A Scandinavian Type II dagger in light grey flint. The dagger is of slender form, with straight cutting edges and fine retouch along the edges. Slight remains of cortex at the top.
 
Later neolithic: Circa 2150 BC.
 
Very Fine condition: A clean break around the upper half neatly repaired.
Length 15 cms (5.9 ins)
 
Provenance: Formerly in the collection of Lars Otto Johan Holst (1863-1936), a veterinary surgeon who was active in Ronneby, southern Sweden from around 1887. with Skanes Auktionsverk, 31 May 2014, no. 464 [Part].
 
Reference: A MacGregor; Antiquities from Europe and the Near East in the Collection of the Lord McAlpine of West Green, 1987, no. 4.197 for the type
 
Inspection of numerous flint daggers reveals that they were unlikely to have been used for practical purposes, and it is thought that it may have been a symbol of its owner's patronage of new innovation and technology. The dagger may have offered a means to show both friends and strangers what its owner could afford to be part of in a way that was easily translatable across Late Neolithic society.