fabulous stuff, I hoped this was going to be a good thread but didn’t imagine it woul dbe this good
In appreciation
Rod
Rod said,
August 25, 2010 @ 7:56 pm
Neville,
here’s another piece that looks as though it ‘ought’ to be something. Pics the wrong way round though, ‘top edge’ to right
Very sharp and would be regular at the curved end bar the chips, one edge looks to be worn down with use,
right hand picture, left side of curve.
It looks much better in the hand than in the pictures as well
I found it thanks to a rabbit, I thought it would make another nice example of what looks like something but sadly isn’t, this guide is fantastic Neville.
All the best
Rod
Amiguru said,
August 25, 2010 @ 8:51 pm
Rod,
I so desperately want to say ‘yes’ as I know it is so frustrating; but despite the shape looking ‘handy’, from what I can see of it, it doesn’t look promising. Hard to tell from here though as close scrutiny of the edge would tell all. You’ll see what I mean when tonight’s pictures arrive in your inbox!
Flint is crypto-crystaline quartz and has a conchoidal, (shell-shaped), fracture similar to that of glass as both contain silica to a greater or lesser degree. As we all know chipped glass is extremely sharp; equally, chipped flint if knocked or put under pressure, be it intentional or accidental, e.g. ploughing, being kicked by man or animal and consequently hitting another hard stone, compressed by moving ice such as during the ice age, dropping onto other rocks, and so on, will be sharp. Generally speaking, even fractures weather and take on a patination which approaches that of the original surface the older it gets. As a result you can have a flake like yours which in this case is fuzzy grey on the fractured face with small cleaner, shinier chips on the edge, some more weathered than others. Be warned though, the ‘fresh’ look can last a couple of thousand years
I hope all that makes sense. Meanwhile, when the field is free from crops, and with the usual permissions, I would suggest that a conveniently close site to walk is one at Stallingborough. I refer to the one between the SMV site and the A1136, centred on TA19215 11577. I know there are worked flints and flakes there. I could relate a little anecdote about that field but it would sound too conceited. ;?)
Must get on now with tonight’s despatch!
regards,
Neville
Mick Deakin said,
August 25, 2010 @ 8:57 pm
Cant find the poem - apologies. It will turn up though, as I remember seeing it amongst some paperwork a while ago. I have a collection of sorts Nev - its a kind of release for me. Anything that stirs my emotions sufficiently, will materialise as poetry.
I once kept faithful to a dream diary and still often read it to this day (last entry was july 1999) There are fifty two dreams recorded in total, over a period of 14 months. These were the days when I was heavily into Carl Gustav Jung !!
Thanks again for the really interesting articles on flints.
Mick
Amiguru said,
August 25, 2010 @ 10:11 pm
When you’re ready Mick, I for one am looking forward to it. Dreams are amazing but what I find ridiculous is that I forget them so quickly, even the ‘pleasant’ ones which tend to be few and far between
Regards,
Neville
Amiguru said,
August 26, 2010 @ 8:35 am
I thought that this time it might be useful to see a variety of tools, albeit small ones. The declared uses, of course, can only be based on the most informed opinions of recent academic study and consequently there could be contradictions with some points of view. The declared uses are those which I am most convinced of.
Picture 5.
This clearly manmade blade is of a type, form and thinness to suit its use as a sickle blade. It would not be used on its own but in a line with other similar sized blades mounted in a piece of curved wood or even the jawbone of an animal such as horse, wildboar etc.
Picture 5
It’s use of course would not have existed until man started to farm in an organised fashion. The top half of the image shows the whole blade which is 35mm. long. I thought it might be useful to see the lower, retouched, (see above under picture 4 for definition), edge in closeup so I put it under my microscope at the lowest setting of 20x magnification; the magnified portion is only the lower half millimetre in height. This shows that the blade has been gently retouched to give it a keeness of edge.
Picture 6.
Here we have four small tools, the leftmost of which is 43mm. long. As you can see, this is a parallel sided blade with a blunt end and a notch on each side towards the bottom.
Picture 6
These notches would be for binding the blade to a handle of wood or possibly bone. The probable use would be as a marrow-scoop, used to extract highly nutritious bone-marrow from cracked animal bones. Effectively, an early spoon!
The next tool along seems almost too obvious to describe except to add that it is retouched finely along the left side of the blade. It too may have been mounted in a handle.
The third item is in white flint which it is suggested would have been prized as it tends to fracture in a predictable way. I believe that this may well have been mounted in a row with similarly notched flints along a straight stick to form a kind of primitive saw. Alternatively, it may have formed part of a toothed sickle similar in fashion to the blade shown above. Excavated sites in the middle-east have revealed intact sickles with similar blades in situ, preserved in the dry conditions.
The final tool is, I suggest, a microburin which has had an additional notch added to make it into a hole-boring tool. Microburins are a by-product of a certain blade production technique which I won’t go into here except to say that it produces a one side notch, not two. This tool may have been held between finger and thumb or, more efficiently, in the end of a round stick which could have been rotated rapidly between the palms.
Next episode, its time to get cooking!
Regards,
Neville
Rod said,
August 26, 2010 @ 8:45 am
Neville,
that’s the beauty of what you’ve put together here, including the latest installment. I pictured the latest flint find because it looks and feels like it ‘has to be’
But having absorbed all you’ve shared and importantly the ‘how to’ it’s clear the ‘back’ of the stone could not really have been made thus.
It’s a work of art this !
Thanks and regards
Rod
PS, picture 6 2nd from left - what a corker !
Amiguru said,
August 26, 2010 @ 4:43 pm
“Let’s get cooking”, to coin a frequently used phrase of a popular TV programme. 3000 years ago in Lincolnshire this presented quite a problem if hot liquids were to be produced. Cooking pots were adequate in design but due to low firing temperatures they were not tough enough to withstand the rigours of being placed on an open fire. Our ancestors discovered a solution to this in the form of ‘pot-boilers’ which involved heating stones in the fire and using a couple of sticks, putting them in the liquid to be heated; that way the heat was transferred to the liquid which being water based, limited the temperature to 100° thus avoiding overheating the pot.
Picture 7
Picture 7.
When flint nodules were calcined for pot-boiler use, then plunged into the cooking pot they not only turned white but the extreme temperature jump caused the surface to craze, (a bit like some old china). All of the examples in picture 7 were found on fields along the top of the Wolds in the area south of Nettleton.
Picture 8
Picture 8.
I have never had the good fortune to find a complete stone axe, yet, but back in the late 1960’s when field walking the area above, I found the ‘heel’ end of a greenstone polished axe shown on the left in Picture 8. This is a classic specimen from what is probably the most famous neolithic axe production site in England, known as the Langdale Axe Factory which is situated in the Langdale Pikes near Pike of Stickle in the Langdale Valley, Cumbria, see Picture 8, right. The greenstone axes produced here were highly prized and traded all over northern England and even as far away as Ireland but for some reason they were most popular in Lincolnshire as that is where the majority of finds have occurred!
A couple of years later I went on a camping holiday in the Lake District and as you may well have guessed, I made certain that I visited the Langdale site. A walk up the Langdale Valley followed by a climb to 2000 ft. on the scree slope to the area of interest, took some time as, all the while, I was keeping my eyes peeled for you know what! Fortune was on my side as I managed to spot the ‘roughed-out’ axe below in Picture 9. It had seemingly been rejected due to the fractured end. It is reckoned that, some of the roughly shaped axes such as this were dispatched to the area of their eventual use where they were then polished. The whole holiday was great fun and full of ‘incidents’, (such as my highly pregnant sister-in-law rolling down about 20 feet of mountainside!), but the highlight for me was my treasured find and all the thoughts that these prozaic objects engender. Someone had last handled this axe three millennia earlier.
Picture 9
Next time: Old skinflints and a stitch in time!
Regards,
Neville
Amiguru said,
August 28, 2010 @ 6:44 pm
Our ancestors no doubt utilised their resources to the full; nothing would be wasted if it had a purpose; a premise for both survival and progression. The hunter hunted his prey and if successful, butchered it for the meat after skinning it. It is likely that nothing would be cast aside except the digestive entrails.
If the skin was usable it would have to be prepared by removal of every skerrick of flesh and fat before further processing. This would be done using special flint tools which we call scrapers. Picture 10 shows two Lincolnshire flint scrapers to the right and the one on the left was made from fossilised wood by the Yakima tribes of north-western USA, mentioned above.
Picture 10
It is difficult to contemplate exactly how a particular group might have employed the scraper. It may have been used with the flat side, (hidden in the picture), vertical to the skin and drawn towards the user with a scraping action. An alternative mode was suggested by Edward Stevens in his ‘Flint Chips’, 1870 in his observation of the then modern, ‘Esquimaux’ method of using almost identical scrapers. I will let his text explain the mode of use.
Picture 11
Of course, Neolithic/Bronze Age man in Lincolnshire, if he did use a similar method, may not have developed such a streamlined holder for his flints but I’m sure it would have been efficient.
Additional skills were then needed to make the skins serviceable and would have varied according to the purpose to which they were to be put. If it was required that the pelt should have its hair removed, this would have been achieved after the initial scraping, by covering the hide with woodash and keeping it wet for several days. The skin would then need to be effectively stabilised and the probable material use would be the brain or liver of the animal. This would be rubbed well in to the flesh side of the skin and then a second scraping would remove it, followed by a wash and then the hide would be stretched out to dry thoroughly.
If the hair was to be retained, the ash process would be omitted and the ‘brain treatment’ replaced with one of fresh animal dung. Once the skin was stable further work would ensue to make it supple.
Picture 12
I thought I would finish today with an illustration of a possible method of sewing using a bone needle. I hasten to point out that the needle in the Picture 12 is not at all ancient but is a copy I made in 1970 of an authentic one. I used an old animal bone that I found on the Roxton site some years before; of course it is nowhere near bronze age but it was hard and stable. I used flint flakes which I made myself to fashion it and bore the hole from both sides and a piece of sandstone to to the smoothing. A final polish on a piece of leather and there you have it!
I then using flint I slit two pieces of scrap leather with regular spacing and used a thin bit of leather to stitch the two together.
Next time Odds and Ends.
Regards,
Neville
Rod said,
August 28, 2010 @ 6:46 pm
Neville,
superb - so good I’ve read it twice already !
Many thanks, it’s a lot of work and greatly appreciated
All the best
Rod
Cid said,
August 29, 2010 @ 10:12 pm
Neville,
Go easy on the embellishment when you make my boots, we’re heading for glamorous functionality here …. the High Street meets Ray Mears
I’m seeing ‘Made in Great Britain by Neville’ on our new Firenze line in leather capes and flint gathering bags….. nothing too girly you understand, they must appeal to everyone….. mind you the Italian capes were heavily fringed and I don’t remember that in Pompeii…… we’ll go for Pompeii meets Nashville by Neville 
I love your articles Neville, they alone are worth switching on the laptop.
Cid
Amiguru said,
September 1, 2010 @ 7:09 pm
Odds and Ends
This is intended to be my final ‘extended comment’ on this thread and it covers various other examples that might be found in the field and not be recognised for their significance.
The majority of the examples have been from the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods as these are more readily identified due to their relative sophistication.
I sometimes wonder how fate leads us to places of significance without us immediately realising it! One of the most renowned British anthropologists was the late Mrs. Mary Leakey, (just Wiki her to see her massive contributions to the subject along with her husband Louis). The very first fullscale excavation she undertook was about half a mile from my current abode! Indeed, the humans under investigation were of the Clactonian culture 400,000 years ago. How about that Rod for ‘in your own backyard’? I was fortunate to obtain a copy of her excavation report and intriguing it is too.
I prevaricate, but mainly to refer to a culture that produced a much less recognisable series of tools, at least to amateur eyes.
Picture 13
Picture 13 shows on the left, half of an ordinary door-hinge end on. In the middle is a type of flint waster having what is known as a ‘hinge-fracture’, the reasoning for the nomenclature should now be obvious. What has caused this phenomenon is that the energy imparted that caused the fracture to traverse in the usual way as seen at ‘A and ‘B’ has begun to be exhausted and at ‘C’ the natural conchoidal fracture has taken over and carried on through ‘D’ and ‘E’.
On the right, can be seen a ‘core’ flint from which such a flake has been struck.
Picture 14
When striking flakes from a core the shape of the intended flake may not always come to fruition due to inconsistencies within the material. Some misshapen flakes can be adapted to other purposes. In addition, when a large, successful flake is knapped and pressure flaked some of the waste material can be adapted to purposes requiring a fineness of tool. Microliths, such as those shown in Picture 14, are of such adaptation or design. The average length of these examples is 25mm and some have secondary dressing by pressure flaking as in the second, fourth and fifth, on their ends.
While writing this piece it occurred to me that there is another type of tool that I aught to have included but for now, enough is enough. Perhaps I will add it at a later date.
In conclusion, I would mention that although most of what has been said has been about ‘flint’ knapping, due to the prevalence of the material in the chalk of the Lincolnshire Wolds; it is not the exclusive material for flaking and knapping. In other parts of the world, different materials, due to their abundance, have been used, but it is essential that whatever is used it has to contain silicon in order for it to behave in the ways discussed. In the Americas, native people of both North and South, often used obsidian which is almost like black glass, others used fossilised wood and yet others, fossil coral.
Many modern ‘knappers’ have used glass to great effect due to the reliability of the fracture but I think that that is indeed ‘cheating’.
As a last illustration I would suggest going to the following ‘Youtube’ clip to see how it is ‘really done’. I apologise for the fact that he is a Texan and all that that entails but this guy is a natural and I am just in awe of his deftness of touch! He incidentally is using fossil coral.
youtube.com/user/BOHUNTER#p/u/16/849OE_9fTg0
Regards,
Neville
Rod said,
September 1, 2010 @ 7:49 pm
Neville,
I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for what is an absolute master class in flints and knapping.
I’ve gone from being completely ignorant to having a very real understanding of the subject and also how to identify a flint tool or weapon should I be fortunate to come across one.
This has been a great deal of work for you I appreciate it tremendously as I’m sure will many other people who visit this page in the years to come.
It’s very generous of you to share your time and knowledge in such a way Neville.
My thanks once again
Rod
Rambling Pete said,
September 10, 2010 @ 10:17 am
Stumbled across this site when looking for information on the Pike of Stickle - enjoyed the information and very informative. I shall be paying a visit to Nettleton - used to drill out there in the early eighties. I wished I’d known then what I know now.
Thanks
Rod said,
September 10, 2010 @ 11:42 am
Hi Pete,
thanks for commenting and welcome to the site, pleased you found something of interest.
Let us know how you get on at Nettleton
http://www.rodcollins.com/wordpress/walking-in-nettleton-in-lincolnshire
Best
Rod
Thrippets said,
April 6, 2011 @ 7:55 pm
Thanks for pointing me towards this Rod! Thanks! This site just gets better and better!
OK, I’ve read it all and am thinking the flint I found probably isn’t anything, but it would be a shame to throw it away if it isn’t. I’ll post a link to a photo of it so you can give me your considered opinion! Thanks in anticipation!
Rod said,
April 7, 2011 @ 8:20 am
Thrippets,
my guess would be natural I’m afraid though it’s always difficult from a picture - hang on to it just in case.
I myself have found lots of things I thought might have been scrapers etc but looking at the guide above has been really useful for me.
Regards
Rod
Chris Keyworth said,
April 7, 2011 @ 12:06 pm
i would have to agree with rod on that one sorry it looks natural,
regards
chris
PS . Rod im home all next week if you want to go for a walk…
Thrippets said,
April 7, 2011 @ 1:31 pm
OK, thanks… I’ll have to keep on looking!
Rod said,
April 7, 2011 @ 5:25 pm
Chris,
excellent - sounds like a plan !
Best
Rod
Bernard Fox said,
May 4, 2011 @ 10:17 pm
A really informative conversation going on there gentlemen !. I think I may have found something that looks like a flint arrow head in my garden here in East Sussex, ( Hastings). My brother gave me some guidance as to what to look out for during a trip to the Cevenne in the south of France.Heres a very serious amateur and lives in Bon Paris. i If I can I’ll take a pic of it and post it here. I dont know all the terms, ( or any of them !) but it has longitudinal sharp edges with a central ridge on one face, the other face appearing ‘unworked’. The base of the ‘arrowhead’ is broken off,( where it would be bound to the shaft) but is quite clearly squared with one of the ‘corners’ correlating to the central ridge on the one ‘worked’ face . Likewise the tip of the arrowhead is missing. In total the length of the ‘arrowhead’, if it were complete would perhaps measure 45- 50mm in length. Let me know what you think if you have a minute. Regards for a really interesting blog- bernard jim.
Chris Keyworth said,
May 5, 2011 @ 1:23 pm
I would be interested to see your photo Bernard, your discription sounds pretty much right, if you click on rods photo flashing top right it will lead you to his email address i am sure if you send the Picture Rod will post it up for all to see and coment..
Regards
Chris
Suzanne said,
May 14, 2011 @ 6:35 pm
Hi,
)
I came across your site while searching for information on how to identify flint tools, I found the posts here really interesting and I was hoping someone on here might be able to tell me if the pieces I have found look like they have been worked or are just natural. My husband laughs at me as I always say ‘that’s a tool’ when I find a shaped piece of flint! I was just hoping that maybe one of my pieces is the real thing
I have got a photobucket account, should I put the 4 photos on there and then post the links? or is there an email address I can send them to?
Many thanks
Suzanne
Rod said,
May 14, 2011 @ 7:08 pm
Hi Suzanne
go the photobucket route and we’ll see if anybody can offer an opinion
Regards
Rod
Suzanne said,
May 14, 2011 @ 11:09 pm
Hi Rod,
[IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a185/peculiarpals/Forum%20Pictures/Flint3.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a185/peculiarpals/Forum%20Pictures/Flint2.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a185/peculiarpals/Forum%20Pictures/Flint1.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i11.photobucket.com/albums/a185/peculiarpals/Forum%20Pictures/Flint4.jpg[/IMG]
Thanks
Suzanne
Suzanne said,
May 14, 2011 @ 11:12 pm
Hi again!
If you take away the [IMG] at either end and then paste it into the web browser, you’ll be able to see each of my photos.
Thanks
Rod said,
May 15, 2011 @ 8:04 am
Hi Suzanne,
I’m no expert so take it with ‘pinch of flint’
Most look natural to me, the first link, Flint3.jpg, looks the most promising though.
Best
Rod
Suzanne said,
May 15, 2011 @ 8:45 am
Thanks Rod
Brian Slater said,
November 25, 2011 @ 7:59 pm
Please, I live in Lincolnshire and have found, what I beleive, a basalt hammer stone. It is square in shape and has 5 smooth sides and one which is pitted (from use, I suppose). The smooth sides fit to the contours of my fingers and balances nicely in my hand. In fact, I would say the person who owned, or made, this stone would have had simular size hands to mine. The balance is exquisite. One can feel the ease of use for this stone. Can you please tell me where I would get this stone bonified? I have yet to take any pictures but will tomorrow.
Thank you for your help, Brian
Rod said,
November 26, 2011 @ 8:24 am
Brina,
thanks for the comment and welcome to the site - I wonder whether taking it to your nearest museum may be an option ?
I hope you’ve ‘got a winner’
Regards
Rod