Nine-Year-Old Discovers A Piece Of History

Left: Alistair shows off his find.









© Castle Howard.

A nine-year-old boy made an amazing discovery this week during his very first go at archaeology.

Alastair Dunn found a 4,000-year-old arrowhead at a stately home called Castle Howard in Yorkshire during an archaeological activity session.

The find has amazed archaeologists who now say the site is much older than they had realised - by about 3,500 years!

Right: Castle Howard in Yorkshire, where Alistair found his flint.

© Castle Howard.

"What a great find for a young child to discover on their first stab at being an archaeologist!" exclaimed David Fallon, an archaeologist at the Castle.

"This discovery will encourage the whole team to hunt out further exciting finds as we continue to search out more of Castle Howard's history."

Left: can you see the pointed tip of the arrowhead?











© Castle Howard.

Alastair made his discovery whilst washing finds and sieving the soil that had been dug at the site during a 'Get Dirty on the Dig' day. He found a small piece of flint and showed it to a very surprised archaeologist, who immediately recognised it as an arrowhead from the Neolithic period.

The Neolithic period began about 7,000 years ago during the Stone Age - a time when man used stone and flint to make tools and weapons. It ended about 4,000 years ago at the beginning of the Bronze Age - a period when man started using metal for tools such as knives and axes.

Right: Alistair is a very proud archaeologist!









© Castle Howard.

Since Alastair's discovery archaeologists at the site have started making other Neolithic finds, including some scrapers, which would have been used for taking the skin off dead animals.

With the discovery of his flint arrowhead, Alastair has opened up a whole new area for archaeologists to explore and proved that people have lived at Henderskelfe for much longer than was ever thought before.

Left: Time Team's Phil meets some members of the Young Archaeologist's Club.









© 24 Hour Museum.

If you are interested in finding out more about archaeology and want to make some discoveries like Alastair, Castle Howard is currently running a programme of exciting activities for children throughout the school holidays until Sunday 31st August.

You can also find out more about archaeology by visiting your local museum or visiting the site of the Young Archaeologists Club. Click here to see their website.