Record ID: NLM-FA24C1
Object type: POLISHER
Broad period: ROMAN
County: North Lincolnshire
Workflow stage: Published
Stone rubber or polisher. A fine-grained Sandstone chunk, possibly half of an originally cylindrical object, with smooth curved sides and flat top with one groove near its edge. The other two adjacent flat sides are both slightly ridged or grooved in the same direction, with about four ridges or grooves passing across that face which preserves these details best. In its present form, the object sits well in the hand if either of the flat faces are used. The improvised use of rubbers and sharpeners and polishers extends from Prehistory, through the Roman period and into the Early Mediev…
Created on: Wednesday 17th April 2024
Last updated: Wednesday 17th April 2024
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: NLM-AE2C6B
Object type: POLISHER
Broad period: UNKNOWN
County: Lincolnshire
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Stone rubber. A water-rolled pebble with abundant black flecks to diameter 3mm, with one flattened sub-triangular surface. The object is of a size to fit snugly in the hand and may have been used for a grinding or polishing task using the flat face. The use of a probable Glacial Erratic for such purposes might be ascribed to Prehistory, or indeed any time up to the Viking Age, when the international supply of stone for specialist purposes was revived. Suggested date: Unknown, Neolithic to Early Medieval, 4000BC-AD850 Height: 42.5mm, Width: 49.2mm, Weight: 136.26gms
Created on: Friday 8th March 2024
Last updated: Friday 8th March 2024
Spatial data recorded. This findspot is known as 'North Cockerington', grid reference and parish protected.

Record ID: NLM-4B38C5
Object type: POLISHER
Broad period: BRONZE AGE
County: North Lincolnshire
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Stone polisher, as kindly identified by the finder. A sub-spherical water-rolled pebble with a pale grey surface and smooth overall, with a restricted very smooth zone of length 27mm. The use of such objects as craft tools is likely until the end of the early medieval period, though the finder opines the find-spot to be especially productive of material dated to the Late Neolithic to Early Bronze Age. Suggested date: possibly Bronze Age, 2350-800 BC. Length: 45.7mm, Width: 41.8mm, Thickness: 29.6mm, Weight: 77.01gms
Created on: Monday 27th November 2023
Last updated: Tuesday 28th November 2023
Spatial data recorded. This findspot is known as 'Barnetby le Wold', grid reference and parish protected.

Record ID: YORYM-9E0464
Object type: POLISHER
Broad period: UNKNOWN
County: East Riding of Yorkshire
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
An incomplete light white brown quartz stone cobble possible polisher or rubber of uncertain date, probably Iron Age to Medieval, c. 800 BC - AD 1000. The object is an oval-ended pebble with a flattened and polished edge. An irregular break is present to one end of the stone. The object is 71.3mm long, 52.7mm wide, 58.9mm thick and weighs 294g. A similar example recorded on the PAS database as LIN-273AA4 states that the use of various erratic stones as improvised rubbers, polishers, grinders and sharpeners was common from Prehistory through to the end of the Early Medieval period.
Created on: Thursday 9th March 2023
Last updated: Tuesday 21st March 2023
Spatial data recorded. This findspot is known as 'Cottam', grid reference and parish protected.

Record ID: YORYM-9DF987
Object type: POLISHER
Broad period: UNKNOWN
County: East Riding of Yorkshire
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
A complete red/brown stone cobble possible polisher or rubber of uncertain date, probably Iron Age to Medieval, c. 800 BC - AD 1000. The object is an oval-ended pebble with a flattened and polished edge. The object is 51.7mm long, 39.1mm wide, 34.8mm thick and weighs 89.5g. A similar example recorded on the PAS database as LIN-273AA4 states that the use of various erratic stones as improvised rubbers, polishers, grinders and sharpeners was common from Prehistory through to the end of the Early Medieval period.
Created on: Thursday 9th March 2023
Last updated: Tuesday 21st March 2023
Spatial data recorded. This findspot is known as 'Cottam', grid reference and parish protected.

Record ID: LIN-D57354
Object type: POLISHER
Broad period: NEOLITHIC
County: Lincolnshire
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
A worked piece of flint possibly used as a polisher and dating to the Neolithic period. The flint has a black core and a cream outer. One end is blunt and rough and sub-rectangular in cross section. The other is sub rectangular in cross section and smooth. On the polished surface there are feint lines width ways. Near one edge is a crescent shape indentation , and a damaged area. Length 67.84mm, width 39.47mm, thickness 27.68mm, weight 101.00 g
Created on: Saturday 30th April 2022
Last updated: Wednesday 29th June 2022
Spatial data recorded. This findspot is known as 'Near Nettleton', grid reference and parish protected.

Record ID: NCL-B8D238
Object type: POLISHER
Broad period: MODERN
County: South Tyneside
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Modern ceramic object, probably ceramic media for smoothing manufactured goods in a tumbler. The object is tetrahedral, with four triangular sides and rounded edges and corners. Three sides are slightly taller than they are wide. Each of these isoceles sides has an inscribed arc, slightly of-centre and running from just below the corner shared with the other two of similar sides to about half-way down the face. The remaining triangle is closer to equilateral in form and is un-marked, with scratches on one of its edges. 
Created on: Tuesday 17th August 2021
Last updated: Wednesday 24th August 2022
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: NLM-BEAA07
Object type: POLISHER
Broad period: UNKNOWN
County: North Lincolnshire
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Fine grained compacted Sandstone pebble, rubber or grinder. An originally round water-rolled cobble, now with three flattened and smoothed facets on adjacent sides and with a further flatter surface which may be original to its form and is unmodified. The smoothed facets are each c.40mm in diameter. The form fits happily in the hand. Smoothers and rubbers improvised from locally available stones have a broad Prehistoric to early Medieval currency and were used for a range of tasks, including the grinding of vegetable matter and finishing of textiles or leather. The facets evidencing s…
Created on: Tuesday 18th February 2020
Last updated: Wednesday 19th February 2020
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: NLM-92F10B
Object type: POLISHER
Broad period: UNKNOWN
County: North Lincolnshire
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Dark dense igneous or metamorphic stone with rare micaceous flakes, possible rubber or polisher fragment with a smoothed though not glossed surface. An oval flat-sided water-worn cobble, broken towards what appears to have been its narrower end. This might have served to smooth leather or linen, or for other non-percussive tasks; it might be the end of a fishing weight, given a riparian find spot; and of course, may alternatively be entirely unworked and naturally formed. The material is non-local, though possibly derived from Glacial Drift. The use of such improvised stone tools is s…
Created on: Tuesday 4th February 2020
Last updated: Tuesday 4th February 2020
Spatial data recorded. This findspot is known as 'Owston Ferry', grid reference and parish protected.

Record ID: NLM-3F76C1
Object type: POLISHER
Broad period: UNKNOWN
County: North Lincolnshire
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Pale grey micaceous stone, with a slightly soapy feel, possible polisher. A flat triangular stone with a curving edge which appears to have been ground to a bevelled finish, as do, to a lesser extent, the shorter sides. One side also bears a gentle hollowing which accommodates the thumb and enables pressure to be brought to bear on the putative curved working edge. The stone is presumably an erratic from glacial deposits, perhaps originating in Scotland or even further to the North. Suggested date: Unknown, Neolithic to Bronze Age, 4000-800 BC Length: 51.2mm, Width: 60.8mm, Thickne…
Created on: Thursday 7th November 2019
Last updated: Thursday 7th November 2019
Spatial data recorded. This findspot is known as 'Low Burnham', grid reference and parish protected.

Record ID: WILT-B11B7B
Object type: POLISHER
Broad period: UNKNOWN
County: South Gloucestershire
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
A red/brown quartzite polishing or rubber stone, of uncertain date. The object consists of a utilised water-rolled pebble, originally sub-oval but truncated by an unworn break at one end. There are two concave removal scars on one face, both also unworn, and presumably caused by frost fractures. The opposite face exhibits extensive evidence of being utilised to smooth or polish, worn smooth with a glossy sheen. Length 85.3mm; width 71.2mm; thickness 33.7mm; weight 279.27g.
Created on: Monday 7th October 2019
Last updated: Monday 7th October 2019
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: CORN-08ED3E
Object type: POLISHER
Broad period: NEOLITHIC
County: Cornwall
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
A Neolithic axehead polisher or polissoir. A utilised quartzite beach cobble probably originating from the Plymouth area and possibly moved to St Buryan by the sea (Roger Taylor pers comm). The polissoir is made on an asymmetrical beach cobble which is ovate in plan, sub-rectangular in section and ovate in profile: 212 mm in length, 414.6 mm in width, 80 mm in thickness or height and 3000 g in weight. One end of the cobble has been flattened by the removal of flake from one end; the opposite, slightly pointed end, has been damaged by use as a percussive tool. The oval areas at the cen…
Created on: Tuesday 29th January 2019
Last updated: Wednesday 13th February 2019
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: NLM-7CA067
Object type: POLISHER
Broad period: UNKNOWN
County: North Lincolnshire
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Fine-grained grey sedimentary stone, possible rubber or polisher. A chipped and elongated water-rolled cobble, possibly smoothed on one flat face, chipped, probably more recently. Diagonal lines appearing on the flattened face are the bedding planes of the rock, perhaps here revealed by the use of the stone. This may be an improvised hone or smoother, both categories of object with a broad date range probably extending from the Bronze Age to the Early Medieval period. This was probably noticed and retrieved as a non-local stone, so at all events may have been imported to its find sp…
Created on: Wednesday 5th December 2018
Last updated: Wednesday 5th December 2018
Spatial data recorded. This findspot is known as 'Low Burnham', grid reference and parish protected.

Record ID: LIN-273AA4
Object type: POLISHER
Broad period: UNKNOWN
County: Lincolnshire
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
A brown quartzite water rolled cobble possible polisher or rubber of unknown date, but the date range could be Iron Age to Medieval (c. 800 BC - AD 1000). The object is an oval-ended pebble fragment with a flattened and highly polished edge. A similar example recorded on the PAS database is: NLM-FB075D. As Foreman (2015) states, the use of various erratic stones as improvised rubbers, polishers, grinders and sharpeners was common from Prehistory through to the end of the Early Medieval period. The overall dimensions are as follows: 35.31mm in length, 41.67mm in width, 17.73mm …
Created on: Friday 9th March 2018
Last updated: Thursday 15th March 2018
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: SOM-CC2754
Object type: POLISHER
Broad period: UNKNOWN
County: North Somerset
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
A water worn, sub oval pebble, probably a beach pebble of a hard, fine grained rock. One side is completely worn flat, probably from use as a smoother, polisher or possibly whetstone. It is 54.6mm long, 43.6mm wide, 30.4mm thick and weighs 106 grams. The rock is a Devonian sandstone deliberately brought in to the area, possibly form the Quantocks (D. Parsons pers com). It is not closely datable as an object and may be Prehistoric to Post Medieval in date
Created on: Wednesday 15th November 2017
Last updated: Thursday 26th March 2020
Spatial data recorded. This findspot is known as 'Kingston Seymour', grid reference and parish protected.

Record ID: NLM-BC44C5
Object type: POLISHER
Broad period: MEDIEVAL
County: North Lincolnshire
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Stone rubber or polisher. A four-sided pyramidal object of regular form, and with corners and the aris between each pair of adjoining faces rounded, possibly by heavy wear or prolonged immersion. The object is of an off-white tint. Under the hand lens, the surface has occasional rounded pits, and rare spots - six were counted - of white metal of up to c.0.5mm diameter. The former are fairly evenly distributed but the latter are more commonly situated close to the smoothed arises. The spots of metal may suggest a use as a burnishing or finishing tool, and their bright metallic colour hi…
Created on: Thursday 22nd June 2017
Last updated: Wednesday 24th August 2022
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: CAM-8BC2EE
Object type: POLISHER
Broad period: NEOLITHIC
County: Cambridgeshire
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
A relatively large chunk of hard chalk veering on clunch which appears to possibly have been slightly shaped by human hand although this may just be fortuitous. This item weighs in excess of 200g, being too heavy for the precise set of weighing scales. Length is 174.0mm, width is 100.7mm and maximum thickness is 28.1mm. The overall appearance is teardrop shaped however the narrower end has a 'U' shaped chunk missing from the terminal and a spall missing from one surface that is greater than a third of that surface but less than half. The wider end has a flattened rather than rounde…
Created on: Wednesday 25th January 2017
Last updated: Tuesday 27th June 2017
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: NLM-FB075D
Object type: POLISHER
Broad period: UNKNOWN
County: Lincolnshire
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Brown Quartzite [non-specialist identification by MF] water rolled cobble possible polisher or rubber. An oval-ended pebble fragment with a limited flattened and darker area, most clearly distinguished from the rest of the surface by the removal of tiny pale naturally formed abrasion scars which cover the rest of the object. The use of various erratic stones as improvised rubbers or grinders and sharpeners was common from Prehistory through to the end of the Early Medieval period. Suggested date: Unknown, possibly 800 BC-AD 1000. Length: 50.0mm, Width: 43.5mm, Thickness: 26.1mm, We…
Created on: Wednesday 21st January 2015
Last updated: Thursday 22nd January 2015
Spatial data recorded. This findspot is known as 'Kelstern', grid reference and parish protected.

Record ID: SOM-64FB56
Object type: POLISHER
Broad period: UNKNOWN
County: Somerset
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
A water worn, sub oval pebble, probably a beach pebble of a hard, fine grained rock. It is broken across with an irregular break and only part survives. On one face there is a smoothed and worn facet towards one edge, probably from use as a smoother, polisher or possibly whetstone. It is 85.9mm long, 62.9mm wide, 26.8mm thick and weighs 227 grams. It is not closely database as an object and may be Prehistoric to Post Medieval in date.
Created on: Friday 16th November 2012
Last updated: Friday 18th January 2013
Spatial data recorded.

Record ID: NLM-8CE166
Object type: POLISHER
Broad period: UNKNOWN
County: North Lincolnshire
Workflow stage: Awaiting validation
Stone. Hard black igneous rock with crystalline inclusions revealed at its fracture face. Possible rubber. A naturally water-rounded cobble with one edge flattened, presumably by wear. Further linear scratches on other surfaces are probably the result of plough strikes, and the broken edge may similarly be recent. The flattened edge could have arisen from this object being set on edge as part of a paved area, but is equally characteristic of handy-sized rubbing and smoothing stones for craft uses including the finishing of leather and linen. Excavated examples are most commonly r…
Created on: Monday 13th August 2012
Last updated: Wednesday 2nd September 2020
Spatial data recorded.