Neolithic knife find at Tirnony Dolmen excavations hints at undisturbed burial

Archaeologists excavating the 5,000-year-old Tirnony Dolmen at Maghera, Northern Ireland say “the best find of the dig so far” – a Neolithic flint blade – suggests the ancient burial site is undisturbed. 

The Tirnony Dolmen – or portal tomb – is a single-chamber megalithic tomb, estimated to be about 5,000 to 6,000 years old.  

In April this year, the ancient tomb's massive capstone fell off, severely damaging one of the supporting stones.

Now, the necessary repair works offer archaeologists from the Northern Ireland Environment Agency the chance of a lifetime excavating the ancient burial monument.

The 4.5cm long, 1cm wide knife blade made from translucent flint – in pristine condition – was discovered inside the tomb.

There is no trace of the original handle, which has probably decayed.

The knife is likely a grave gift, left with the person laid to rest at the dolmen about 5,500 years ago. Its presence indicates that – despite 19th century plumbing works near the ancient tomb – there's a good chance the burial itself is intact.  

“The finding of this flint knife has given us reason to be optimistic about the tomb interior,” the NIEA archaeologists write on their excavation blog.

Check Related Content

Excavations start at unique 5,000-year-old Tirnony Dolmen

• Orkney Venus And Holm of Papa Westray Lintel Stone Could be Sisters
• Tomb of ancient Egyptian priest Rudj-Ka discovered at Giza
• Second Neolithic 'Venus' Unearthed at Orkney, Scotland
• Ancient Egyptian Father and Son Tombs Discovered at Saqqara

“Firstly its position sitting on top of a newly uncovered layer encourages us that we are finally coming to the end of the disturbed upper soils and secondly it suggests to us that the tomb was not 'excavated' in the 18th or 19th centuries by antiquarians who frequently looted the artefacts but rarely recorded or published their work.”

The excavations at the Tilnony portal tomb continue until the end of November.  You can visit the dig and talk to the archaeologists on Fridays between 2pm and 4pm. You want to follow the dig's progress - especially now you know chances they will find an intact burial have risen significantly! ;) - via the Archaeologist’s blog at blog.ni-environment.gov.uk/NIEA or on Facebook.

Read 2 comments, or leave your own

About The Author

Ann Wuyts (follow me: e-mail or )

Last three pieces by this author:

Unique Iron Age Hoard goes on display at Ipswich Museum | Royal Artefacts - Including King Tut's Golden Trumpet - Returned to Egyptian Museum Cairo | SCA releases full list of treasures missing from the Cairo Museum

Ann 'Vint' Wuyts (on Google+) is looking after the Heritage Key community and avatar health & entertainment. She is slightly fascinated by everything to do with 3D technology and what's commonly defined as 'Web 2.0'. When she grows up, Ann - eventually - wants to be a mummy. Favourite game: Buzzword…