Description

Summary: 1 flint blade fragment from the late neolithic enclosure at Marden Henge, Marden, Wiltshire, excavated by G J Wainwright, 1969.

Research results

An incomplete Neolithic oblique arrowhead, from the late Neolithic enclosure at Marden Henge, Marden, Wiltshire, excavated by G J Wainwright in 1969. Examination of the flint under a microscope has supported its identification as an incomplete oblique arrowhead, displaying the characteristic microscopic linear impact traces created when an arrowhead makes contact with bone, as well as other areas of wear suggestive of contact with hide or soft tissue.

This and 5 other worked flint artefacts from Marden Henge have been examined under a microscope by Dr Ben Chan of the University of Southampton in order to assess the suitablility of the wider assemblage for use-wear analysis. Marden henge is set upon greensand geology, rather than chalk, reducing the post-depositional changes which obscure such detail on the flint of most Wessex henge monuments.