Overhowden and Airhouse, Scottish Borders: Characterization and interpretation of two spectacular lithic assemblages from sites near the Overhowden henge

This book presents an investigation of two of the National Museum of Scotlands older lithic collections, the assemblages from Airhouse and Overhowden in the Scottish Borders. The Airhouse assemblage numbers 558 lithic artefacts and the Overhowden assemblage 109 lithic artefacts. They were both collected in the first part of the 20th Century from locations situated a few hundred metres from the Overhowden Henge (with which they may in some way be associated), and they both embrace a broad spectrum of Late Neolithic tools, with relatively sophisticated, or fancy, pieces being notably more prominent than in other collections from this period. The main background to the project is the fact that, in Scotland, several interesting Late Neolithic assemblages have been recovered or written up lately and south of the Anglo-Scottish border many Late Neolithic sites and landscapes have been investigated. As a whole, this new corpus of comparative material offers a unique opportunity to gain insight into the seemingly unusual material from Airhouse/Overhowden by placing it in a wider Late Neolithic context.