5,500-year-old polished stone balls were found in a tomb in Sandai, Orkney, writes Live Science. Neolithic people made similar things almost exclusively in what is now the United Kingdom. Over the years, hundreds of such bullets have been found in Scotland, especially in the Orkney Islands, but a similar discovery has already been made in Norway.
Experts don’t know exactly what they serve. Some researchers believe they may have been weapons, so they are sometimes referred to as mace heads.
Vicky Cummings, a University of Central Lancashire According to his colleague and leader of the excavation team at the Sanday Cemetery, it is possible that these objects symbolized a high social rank.
The two bullets just discovered are very old and simpler compared to other similar finds. Cummings noted that making balls made of grinding was definitely a waste of time. The expert added that this is the first time that these types of organisms can be discovered in their original context.
The team found charred bones at rest. Also found in the tomb were stone tools used as knives that could be used to unload meat. Researchers believe that the cadavers changed the bodies in some way.
Although it is difficult to reach the Orkney Islands north of mainland Scotland, people have been in the area for a long time. Many ancient finds have been made on the local islands over the years.
