PDA

View Full Version : Something or nothing (archeology?)


Leanne
07-Jul-10, 12:28
Me and the other half are having a debate as to whether this 'thing' is an ancient spearhead or a random piece of slate...

What do you guys think?

Side on

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh22/l34nn3_k4ut/07072010410.jpg

Point on (excuse the pappy focus - taken with my mobile phone)

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh22/l34nn3_k4ut/07072010412.jpg

The underneath

http://i252.photobucket.com/albums/hh22/l34nn3_k4ut/07072010413.jpg
Kodiak
07-Jul-10, 12:42
I showed this to Mrs Kodiak, (she ia a Museum Curator), and her opinion is that it is just a Random piece of slate and Not a Spear Head.
gollach
07-Jul-10, 12:46
I agree. No sign of knapping around the edges suggests it is just a lump of stone.
Leanne
07-Jul-10, 13:45
He wins then :(

It's sharp to be just a lump of stone - I wonder if it would work to spear fish?
_Ju_
07-Jul-10, 13:47
Slate, I think, would have been of no use to make spearheads. Flint itself also could easily shatter, but not as much as slate. The way flint stone is means that it naturally broke a certain way when hit at cetain angles, releasing flake blades that were narrow and very sharp. The slate is not narrow nor could you knap it in a way to have a long narrow sharp blade.
Leanne
07-Jul-10, 15:16
The slate is not narrow nor could you knap it in a way to have a long narrow sharp blade.

That is sharp enough to draw blood - just drew blood trying prove it wasn't sharp enough to draw blood :roll:
Dog-eared
09-Jul-10, 22:27
There are no marks indicating it was hand made, or any attachment point for a shaft .
If it was found in Caithness then it is a random piece of Caithness Flagstone, not Slate.
Yes, flagstone can be very sharp ! :)
annthracks
10-Jul-10, 12:00
I'd say a random piece of slate :-) not something I can recall seeing used as spear or arrowheads
Dog-eared
10-Jul-10, 12:54
Looks like a corner off a Caithness Flagstone roofing slate.
spurtle
11-Jul-10, 12:08
That is sharp enough to draw blood - just drew blood trying prove it wasn't sharp enough to draw blood :roll:

The absence of knapping does not necessarily mean that someone has not used something which is clearly sharp enough to be useful. It is however quite unlikely. Keep looking though! Caithness produces some very interesting flint workings, even though it is not a feature of our geology. People collected flint nodules on the beaches, and you can still find them being washed up. If you find it inland, you can be almost sure that it has been brought there for a purpose.
Leanne
11-Jul-10, 12:25
The absence of knapping does not necessarily mean that someone has not used something which is clearly sharp enough to be useful. It is however quite unlikely. Keep looking though! Caithness produces some very interesting flint workings, even though it is not a feature of our geology. People collected flint nodules on the beaches, and you can still find them being washed up. If you find it inland, you can be almost sure that it has been brought there for a purpose.

Thanks spurtle. The 'spear head' is now being used by my friend's 10 year old to poke holes in tin cans and other boyish pursuits. We came up with the idea of making a spear out of it and trying to spear some fish for tea - not sure if that will come to fruition ;)

Edit - All fully supervised of course
spurtle
11-Jul-10, 13:54
Thanks spurtle. The 'spear head' is now being used by my friend's 10 year old to poke holes in tin cans and other boyish pursuits. We came up with the idea of making a spear out of it and trying to spear some fish for tea - not sure if that will come to fruition ;)

Edit - All fully supervised of course

Well, there you go - future archaeologists can speculate on its use in this way - but they will never know .....................