---

FINDS - Worked Bone

Nerissa Russell

During this year’s season, 143 bone artefacts from the backlog were recorded and excavations in 2003 bring the total recorded to 1042. Many different tool types were found including points, needles, pounders, hafts, weights, spatulas, knucklebones, beads, rings and preforms.

Of particular note are two rounded points which were recovered from graves in the 4040 Area and probably date to the Neolithic. Both are small tools that could be cosmetics applicators, hairpins, or pins to hold clothing. Point 7575.X16 is the most spectacular and comes from a multiple burial with numerous grave goods (Fig. 23). It is very finely made, and thoroughly polished, probably partly from use, but also in manufacture. Some red pigment adheres to it, but well up the shaft rather than at the tip, so that it is not clear that it has anything to do with the use of the tool.

Figure 23. Rounded point (hairpin?) from a multiple burial (7575.X16).

Another fascinating find was a spatula (8814.X14: Fig. 24) which came from a Neolithic grave in the 4040 Area. Made on a sheep-size long bone, probably a femur, the base end is rounded and slightly bulbous while the tip is forked. Although there is not a lot of use wear, what there is indicates that the fork is the working end. The fork tips are rounded and blunt, and formed partly from porous cancellous bone so that they would not be very strong. The fork is thus unlikely to have been used to spear anything. Rather, perhaps it was used to paint parallel lines or incise them in soft substances.

Figure 24. Forked spatula made from a sheep-size long bone (8814.X14).

---