Ayton East Field Hoard facts for kids
The Ayton East Field Hoard is a special collection of ancient tools made from stone and animal antlers. It was found in East Ayton, a place in North Yorkshire, England. This amazing discovery helps us learn about people who lived in Britain during the Neolithic period, also known as the New Stone Age.
How the Hoard Was Found
This ancient treasure was dug up in 1849 by a person named A.D. Conyngham. It was found inside a large mound of stones, called a cairn. This cairn was quite big, about 160 feet (49 meters) long and 100 feet (30 meters) wide!
Inside the cairn, archaeologists found a main burial site with human remains and some stone tools. The hoard itself was found near a second, smaller burial. Scientists have used a method called radiocarbon dating to figure out how old the cairn is. They found it dates back to around 3080 BC, which is over 5,000 years ago!
What Was Inside the Hoard?
The Ayton East Field Hoard is made up of several interesting items:
- Three axes made of flint stone. Axes were important tools for cutting wood and other materials.
- One flint adze. An adze is similar to an axe but has its blade at a right angle to the handle, useful for shaping wood.
- Five arrowheads, also made of flint. These were used for hunting.
- A shiny, polished knife made from flint.
- Two smaller pieces of flint, called flakes.
- An antler 'macehead'. This was likely a tool or a weapon, made from the hard part of a deer's antler.
- Two knives made from boar tusks.
Where Is It Now?
The Ayton East Field Hoard is a very important historical find. It was given to the British Museum in 1879 by a person named Rev William Greenwell. Now, people from all over the world can see and learn from these ancient tools at the museum.
