Arrowhead, Castle O'er

Arrowheads such as these, which are tanged and barbed, are more common during the period of the Beaker people (2800 - 1800 BC) whose name is derived from the distinctive type of pottery they used for drinking. From the collection of the Antiquarian Society's Castle O'er Collection, this selection also includes arrowheads which have the distinctive leaf shape which gives them their name.    Stone tools   It is not always possible to distinguish between neolithic and Bronze Age stone tools. Certain types of arrowhead were more finely finished, but simple tools such as scrapers and knives were produced in the same manner for thousands of years. Arrowheads are often found in the graves of Beaker people, implying that they played an important part in their lives. Many of these tools were found in the sand dunes around Luce Bay, in Wigtownshire, but others came from Castle O'er, Eskdalemuir and Locharbriggs, Dumfries.