Convex Scrapers
Roughan Hill, County Clare
A kidney shaped stone enclosure surrounds the remains of several structures at Roughan Hill today. The site was discovered in 1994 during the course of an intensive survey aimed at finding settlements contemporary with the many surrounding wedge shaped tombs.
The central structure of settlement 1 was excavated in 1995 and the Beaker pottery found then confirmed that this site was contemporary with the wedge tombs.
In the Final Neolithic\Early Bronze Age there was a busy farming community on Roughan Hill consisting of several settlements. Finds date from c2400-2000 BC.
Almost two hundred convex scrapers were discovered from Settlement 1, Roughan Hill. They range widely in both quality and workmanship and in their size. Their function is not certain, but the small size of many suggest they may have been part of a composite tool. They may have been used to scrape hides, to work wood, or perhaps to help harvest or prepare plant food.
Ref: 95E61 25, 27, 31, 46, 145, 161, 163, 197, 200, 204-5, 212, 242, 245-6, 248, 256-8, 262, 264, 270-1, 307-8, 325-6, 336, 411
National
Museum of Ireland, Irish Antiquities Division Collection
Roughan Hill Collection
Tools and
Equipment Collection
Photograph appears courtesy of the National Museum of Ireland
