Stone Wristguard, Lockerbie

The wristguard is 73mm long, 18mm wide and 6mm in maximum thickness. Its two perforations, drilled from both sides, measure 1.5mm at their narrowest and are positioned at either end. Rectangular in shape, its corners are gently squared off at one end and rounded at the other. The stone from which the wristguard has been made is a fine-grained rock, of pale bluish/greenish-grey colour, with small, dark red-brown mineral inclusions. The object's outer surfaces have been stained orange from contact with the local, sandstone-derived sediment, but the original colour is visible down the holes. The Lockerbie Academy example is similar in shape and colour to one from Mid Torrs, Glenluce. Colour seems to have been a significant factor in the choice of stone for making wristguards. Most of the Irish examples are of reddish stone, while in Britain there was a preference for grey stone.