An old tool

The extensive sand dunes in this area are, geologically speaking, relatively recent and buried under them is an ancient land surface littered with artifacts from the stone, bronze and iron ages. Occasionally the wind blows away the sand from a small area and exposes ancient "treasures". I came across this late Neolithic/early Bronze Age flint scraper or cutter this morning.

The flint in this area isn't in the form of the more familiar large nodules embedded in chalk, as it is in other parts of the British Isles. Instead it is in the form of glacial melt water gravels consisting of relatively small flint pebbles. The main deposits are at Boddam to the north of here, which were mined in ancient times, and also in offshore gravel beds from which pebbles get washed up on to the beach.

Ancient man was adept at flaking these pebbles to form a variety of tools, such as this scraper. The rounded cutting edge (best seen with the aid of the looking glass) shows typical chipping which was deliberate and presumably increased its sharpness.