A HISTORY OF SUFFOLK in chipping obtained by early man, if we except the finest of the Danish and Egyptian pieces. The majority, however, are long and narrow, with sides approximately parallel. Chipped celts of this description are met with in large numbers in three districts of England : the South Downs of Sussex, and especially in the neighbourhood of Eastbourne ; the River Thames and its affluent the Lea, from the beds of which some hundreds have been dredged ; and the Fen districts. The South Downs are near to the sea ; the Thames is the most important waterway of the south of England ; whilst the Fens were at that time probably a chain of lakes leading to the sea. It seems probable therefore that these long chipped axes had as their main use the hollowing out of canoes. Canoes were probably made by lighting fires along the upper side of trunks of trees felled for the purpose. When the wood was sufficiently charred axes of this kind would be admirably adapted for stubbing out the half-burnt wood ; and by repetition of the process the canoe would be made. Polished axes, of which many have been found in Suffolk, differ from those found in many parts of the country, in that owing to the abundance, large size, and fine quality of the flint found in the county, this material has been much more widely used for axes than elsewhere. Where flint is scarce or of inferior quality neolithic man took great pains to obtain fine hard stones other than flint to make into poUshed axes. Where he could not obtain a suitable stone in his own district he imported it from a distance ; and there is evidence of barter on a considerable scale, whether of the raw material or of the finished article. There was httle necessity for this in Suffolk ; for though flint is a somewhat intractable substance to work into shape and to polish, nothing could be better for the end in view when once the necessary labour had been gone through. In all districts where flint is easily obtained and where neolithic man has left his traces, scrapers are found in large numbers — so common indeed are they that there is a tendency amongst collectors to despise these humble but highly useful little tools. Nowhere have they been found in such large numbers as in Suffolk ; and nowhere are they found of such real beauty, both of material and of workmanship, as in the north-western part of the county. They vary in size from a split pea up to great implements 4 in. or 5 in. long. And they are of all shapes — circular, oval, spoon-shaped, duck's- bill, oblong with the corners rounded off, and many other forms. Many of them are made of very fine material ; translucent chalcedonic flint, red jasperoid flint, rich brown flint, variegated and striped flint. And the natural beauty of the stone is often increased by the changes that time has produced on the surface. This may be brilliantly lustrous ; or the natural colour of the flints may have been intensified or altogether changed under the influence of the surroundings in which for countless centuries they have lain. More especially is this the case with those found in the fen districts, where the wet soil, largely made up of rotting vegetation, stains the flint of a beautiful red-brown colour unmistakable when once seen. A picked collection of Sufi^olk scrapers may almost be compared to a collection of precious minerals. Indeed, thosd who are not familiar with neolithic objects from this district would hardly believe what very beautiful things they are in themselves, apart from the interest attaching to them from the human and archaeological point of view. 2S4
