The Ancient Stone Implements, Weapons and Ornaments, of Great Britain: Second Edition, RevisedEvans, John
History
The Ancient Stone Implements, Weapons and Ornaments, of Great Britain: Second Edition, Revised
Evans, John
Great Britain -- Antiquities; Stone age -- Great Britain
Fig. 269 represents a nearly similar knife, which has, however,
been already described, though not figured, in the _Archæological
Journal_[1616] and in the _Proceedings of the Society of
Antiquaries_.[1617] It was found on Corton Beach, midway between
Yarmouth and Lowestoft, and belonged |357| to the late Mr. C. Cory,
of Yarmouth, who kindly lent it to me for engraving. It has been
suggested that it was fixed to a haft, possibly of stag’s horn or of
wood, but there are no _indiciæ_ of this having been the case, though
the side-edges are blunted towards the butt-end, where also remains
a considerable portion of the crust of the long nodule of flint from
which the instrument was chipped.
For the loan of the original of Fig. 270 I am indebted to the late Mr.
Caldecott, of Mead Street, near Eastbourne, near which place it was
found. It is of grey flint, and presents the peculiarity of having
one face partially polished by grinding, which extends to the point,
but does not touch the edges, which, as in the other instances, are
produced by chipping only. It is rather more convex on the polished
face than on the other, and it appears probable that recourse was had
to grinding in order to remove a hard projection of the flint which had
been too refractory to be chipped off. As usual, there is a portion of
the crust of the original flint visible at the butt, where also the
side edges have been blunted, in this case by grinding. This instrument
has already been described and figured.[1618]
A curved knife (7 3∕4 inches) now in the British Museum, much like Fig.
270, was found at Grovehurst,[1619] near Milton, Kent.
[Illustration: Fig. 270.—Eastbourne. 1∕2]
In the same museum is a beautifully-chipped knife, 8 1∕4 inches long,
without any traces of grinding, and of much the same form as this, but
with the point more sharply curved. It was found in the Thames, at
London, in 1868.
One from Bexley, Kent, is in the Ashmolean Museum at Oxford, and
another from the Thames at Greenwich in the Jermyn Street Museum.
The Greenwell Collection contains an implement of this class, but
of broader proportions, 4 inches long and 1 3∕4 inches wide, with a
portion of the natural crust of the flint left on the convex side, not
far from the point. It is sharp at the base, which is semicircular, and
the edge shows signs of wear. It was found on Heslerton Wold.
A thinner form of curved knife (6 1∕2 inches), found at Balveny,[1620]
Banffshire, has been figured.
The point of what appears to have been a curved knife of this character
was found in the Lake-dwelling of Bodmann.[1621] Some curved knives
from one at Attersee[1622] have been engraved. A long flint knife from
Majorca,[1623] nearly straight at the edge, but curved at the back, may
also be mentioned. |358|
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