Knowli-;s — Prehistoric Stone implements. 20^ 



to the surface ; it was no doubt used as a sort of kuife. No, 54 is also a thin 

 flake similarly dressed with thin flakes running along the surface. The 

 flaking covers the entire surface, and the edges are quite sharp and knife- 

 like. The bulb is at the top on the under side; and along the base end on the 

 under side there is about half an inch of the entire face chipped. ISTo. 55 has 

 also thin cutting edges, particularly on the edges to the left. It is slightly 

 twisted so that the edges are not in the same plane. Nos. 53, 54, and 55 came 

 from Culbane. In a great many flakes that are irregular in shape, especially 

 those of small size, one can see small portions of the edge chipped, the 

 chipping arising perhaps from repeated use of one spot. In Nos. 58 to 65, for 

 example, there are eight small flakes which illustrate this use of the edges. 

 No. 62 shows minute chipping along both edges, near the point, as if it had 

 been used in scraping a hard substance like bone when the small chips 

 would be removed from the fine edge by the pressure. No. 59 shows fine 

 chipping, chiefly on the oblique edge, near the point, Nos. 5<S and 64 

 show small indentures on the left side, as if the pressure of scraping had 

 continued for a longer time than usual till sufficient flakes were removed 

 to form a circular hollow. No. 61 shows dressing on the right side, making 

 it a small sidfe-scraper. No. 63 shows fine chipping on the oblique edges 

 near the point, but on the under side, so that the dressing is not seen in the 

 figure. Nos. 60 and 65 show little spots on thin edges where small chips 

 have been removed. It is only by loolcing carefully that this minute 

 chipping can be observed. 



I have passed in review the various kinds of flakes produced along the 

 banks of the Eiver Bann and shores of Lough Neagh and the different 

 ways they have been dressed by chipping, so as to form a considerable 

 variety of tools or implements. Pointed flakes were the kind the people 

 evidently wished most to produce, and in this they were largely successful, 

 as I believe pointed flakes are the most numerous, though collectors as a 

 rule reject unsymmetrical flakes, and we may underestimate the numbers 

 of these. I have myself a large number of flakes which are not pointed, 

 and in many cases I find the edges have been used for some purpose. 

 There is one kind of flake referred to by Sir John Evans in his paper read 

 before the Society of Antiquaries, which I have not mentioned. It is figured 

 as No. 6 of the plate illustrating his paper. He says : " Other flakes 

 agaiir, more especially the very thiclc ones, have been chipped away at 

 the two sides, leaving the flat face uninjured until the flint has assumed 

 a boat-shaped form. The purpose of these scaphoid implements is at present 

 unexplained." I have a few of these objects. The flakes used in pro- 

 ducing them dipped deeper into the core and had a heavy pointed end. 



