Description
Genuine Neolithic Flint Knife from West Yorkshire
This carefully chosen archaeological artefact is a genuine complete Neolithic flint knife dating to approximately 3500–2100 BC. It was found at Otley in West Yorkshire, England, and has been formally recorded with the Portable Antiquities Scheme under reference SWYOR-DA8E11.
The artefact is supplied with a copy of its Portable Antiquities Scheme report, providing valuable supporting documentation for its identification and recorded provenance. As a complete example rather than a surviving fragment, it offers an especially useful view of the intended outline, worked edges and overall proportions of a prehistoric cutting implement.
The listing photographs show the exact Neolithic flint knife you will receive. This is not a stock image or a randomly selected example. Please inspect the photographs carefully to view the artefact’s complete dimensions, colour, flaking pattern, edge condition, surface texture and natural signs of age. Full sizing is shown in the photo.
Neolithic Artefact Type
The Neolithic, or New Stone Age, marked a major transformation in British prehistory. During this period, communities increasingly adopted farming, managed livestock, cultivated crops and created more permanent settlements. Monument building, long-distance exchange and increasingly specialised stone-working traditions also became important features of Neolithic society.
Flint knives were practical cutting tools produced for use in everyday activities. Their sharp working margins could have been employed for cutting plant fibres, processing food, preparing animal materials, trimming wood or carrying out other tasks requiring a controlled edge.
Unlike modern knives with separate metal blades and handles, many prehistoric flint knives were held directly in the hand. Some may also have been mounted in handles made from wood, bone or antler, although organic fittings rarely survive in British soil.
Flint Material and Geological Character
Flint is a dense, silica-rich stone that commonly forms as nodules or bands within chalk deposits. Its fine-grained internal structure allows it to break with a predictable conchoidal fracture, producing sharp edges and smooth curved surfaces.
This fracture behaviour made flint one of the most important raw materials used by prehistoric communities in Britain. A skilled knapper could shape a natural nodule or flake by striking it with a hammerstone or softer implement made from antler, bone or dense wood.
Flint occurs in a range of colours, including grey, black, brown, cream and mottled combinations. The surface may alter after prolonged burial, developing patination, mineral staining or a lighter weathered appearance. Any colour variation, surface deposits, edge wear or small chips visible in the photographs form part of the artefact’s individual archaeological history.
Prehistoric Construction Method
This Neolithic knife would have begun as a carefully selected flint blank or flake. The original piece was detached from a larger core through percussion, leaving characteristic fracture surfaces and ridges.
Further shaping could then be carried out by controlled retouch. Retouch involves removing a sequence of smaller flakes from the edge to refine its form, strengthen the working margin or create a particular cutting angle. Depending on the intended use, one edge might be sharpened while another remained thicker and more comfortable to hold.
Some Neolithic knives were produced on broad flakes or blades with relatively straight cutting margins. Others were more extensively worked, with retouch continuing around part of the outline. Visible flake scars can preserve the sequence of decisions made by the prehistoric craftsperson during manufacture.
The complete condition of this example makes it particularly useful for appreciating the relationship between the original flake, the deliberately modified edge and the final tool form.
Form and Possible Function
A flint knife was a versatile implement suited to a wide range of tasks within a farming community. Its sharp edge could cut meat, hide, sinew, reeds, fibres and softer wood. It may also have been used in food preparation, craft production or the harvesting and processing of plants.
The exact function of an individual prehistoric tool is normally investigated through microscopic use-wear analysis. Repeated contact with different materials can produce distinctive polishing, striations and edge damage. Even without such analysis, the knife form reflects deliberate planning and an understanding of how flint could be transformed into an efficient cutting tool.
The balance between a sharp margin and a thicker gripping area was important. A tool needed to cut effectively while remaining strong enough to withstand pressure during use.
Neolithic Otley and the Yorkshire Landscape
Otley lies within the Wharfe Valley in West Yorkshire, a landscape shaped by rivers, glacial deposits and varied upland geology. During the Neolithic, river valleys were important routes through the landscape and offered access to water, fertile ground, woodland resources and animal movement corridors.
The wider Yorkshire region contains extensive evidence of prehistoric settlement, farming and ceremonial activity. Communities moved through interconnected landscapes, exchanging raw materials, tools and ideas across considerable distances.
Flint could be collected from natural chalk sources, river gravels or traded from areas where good-quality material was readily available. The presence of a worked flint knife at Otley reflects the broader use of carefully manufactured stone tools by Neolithic communities in northern England.
Its recorded West Yorkshire provenance gives the artefact strong regional interest and makes it particularly suitable for a collection focused on Yorkshire archaeology, British prehistory or Stone Age technology.
Portable Antiquities Scheme Record
This Neolithic flint knife is recorded with the Portable Antiquities Scheme under reference SWYOR-DA8E11. The PAS creates permanent archaeological records for objects discovered by members of the public in England and Wales, helping preserve information about their identification and reported find locations.
A PAS record adds important documentary value because it connects the physical artefact with a recognised archaeological database entry. This makes the knife especially appropriate for a documented collection, educational display or specialist lithic study cabinet.
A copy of the PAS report is included with the artefact and should be retained with the specimen as part of its recorded provenance.
Archaeological and Historical Significance
Neolithic flint tools provide direct evidence of prehistoric craftsmanship and daily life. Unlike naturally formed stones, a worked knife preserves a sequence of intentional human actions, from the selection of raw material to the removal of the final shaping flakes.
The production of such a tool required experience, coordination and detailed knowledge of stone fracture. The maker had to understand where to strike, how much force to use and how each removal would affect the remaining flint.
This complete knife represents both a practical object and a personal connection to an individual who lived in Britain several thousand years ago. Its carefully shaped edge reflects the technological abilities of the farming communities that transformed the landscape during the Neolithic.
Condition and Actual Artefact
The artefact has survived for several thousand years and may display natural patination, mineral staining, worn flake ridges, soil deposits or minor edge wear. These characteristics are consistent with prolonged burial, recovery and the passage of time.
Please use the listing photographs as the primary condition guide. They show the exact specimen you will receive and allow its complete shape, surfaces and preservation to be examined before purchase.
Certificate of Authenticity and Documentation
You will receive the exact complete Neolithic flint knife shown in the photographs. It has been individually and carefully selected for its complete form, visible workmanship, recorded Otley provenance and archaeological significance.
This genuine prehistoric artefact includes a generic Certificate of Authenticity card supported by a lifetime authenticity guarantee. A copy of the Portable Antiquities Scheme report for reference SWYOR-DA8E11 is also included.
This circa 3500–2100 BC flint knife is ideal for a British archaeology collection, Neolithic display, lithic study set, educational collection or museum-style cabinet. It also makes a distinctive historical gift for an archaeologist, antiquities collector, prehistory enthusiast, teacher or anyone interested in ancient craftsmanship and Stone Age Britain.
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.