The Neolithic British Isles refers to the period of British, Irish and Manx history that spanned from c. 4000 to c. 2,500 BCE. The final part of the Stone Age in the British Isles, it was a part of the greater Neolithic, or “New Stone Age“, across Europe.
Humans first settled down and began farming. They continued to make tools and weapons from flint. Some tools stayed the same from earlier periods in history, such as scrapers for preparing hides.
But the Neolithic also saw the introduction of new stone tool. First there was a movement away from using microliths to make spears and arrows as composite weapons and instead the universal adoption of flint arrow heads.
Neolithic tools were often retouched all over, by pressure flaking, giving a characteristic appearance and were often laboriously polished, again giving them a distinctive look.
Pottery also developed in this period and there are examples of Neolithic Pottery recorded in this collection
Neolithic Axe 
Neolithic Axe 
Neolithic Axe 
Neolithic Axe 
Neolithic Axe
Neolithic Axe
Provenance – Found near the River Ter Valley, Chelmsford Essex
Description – This tool still includes the cortex around the outside, it has been smoothed on one side and remains rough on the other side. The Axe has been retouched at working end of the implement. This tone stool has been worked and shaped into the form you see.
Size – 10.5cm x 7.3cm
Weight – 217g
Age – Neolithic 4000 BCE – 2500 BCE
