Story:

The owners of these objects used to live at Mountsandel, before the fields were built over in the 1970s. On wet days, when stone showed up against the surrounding dirt, the children of the family would walk over the ridges and furrows of the field, picking out pieces of flint from among the potato plants. The boys took the flint to a neighbour who had a keen interest in archaeology and who would explain what the pieces were and how they might have been used. They have been treasured objects in the family home ever since.

This small flint tool has been retouched (had tiny chips removed) along both lateral edges leaving a strong point, almost parallel sides and (relatively) narrow base. A micro-awl like this one would have been used to make marks on wood or to punch holes through animal hides. Along with flint and wood, animal hides would have been part of everyday life during the early Mesolithic, being used to create huts, clothing, bedding, baskets and perhaps even boats.