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SCRAPER (TOOL)
Unique ID: HESH-180A21
Object type certainty: Certain
Workflow
status: Awaiting validation
Flint ‘thumbnail’ scraper of probable Late Neolithic or Early Bronze Age date (2500 - 1500
BC). The flint flake is broad and squat being broadly oval in plan and sub-rectangular (D shaped) in cross section. It measures 37.7mm length, 27.4mm width, is 10.2mm thick and weighs 7.92 grams. The flint flake is not well preserved and the bulb of percussion on the reverse face is lost. Evidence for retouch or secondary working can be seen on the two sides and the front end / edge of the flake; these facets are small neat and regular. Other evidence of secondary working cannot be seen. There are also a number of hinge fractures present and at the top of the flake is a small area of cortex (outer rind of a flint nodule). It is likely that this scraper has been created from a selected secondary waste flake. Both faces of the tool have irregular ‘crazed’ surfaces which are slightly translucent. The causes of this are either direct heat and rapid cooling or long term weathering on the surface of the ground. In this case I believe the cause to be weathering because of the irregular nature of the cracking and the blue white translucent surface of the scraper. The flint is a mid blue white colour with a slight abraded surface. Thumbnail scrapers are seen as being a utility domestic scraping tool; they frequently occur in assemblages dating to the beaker period (Late Neolithic and early Bronze Age).
Flint tools from Shropshire are relatively rare compared to other areas of the country. This flint is likely to have come from a riverine or glacial source if made locally. The reuse of waste flake for tools is relatively common in this area which suggests the importance of flint as a resource. This is part of a larger flint assemblage from the Wem area. See records:
Class:
Thumbnail
Subsequent actions
Subsequent action after recording: Returned to finder
Chronology
Broad period: NEOLITHIC
Subperiod from: Late
Period from: NEOLITHIC
Subperiod to: Early
Period to: BRONZE AGE
Date from: 2500 BC
Date to: 1500 BC
Dimensions and weight
Quantity: 1
Length: 37.7 mm
Width: 27.4 mm
Thickness: 10.2 mm
Weight: 7.92 g
Personal details
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Materials and construction
Primary material: Flint
Manufacture method: Knapped/flaked