Purvishaugh

Several flint artefacts of prehistoric date have been recovered from the vicinity of Purvishaugh. At least one of these was a microlith, dating to the Mesolithic period, about 8,000 years ago.

Microliths are tiny pieces of flint, carefully worked into a geometric form. They would have been used as the cutting edges of larger composite objects, such as harpoons or spears.

The Mesolithic period has yielded the earliest evidence of widespread human occupation in Scotland. At this time, people lived as hunter-gatherers, ranging over considerable distances in their efforts to support themselves using a variety of natural resources. Their food sources changed according to the seasons: they hunted red deer in wooded inland areas at certain times of the year, while at other times they might exploit local supplies of fish and shellfish.

One flint from Purvishaugh is in the National Museum of Scotland, while the others were last recorded in the Wilton Lodge Museum, Hawick.

Text prepared by RCAHMS as part of the Accessing Scotland's Past project

NT63NW 22 600 394.

A flint from Purvishaugh (NT 600 394) is in the National Museum of Antiquities of Scotland (NMAS, Accession no: BMA 516).

NMAS Mss Accession list.

NT 600 398, 450ft OD Microlith, Purvishaugh.

H Mulholland 1970.

A further two retouched flints from Purvishaugh are in Wilton Lodge Museum, Hawick (HAKMG 3253, 3254).

Museum Catalogue (typescript, compiled 1981).