Description

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

Research results

An incomplete Neolithic side and end scraper, 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 revealed areas of use wear which would be consistant with repeated contact with a hard object, such as an antler. Differential rounding to the retouched edges also suggests that the tool may have been resharpened at least once prior to being lost or discarded.

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.